HISTORY 



OF 



Charleston and Kanawha County 

West Virginia 



AND 



REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



BY 



W. S. LAIDLEY 



Study History, for it is Philosophy Teaching by Examvl 



Published by 

RICHMOND-ARNOLD PUBLISHING CO., 
F. J. RICHMOND, Pres. C. It. ARNOLD, Sec. and Treas. 

CHICAGO, ILL. 



PREFACE 



The aim of the publishers of this volume and of the author of the history 
has been to secure for the historical portion thereof full and accurate data re- 
specting the history of the county from the time of its early settlement, and to 
condense it into a clear and interesting narrative. All topics and occurrences 
have been included that were essential to this object. 

The reviews of resolute and strenuous lives that make up the biographical 
part of the volume are admirably calculated to foster local ties, to inculcate 
patriotism, and to emphasize the rewards of industry dominated by intelligent 
purpose. They constitute a most appropriate medium for perpetuating personal 
annals, and will be of incalculable value to the descendants of those commemo- 
rated. These sketches are replete with stirring incidents and intense experiences 
and are flavored with a strong human interest that will naturally prove to a 
large portion of the readers of the book one of its most attractive features. In 
the aggregate of personal memoirs thus collated will be found a vivid epitome 
of the growth of Kanawha County, which will fitly supplement the historical state- 
ment, for its development is identified with that of the men and women to 
whom it is attributable. Sketches unrevised by subscribers are marked by a 
small asterisk (*) placed after the name of the subscriber. 

The publishers have endeavored to avoid slighting any part of the work, 
and to fittingly supplement the editor's labors by exercising care over the mi- 
nutest details of publication, and to give to the volume the three-fold value of 
a readable narrative, a useful work of reference and a tasteful ornament to the 
library. We believe the result has justified the care thus exercised. 

Special prominence has been given to the portraits of many representative 
citizens which appear throughout the volume, and we believe that they will 
prove not its least interesting feature. We have sought in this department to 
illustrate the different spheres of industrial and professional achievement as con- 
spicuously as possible. 

To all those who have kindly interested themselves in the successful prep- 
aration of this work, and who have voluntarily contributed most useful infor- 
mation and data, or rendered other assistance, we hereby tender our grateful 
acknowledgments. 

The Publishers. 

Chicago, III., November, 191 1. 



3 



INTRODUCTORY 



WHY? 



Once upon a day not long since, a good 
prohibition friend met with a jolly red-faced 
neighbor, and he wanted to know of the jolly 
friend whether he ever took a drink of whis- 
key. The interrogated friend hesitated and 
before replying wanted to know whether the 
remark was to be taken as an inquiry or an 
invitation. 

So as to the case at bar, — we mean of course 
the judicial bar. The "Why" may be regarded 
as the inquiry of the reader, and it may also 
be taken as the invitation of the publisher. 

If anyone should ask in earnest, "Why a 
history of Kanawha?" the reply should be, 
"Because it was greatly needed." It has been 
an age since one was written and people have 
grown to maturity since it was published; it 
is needed for the enlightenment of her inhabi- 
tants, and to set forth the accomplishment of 
her people. 

The reader is interested in the information 
contained and we are interested in giving you 
the information in such form that you will re- 
joice in the opportunity to have it. 

We have gathered facts from all sources; 
we do not propose to republish the former his- 
tories, but we propose to draw on them for 
information, as they did when they published. 
We expect some future historian to do like- 
wise with us when he wishes to make a good 
work. The History and Biography of our 
own county and people should be read next 
after the Bible, and in fact, will make good 
Sunday reading for ages to come. Kanawha 
cannot have too many good histories. 

Is it not a truthful proposition, that had 



the Aborigines of this country left to us a 
more readable account of themselves — had left 
a record telling us from whence they came, 
why they left and what they accomplished 
while here, — what an amount of wild guessing 
they would have saved. Had the Indians 
spilled more ink and less blood, and had they 
utilized the said ink in informing us what 
part they played in changing the character of 
the inhabitants, by a comparison between 
themselves and those that left when they came; 
had they told us more of their own good 
qualities, then would our historians have 
been more charitably disposed toward them; 
there would have been less to guess about and 
our own guesses more favorable to them per- 
haps. 

Even as to our worthy ancestors, we have 
to deplore the fact that they too were negli- 
gent in this respect. How we would have en- 
joyed having more information of them and 
of their trials and tribulations in the early 
days of our country; what a high estimate of 
their efforts we would have had! 

To relieve the people of the present gener- 
ation of this charge of negligence; to tell the 
future generations of the people of today, and 
of the past, so that our future readers will rise 
up and call you "blessed," has been our effort 
in this work. 

We want the present young people and those 
of the future to know who it was that made 
Kanawha and Charleston, that they may be 
encouraged to keep up the good work. — Such 
is the purpose of the Work we offer you. 

The Editor. 



4 



CONTENTS 



Introductory 



CHAPTER I 



Geographical Evolution of Kanawha County 19 

Frontier Counties of Virginia — Formation of Shires in 1634 — Change 
of Name — Governor Spottswood's Expedition arid Discoveries — Forma- 
tion of Spottsylvania, Orange, Frederick and Augusta Counties — Settle- 
ments in the Upper and Lower Valleys — Botetourt and Fincastle Counties 
Formed — West Augusta as a District — Its Division into Ohio, Monongalia 
and Yohogania Counties — Greenbrier County Formed — Mode of Elections 
— Kanawha County Organized — Boundary of Kanawha County — -Town- 
ships and Districts — Location of Towns. 

CHAPTER II 

Rivers 28 

New River — Its Source and Direction — The Yadkin, Roanoke, Tenn- 
essee or Holstein — Elk River — The Gauley — Carnifex Ferry and Its As- 
sociations — Coal River, in Prose and Verse — Tom Swinburn — Develop- 
ment and Prosperity of this Region — Surveys on Coal River — St. Albans 
— Coal River Railroad — Kanawha River and Tributaries — Cabin Creek; 
Why So Named. 

CHAPTER III 

Native Races 33 

The Aborigines — Obscurity of Their Origin and History — Extermi- 
nated by the Indians — Their Mounds and Other Relics — The Indians — 
Speculations as to Their Origin — Their Character — Their Cruelty and 
Treachery — Their Claims to the Land Based on Might — Some Indian 
Atrocities — Battle of Point Pleasant, 1774 — Cornstalk; His Character and 
Manner of Death — Character of Indian Warfare — Petition of Settlers of 
Great Kanawha River, 1781 — Campbell's Creek Indian Legend — Death of 
Cojen, a Too Inquisitive Settler — Mysterious Savage Rites. 

CHAPTER IV 

Organization of Kanawha County 49 

The Act Organizing the County — Origin of the Name, Kanawha — 
Boundaries — "Gauley" an Indian Name — First Court Held at William 
Clendenin's — Organization of the County Court, 1789, and Justices Present 
— Other Officials — Court Houses — Clerk's Office — Tail — Remarks bv Dr. 



5 



6 



CONTENTS 



Hale — His Archaeological Enthusiasm — The First House — Trip of Anne 
Bailey — Fleming Cobb's Perilous Trip — Appointment of Constables and 
Magistrates — Land Assessments — Some "First Things" — Prison Bounds — 
Collecting Taxes in Early Days — Land Owners in 1791 — Land Books — 
Tithables in 1792 — Kanawha County Records — Justices of the Peace. 

CHAPTER V 

The Pioneers ... . 

The Morris and Clendenin Families — John Jones — Perils of a Set- 
tler's Life — Individuals of Morris Family, Their Record — Bishop Thomas 
Asbury Morris — Major John Hansford — John Jones — John Paddy Hud- 
dleston — Daniel Xihoof — Kanawha Valley in 1808 — Summers' Journal — 
The Clendenin Family — Payroll of Capt. William Clendenin's Company, 
1788 — Muster Roll of Capt. John Morris, 1791 — -Pensioners Under Act 
of March 18, 1818 — Pension Applicants — Ruffner Family — Peter Ruff- 
ner, the Immigrant — Individual Mention — Gen. Lewis Ruffner — Daniel 
Boone — Elk River Settlers — Skeleton on Strange Creek — Early Patents of 
Elk Lands — Jarrett Ford — Rescue of Boy From Indians — White Man 
Disguised as Indian ; His Merited Death — Mrs. Mary Ingles — Abb's Val- 
ley — The Moore Family Tragedy — Rev. Jas. M. Brown — Killing of the 
Stroud Family — Wiping-out of Bull Town — Lewis Tackett — Tackett's 
Pine — Anne Bailey; Her Interesting Story and Heroic Character — Alvah 
Hansford's Recollections — James River and Kanawha Turnpike Opened 
— Daniel Boone ; His History — Simon Kenton — Simon Girty — Wilson 
Harris's Recollections — Tobacco, a Legal Tender. 

CHAPTER VI 

Bench and Bar 

Organization of the Courts — Judges John Coalter, James Allen, Lewis 
Summers, David McComas. James H. Brown, Joseph Smith, George W. 
Summers, Mathew Dunbar, James W. Hoge, F. A. Guthrie and Samuel 
C. Burdett — Judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia — Early Attorneys 
of the Kanawha Bar — Charleston Lawyers, 191 1 — In Memorium. 

CHAPTER VII 

Industrial History i: 

The Salt Industry — Rock Salt and Brines — Salt Boiling by the Indians 
— Home-made Salt — The First Salt Furnace in Kanawha — Pack-saddle 
Transportation — David and Joseph Rufrher's Salt Enterprise — The Great 
Buffalo Lick — Description of a "Gum" — Early Discouragements and Ulti- 
mate Success — A Revolution in Manufacture Caused by Ccal — Mechanical 
Improvements — Burning Springs and Gas Wells — A Processor's Experi- 
ment and Its Results — Col. Levi J. Woodyard — First Gis Well Bored by 
Capt. James Wilson — Patrick's Salt Furnace — Methods of Manufacturing 
and Shipping — Waste Products — Cost of Production — Soda Ash — List of 
Kanawha Salt Furnaces— Statistics — Kanawha Sab Makers — Cannel Coal 



CONTENTS 



7 



Oil Manufactures on Kanawha — Great Kanawha Gas Co. — Vulcan Iron 
Works — Kanawha Brick Co. — Morgan Lumber & Manufacturing Co. — 
Gill Manufacturing Co. — Banner Window Glass Co. — Tanners' and Dyers' 
Extract Co. — Kanawha Planing Mill Co. — Standard Brick Co. — Kanawha 
Woolen Mills — Charleston Woolen Mills — Diamond Ice & Coal Co. — 
Kanawha Mine Car Co. — Ohio Valley Furniture Co. — Charleston Window 
Glass Co. — L. Long & Sons — The Kanawha Land Co. (South Charles- 
ton) — South Charleston Crusher Co. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Kanawha Politics 152 

Early Elections — Daniel Boone a Delegate — Limited Suffrage — Politi- 
cal Organs in Early Days — Politics Confused by the War — The Preva- 
lence of Union Sentiment — Politics After the War — State Convention of 
1872 — Unclean Politics — The Necessity of Reform — Practical Sugges- 
tions — Kanawha Delegates Since 1791 — The Legislature — State and 
County Officials — Congressmen and U. S. Senators — Governors from 
Kanawha County. 

CHAPTER IX 

Charleston — The County Seat 159 

Col. Bullitt's Survey — Lewisburg Established — Construction of Fort 
— The Beginning of Growth — Growth of Population — Early Designations 
of Charleston — Legal Tender — First White Child Born — Charleston Le- 
gally Established — Its Condition in 1794 — The Only Good Indian — 
Tragedy of White Man's Fork — Thomas Teays Saved by an Indian — 
Murder of the Morris Girls — Charleston's ''First Things" — Legislation 
Relative to Charleston — West Virginia Decisions — Charleston in 1836- 
1838 — Court House — Charleston as the State Capital — Chamber of Com- 
merce — Water and Electric Light Plant — City Officials — Population. 

CHAPTER X 

Public Institutions 176 

The Charleston Public Library — Sheltering Arms Hospital — Charles- 
ton General Hospital and Training School — Charleston Day Nursery — 
Young Men's Christian Association. 



CHAPTER XI 

Banks and Banking 183 

Utility of Banks — State Banks — Mutual Dependence of Banks and 
Industrial Enterprises — Banks of Charleston — Their Wealth and Influence 
in Sustaining Local Enterprises — Their Policy — Sketches of the Leading 
Banks — Kanawha Valley Bank — Charleston National — Citizen's National 
— Kanawha National — Kanawha Banking and Trust Co. — Elk Banking Co. " 
— National City Bank — Capital City Bank — Glenwood Bank — People's 
Exchange Bank. etc. 



8 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XII 

Transportation 192 

Water Transportation — The Indian's Canoe — The Flat Boat — Salt 
Boats — Conveniences of Early River Boats — The First Steamboats and 
Steamboat Inventors — The Pittsburg & Cincinnati Packet Line — The 
Wheeling & Louisville Line — Decline of the Boat Business on the Upper 
Ohio — Steamboat Disasters — Barges and Rafts — Disappearance of Trees 
Along the Ohio — Description of the Kanawha — The Kanawha Boatmen — 
Salt Boat Pilots — Steam Navigation — Some Famous Steamboats — Kana- 
wha River Improvement — Locks and Dams — Advantages of Slack Water 
—Gen. William P. Craighill— Coal River Railroad— Col. Michael P. 
O'Hern — Kanawha & Michigan Railway Co. — Coal & Coke Railroad — 
Charleston Traction Co. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Districts and Towns .215 

Township Act of 1863 — Commissioners for Kanawha County — The 
County Divided Into Ten Townships — The Word "Township" Changed to 
District — Sketches of Poca, Union, Jefferson, Washington, Loudon, Cabin 
Creek, Maiden, Elk, Big Sandy and Charleston Districts, and of Browns- 
town (or Marmet), St. Albans, Maiden and Other Towns. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Education 240 

Early Schools and Schoolmasters — Harsh Discipline — Biennial Report 
of the State Superintendent of Free Schools — Inter-District Contests — 
Introduction of Agriculture — Free Schools of Charleston and Their 
Teachers — Negro Education. 

CHAPTER XV 

Churches and Religions 252 

Religious Creeds of the Early Settlers — Intolerance — The Distinction 
Between Religion and Church — Early Kanawha Churches and Pastors — 
The Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Catholics and Others — First 
Presbyterian Church of Charleston — Methodist Episcopal Church — United 
Brethren and Others — Churches in Charleston in 181 1 — Our Sermon. 

CHAPTER XVI 

Kanawha Physicians 266 

Early Physicians — Drs. John Eoff, N. W. Thompson, Spicer Patrick, 
R. E. Putney, J. E. Putney, T. O. Watkins, Daniel Smith, C. I. Lewis and 
Others — Character of the Profession in Kanawha County — Charleston 
Doctors. 

CHAPTER XVII 

Some Old Time Citizens 272 

Brief Sketches of Geo. Goshorn, I. B. & F. Noyes, Edmund Saunders, 
Ezra Walker, James Truslow, Rev. John Snyder, John Slack, Greenbury 
Slack, John and Levi Welch, James Nevins, Col. James Atkinson, John 



CONTENTS 



9 



McConihay, Adam Aultz, Joseph Bibby, Mathews Family, Blackwell Chil- 
ton, Geo. Fisher, David Shirkey, Charles Brown Family, Col. Henry Fitz- 
hugh, Maj. James Bream, Col. Joseph Lovell, Bream Memorial Church, 
Whittaker Family, The Van Bibbers, Andrew Donnally, Jr., Mathew P. 
Wyatt, Aaron Stockton, W. W. Henning, Fry Family, Capt. S. C. Farley, 
Miller Family, Col. B. H. Smith, Harrison B. Smith, Gen. Daniel Smith, 
Luke Wilcox, Dr. Spicer Patrick, Shrewsbury Family, Capt. Sam Christy, 
etc. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Miscellaneous 292 

Kanawha Timber — Kanawha Riflemen — W. Va. Soldiers in the Fed- 
eral Army — Statue of "Stonewall" Jackson — U. S. Direct Taxation — 
Derivation of the Name, "Kanawha" — The Case of Jack Neal — Early 
Taverns — Newspapers — Surveyors of Lands — Fraternal Societies — Order 
of Elks — A Yankee Trick — Dissenting Opinions — -Judge Lynch — Some 
Early Marriages— Some Good Old Colored Folks — Condensed Facts 
About Charleston — Census Statistics — Dates of "First Things." 

CHAPTER XIX 

History of the Coal Industry 315 

Geography and Geology — Coal Deposits — Early Discoveries of Coal — 
John P. Turner's Coal Mine — Use of Coal by Salt Companies — The 
Rogers' Survey — Output in 1840 — Systematic Exploration in 1849 — 
Mines Opened in 1853 — First Commercial Shipments — Coal Convention 
in 1855 — The Pittsburg Seam — Bakerstown Seam — Freeport Seam — 
Lower Kitanning Seam — Clarion-Brookville Seam — Stockton-Lewiston 
Seam — Coalburg Seam — Winifrede Coal — Chilton Seam — Thacker Seam 
— Cedar Grove Seam — Peerless Seam — No. 2, Gas v Seam — Powellton 
Seam — Eagle Seam — Little Eagle Seam — Other Coals — General Report of 
Analysis by the W. Va. Geological Survey — Miscellaneous Statistics. 

CHAPTER XX 

The Preservation of History 330 

Efforts Made to Preserve the History of West Virginia — -West Vir- 
ginia Historical Society — The Trans-Allegheny Historical Society — The 
West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society — The State Department 
of Archives and History — Transfer of Title and Removal — The Museum, 
etc. 

CHAPTER XXI 

Chronological Record 342 

Chronological Record of Events Along the Border — Dates of Battles, 
Sieges and Settlements — Wealth of Charleston and Kanawha — Conclud- 
ing Remarks. 



Representative 



Citizens 



355 



INDEX 



Abb's Vally settlers 79 

Abney, Francis W 753 

Acree, G. D 797 

Adkins, James E 594 

Alderson. Charles M 1005 

Alderson Family. The 1013 

Alderson, George P 419 

Alderson, Maj. J. Coleman 1014 

Alexander, Andrew S " 485 

Alexander. Henry B 476 

Alexander. William A 485 

Alexander. W. T 939 

Alford, Calvery H 476 

Allebach, Leroy 720 

Allen, Hon. James 96 

Allen, P. B , 765 

Anderson, A J 800 

Anderson, John 556 

Anderson, Capt. Lucius C 502 

Armitage, Charles F 510 

Arnold, L N 869 

Ashby, Hon. Walter L 385 

Ashley, John W 667 

Atkinson, Hon. George W 538 

Atkinson, Col. James 274 

Atkinson, Ulysses B 605 

Aultz, Adam 275 

Aultz, Dr. Loami L 528 

Aultz, Dr. Otis L 779 

Avis, Samuel B 799 

Backus, Dr. S. G 423 

Bailey, Anne . 81 

Bailey, John 82 

Baillie, Richard 899 

Baines. John D '. 957 

Baird, Daniel E 606 

Banister. John 659 

Barber, Dr. T. L 270 

Barker, Joseph S 884 

Barnett. Robert E. Lee 984 

Barr, Harry S., D. D. S 635 

Barr, Rev. John C 355 

Barrett, John H ' 900 

Barth, Nicholas 665 

Bauer, Edward C 775 

Baxter. George S 530 

Beane, S. S 812 

Beane, W. S 820 

Beard. John L 713 

Bedell, J. Ferree E 488 

Beller, George W 666 

Benedict, Samuel 92 

Bibby, James 694 

Bibb'y. Joseph 275 

Binford. Bob B 857 

Black. Hon. Henry K 450 

Black. Valentine L 450 

Blackburn. Robert M 397 

Blair. Henrv L 668 

Blake, Otis C 405 

Blaneet. John H 686 



Board. Charles H 819 

Board, Patrick T 948 

Boggs. Mrs. Xancy A 601 

Boiarsky, Abraham 609 

Bonham, Selby F 529 

Boone, Daniel 87' 

Boren, Claude M 820 

•Bowen, John C 547- 

Bowers, George H. 705 

Bowles, Andrew J 795 

Bradford, Major William A 410 

Brady, George W 593 

Branch, William W 456 

Brannen, Patrick L 652 

Brannon. Hon. Henry 555 

Branum. Henry H 713 

Brawley, David A 495 

Bream, Maj. James 89, 277 

Breece, George E 1012 

Bright well, Henry P 423 

Brookman. William L 861 

Brooks, Walter B 400 

Broun Family and Kindred, The 767 

Broun, Major Thomas L 754 

Brown Family. The Charles 276 

Brown. J. F.' 1009 

Brown, W. Frost - 947 

Brown, W. L. 756 

Brown, Talleyrand P 276 

Bryan, A. J 936 

Bryan, Garrett D 881 

Buck. William J 896 

Burdett. Leonie E 625 

Burdett, P. W 988 

Burdett. Hon. Samuel C 816 

Burdett. Willis 684 

Burdette. Charles D 905 

Burgess, John W 565 

Burlew, Abraham 378 

Burlew, Xoyes S 372 

Burruss, Beverly N 902 

Buster Family 93 

Butts, Dr. A.* Henry 5 IS 

Butts. Frank R.. D.'D. S 554 

Byrne, William E. R 895 

Cabell, Charles A 788 

Cabell. G. Kuhn 947 

Cabell. Hewett L 725 - 

Cabell, R. W. 739- 

Calderwood, Andrew C 404 

Calderwood. William B 363 

Callahan. Eugene 470 

Camp. Peter H 906 

Campbell. John D 540 

Campbell, S. H 833 

Canterburv. William H 966 

Capito, Charles 683 

Capito, Dr. Gustav B 427 

Capito. Henry C 846 

Carlon. James (his reminiscences) 28S 



11 



12 



INDEX 



Carmack, John J 912 

Carrnack, Mont J 912 

Carnes, James N 408 

Carpenter, James G 766 

Carr. Hon. R. S 397 

Carroll, Hon. Peter 612 

Carter, John H 501 

Carver, William A 522 

Cassadv, Robinson B 821 

Champ'e, Dr. Ira P 443 

Chapman, Sylvester 674 

Chase, John M 893 

Chilton, Blackwell 275 

Chilton, George 468 

Chilton. John S 797 

Chilton. Joseph E 964 

Chilton. Samuel B 468 

Chilton, William E., Sr 46S 

Chilton, Hon. William E 965 

Christy, Capt. Sam 290 

Churchman, Dr. Vincent T 875 

Clark, Edward 660 

Clark, James M 524 

Clark, James P 663 

Clark, Thaddeus S r 721 

Clarkson, Col. John N 716 

Clay, Buekner 433 

Clay, Eldredge B 872 

Clendenin Family 6S 

Clendenin, Charles 71 

Clendenin. William 71 

Clerks of Court of Appeals 118 

Coalter, Hon. John 96 

Cobb, Fleming 52 

Cobb. Hiram 62 

Cobbs, Walter F 712 

Cochran, Edgar P. . . . : 557 

Coffey, Andrew 985 

Cojen, settler, killed 47 

Colburn. Frederick 471 

Colcord, Edward C, Jr 856 

Colcord. Hon. Edward C 932 

Cole. John S 946 

Coleman. Hon. Charles B 500 

Collins, Hon. John M 802 

Comer, Isaac 764 

Comstock, Willard F 765 

Conker, Adam H 657 

Conker, Edward 925 

Conley. Hon. William G 418 

Conklin, Frank 834 

Connell, George W 889 

Connollv, Dr 38 

Connor," Charles 940 

Copeland, Dr. Charles E 943 

Copen, Vinton Z 379 

Copenhaver. Grant 994 

Copenhaver. John H 860 

Cork, Jacob F 967 

Cornstalk. Indian chief 39, 44 

Cotton, John 980 

Cottrell. Joel 649 

Couch. George S., Jr 511 

Courtney, Dewitt G 652 

Courtnev Samuel P 655 

Courtney. Thomas E 984 

Cox Familv. The 49 

Cox, Frank 490 



Cox, William R., Jr 490 

Coyle, George F 455 

Craighill. Gen. William P 206 

Crane, E. C 630 

Crawford, Ellis T 571 

Crockett, Lieut. John A 578 

Cummings, Kelly 692 

Cunningham, Charles C 659 

(_unningham, Mrs. Helen M 856 

Cunningham, L. V 559 

Daffron, William H 841 

Daggs, Reuben 94 

Dana, J. Eugene 576 

Danner. Capt. George 1007 

Darst, Hon. John S 519 

Davenport, Joseph R 791 

Davidson, John 664 

Davis, Alton X 852 

Davis, Edwin R 568 

Davis, Henry 545 

Davis, John R 851 

Davis, Joshua 636 

Davis, Oratio L 757 

Davis, T. 0. M 970 

Davis, William E 620 

Dawson, John W 560 

Dawson, Noah W 727 

Dawson, Hon. William M. 428 

Dearien, James E 728 

De Gruyter, Hon. J. A 618 

Deitz, Theodore A 930 

Dering, Charles W 911 

Derrick, Amanda J 586 

Derrick, F. L 444 

Dickinson, Charles C 1005 

Dickinson, Col. Henry C 751 

Dickinson, John L 993 

Dickinson, Col. John Q -. 1003 

Dickinson, Capt. Julian E 527 

Dodson, Andrew J 605 

Dodson, Elisha 94 

Dodson, J. R 602 

Donnally, Col. Andrew 93, 388 

Donnally, Andrew, Jr 280 

Donnally, Moses W 816 

Donnally, William B 387 

Drew, Hon. James B. C 1006 

Dunbar, Hon. Mathew 109 

Dunlap, Robert 419 

Dunmore, Lord 37 

Early Attorneys of Kanawha bar 118 

Early, Capt. Samuel H 718 

Eastwood, F. M 892 

Edwards, Hon. William S 758 

Egan, David 535 

Elkins, Hon. Stephen B 986 

Elliott, Gen. Charles D 975 

Embleton. Thomas E 55S 

Eskins, E. H 673 

Falone, Louis J 798 

Farley, David T 600 

Farley, Capt. Snelling C 284 

Fenmson. Hon. James H 465 

Fink. C. H 790 

Finney, John B 696 



IN 



"Fisher. E. C 368 

Fisher. George 276 

. Fisher. John 606 

Fitzhugh, Col. Henry 276 

Flournoy, R. Parke 792 

Flournoy. Hon. Samuel L 792 

Fontaine. Charles De la Boulay 592 

Foster. William A 842 

Frankenberger. Moses ")C 621 

Frazer, Charles H 485 

Fruth. Valentine 395 

Fry Family 283 

Fuller. Lionel 935 

Gabbert, Charles 544 

Gaines. Hon. Joseph H 550 

Gallaher, Dewitt C 745 

Gallaher, Florence M 745 

Gallaher, Hugh L 745 

Gallaher-Miller-Quarrier Families. The 745 

Gardner. Frederick 670 

Gardner. J. D. 438 

Gardner. John A 946 

Gardner. Thomas J 549 

Games. James A.. D. D. S 622 

Games. John 377 

Gates. Daniel H 917 

Gates. James M 459 

Gates'. Lowell C 610 

Gatewood. William B 959 

Geary. Whirley B 776 . 

Gilligan. William 687 

Gillispie, George B 742 

Gilmour. John C 637 

Girty, Simon 89 

Glasscock. Hon. William E 4S9 

Godbey. Dr. Martin V 70S 

Good. " Charles W 367 

Goodwin. William A 79S 

Goodwin. William H 406 

Gordon, Dr. Patrick L 445 

Goshorn, George 584 

Goshora. George A 5S4 

Goshorn. Henry D. . . ! 704 

Goshorn. John' H 598 

Goshorn. W. F 60S 

Graham. Rev. Christopher B., D. D 1016 

Gresham. John 956 

Griffith. ' E 470 

Griffith. Joseph B 470 

Grishaber. C. A 646 

Grishaber, Charles 670 

Grishaber. Joseph 632 

Groff. Charles C 443 

Grosscup. Col. Fred P 627 

Guill. Albert J 699 

Guill. Richard 537 

Guthrie Hon. Francis A 109 

Guthrie. Xathan 901 

Haas. Michael 649 

Hale. Dr. John P 926 

Halev. Dr. Peter A 893 

Hall. Hon. Cvrus W 703 

Hall. Hon. Grant P 385 

Hall. Thomas C 617 

Hammaker. Frank 843 

Hammaker. W. S 567 



13 



Hanna, Mrs. Ruth 66 

Hansford. Alvah. his recollections 85 

Hansford, Maj. John 64 

Hansford. Dr. John H 462 

Hanshaw, Francis 465 

Hanshaw, James E 902 

Hanshaw. William M 902 

Hanson, James M 648 

Haptonstall. Francis L 808 

Harless, J. B 399 

Harless, Judge Leroy 393 

Harless, Hon. Samuel C 712 

Harris. Wilson, his recollections 89 

Hartman. Howard R 771 

Harvey, Morris 63 

Hastings, George W 167 

Henson, William L. 693 

Henneman, Arthur P 1000 

Hereford. Cassius D 837 

Hereford, J. R 773 

Hereford. John R 837 

Hereford, Thomas P 837 

Hermansdorfer, George 813 

Hermansdorfer, Geo. H 923 

Herscher, Michael 1011 

Hewes. Reginald C 941 

Higginbotham. Edward W. . 839 

Higginbothain. Upshur 806 

High. John H 810 

Hill. Bonner H 994 

Hill. E. Frank 548 

Hissom. Henry 507 

Hobbs. William M. B 523 

Hodge. Idon E 59S 

Hoferer, Max W 799 

Hoge, Hon. James W 109 

Hogeman. William H rT 743 

Hogg. Samuel 753 

Hollev. Hon. James A 834 

Holz. Adam W 615 

Hostetler. David F 796 

Howery, Hon. Albert M 657 

Howerv. Charles D 657 

Hubbard. Charles 1 645 

Hubbard. John F 591 

Hubbard. Robert G 744 

Hubner. Mrs. Margaret 687 

Huddleston. John Paddv 66 

Hudnell, Hon. R. M. ; M. D 924 

Hudson. James F 597 

Hudson. Morris 91 

Hughey. Dr. William R 675 

Huling, Hon. James H 676 

Humphreys. A. E 972 

Humphreys. Albert J 64S 

Hunter. J. Ross . 780 

Hutchinson, John M., Jr SS6 

Ingles, Mrs. Mary 7S 

Irion. Sim 565 

Irwin. Edward S 

Isaac, David R 918 

Isaac, William D 7S5 



Jackson. Hon. Jame> 0. 

Jackson. John T 

Jackson. Malcolm 
Jackson. Jennings A. 



14 



INDEX 



Jarrett, 'Squire Bennett 575 

Jarrett, Eli 78 

Jarrett. Mark S ." 461 

Jarrett. William R 906 

Jayne. David A 483 

Jeffries. Thomas E 4 781 

Jenkins, Rev. Joseph S ...... ." 454 

Johnson. Chas. (of "Johnson's Narrative^) ' 40 

Johnson. Julian M 979 

Jones, Col. B. H 64 

Jones, Calvin 695 

Jones, Dr. George Mc 522 

Jones, John 59, 65 

Jones, John H 955 

Jones, Mabel Delle 773 

Jones, Van G 682 

Jones, William 964 

Jordan, James V 911 

Judges Court of Appeals of Va... 110 

Judges Supreme Court of Appeals of W. Va 117 

Kauff, Charles A 655 

Kay, James 849 

Keely, George . 359 

Keely, William 359 

Keeney, James T 449 

Keener, Rev. Thos. Y 970 

Keller* William E 574 

Kelly, Walter, killed 58 

Kendall, Junius E 555 

Kenna, Hon. John E. 733 

Kennedy, James 394 

Kenton, Simon 88 

Kinser. George A 842 

King, Albert 666 

Klostermeyer. Frederick G 362 

Knight, Edward B 424 

Knight, Edward W 424 

Knight. Harold W 743 

Koontz. Arthur B 887 

Koontz. Luther V 883 

Krantz. William J 733 

Krebs, Charles E 380 

Laidlev. Albert 963 

Laidley, Alex. T 961 

Laidley. Amaeetta (Mrs. G. W. Summers) 963 

Laidley Family. The 959 

Laidley, James G 960 

Laidley, James M 961 

Laidley. John 961 

Laidley. Richard Q 961 

Laidley. Theodore T. S 963 

Laidley. Hon. William S 904 

Laing. James M 952 

Laing, John 699 

J^andress, Meredith 681 

Langlev. Augustus L 715 

Langlev, Mrs. A. L 715 

Lawson, W. A 585 

Layne, R. T 386 

Lemon, J. William 510 

Leonard, John 590 

Levi, Plus R 931 

Lewis. Charles C 590 

Lewis. Dr. Charles 1 270 

Lewis. Henrv B 641 

Lewis, James F 582 



Lewis, John B 758 

Lewis, John D 944 

Lewis, Rev. Fr., O. M. Cap 413 

Lewis, Thomas, sheriff 55 

Lewis, Virgil A 622 

Lewis, William D 903 

Librarians Court of Appeals 118 

Jliinn. Robert . ." 416 

Linn. Robert G 414 

Littlepage. Hon. Adam B 492 

Lively, Frank 435 

J^oewenstein, Abe 407 

Loewenstein, Isaac 407 

Loewenstein, Joe 407 

Jjoewenstein. Solomon 407 

Long, E. Leslie 438 

Long, William F 750 

Lorry, Christopher 707 

Lovell, Joseph 277 

Lovell, Col. Joseph 89 

Lowe, Mathew H 674 

Lucadoe, T. C 881 

Luckhardt, Adolph 840 

McClintic, George W 369 

McClung, Albert J 660 

MeClung Bros. & Family 660 

McClung. Joseph 660 

McClung, Samuel 660 

McClung, William 660 

M'Comas, Hon. David 97 

McConihav. John 274 

McDonald. Hon. John S 878 

McGee, Dr. Frank L 532 

McJones, Dr. George 522 

McMillan, Dr. William A 673 

McWhorter, Hon. Henry C 732 

MeWhorter, Hon. J. M. 387 

McWhorter, Hon. Louis E 387 

MacCorkle. Hon. William A 792 

Mahan, James X.. D. D. S 756 

Mairs. Dr. Adam T 695 

Mails, J. B 619 

Mairs, Dr. William 517 

Mairs, William B 849 

Malone, John C 851 

Malone, William R 811 

Marshall, Jefferson D 582 

Martin, James 749 

Martin, Virgil G 844 

Mason, Gov. Henry M 908 

Mason, Joseph S 477 

Mason, Thomas J 823 

Massey. L. Christopher 771 

Massey, Robert L 446 

Mathews Family 275 

Mathews, Guy P 275 

Mathews, H. S 831 

Mathews. Robert L 863 

Mathews. William B 681 

Mathews, William G 90S 

Matthews. Guy P 845 

Matthews. Samuel V 479 

May, Jacob C 845 

Mav. Wilber S 914 

Mayer, Daniel 1000 

MaVer, Frank 376 

Mayer, Dr. Joseph 1000 



V 



INDEX 



15 



Mays, Benjamin F 832 

Melton, James T 599 

Menager. James B 453 

Merrick, W. E 417 

Meyer, Ernest A 669 

Meyers, Alexander 693 

Meyers Bros 693 

Mevers, D. S 882 

Meyers, Samuel H 693 

Michie. Ernest L .- 495 

Milbee, Dr. John 761 

Miller. Helen Q . 746 

Miller, Maggie S 730 

Miller. Hon. Samuel A 746 

Minor, Berkeley, Jr 480 

Minsker, George 5*4 

Minsker, John L 752 

Mohler, J. Charles 951 

Mohler. William E 983 

Montgomery, James W f -. 975 

Montgomery, Dr. L. C 837 

Moore, D. A v 548 

-Moore Family, The .' 1018 

JVloore, Dr. John W 705 

Moore, John W. 922 

Moore, Melchisedeck 488 

Moore, William E 868 

Moore, William G 506 

Moore, William T 882 

Morgan, Benjamin S 447 

Morgan. Smalhvood G 447 

Morris, Dr. Alfred L 362 

Morris. Benjamin 63 

Morris, Maj. "Billy" .-. 60 

Morris, Carroll <..-. 61 

Morris, Catherine 60 

Morris, Charles 62 

Morris, Cynthia 61 

Morris, Elizabeth 64 

Morris, Frances 64 

Morris, Henry 61 

Morris, Henry -. 59 

Morris, James 536 

Morris, Jane 60 

Morris, Janette 60 

Morris. John 61 

Morris, John (of Cabell Co.) 62 

Morris, John 62' 

Morris, Joshua 62 

Morris. Leonard 59,_ 61 

TSorris, Levi 63 

Morris, Bishop Thos. A 62 

Morris, William 58 

Morris, W. H. . : 597 

Morris. William, inventor 127 

Morris. William (3d) 60 

• Morris. William R 831 

Moult on. Major John 405 

Mucklow, E. P 805 

Mucklow', William W 802 

Myers, George 899 

Neal, Jack, case of 299 

-ifevins, James 273 

Nicholson, Dr. Hugh G 358 

Nicholson, X. Gwynn, D. D. S 706 

Xihoof, Daniel 67 

Norman. A. M 609 



Norton, Wilber S 357 

Norvell, William G 527 

Noyes, Bradford — See Noyes Family 742 

Noyes Family, The 741 

Noyes, Isaac. Bradford & Franklin 61. 272 

Noyes, Philip H 505 

Nugen, William E 892 

Nutter Family, The 942 

Oakes. Eben 73s 

O'Brien, William 577 

O'Daniel, David 719 

O'Hern, Col. Michael P ... 210 

Old Kanawha Baptist Church 1019 

Osborne, Charles F 583 

Osborne, Charles L 822 

Oxley, Watt S 862 

Parkhurst, William B 725 

Parsons, Joshua 490 

Patrick, Dr. Spicer 289 

Payne, Charles K 357 

Payne, James M 589' 

Payne, Oscar F 939 

Payne, William D 521 

Pearson, Creed J 912 

Peeler, Samuel C. 564 

Peyton, Charles G. 950 

Pike, Hugh 593 

Polsue, Edwin 521 

Popp, Joseph 393 

Porter, Guy A 635 

Poston, Noah C 487 

Price, Hon. Geo. E 721 

Price, John C 726 

Price, Malconi R., D. D. S 829 

Price, Perry M 685 

Prichard, Armstead M 441 

Prichard, Frederick C 441 

Prichard, Henry L 441 

Prichard. Dr. Lewis 441 

Prindle, R. S. 925 

Pritt, A. S 563 

Pritt, J. William 425 

Pryor, James W 828 

Prvor, John H 371 

Puekett, W. M 851 

Putney, Alex. M 859 

Putney. Dr. James E 269 

Putney, Dr. Richard 269 

Quarrier, Alex. W 749 

Quarrier Family, The 749, 919 

Quarrier, K. D 937 

Quarrier, Russell G 921 

Quarrier, William A 920 

Quick, Benjamin F 469 

Quick, George W 737 

Rand, Albert P 647 

Rand, Christopher C 669 

Ray, F. M 829 

Ray, Robert D 385 

Reed. Stuart F 997 

Reveal. Francis M 921 

Reynolds. George G 460 

Reynolds. Robert F 676 

Richmond. Mrs. Laura A 8S0 



16 



ft 



Richardson, J. Lynn 876 

Riggs, Stephen 780 

Riley, John P \\ 497 

Ritter, Hon. George 678 

Roach, Col. Michael T ' ' ' 870 

Robertson, Everett E 655 

Robertson, Hon. Grover C., M. D 891 

Robinson, H. E 740 

Roche, Joseph W 711 

Rollins, William M 788 

Ross, Charles S \ \ 740 

Ross, J. Shirley 370 

Ross, John Tyler 370 

Ruby, Bradford N 813 

Rudesill, Col. Ellsworth 560 

Ruffner, Alexander 418 

Rutfner, Andrew L. 539 

Ruffner, J. Augustus 631 

Ruffner, David 75 

Ruffner, Col. David L 638 

Ruffner Family 74 

Ruffner, Joel 75 

Ruffner, Joel H 508 

Ruffner, Joseph 74 

Ruffner, Hon. Joseph 742 

Ruffner, Gen. Lewis 52 

Ruffner, Meredith P 572 

Ruffner, Peter 74 

Ruffner, William H 529 

Rummel, Henry 776 

Russell, Phillip C 830 

Rutledge, James D 889 

Salmons, Harry L 972 

Sands, Mathew 805 

Saxton, William H 665 

Schlosstein, George A 808 

Schwartz, Louis 988 

Scott, Addison M 372 

Seafler, John C 886 

Seafler, William J 546 

Sentz, Henry W 683 

Shadle, H. Eugene 574 

Shanklin, John R 628 

Shannon, William C 738 

Shaver, Abram C 688 

Shawkey, Hon. Morris P 728 

Shawver, William F 951 

Shepherd. Hon. Adam R 364 

Shepherd, Dr. Clarke W 914 

Shepherd, John 364 

Shepherd, J. King 815 

Shipley, C. R 858 

Shirkey, David 276 

Shirkey, H. A 626 

Shirkey, Dr. Wilbur F 427 

Shober, W. B 971 

Shrewsbury, George H 395 

Shrewsbury, Joel 749 

Siers, Mathias 592 

Silman, Hon. Peter 399 

Simpson, Peter A 992 

Singleton, George 814 

Sisson, William H 894 

Skinner, John V. R 840 

Slack, Greenbury 273, 436 

Slack, John 273 

Slack, John 436 



Slater, C. C. 396 

Smarr H T 

Smith, Col. Benj. H . . 2 86 

Smith Col. Bsnj H . 949 

Smith, Gen. Daniel " ' 2 88 

Smith, Harrison B 871 

Smith, Maj. Isaac N 937 

Smith, Isaac N 767 

Smith, John ' ' 455 

Hon. Joseph 101 



Smith, 

Smith, P. A 729 

Smith, Samuel P 734 

Smithers, Benjamin S 715 

Smoot, D. C \\\ 752 

Snodgrass, Marion 907 

Snyder, James T 692 

Snyder, John F ' 539 

Snyder, Noane 390 

Southwell, John F 585 

Spilman, Robert S 513 

Spruce, M. F 722 

Spurlock, W. H 781 

Stark, F. C 735 

Stark, W. W . 919 

Starkey, H. 704 

Stauffer, Albert 556 

Staunton Family, The 965 

Staunton, F. M 972 

Staunton, Joseph M 965 

Staunton, Dr. Sidney S 407 

Steele, John D 937 

Steele, Robert R 778 

Stephenson, Andrew J 763 

Stephenson, Dr. E. B 478 

Sttphenson, Luther C 888 

Stephenson, Samuel 420 

Sterrett, Charles F 509 

Stiles, Hon. Maynard F 472 

Stine, William P 1018 

Stockton, Aaron 283 

Stoffel, William T 870 

Stolle, Gustave 790 

Stroud Family massacred, The 80 

Stump, Dr. Charles E 646 

Stump, George W., Jr 922 

Stuck, Henry F 707 

Stump, Dr. Irwin C 436 

Sullivan, Claude A 932 

Sullivan, Frank T 686 

Summers, Christopher 651 

Summers, Hon. Geo. W 103 

Summers, Hon. Lewis 96 

Summers, Lewis, his journal 67 

Sutherland, Dr. John H 861 

Swinburn, Leroy 923 

Swinburn, Thomas 764 

Tackett, John and Lewis 39 

Taekett, Lewis 80 

Tanners' and Dyers Extract Co 1018 

Tawney, John W 658 

Taylor, Arthur W 478 

Thacker, James M 434 

Thayer, Garland T 824 

Thayer, Harry G 824 

Thayer, James R 824 

Thayer, Otis A 824 

Thayer, William T 514 



INDEX 



Teays, Thomas 39 

Thomas, A. L 872 

Thomas, Dr. Frederick S 383 

Thomas, James R 908 

Thomas, J. W 677 

Thomas, William H 1008 

Thomas, William M 706 

Thornhill, John L 568 

Tompkins, John G. W 782 

Tompkins, Capt. William H 498 

Tormey, Capt. T. J 573 

Truslow, James 273 

Tucker, James P 616 

Tudor, C. M 656 

Turley, Columbus J 425 

Turner, Fletcher L 601 

Tyler, The Misses, captured 43 

Tyree, Frank L 801 

Van Bibber Family 279 

Van Bibber, Capt. John 40 

Vandine, E. F 787 

Veazey, Oscar A 809 

Venable, Matthew W 787 

Vickers, James A 731 

Wagner, Walter W 540 

Walker, Ezra 272 

Walker, Henry A 854 

Walker, Henry S 730 

Walker, Dr. John R 432 

Wanner, Mrs. Barbara S 636 

Wanner, Ulrich 627 

Ward, Charles 1010 

Washington, Robert F 618 

Watkins, Andrew J 630 

Watson, Benjamin F 691 

Watts, Hon. Cornelius C 852 

Webb. Samuel L 1001 

Webb, William F 930 

Weber, Joseph 629 

Wehrle, Dr. Mathias 806 

Weir, James B 910 

Weise, Henry E 459 

Welch, George L 864 



Welch, John & Levi 

Wells, J. A 

Welsch, William M. 
Wheeler, John (killed) 
White, John D. . . 
Whittaker Family 
Whitten, Hon. John L. 
Whittington, A. T. 

Wick, J. F 

Wick, John H., D. D. S. 
Wiersteiner, Carl 
Wilcox, Dr. J. F. 
Wilcox, Luke . . . 
Wiley, Robert H. 
Wilkinson, James H. 
Williams, Wesley 
Wilson. Hon. Emanuel W 
Wilson, Samuel, H. 
Wilson, Thomas . . . 
Wilson, Dr. William H. 
Wilton, William J. 
Wines, James A. 
Wintz, William S. 
Wood, Charles T. 
Wood, Gen. Edward L. 
Woodall, Hon. E. A. 
Woodman, Frank 
Woodroe, James D. 
Woodrum, C. Everett 

Woodrum, Irvin 

Woodyard, Col. Levi J. 
Wootton, John F. 
Work. Dr. J. A. 
Wyatt, Mathew P. 

Young, Houston, G. 

Young, Jasper . 

Young, John . . . 

Young, John M. 

Young, Peter . . 

Young, Porus J. 

Young, Ulysses G. 

Zimmerman, W. J. 



HON. W. S. LAICLEY 



History of Kanawha 
County, W. Va. 



CHAPTER I 

GEOGRAPHICAL EVOLUTION OF KANAWHA COUNTY 

An Index to the Past — Frontier Counties of Virginia — Formation of Shires in 1634 — 
Change of Name — Governor Spottswood's Expedition and Discoveries — Formation of 
Spottsylvania, Orange, Frederick, and Augusta Counties — Settlements in Upper and 
Lower Valleys — Botetourt and Fincastle Counties Formed — West Augusta as a District 
— Its Division into Ohio, Monongalia and Yohogania Counties — Greenbrier County 
Formed — Mode of Elections — Kanawha County Organized — Boundary of Kanawha 
County — Townships and Districts — Location of Towns. 



AN INDEX TO THE PAST 

The English settled at Jamestown in 1607 
and about the same time the French founded 
Quebec and called the country around "New 
France," and the English called their territory 
"New England." 

They both were claiming everything in 
sight, and the French were sending more than 
the English, for they pushed westward and 
reached the Mississippi and made a trip of 
discovery to its mouth, unfurled the French 
banner and claimed all the territory that was 
drained by the river for Louis XIV, King of 
France, and called it "Louisiana." This claim 
was to all the land between the Allegheny and 
the Rocky mountains. The)" claimed it by the 
right of discover} 7 — a sort of unwritten law to 
the effect that on a country being discovered 
and possession taken at the mouth of its prin- 
cipal stream, such possession extends to and 
includes all the territory watered by such 
stream and all that flows into it. 

8 



The French had their headquarters in Can- 
ada and their purpose was to establish their 
claim by a line of fortifications down the Alle- 
gheny river to the Ohio and down the Ohio 
to the Mississippi, and all along the latter to 
the gulf, and to show that they were the dis- 
coverers, they sent a posse of men along said 
route, and buried lead plates on the shores, at 
different and prominent places, showing that 
they had been there, the said plates being duly 
inscribed by dates, etc. They planted one at 
the mouth of the Great Kanawha in 1749, 
which was found many years later, when there 
was no need of proof. The English did not 
recognize this French claim and when the Gov- 
ernor of the Colony of Virginia heard that 
there was a French settlement at the junction 
of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers, 
he sent a messenger in person of Geo. Wash- 
ington, to notify these French settlers that all 
this country was English territory and that 
thev must vacate and abandon all such claim, 



19 



20 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



etc. The French officials received. Mr. Wash- 
ington very politely and told him that they 
had come to stay and proposed to do so and 
did not recognize the Virginia Governor's 
right. 

Then began trouble and the English had 
more men to call on for help; but the French 
made allies of the Indians. This brought on 
the French and Indian war, which was really 
a French-English war, and General Braddock 
boastingly intended to clear up the whole west 
and drive the French back into Canada, etc., 
but he did not amount to anything and never 
reached the Ohio river. The claim for terri- 
tory between them was settled elsewhere, for 
by the treaty of Paris, in 1763, France ceded 
all the territory east of the Mississippi to the 
English, except New Orleans and by a secret 
treaty ceded the rest — west of said river — to 
Spain. , 

About this time there was a proposition to 
establish a separate western colony on the 
Ohio, with its capital at the mouth of the Great 
Kanawha river, but the Colonial Revolution in 
America, gave people too much to attend to 
just then, and it was not carried further, for 
instead of locating a Capitol of a colony, 
there was a battle between the Indians, backed 
by the English, and against the Virginians 
that had gathered them under General Andrew 
Lewis and under whom some of the settlers 
of the Kanawha Valley, fought, bled and died, 
October 10, 1774. This was followed by the 
Revolution, 1 776-1 781, when the English 
yielded all they held in America, excepting 
Canada. 

This is all a mere outline of history of 
events, each of which can be ascertained and 
enlarged at leisure, but which it would be well 
to remember. 

FRONTIER COUNTIES OF VIRGINIA 

When the English began their settlement in 
the Colony of Virginia, they soon found out 
what a "frontier" meant, and what an Indian 
had to do with the same. 

In 1634 there were formed in the said set- 
tlement eight shires, which were to be gov- 
erned as were the shires in England. These 
people were very English then. In 1710 there 



were twenty-five counties, or shires, as they 
had been called. Which change of name indi- 
cates that they were not so extremely English 
as they had been and they were now beginning 
to be Virginians. The county of Stafford on 
the Potomac was the extreme one in that di- 
rection; that is, it was on the frontier. In 1716 
Governor Spottswood became curious to learn 
what he might discover beyond the "high 
mountain," which for want of a better name, 
the Blue Ridge was called, and he collected a 
squad of friends and followers, and marched 
to the west and crossed said mountain beyond 
the frontier. He discovered a river running 
to the north; he expected to see the Pacific 
ocean or some stream leading thereto and re- 
ported that said river ran into Lake Erie, which 
river he called Euphrates, but which after- 
wards was known as the Shenandoah. 

Spottsylvania was formed in 1720. This 
was the first county that extended west of the 
Blue Ridge. One of the reasons assigned for 
its creation was that the frontier was exposed 
to danger from the Indians and the late settle- 
ments of the French to the west of the moun- 
tains ! This county extended over the moun- 
tain to the river in the Valley. 

Orange was formed in 1734. It was now 
just one hundred years since the first eight 
shires were formed, and it was said that the 
inhabitants were inconvenienced by their great 
distance from their courthouse. Orange was 
made to extend "westerly to the utmost limits 
of Virginia" and the boundary of Virginia 
was "from sea to sea," 

Frederick and Augusta were formed in 
1838. It was said that great numbers of peo- 
ple had settled themselves on the Potomac 
and its boundary on the northwest side of the 
Blue Ridge, and that the strength of the Col- 
ony, the security of the frontier, and the 
King's revenue would be augmented, should 
two counties be made out of Orange — Fred- 
erick at the lower part of the Valley with a 
court house at Winchester, and Augusta with- 
out limits and headquarters at Staunton. Al- 
though Augusta was called a tract of land, 
taken from Orange, to encourage settlers on 
the waters of the Mississippi, they exempted 
the same from public levies for ten years. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



It was found however that the House of 
Burgesses were moving too fast, probably the 
only time they ever were known to exercise 
such speed. The Lower Valley was settled 
principally by the Germans from Pennsylvania 
and the Upper Valley from Ireland, by the 
Scotch-Irish. 

The people of the Coast Counties were too 
well satisfied at home to cross the "high moun- 
tain," and indeed there were no reasons there- 
for ; they had plenty of room on the East side, 
it -was safer on that side, and they did not have 
to associate with the Scotch-Irish and Dutch. 
So the Valley was left alone and it blossomed 
as the rose. 

Augusta extended from the Blue Ridge 
westward without limit, and included therein 
all of Virginia, except Frederick, (.which was 
small) ; that was included in the western part 
of the colony. It was not until 1743, that 
these counties were able to organize, for the 
want of people, or settlers. In 1763, by the 
treaty of Paris, the western boundary of Vir- 
ginia was brought eastward to the Mississippi 
river. In the meanwhile, the French and In- 
dian War had taken place. 

Botetourt County, 1769 — Its boundary was 
governed by a line beginning at the Blue Ridge 
and running north fifty-five degrees west 
(N 55 W), "as far as the Court of the two 
counties shall extend it," and all south of said 
line was Botetourt and all the rest Augusta. 
About all that we can say is that Kanawha 
river was in Botetourt but where the line was 
or where it struck the Ohio, we do not know. 

Fincastle county was formed in 1772. Bote- 
tourt was too large for the convenience of the 
settlers also. All we can tell you of the boun- 
dary of Fincastle is that this part of the coun- 
ty was included in it. Fincastle as a county 
lasted but a short while, in consequence of the 
change that took place soon after this date. 
Events that were marking changes in the "Old 
Dominion" in so far as her English habits and 
customs went, were fast approaching and she 
was assorting herself as Virginia. 

In 1774 the Battle of Point Pleasant was 
fought between the Indians and the Virginia 
frontiersmen, and the House of Burgesses are 
not so awfully careful of the frontiersmen as 



they once were. The Indians now are to be- 
come the allies and friends of the English and 
are to be paid to kill and scalp the people that 
were encouraged to settle on the frontier. 

The year 1776 found the English without a 
head in the old colony ; Dunmore, for whom a 
county had been named had been driven away. 
Kentucky, W ashington and Montgomery coun- 
ties had been formed. We shall not attempt to 
give their boundaries, more than to say that 
Kentucky began at the Mississippi, on the Ohio 
and came up to the Big Sandy river, and its 
court house was at Harrisburg. Washington 
was somewhere in the southwest and its court 
house seems to have been at Blacks Fort. 
Montgomery was made of the residue of Fin- 
castle. There we have this part of the county 
now in Montgomery, which was part of Fin- 
castle, which was part of Botetourt, which was 
part of Orange, and Fincastle became extinct. 

West Augusta was never made into a county 
by that name, nor any other name until there- 
after, but in 1776, its boundary was defined 
by legislature : that is, the line of distinction be- 
tween Augusta as a county and West Augusta 
as a district. The district had representation 
in the General Assembly of Virginia and its 
standing was an anomaly. 

After defining its boundary, the district was 
formed in 1776, into Ohio, Monongalia and 
Yohogania. Part of these counties were in 
Pennsylvania, because the line between Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania was in dispute and 
could not be then settled. The settlement to be 
made with King George was of more impor- 
tance and too much could not be settled at 
once. We will, however, remark that the 
County Court of Augusta county would hold 
a term in Staunton and adjourn to hold another 
in Pittsburg, and thus the latter place had one 
of the court houses of said Augusta county, 
and the record of these courts held at Pittsburg 
are yet in existence. 

Yohogania county became extinct on the set- 
tlement of the Mason and Dixon line, and the 
court house of Monongalia had to be moved 
farther south and was located at Morgantown. 
We do not know what it was called while in 
Pennsylvania. 

Greenbrier county, 1777. — This county was 



22 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



formed from Montgomery and Botetourt. It 
had the line of N 55 W to the Ohio river. On 
the south side of the Kanawha river was 
Montgomery and on the opposite side was 
Greenbrier county, so that for a time at least, 
the mouth of Elk river was in Greenbrier coun- 
ty. While on the subject of frontier counties 
of Virginia, we should say that Virginia held 
courts in Illinois, as well as in Kentucky county. 

The legislature of Virginia directed the 
sheriff of Kentucky to hold an election on a 
certain day to select representatives, and when 
the sheriff received his commision to hold this 
election the appointed day to hold the election 
had past ; but small matters like that did not de- 
feat a Kentucky election. The sheriff organ- 
ized his election day and held the election and 
reported that John Todd and Richard Callaway 
had been duly and fairly elected and they were 
seated accordingly. The assembly stated that 
their action in this case was not to be taken as 
a precedent, but this session was to be a very 
important session and they did not wish to 
stand on technicality this time. 

Greenbrier county remained from 1777 until 
1788, when the legislature thought that an- 
other county should be formed. 

KANAWHA COUNTY, ORGANIZED 1 789 

In case the reader should desire to examine 
more in detail the subject of making states 
and counties out of the territory of Virginia, 
we shall note the book and page where the 
records of county formation may be found. 

Spottsylvania — 4 Henning Statutes, page 77. 

Orange — 4 Henning Statutes, page 450. 

Frederick and Augusta — 5 Henning Stat- 
utes, page 78. 

Botetourt — 8 Henning Statutes, page 395. 

Fincastle — 8 Henning Statutes, page 600. 

Kentucky — Henning Statutes, page 257. 

Montgomery and Washington — 9 Henning 
Statutes, page 257. 

District of West Augusta — 9 Henning Stat- 
utes, page 262. 

Greenbrier — 1777, 9 Henning Statutes, page 
420. 

Kanawha — 1788, 12 Henning Statutes, 
page 670. 



Illinois — Act, in full, in "English Conquest," 
pages 1037 and 248-9. 

BOUNDARY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 

On page 670 in 12 Hennings Statutes at 
Large, chapter 14, will be found "An Act 
Forming a New County out of the Counties 
of Greenbrier and Montgomery, passed the 
14th November, 1788." 

" Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that from 
" and after the first day of October next, those parts 
" of the Counties of Greenbrier and Montgomery, 
" within the following bounds to-wit : 

" Beginning at the mouth of Great Sandy, in the 
" said county of Montgomery, thence up the said river 
" with the line of said county in the mountain gener- 
" ally known by the name of 'Cumberland Mountain ;' 
"thence a north-east course along said mountain to 
''the Great Kanawha, crossing the same at the end of 
' : Gauley Mountain ; thence along the said mountain 
"to the line of Harrison county; thence with that 
" line to the Ohio River ; thence down the said river, 
" including the islands thereof, to the beginning, shall 
" form one distinct county and be called and known 
" by the name of 'Kanawha.' " 

From the Cumberland mountain to the 
"Great Kanawha" is meant the "New River," 
or what is now known as the New River. Just 
how far this line to the Kanawha was to be 
extended depended on the beginning point and 
where it struck the said rivers. Where it fol- 
lowed the river and where it found the Gauley 
Mountain is rather indefinite, and where said 
mountain struck Harrison county line may have 
been very clear at the time, but is not so clear 
now. 

The line of Harrison county is found in 11 
Hennings Statutes, page 366, passed in May, 
1784, dividing the county of Monongalia by a 
line to begin on the Maryland line at the fork- 
ford, on the land of John Goff ; thence a direct 
course, to the headwaters of Big Sandy Creek ; 
thence down the said creek to Tygart's Valley 
Fork of the Monongahela river; thence down 
the same to the mouth of the West-Fork river ; 
thence up the same to the mouth of Bigger- 
man's Creek ; thence up said creek to the line of 
Ohio county and that part of the said county 
lying south of said line, shall be known as 
"Harrison," and all the rest shall retain the 
name of Monongalia. 

Ohio county was made in October, 1776, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



25 



from the District of West Augusta, within the 
following lines, viz : 

"Beginning at the mouth of Cross Creek 
and up the same to the head of the same, then 
southeastwardly to the nearest part of the 
ridge which divides the waters of the Ohio 
from those of the Monongahela, thence along 
said ridge to the line which divides the county 
of Augusta from the said district; thence with 
the said boundary to the Ohio; thence up the 
same to the beginning; shall be called and 
known by name of "Ohio county." 

The line between the county of Augusta and 
the district of West Augusta may have been 
known to some one, some day, but as we never 
seem to get any closer to anywhere, than when 
we started, we are going to assume that the 
lines of Kanawha and Harrison and Ohio were 
somewhere in the woods and reached the Ohio, 
perhaps, at some place unknown to any one of 
the present day. 

When Ohio county was formed, its lower 
line was at the mouth of "Middle Island 
Creek" and upper line at the mouth of Cross 
Creek, which is above Wheeling. See January, 
1904, West Virginia Historical Mag., page 
21-22. 

Greenbrier county was formed from Bote- 
tourt and Montgomery, by a dividing line of 
Botetourt, beginning at the top of the ridge 
which divides the eastern from the western 
waters, where the line between Augusta and 
Botetourt crosses the same and running thence 
the same course continued north fifty-five 
(N. 55 W.) west to the Ohio. Thence begin- 
ning at the said ridge, at the said lines of Au- 
gusta and Botetourt, running along the top of 
said ridge, passing the Sweet Springs to the 
top of Peter's Mountain ; thence along the said 
mountain to the line of Montgomery county; 
thence along the same mountain to the Kana- 
wha or New river, thence down the same to 
the Ohio. "And all that part of the counties 
of Botetourt and Montgomery between and to 
the westward of said lines shall be known as 
Greenbrier county." 

We are satisfied that Greenbrier was on the 
north side of the Kanawha river at Charles- 
ton and Montgomery on the south side. But 
to locate definitely the lines of Kanawha, we 



shall not attempt. We know that Belleville, 
on the Ohio river below Parkersburg, was in 
Kanawha and the mouth of Big Sandy, now 
at the Kentucky line, was in Kanawha county. 

We might add that Augusta county was 
formed from Orange, in 1738, and extended 
from the Blue Ridge westward indefinitely. 
Botetourt was formed from Augusta. 

One term of the Augusta county court was 
held at Staunton and another of same court, 
held in Pittsburg. 

Orange county was formed from Spottsyl- 
vania, which was formed in 1720 and included 
Fredericksburg on the Potomac. 

It might be said that in 1788, neither the 
legislature, nor any one else, knew much of the 
geography of' the country west of the Alle- 
henies. There were but few inhabitants and 
no surveys that would give much idea of the 
locality of streams, and a mountain is quite 
indefinite as a land-mark. Consequently, the 
description in the Acts of the Assembly could 
be but indefinite. 

"Beginning on the Blue Ridge etc.," might 
do for the eastern or western limit, but for 
north or south, it amounts to nothing. So with 
reference to the "Cumberland mountain," and 
when it comes to the "Gauley mountain," you 
find no such mountain on the map. 

As to the northern boundary of the county 
of Kanawha it seems as obscure as the south- 
ern boundary is indefinite. W e are not going 
to say that the boundary was then unknown, 
but we do say that with all the description 
given and all the information we have, that 
any one could locate exactly the boundary lines 
of the said county; it might, however, be lo- 
cated in the vicinity of where intended and 
that might be sufficient, as no one would have 
been added or excluded. 

DISTRICT OF WEST AUGUSTA 

The county of Augusta extended westward 
from the Blue Ridge, without limit, ad infini- 
tum. Which of course took in that part of Vir- 
ginia which was made into Kanawha. But 
the District of West Augusta was not a coun- 
ty, yet it had a court house and a court was 
held thereat. It was given a representative in 
the Assembly and was required to furnish sol- 



26 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



diers. Its limits was scarcely known, but the 
court held at Staunton would adjourn to meet 
at Fort Dunmore, afterwards known as Pitts- 
burg, and business was transacted in said court 
at this place in 1775. 

The limit of this district was defined in 9 
Hennings Statutes 262, in 1776, and it was 



Pittsburg made claim to the forks of the rivers ; 
the Pennsylvanians disputed the claim, saying 
it was in their state, and a little war was about 
ready to break out between them, and this was 
exactly what the Governor of Virginia wished 
to bring about — a little war between the col- 
onies. 




DISTRICT v 

OF \ 

WEST AUGUSTA 
I 7 7 



made into three counties, viz : Yohogany, Mon- 
ongalia and Ohio. Harrison was taken from 
Monongalia, Kanawha joined on to Harrison, 
and with it, ran to the Ohio river. Whether 
any part of Kanawha was in the District of 
West Augusta or otherwise, we will not now 
decide, but we know that Belleville, on the 
Ohio just below Parkersburg, was in Kanawha 
county. Dunmore and the Virginians about 



The description of the boundary line of 
Kanawha was decidedly indefinite and uncer- 
tain, both as to its northern lines and as to its 
southern lines, and badly mixed in the middle. 
We have a mental reservation as to much that 
we have written and give it with the under- 
standing that it may have nothing to do with 
the boundary of Kanawha. 

Kanawha county was a large county when 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



27 



made in 1788 and it is not a small one 
at this time. As we have failed to draw 
the lines definitely, so we are unable to 
give the counties that have been taken, in 
part or in whole from Kanawha, but as 
it is not easily ascertained we shall give 
a guess and let it go, viz : Wood, Wirt, Gilmer, 
Calhoun, Braxton, Webster, Nicholas, Clay, 
Roane, Jackson, Mason, Boone, Logan, Lincoln, 
Cabell, Wayne, Mingo, McDowell Summers, 
Raleigh, Fayette and Monroe. This would not 
be amongst the smallest states and Kanawha 
as she is, is not one of the small counties of the 
state. She has ten districts and they are Big 
Sandy, Elk, Charleston, Maiden, Cabin Creek, 
Loudon, Washington, Jefferson, Union, Poca 
— Cabin Creek is a large district almost suffi- 
cient to make another county. When the state 
was formed in 1863, the divisions of the 
counties were called "townships" and the 
Board of Supervisors were directed to lay off 
the county as suited them, which was done in 
Kanawha, making then ten townships, which 
have remained substantially as the townships 
were made. 

Big Sandy is highest up Elk river on both 
sides, Elk comes next on both sides of Elk river, 
Maiden is on the Kanawha above Charleston, 
and Loudon on the south side opposite Maiden, 
and Cabin Creek is the upper end of the coun- 
ty. Washington is on Coal river and Jefferson 



reaches to the mouth of Coal river on the Kan- 
awha. Union takes the front on the north side 
of Kanawha and Poca between Union and Elk 
on the western part of the county. 

Besides Charleston with her 23,000 people, 
there are St. Albans and Sattes, Spring Hill 
and South Charleston and then up to Kanawha 
City, just above on the Chesapeake and Ohio 
railway — Maiden, on the opposite side on the 
K. & M. railway, just above Charleston, then 
Brownstown or Marmet, Lewiston and Coal- 
burg, Chelyan, North Coalburg, and from this 
it is town all the way up, with different names, 
to the upper line, near Montgomery. And' the 
creeks are full of people, the towns are full of 
them and when it comes to voting or coming 
to a circus there seems to be no end of them. 

Off to the northwest in Poca, on Poca river, 
nestles the little town of Sissonsville ; up in Big 
Sandy district at the mouth of Big Sandy, on 
the Coal & Coke railroad is the town of Clen- 
denin, where they can find gas and oil anywhere 
at any time. At one time there was several oil 
factories making cannel coal oil, until it be- 
came so common to get oil out of the rocks, 
the factories ceased therefrom. 

While it is usual to give each county one 
delegate to the House, they find that Kanawha 
is entitled to six, all of which is here related 
in orler to give some idea of the size of Kana- 
wha as >he is. 



CHAPTER II 



RIVERS 

New River — Its Source and Direction — The Yadkin, Roanoke, Tennessee or Holstein — Elk 
River — The Gauley — Carnifex Ferry and its Associations — Coal River, in Prose and 
Verse — Tom Swinburn — Development and Prosperity of this Region — Surveys on Coal 
River — St. Albans — Coal River Railroad — Kanawha River and Tributaries — Cabin 
Creek; Why so Named. 



NEW RIVER 

This is a wonderful stream, because 
water will run down a hill side, and it 
seems to have always found just such hill- 
sides to run down, and much of the time 
and in many places, it is said to have fallen 
down. 

It heads away in North Carolina and 
keeps coming north on the eastern side of 
the Blue Ridge, then goes through this 
Ridge and after finding itself in Virginia, 
then gets into West Virginia and winds 
along northward until it meets the Green- 
brier at Hinton, then its course is westward 
until it meets the Gauley, and then they 
lock arms and tumble over, falling about 
twenty feet, it then gets up with a new 
name, and is called "Kanawha" and goes 
along until it finds the Ohio, at Point 
Pleasant. 

"The Way the Water Comes Down at 
Lodore," is a pretty fair description 
of the way the New River reaches the 
Gauley; not only is it like the Gauley, but 
it is even more so. It is a dangerous 
stream, even when there is no water in it. 
A stream that cannot be held within bounds 
by mountains, that will find its way through 
the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies could 
only be happy while rushing down a hill. 

Much has been written about its name 
and the discussion seems to have settled 



down to the fact that its origin is due to 
an explorer, Mr. Woods having pronounced 
it a "New One." Col. Abram Woods in 
1654 discovered it; some called it "Woods 
River" and some called it "Kanawha," and 
some old maps had it marked as "New 
River," and an old river called "New" 
seems quite satisfactory to all people that 
have any knowledge of the stream. 

It flows through Patrick, Floyd, Pulaski, 
Giles, Mercer, Summers, Raleigh, Fayette 
and Kanawha counties some what, more or 
less. Within a radius of a few miles, four 
streams take their rise, their waters inter- 
locking with each other near the Virginia 
and North Carolina line ; then they bid 
farewell and flow off each in their respective 
ways to the four corners of the earth. 

New River rises on the slope of "Grand- 
father mountain," then it strikes out nearly 
due north, into Virginia. 

The Yadkin starts from near the same 
point and flows nearly south through the 
Carolinas into the Great Pedee. 

The Roanoke, or the Dan branch of it, 
heads along on the line between Virginia 
and North Carolina, and flows nearly east, 
until it joints the Stanton. 

The Tennessee, called the Holstein, rises 
near the same line and makes its way for 
the west. 

So in the northern part of the state will 



28 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



29 



be found another nest of rivers, the James, 
the Potomac, the Monongalela, Tygart's 
Valley, Greenbrier, Gauley, all start from 
near the same point and proceed in oppo- 
site directions to the four corners of the 
world, so to speak, and in the Kanawha will 
be found water from both of these heads of 
streams. 

The country through which the New 
River flows is called the New River Canyon. 

While our state was taken from Virginia, 
which is called "East Virginia" and our 
State "West Virginia," the western part of 
East Virginia is further west than any part 
of West Virginia, and our New River is as 
old as any of them. 

ELK RIVER 

This stream heads up in the Alleghenies, 
in Pocahontas, near the head of the Gauley 
and all other rivers, and its general course 
is much the same as that of the Gauley; it 
reaches the Kanawha river about forty 
miles below the Kanawha Falls ; the mouth 
of the Gauley and about sixty miles from 
the Ohio river where the Kanawha empties 
its waters. 

The Elk is rather a quiet stream and 
makes its way along peaceably and well 
behaved, though some times it gets on a 
"high" and frightens some people that do 
not desire to become "wet." 

Although the Elk starts near the Gauley 
and runs in near same course, the lay of the 
land through which they run must be quite 
different. In Webster, at one place there 
is only a hill between them, but the Gauley 
started up much higher than does the Elk, 
and it is said that "the Gauley looks down on 
the Elk," so to speak, and should a tunnel be 
made through the hill, the Gauley would 
tumble into the lap of Elk. 

Besides Pocahontas and Webster, Elk 
river flows through Clay and Kanawha 
counties. 

The Elk is a good railroad stream, really 
at times has some water and when Elk and 
Gauley rise at the same time, it makes the 
Kanawha boom. 

The Elk has some good land, good farms. 



good timber and coal and other minerals 
thereon and is a stream to be proud of. 

How it ever came to be called "Elk" we 
have not been told; perhaps it was because 
they found things thereon, "a little dear," 
or perhaps it was to furnish the order of 
Elks with some peculiarities. 

GAULEY 

This stream heads up in the mountains 
of Pocahontas county near the head of the 
Potomac, James and Monongahela, and it 
passes through the counties of Pocanontas, 
Webster, Nicholas, Kanawha and Fayette, 
and joins the New River just above the 
Kanawha Falls, from which confluence the 
stream is called the Kanawha. 

As a river it is totally unfit for naviga- 
tion ; it is falling all the way down and at 
no one place can it be called "the Falls of 
Gauley." Start a pine log down the 
Gauley, by the time it reaches the New 
River it cannot be recognized as a log for 
lumber, but if one was searching for kind- 
ling-wood, he would know it immediately. 

The mountains of Gauley come close to 
the stream and give the appearance of the 
stream having cut its way through, and 
that it was not long- in the cutting. The 
mountains are high, rough and rocky. 
Where the name for this stream was found, 
is unsettled, and in this respect it is much 
like the stream itself. 

Once, a long time ago, there was a Ger- 
man family settled on this stream some 
where, but the Indians wanted scalps and 
they took them, and burned the home. The 
name of the family was "Stroud" and there 
was nothing unusual in this case, only that 
the white people did not anticipate their prob- 
able fate for remaining unprotected. 

There is a place on this stream known as 
"Carnifax Ferry" which has become his- 
toric. Rosecrans and Cox, U. S. A. found 
Floyd and Wise, C. S. A. near this ferry 
and Gual Cox attacked General Floyd and 
they made the hills boom with their can- 
nonade during the day, and that night 
Floyd got away from there, leaving some 
pine logs in the place of his cannon "to fool 



30 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the Yankees." Floyd and Wise would not 
aid each other and this was exactly as Gen- 
eral Cox desired, and the place with its as- 
sociations, was ever recognized as an amus- 
ing- military joke. The river is not much 
of a stream for fish nor for water. 

COAL RIVER 

To compare the quality and beauty of 
rivers is not a new matter. "Are not Abana 
and Pharpar rivers of Damascus, better 
than all the rivers of Israel?" This was 
said about 2800 years ago, and may we not 
ask now whether Coal river is not the best 
in the world? Listen. 

We have Tom Swinburn for the state- 
ment, as to the origin of this river, and hav- 
ing accepted this statement, cannot now 
repudiate the same altogether, and Tom, 
really, does know some things and we can 
be assured of the poetry of the authority 
given, and thus he said in the West Virginia 
Historical Magazine for July, 1902 : 

" God dropped Coal River round the hills about 
" In West Virginia. Told it to get out 
" As best it could. And then forthwith began 
"Its search to find out where its channel ran." 

***** 

" Coal River is not like New River's way — 
" But moves in quiet peaceful gait along — 
" Its current running neither swift nor strong, 
" With sleepy mien as though it mattered not 
" When, where or how it reached its goal or what 
" Should happen on the way. * * * 
" Coal River runs not so, but turns away 
" Upon its heel and smiling seems to say 
" 'Oh I can find another way perhaps' — 
"Like some great vine spread out upon the ground 
" Coal River reaches all the region round — 
" Snake-like, it winds, then forks and forks again, 
" Its thousand branches branch again * * * 
***** 

" This whole extent uncursed by any town 
" Unmanned by any factory of smoky frown ; 
" No railroad jars the startled sleeper's peace 
" Nor steamboat problem * * * 
***** 

" In vain were all attempts to wake her up 
" Or break the spell of her lethean cup, 
" Tho' charmers charmed so wisely and so long,. 
" She'd heard the singing of the Siren song. 
" Ask T. L. B. what years he spent 
" In weaving facts and figures, wisely blent, 
"What stacks on stacks of pages sown broadcast? 
***** 

" Coal River will wake up for good, at last. 

****-* 

" I take a snap-shot at Coal River — now — " 

T. S. 



Tom Swinburn, the Coal river poet-law- 
yer, brought up on this stream, knew it and 
its people well, and all its beauty doth he 
tell, how that it is in no way to compare 
with New River or Gauley, nor really with 
any other streams, — it's best of all. 

This stream heads in Releigh county on the 
south side of the Kanawha and New river, and 
reaching "its goal," at St. Albans, on the Kan- 
awha river, twelve miles below the mouth of 
Elk. 

"The Marshes of Coal" means the head wa- 
ters of Coal river. It starts in a great coal 
field, and never leaves the same ; that is, it 
keeps within a wonderful coal field all the 

way. 

To do justice to the coal and timber on this 
stream in a description would be impossible, 
and if justice were approached, the reader 
would become incredulous and be like the man 
who refused "to believe the fish story." 

Coal river is indeed a wonderful stream and 
waters a great country. It is in the heart of 
the greatest coal field in the world, with many 
kinds of coal, cannel and bituminous, and 
perhaps it may sound like a "fish story," 
but there is a vein of coal 22 feet thick on 
coal river. 

As for timber there is more timber of the 
best quality than can be found elsewhere in any 
discovered country. 

It is true that we have read pages on pages, 
"stacks on stacks" of Maj. Thomas L. Broun's 
description of Boone county lands on Coal 
river, but his facts have awakened the world 
and there is now more development going on, 
to get this wealth, railroads rivalling each other 
to get there first, and lands are proving that 
the half has not been told. 

General Rosecrans was at the head of the 
Coal River Navigation Company, which built 
locks to boat out cannel coal, but while he was 
fighting it out, during the Civil war, the river 
washed out the improvements and lately they 
have substituted a railroad for boats. 

There was a survey of land made for Wash- 
ington at the mouth of Coal river. In 1786 
there began a settlement, made by the Tacketts, 
Lewis, and perhaps others. John Young was 
with them and they erected a house, called 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



31 



"Tacketts Fort." below the mouth of Coal river, 
and a few hundred yards back from the Kana- 
wha river. 

Capt. Teays made a survey below Coal 
river. It was in 1847 that improvements were 
begun on the stream to make it navigable, which 
during the Civil War. were about destroyed, 
it being decided that they were too expensive 
to be kept up. St. Albans is the present name 
of the town at the mouth of Coal; it seems to 
have had several names since it began, and there 
is much enterprise and business going on at 
this point of Kanawha county, besides the 
changing of names. 

The Coal River railroad starts from this 
point and reaches Boone court house, and there 
will be branches of the railroad up each of the 
forks and branches of the river. 

KANAWHA RIVER 

It has long since been settled that this river 
extends from the confluence of the New River 
with Gauley to the Ohio river, about one hun- 
dred miles. Much might be said for the Kan- 
awha, but it should be seen to be appreciated. 
From the mouth of the Gauley, it spreads out 
wide, and when it reaches the falls, it falls per- 
pendicularly about twenty feet. The Kanawha 
seems to be made up of pools, deep places with 
a ridge or shallow place between; at least this 
was the contour of the river before the U. S. 
government took charge of it. and now with 
the improvements placed therein, it is pool all 
the way down. Large boats, with many barges 
of coal, can navigate the river with ease at any 
time of the year, while before it was difficult 
to have a boat of any size pass up or down in 
the summer, with or without a load. 

Too much can not be said for the Kanawha 
river improvement, and the shipping facilities 
are perfect and satisfactory in every respect. 
But for the drawback imposed on the river by 
the people of Virginia, in washing the ore, 
which renders the water muddy, it would be 
the most beautiful and the most subservient 
stream in the world, while muddy water is not 
attractive, nor healthy, and drives the fish away. 

The Kanawha is fed by numerous creeks, all 
the way down to its mouth and then there is 
also the Elk River, Coal River, and some call 



"Pocatalico" a river ; it borders on the line be- 
tween a river and a creek; it is almost too large 
for a creek and hardly large enough for a 
river. 

CABIN CREEK, WHY SO NAMED PAINT CREEK 

The main facts are clear, but the details are 
uncertain: One Mr. Flynn, some say Patrick 
and others say John, came from somewhere, 
sometime, and it is said he went up a short dis- 
tance from the mouth of a creek, on the Kana- 
wha, and there on a branch he built his cabin 
and there look his family. Pie had a wife, a 
son John, some say William, and a daughter 
Rebecca, and the branch on which his cabin 
was built was called Flynn's Wet Branch 
(some say Dry Branch) and 'tis said that the 
Indians came, and took away John and Rebec- 
ca, and all the rest, with the cabin, were de- 
stroyed, some say in 1774, which probably was 
too earl}-. John and Rebecca were made pris- 
oners and taken to Ohio somewhere and John 
made his escape and returned to Kanawha. 
Rebecca afterwards married an Indian warrior, 
who had a daughter which was called Eliza- 
beth and Elizabeth afterwards married Simeon 
Jarrett, of Monroe county, from whom de- 
scended a numerous posterity. 

John May, of Petersburg, desired to take de- 
positions in Kentucky and he had a clerk, Mr. 
Charles Johnson, and in February, 1790, they 
started by way of Kanawha and caught up with 
George Clendenin and Jacob Skiles and others 
going to the Kanawha. Mr. May purchased a 
boat at Kelly's Cree.k, and on this boat, May, 
Johnson and Skiles, started for Maysville, or 
Limestone, as it was called, leaving the mouth 
of Elk went to the mouth of the Kanawha and 
there they were joined by John or William 
Flynn (perhaps John William), Dolly and 
Peggy Fleming, sisters, from Pittsburg, and 
they all started for Limestone, Ky. At the 
mouth of the Scioto, two white men hailed them 
and begged to be taken aboard as they were 
escaped prisoners, and they were induced to 
land and the Indians rushed clown on them and 
all were caught. May and Dolly were shot and 
killed. Skiles was caught, as were Peggy and 
Flynn, captured, being wounded. The white 
men who decoyed the boat were Devine and 
Thomas. Flynn was burned. Skiles made his 



32 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



escape. Peggy was redeemed and sent back to 
Pittsburg. Johnson wrote an account of his 
captivity, called "Johnson's Narrative." He 
was sold to a Frenchman, taken to Niagara, 
then sent home by way of New York and 
Richmond, to his home. Skiles was a Kanawha 
surveyor and owned much land. He belonged 
to the Ramsey family. Mrs. Spelman of 
Charleston was related to the Mr. Charles 
Johnson and this is the history of Cabin Creek. 
The only wonder being that nearly all the 
creeks were not so named. 

Paint Creek was so named because the In- 
dians painted some trees on this creek to mark 
their course and trail from the Kanawha to the 
New river higher up, it being a better route, a 
shorter and better road way to travel. No one 
has ever said they saw any of these painted 
trees, but it has always been called "Paint 
Creek." 



Briar Creek of Coal River. This creek heads 
up against the head of Lewis Creek and Davis 
Creek and joins Bull Creek, and then runs 
westward to Coal River and contains about 
6,000 acres of excellent block coal, and with a 
branch railroad is hauled down to the Coal 
River road and thence to the main line of the 
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. 

The Briar Creek tract was owned before the 
war by Edward Kenna, the father of the late 
United States senator, and was sold by the 
court and purchased by Mr. D. W. Emmons of 
Huntington, and to which he added by pur- 
chases, and he sold it to Judge J. B. C. Drew, 
and by the judge to a New York Syndicate, 
who have built the railroad on the creek and 
opened up the mines and are shipping coal. It 
it a most excellent tract of land of coal and 
timber. 




KANAWHA VALLEY FROM GAULEY TO ELK, 
SHOWING LOCATION OF STREAMS 



CHAPTER III 



NATIVE RACES 

The Aborigines — Obscurity of Their Origin and History — Exterminated by the Indians — Their 
Mounds and Other Relics — The Indians — Speculations as to Their Origin — Their Charac- 
ter — Their Cruelty and Treachery — Their Claims to the Land Based on Might — Some 
Indian Atrocities — Battle of Point Pleasant, 1774 — Death of Cornstalk — More Atrocities 
— More about Cornstalk; his Character and Manner of Death — Character of Indian War- 
fare — Petition of Settlers of Great Kanazvha River, 1781 — Campbell's Creek Indian 
Legend — Death of Cojen, a Too Inquisitive Settler- — Mysterious Savage Rites. 



THE ABORIGINES 

They are defined to be the earliest known in- 
habitants of a country. There were some peo- 
ple in the country, supposed, if not known, to 
have been a different grade of humanity from 
those known as Indians. 

Perhaps we should only consider the inhabi- 
tants of the Kanawha Valley, as the Aborigines 
of Kanawha. We are confident that there 
were such, but whether they came from the 
East, or from the West, or elsewhere, we do 
not know. The subject grows on us as we con- 
template it, and with all that has been learned 
or written of the Aborigines, there is but little 
really known and much that has hardly been 
guessed at yet. It has been supposed by some 
that they came by way of the Bering Strait 
from Asia ; some say they came from Egypt, 
and settled in Central America, then came up 
through Mexico and spread all over the west 
and came eastward; and in the course of time, 
the Indians came from some where and the 
latter were the stronger, and you know what 
that meant to the Aborigines. They did not 
seem to be greatly superior in intelligence and 
not at all in power and in endurance, for when 
the white man came, he found the Indian and 
did not find the others. 

Some writers insist that they were only a 
different variety of Indians. There is evidence 



of a race of people having inhabited the Kana- 
wha that were different from the Indian, and 
the difference seems to have been that they left 
monuments of a character that Indians made 
no attempt to construct. 

The Indians did nothing that looked like 
work and these said monuments required a 
great deal of manual labor. The building of 
mounds of earth was one of their laborious 
works, and yet they have been called "Indian 
Mounds." 

There were in the Kanawha Valley many 
mounds, and works of such-like formation, 
indicating the former existence of large num- 
bers of these people. Stone walls, like some 
grade of fortifications, and other classes of 
earth-work, stone works and a different sort of 
work which seems un-Indian, have been found. 
In all these works there seems to have been no 
metallic instruments used, and none found, and 
in the case of the find of a wooden carved figure 
from wood, it seems a mystery how it was 
made, by whom and where made. This figure 
was found in a crevice of the rock in the hills 
some twelve miles above Charleston in the vi- 
cinity of Lewiston, by Master Frank McConi- 
hay, and it was deposited in the rooms of the 
Historical Society, where it can be seen. Dr. 
Hale wrote an account of the wooden figure 
and he did not tell us much about it, except that 



33 



34 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



it did not seem to have been the work of such 
Indians as the white man learned about in later 
years. 

These rock walls and monuments and this 
wooden figure, all indicate that they were the 
work of a labor-loving people, whom for that 
and other reasons, have been called "Aborig- 
ines" and that they inhabited the Kanawha 
some centuries ago. The Indians did not leave 
word nor did the Aborigines communicate any 
decided information on the subject of their 
origin, or any other information reliable. At- 
kinson in his history devotes Chapter Ten to 
this subject. He says the subject is too large 
to discuss in a county history, but that volumes 
on volumes have been written, facts collected 
from all over the world to prove that North 
America was known to have been inhabited 
ages before Columbus found it, a prehistoric 
nation was here. 

He then gives an account of the ancient 
rock wall on Loup Creek, about thirty-two 
miles above Charleston, and says the wall 
extended along the mountain for near two 
miles. The whole length of wall amounts 
to three or more miles. It was some six or 
seven feet high and about two feet thick 
at the base. One tree grew up in the wall, 
which indicated that the wall had been aban- 
doned over four hundred years ago, or 
longer. 

There is another such wall on Paint 
Creek. At Clifton, Dego, or Pratt, as it is 
now called, there are evidences of an 
ancient city. On some of these places there 
stood trees at least five hundred years old. 

At Sattes, opposite the mouth of Coal 
River, there have been found evidence of a 
very large city, much larger than Charles- 
ton. There are also carved stones found 
in different places on the river. Earth 
works or fortifications are also found in 
several places, both on Kanawha river and 
on Coal river. Mounds have been found 
every where ; some have been opened and 
nothing found that furnished any thing 
definite as to their dates of erection or con- 
struction or of the people who made them. 

A few years ago, a Mr. Norris, an expert 
on such things, came to this county and 



made a pretty thorough examination of its 
ancient land marks ; he made a report to 
the government of the United States. 

Dr. Hale wrote considerably on the 
"History and Mystery of Kanawha Valley." 

All these things go to show that the val- 
ley was at some time inhabited by a people 
that were different from the Indians. / 

Probably no country contains mcVe evi- 
dence of these mysterious people or peoples, 
though perhaps no country having so much, 
has done so little to gather the facts and 
the relics together and make a presentation 
thereof. 

There is an imprint made in coal, as if a 
man had placed his foot in the soft coal 
wdiile it was warm and soft, and the im- 
press left was the exact shape of the human 
foot. It looks as though it had been made 
in coal tar which afterwards hardened, 
leaving the track of the human foot. 

THE INDIANS 

When Columbus landed on San Salvador, 
he was lost, and he supposed that he had 
reached some part of India, so he called 
the natives "Indians," and no one suggest- 
ing any more appropriate name, the name 
remained. 

As no one could tell anything about the 
natives, it would seem that they were lost 
also, and as there had been in past ages a 
report that ten tribes of Israelites were 
lost, some have concluded that the people 
found by Columbus in America were the 
descendants of those so-called lost Jews. 
The lews were once called "God's peculiar 
people ;" those Indians are sufficiently 
peculiar for all purposes, but we doubt that 
they ever were Jews or the peculiar people 
of Almighty God. We have too much re- 
spect for the Hebrews to associate them 
with the Indians ; there is no similarity 
whatever. 

There has been much written about the 
Indians of America, perhaps more written 
than about any other people, as a people; 
— who they were, from whence they came, 
what were their numbers, etc., are ques- 
tions that have not yet been determined. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



35 



but what they have done has filled almost 
all of the books that have been written 
about them. 

They are divided into many tribes and 
they have been almost all over North 
America, South America, Central America, 
Mexico and else where, not always exactly 
alike in manners and habits, but "Indians" 
all the same, natives of America — Mr. Lo, 
the poor Indian. 

The Indian men are all well developed 
specimens of manhood, tall, straight, stout 
fellows ; which fact comes because had they 
not been vigorous they would never have 
been able to withstand the hardships of 
their mode of life, while young — "Survival 
of the fittest." 

Ordinarily they are said to be silent, 
quiet people, except when they imbibe too 
freely of spirituous liquors, when they be- 
come excited — they then are noisy, rude, 
infernal fiends. 

Indians do not work, and cannot be made 
to engage in manual labor, and they are 
pronounced the most lazy, indolent beings 
on earth and prefer to die rather than 
work ; they become active when aroused by 
war or the chase. Mr. Lo becomes pre- 
sistently active, when seeking the life of a 
man or an animal, and perhaps equally ac- 
tive when he is seeking to save his own. 

They seem to enjoy inflicting the most 
brutal tortures that they can devise, when 
they have time and opportunity to so pun- 
ish their enemies and have them in their 
power. So compared with burning at the 
stake, the tomahawk was an instrument of 
mercy. 

There has been much wasted mercy be- 
spoken for the Indians and attempts made 
to justify his cause. Some claim for him 
great nobilitv of . character and all that, but 
we are like those that have had the most to 
do with him, and believe that there is but 
one eood Indian, and that is the dead one. 
As for his cause, he has none ; he claims the 
earth but with no more right to any part of 
it than any one else, except to that part 
which he has actual possession of and which 
he has appropriated. One tribe recognizes 



no right in another tribe, it is purely a ques- 
tion of might, and where he pretends to sell 
and dispose of a territory, he would in a 
short while claim to own it again, no bar- 
gain or treaty in real estate amounts to any 
thing with him ; his title he gets by his 
tomahawk and his gun. 

In so far as the record goes, we see noth- 
ing recorded of him but his lust for blood 
and his inordinate desire to kill, and it 
seems that there is no discrimination in the 
object of his merciless blood-thirsty desire; 
he kills children, women and men, without 
any other excuse, whatever, (when it is not 
revenge,) than his natural in-born brutal- 
ity. Neither has he that brave noble soul 
that some would ascribe to him ; he sulks 
in the dark, in hidden ways, until he finds 
his victim is unprotected and unable to re- 
sist; then the brave Indian shows his infer- 
nal nobility. There is no brute, unless 
when suffering hunger, that shows as much 
cruelty to its victims as does the Indian. 

There may have been an exception here 
and there, but they are so few, that his 
brutality might always be relied on. 
There have been some attempts made to 
show that a lone family of white persons 
were permitted to live for awhile when In- 
dians knew of their existence, but it was so 
opposed by all Indian-nature that it cannot 
carry conviction to the mind of persons 
who had any conception of his wild, savage- 
beast-like love of blood. 

Many are the occasions recorded where 
he would go to a house as a friend, beg 
something to eat, or help of some kind and 
then murder the entire unprotected family, 
as soon as he could learn that his own 
danger was not immediate. 

When the French and Indian war began, 
about 1754, when the claim of the French 
to the Ohio and Mississippi Valley was be- 
ing set up against the English claim to the 
same country, the Indians were induced to 
leave the country east of the Alleghanies 
and move to Ohio and make their homes in 
Ohio. 

For some cause the southern side of the 
Ohio river had been abandoned by Indians 



36 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



either the "Six nations" had driven out the 
other Indians, or by some means it had 
been abandoned so that all that part of Vir- 
ginia, now in West Virginia and Ken- 
tucky was not inhabited by the savages, 
but they lived in Oho, where the "Woods 
were full of them." 

The settlement of the country could 
never have been made if it had had to be 
made through treaty or purchase; this 
would have been the proper way to do it 
and it would have been cheaper, but it was 
impossible. Every tribe and every Indian 
would have had to be purchased, and pur- 
chased every few weeks, and then the white 
purchaser would have had to kill him or be 
killed by him. 

But we propose to deal only with Kana- 
wha's transactions and this was consider- 
able, in so far as the Indians were con- 
cerned. How it was, that with all the coun- 
try north of the Ohio river, they did not 
have sufficient territory on which to roam 
and hunt, no one could comprehend unless 
it was that the kind of game they wished 
for was not found, except on the south side 
of the Ohio. These Indians were continu- 
ally coming from Ohio, in squads into Vir- 
ginia, and by hiding and skulking would 
find opportunities to destroy a settler's 
family or a part of it and take prisoners 
the other. They would then put off back 
into Ohio and either burn their prisoners 
or hold them with hope of reward to re- 
lease them. 

In 1 77 1 there were some hunters en- 
camped near the mouth of Elk river, on 
Two Mile creek of Elk river. Simon Ken- 
ton was one of them, and Yeager and 
Strader were his companions. Probably 
these were at that time the only persons 
located west of Greenbrier. These men 
were attacked by a squad of Indians. 
Yeager was killed and Strader and Ken- 
ton were wounded, and compelled to leave. 

Walter Kelly settled on the Kanawha, 
at Kelly's Creek in 1772 and he was com- 
pelled to send back his family to Green 
brier, while he remained, to be killed in 
'773- 



The German, Mr. Shroud, attempted a 
settlement on Gauley, and he and his en- 
tire family were murdered and his home 
destroyed. 

John Flinn settled on Cabin Creek, and 
he was killed. There were Indians in Giles 
county killing and capturing settlers in 
1774. Miss McKinsie was captured on 
New river and held for about eighteen 
years. 

BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT 1 774 

This brought down the war by Indians 
to the fall of 1774, when Captain Stewart 
sent Hammond and Pryor to notify the 
settlers in Kanawha valley of the general 
uprising of the Indians and the impending 
danger. General Andrew Lewis marched 
to the Ohio river. There has been so much 
written of the battle of Point Pleasant that 
those wishing to learn of it more fully 
should read the book entitled "The Dun- 
more War," by R. G. Thwaites. which 
gives more information than has hereto- 
fore been written on the subject. Besides 
there is also in Atkinson's "History of 
Kanawha," Hale's "Trans-Alleghenies," 
an account by Dr. J. P. Hale, another in 
"Wither's Border Warfare," Mrs. Poffen- 
berger's account of its Anniversary, Mrs. 
D. A. McCullock's account, "The Dunmore 
War," by E. O. Randall, an article on the 
National Character of said battle, by V. A. 
Lewis, and other accounts too numerous 
to mention. 

What seems the most important question 
to decide is whether it was only a battle 
between the Indians, on their own account, 
with the white settlers, or was it, as is be- 
lieved by many a battle brought on by the 
English, to have the Indians destroy the 
Virginians under General Lewis, from the 
southwest part of Virginia, so that this 
part of these colony could take no part in 
the uprising of the Colonies of America 
against the British government, that was 
then pending? 

There is much that would lead us to be- 
lieve that this latter was the case; to give 
the King of England and the Governor of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



37 



Virginia credit for any foresight of what 
was coming, and any credit for general- 
ship, we are forced to believe that this bat- 
tle was planned, and brought about by 
Dunmore. 

Dunmore was the English Governor of 
Virginia, and the rebellion of the colonies 
was impending. He secured the aid of the 
Indians and provoked a war between them 
and the Virginians — the "long-knives" as 
they were called. 

He ordered out an army from Augusta 
and those southern counties on the border, 
to march to the mouth of the Kanawha 
river, and promised that he would, with 
another army, meet them there, and that 
they would proceed to chastise the Indians 
in Ohio, and compel them to desist from 
their further excursions into Virginia and 
cease their massacre, and the burning and 
destroying of settlers. 

General Lewis was at the Point on time, 
Dunmore was near but never met Lewis 
and he let the Indians attack Lewis and 
they fought all day — October 10. 1774 — 
without his coming to the aid of Lewis. 

This battle has been called "Dunmores 
War," for the reason that it was stirred up 
by Gov. Dunmore with the Indians, though 
he did none of the fighting. He pretended 
to make war on the Indians in Ohio, to 
punish them for their continued invasions 
and murders of settlers ; he directed Gen- 
eral Andrew Lewis and his troops to pro- 
ceed by way of the Kanawha valley to the 
Ohio river at Point Pleasant where he Gov. 
Dunmore would join them, but he failed 
to join and let the Indians attack Lewis 
unaided. 

By those in Lewise's army, this was be- 
lieved to have been treachery in the first 
degree, and its purpose to let the Indians 
cripple or destroy the army from the 
southwest of Virginia; to make the Indians 
allies of the English, and to prevent the 
Virginians from aiding the other colonies 
in their rebellion. 

This raises the question as to whether 
Dunmore was sincere in his movements in 
this campaign, or was it only a pretense 



and fraud and hypocricy on his part and 
nothing more ? We know that there are 
persons who think that Dunmore was sin- 
cere at the time and that we condemn 
him for all that he ever said or did, 
because he afterwards took the side 
of the English. That history has spoiled 
him for always, before and afterwards. 
But it is the attempt to be ultra- 
unprejudiced and fair that makes some 
writers claim so much for Dunmore, 
more than what he was ever entitled to. 
They say that after the battle was fought 
and the campaign ended, the Virginians 
endorsed his actions and thanked him for 
his services, that his army before it was 
disbanded gave to him great praise and 
thanks, and that the "Virginia Gazette," 
the "State Courier," the Williamsburg 
authorities, the William and Mary authori- 
ties and even the Fincastle County men, 
all passed resolutions of commendation. 
All of which we admit there is evidence to 
support, but it was all a part of the play 
and a part of the deception that was being 
played. Dunmore started out to deceive 
the Virginians, to make them think he was 
doing his duty to the King and to the 
Colonies and was playing fair to both. 
Was he not a treacherous scoundrel all the 
while? 

Let us look at the other side. In Vir- 
ginia there were Tories and patriots; some 
had sense. It was known that the King 
was disposed to insist on the absolute right 
of control of the colonies : to dictate to 
them what they should and should not do, 
and Parliament and the officials knew and 
stated that such dictation would not be re- 
ceived by the colonists. 

John Adams said that American Inde- 
pendence was born in 1760, when Otis re- 
signed rather than be compelled to enforce 
obnoxious laws. The Stamp Act was re- 
pealed in 1766 and the Colonists insisted 
that taxation without representation would 
not be endured. Resistance in the Colonies 
was general in 1772 and cargoes of tea sub- 
ject to a tax, were destroyed: the colonies 
agreed to stand by Massachusetts ; con- 



38 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



gress was convened and preparations for 
war were made in every colony, and Vir- 
ginia had delegates to them all. In 1773 
it only required a match to set the world 
on fire and it was then that King George 
III sent Dunmore to Virginia. He was 
haughty and objectionable from the time 
of his arrival. He sent orders to the Vir- 
ginia council to pay his secretary's salary 
but it was not done. Because of the reso- 
lution of House of Burgesses on the clos- 
ing of the port of Boston Dunmore pro- 
rogued the House, so that there was little 
legislation done thereafter and the conven- 
tion took the place of the House of 
Burgesses. 

When the House was so prorogued the mem- 
bers formed a League to suspend all trade with 
Great Britain. Patrick Henry made his great 
speech in which he said "We must fight." 
Every one had to take sides, war was inevi- 
table and Dunmore was for his King, and con- 
sequently against the people. Then Dunmore 
desired to have a war with the Indians and his 
avowed but pretended purpose was to go to 
Ohio and chastize them. Dunmore reached 
Fort Pitt and met Dr. John Connolly and Simon 
Girty — "three of a kind." 

Green in his History, in speaking of King 
George III said that "his bribery, his patron- 
" age, his parliamentary frauds, his perfidy 
" and his lies had done much to make good 
" government impossible and to steep public 
" life deeper in corruption." To this King the 
colonists were rebels in 1766. He disposed 
of regiments, commissions and marching of 
troops in 1774 and the King said in 1774, that 
"the die was cast, the colonist must triumph or 
submit." Long instructions were sent to Dun- 
more. The Indians said that they were ap- 
pealed to, to unite with the King's troops to 
fight Boston, and Dunmore said he hoped to be 
able to collect the Indians, negroes, and others 
sufficient to subdue the rebellion, and the Eng- 
lish were furnishing guns for the savages at 
Detroit. The King directed that the Indians 
be employed and Connolly was employed and 
caught with such instructions from Dunmore. 
Dunmore's purpose was to serve the King; to 
secure the Indians as allies, who were to aid 



the British; to cause a war between the Col- 
onies. Connolly, a Pennsylvanian, became a 
staunch Virginian and was a vice-governor 
under Dunmore. Each and all of them — the 
King, the Governor, Connolly and Girty — was 
a Tory of Tories, a liar, a hypocrite and a 
fraud and doubly dyed in duplicity. 

It can be seen that with this purpose and 
with Connolly and Girty to carry out the same, 
it was easy to bring on a war. Dunmore him- 
self did not wish to be in the war, but to let 
Lewis do the fighting. The Indians did not 
pretend to attack Dunmore, though perhaps his 
was the weaker army. He was near to Lewis 
and had had communication with the In- 
dians, and Dunmore on the 9th sent Girty 
to Lewis's camp with a message that he 
had changed his plans. He could have 
joined Lewis, could have prevented the 
battle; could have given the Indians 
a severe chastisement, but he made no 
fight, but instead made a treaty of peace — made 
an ally of the Indians, he knew they were fight- 
ing on the tenth, and stated to Connolly that 
"General Lewis was having a warm time of 
it about this time." 

Burke, Withers, Doddridge, Stuart, Lewis 
and others said and had the belief, that Dun- 
more's purpose was to break the spirit of the 
Virginians. With all these facts, how was it 
possible for anything else to be true than that 
Dunmore was a treacherous old scoundrel who 
deserved hanging? It was not necessary to 
take an army to the Ohio to let the Indians at- 
tack it. Nor was it requisite that he should go 
with an army to be near that battle and not as- 
sist in defending the attack. Neither was it 
good generalship, nor good anything else to 
change the plan of the campaign after General 
Lewis was on the ground and the Governor's 
own army within a day's march though it did 
not join him; it was bad faith and treachery 
to the people of Virginia. 

Ordinarily the combination of King George 
III, Dunmore, Connolly, and Girty would be 
enough to satisfy anyone that fraud was the 
main-spring of their action, that nothing would 
be done in any way to aid the rebellion that 
was about to break out in open war, but all 
that was to be done was for the supposed bene- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



39 



fit of the Royal cause of the suppression of 
the Colonist. Events could mean but one 
thing, that Dunmore's purpose was to help 
the Indians and to make of them allies of 
King George and hence his change of plans 
was effected purposely in order to cause 
General Lewis's defeat. 

However, as it happened, the Indians were 
glad to get back into Ohio and to form a treaty 
with Dunmore, which ended that war. 

INDIAN OUTRAGES ON THE KANAWHA 

Hughes, a settler on the Kanawha, at 
Hughes Creek was captured by the Indians 
and carried into Ohio and held for two years. 
We notice that this person is sometimes called 
Robert Hughes and sometimes Edward, and 
his capture was in 1776. Judge Guthre late of 
Mason county, was a descendant of Hughes. 

In 1777 Cornstalk, his son Elenepseco, Red 
Hawk and another Indian were at Point 
Pleasant, supposed to have been on a friendly 
visit to Fort Randolph under command of Capt. 
Arbuckle, and some Indians killed some white 
persons near the Fort and the soldiers of the 
Governor killed all of said Indians. This will 
be used as an excuse for Indians to continue 
their bloody work in Virginia. No doubt it 
was a mistake to kill those pretending to come 
as friends and in the Fort as such, besides it 
caused the settlers to suffer so extremely for the 
wrong. 

Colonel Skillem was ordered to march with 
his Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier volun- 
teers to Point Pleasant, to join forces with Gen- 
eral Hand, from Fort Pitt, but Hand's forces 
did not arrive. There has been but little writ- 
ten about this march. Indians attacked and 
killed Lieut. Moore and three men near Fort 
Randolph at Point Pleasant. In 1778 Fort 
Randolph was besieged by the Indians but they 
were unable to take it and started up the Kan- 
awha to find defenceless settlers. Capt. Mc- 
Kee was in command of the Fort. He called 
volunteer messengers to warn the settlers of 
the approach of the Indians. Hammond and 
Pryor volunteered and went and gave the 
notice. 

An Indian raid subsequently took place into 
Greenbrier and resulted in the killing of Pryor 



and Hugh Mclver and the capture of their 
wives ; Henry Baker was also killed ; the Brid- 
ger brothers and old man Monday and his 
wife, and the wife and children of Thomas 
Drennon and Mr. Smith were made prisoners. 
Later William Griffith, wife and daughter, 
were murdered, and a son taken prisoner. This 
was the last raid made into Greenbrier. 

WHITE MAN'S FORK 

The trail of the last raid, showed that there 
were but two Indians; they were followed by 
John Young, Ben Morris, William Arbuckle 
and Robert Aaron. They went up Elk, then 
up' Little Sandy and their camp was found on 
a fork of Sandy. They fired on them, killed 
one and one escaped and the Griffith boy 
recovered. The one killed proved to be a 
white man, disguised as an Indian. The creek 
where this occurred has always since been call- 
ed "White-Man's Fork" of Aaron Fork, of 
Little Sandy. 

Mr. Carr and his two children were mur- 
dered on Blue Stone ; Thomas Hugh's family 
captured and some killed in 1782; Thomas 
Teays captured at the mouth of Coal River, 
taken in Ohio, condemned to be burned 
with Col. William Crawford, but was 
saved by an Indian whom Teays had be 
friended the year before. This is the first 
act of gratitude by an Indian that we have 
come across. 1786 James Moore, Sr., of 
Abbs Valley made prisoner, two children 
killed and the others carried off prisoners. 

Lewis Tackett was captured by Indians, and 
on his way to Ohio he was tied to a pine tree 
at Knob Shoals while his captors went to hunt. 
A storm came on which wet the buckskin 
thongs and allowed him to escape. "Tackett's 
Pine" stood for many years as a landmark. 
Tackett's Fort was built afterwards at Coal's 
mouth and afterwards this Fort was attacked 
and several persons killed. 

John and Lewis Tackett and their mother 
were captured near the Fort. Charles Tackett 
and John McElheny were the only men in the 
Fort when captured. Charles was killed, Mc- 
Elheny and wife, Betsey Tackett, Sam Tackett 
and a boy made prisoners. McElheny was 
killed. John Tackett escaped. Lewis and his 



40 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



mother were taken to Ohio and kept two years. 
John Young was in the Fort but he made his 
escape with his wife and babe, whom he car- 
ried to a canoe which he poled up to Clendenin 
and they were all saved. That babe was Jacob 
Young, who lived to the age of ninety years, 
leaving a large family. 

Near Point Pleasant the Indians missed the 
capture of Ben Eulin by his jumping over a cliff 
fifty feet high, his falling into some pawpaw 
bushes and grape vines saved his neck. He 
then made another twelve-foot leap and escaped 
with his life. 

About this time, Capt. John Van Bibber was 
attacked, near the Point and his daughter, Miss 
Rhoda, was killed, and Joseph, a younger 
brother was made a prisoner; he escaped and 
returned in 1794. It was in 1789 that William 
Wyatt was killed at mouth of Paint Creek. A 
party left the Clendenin settlement in a boat 
going to Maysville, Ky. John May, Jacob 
Skyles, Charles Johnson and John Flynn, Jr., 
the son of John Flynn who was murdered on 
Cabin Creek. At Point Pleasant two sisters, 
the Misses Fleming from Pittsburg, joined the 
party. They proceeded down the Ohio and 
were attacked by Indians. John May was 
killed, a Miss Fleming also. Skyles was 
wounded. Johnson, Skyles, Flynn and Miss 
Fleming were made prisoners. Flynn was 
burned. Johnson wrote his account of the 
matter fully. 

Mathias Van Bibber and Jacob, his little 
brother, were fired on by Indians. Mathias was 
struck in the forehead and slightly Wounded 
but escaped. Jacob was made prisoner and es- 
caped after two years. 

William Carroll and family of Carroll's 
Branch narrowly escaped being murdered, their 
home was burned. 

The following is the account of the boat 
party tragedy as detailed in "Johnson's 
Narratives." 

In February, 1790. John May and 
Charles Johnson started from Petersburg, 
Va., to Kentucky, by way of the Kanawha 
and Ohio rivers. They reached the Kana- 
wha at the mouth of Kelley's Creek, pur- 
chased a boat and directed some additions 
and accommodations made, and while wait- 



ing thereon, went to Col. George Clenclen- 
in's at the mouth of Elk. 

When the boat was ready, Jacob Skiles 
(or Skyles) joined them. They proceeded 
to the Ohio river and stopped at Point 
Pleasant, where they were joined by Will- 
iam Flinn, Dolly and Peggy Fleming, and 
they started for Lime Stone. Ky., by way 
of the Ohio river. Maysville is now known 
as the place for which the started. 

At the mouth of the Scioto, they were 
hailed by two white men who said they 
ere escaped prisoners and wanted to get 
away and go to Kentucky. They landed 
,and were captured by Indians, and the 
white men who aided as decoys w r ere De 
vine and Thomas. 

John May and Dolly Fleming w r ere shot 
and thrown in the river. Flinn was made 
a prisoner and burned at the stake. Peggy 
Fleming was redeemed and returned to 
Pittsburg. Skiles made his escape and got 
back to his home ; he was a surveyor and 
a large land owner in Kanawha, was re- 
lated to the Morrises, Rumsey. Barnes fam- 
ilies, and a sketch of these families is given 
in the West Virginia Historical Magazine, 
1903, page 188. -~ 

Charles Johnson was held as a prisoner 
by the Indians for years and on his return 
he wrote the "Johnson's Narratives," giv- 
ing more information of Indian habits, cus- 
toms and life, than almost any account that 
had been written, and which is an exceed- 
ingly interesting book. Mr. Johnson was 
an ancestor of Mrs. Robert Spillman of 
Charleston, W. Va. and Mr. Johnson was 
from Botetourt county, Va. This narra- 
tive was published in Harper in 1827, and 
has lately been reprinted by the Burrows 
Company, Cleveland, Ohio. See also 
Southern Historical Magazine. 1902, page 
139. Hale's Trans-Allegheny Pioneers, 
274. 

In 1790, Leonard Cooper and W r illiam 
Porter made settlements on Elk : one had 
Cooper's Creek and the other Porter's Is- 
land named for them. Squire Staten was 
killed on his way home from court in Char- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



43 



leston at the mouth of a branch called 
"Staten Run." 

James Hale was killed opposite Clen- 
denin Fort on Hale's Branch. The Indians 
killed cows on a creek at upper end of the 
valley and hung their bells on bushes 
which would ring when the wind blew or 
when the cows were sent for, and the par- 
ties were killed. This creek was called 
"Bell Creek." 

1791 Ben Carpenter and wife were killed 
on Elk. A squad of Indians near Point 
Pleasant killed Michael See, and Robert 
Sinclair, Hampton and Northup and See's 
servants were made prisoners. This ser- 
vant was son of Dick Painter who helped 
defend Fort Donnally. 

Two daughters of Henry Morris, on 
Peter's Creek of Gauley were murdered by 
Indians. They were bringing home the 
cows. Morris made all Indians that he 
came across suffer for this in after years. 

The Misses Tyler were captured at Point 
Pleasant, the savages using cow bells to 
deceive them. 

John "Wheeler, wife and four children 
were killed in 1792 opposite the mouth of 
Cabin Creek ; and Shadrack Harriman liv- 
ing at the lower Venable Branch, two miles 
above Charleston, was killed by Indians in 
1794 and is said to have been the last man 
kil 1 ed by Indians in Kanawha Valley. 

We do not pretend that we have given 
all the Indian outrages in Kanawha, and in 
all that we have found and mentioned, we 
found one case where an Indian saved a 
white man ; we also admit one case where 
the white men did wrong in killing Indians. 

We are glad to see the monument to 
Cornstalk at Point Pleasant but it was a 
small pleasure compared to what we ex- 
perienced when we viewed the monument 
erected to General Lewis and his men on 
the battlefield at that place. There have 
been many excuses made for the savage, 
brutal Indians, but in fact, that his nature 
was what it was. is the only excuse. 

The Indian had to be exterminated or the 
countv would have remained unsettled. 
He could not be permitted to run at large. 



any more than bears, wolves and cata- 
mounts. The only way was to stop his 
running in any way. Either he had to go, 
or the white man stay away. This ques- 
tion had to be decided, and it was decided, 
and there has never been any appeal al- 
lowed to the decision. 

It has been said that one cause of the 
Indians' cruelties was the fact that they 
were always cheated by the Indian traders 
— made drunk and cheated. 

It has been written of the Pennsylvania 
Indian trader that all this was about the 
truth as far as the cheating was concerned, 
and that the trader was as bad as the In- 
dian. But cheating done at Pittsburg was 
hardly the excuse for murder and outrage 
etc.. on the Kanawha by Indians from the 
Scioto. 

Indians, like some animals, never become 
lost : they always knew where they were, 
knew the creeks and high-ways of the 
streams. They went in small squads so 
they could subsist on the country, which a 
large number could not do. 

It may be that the inhabitants of Amer- 
ica had some rights to the country now 
known as W r est Virginia, but their title was 
very shadowy. 

They had no title except by mere claim 
to it; they had no possessions, no special 
tribe : no chief, no particular Indian laid 
claim to it. They had no boundary, noth- 
ing except the mere claim to it for the pur- 
pose of hunting thereon and that claim was 
only sustained by might, which is the same 
right possessed of a robber, and if a robber 
can establish title, why not any one? 

It may be that the Indian first discovered 
this territory and claims it under that pre- 
text, which is but little better than none. 
The white man discovered it and took pos- 
session with no one thereon and to yield it 
simply because the Indian said he wanted 
it. is not a good ground of right. 

To permit the entire territory of America 
to be held exclusively by some Indians, 
without government or title or possession, 
and probably after having sold it two or 
three times, which sale was not ever recog- 



44 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



nized by other Indians makes the Indian 
right depend on his gun or his tomahawk. 

CORNSTALK 

He was said to have been a Shawnee In- 
dian and was known to have been a Shaw- 
nee Indian Chief ; it was guessed that he 
was born about 1727 and it may have been 
a good guess. Some have said that he was 
born in some Chillicothe town, in Ohio and 
some have said that he was born in the 
Kanawha V alley but it is not known that 
there were Indians in this valley residing 
at this or a near date thereto ; and it might 
be said that it is not known that there were 
Indians here, nor known that Cornstalk 
was not born here at that time. All of 
which want of information, or ignorance, 
we must admit. He is also said to have 
been tutored under Pontiac, a chief of the 
Ottawas, and may have taken a post-grad- 
uate course under Killbuck ; but we, in our 
opinion, think he needed no such educa- 
tion, but it was born in him and his life 
work was to murder and kill white people 
and all he had to do was to develop this 
inborn proclivity. He is said to have 
caused great distress and did much murder 
and destruction on the Virginia side of the 
Ohio river; that he even went to places 
under pretext of being friendly and commit- 
ted the most atrocious outrages. 

He has been credited with great military 
ability ; that he managed to collect from 
the Ohio tribes quite an army, about eleven 
hundred or more and made ready to meet 
Governor Lord Dunmore of Virginia, who 
had sent General Andrew Lewis with 
eleven hundred men to the mouth of the 
Kanawha river, and Dunmore was to meet 
him there and together they would march 
into Ohio and play Indian awhile on their 
joint account; but Dunmore went into 
Ohio a short distance above General Lewis 
and went into camp, and Cornstalk, instead 
of attacking Dunmore with the smaller 
army, passed the Ohio and attacked Lewis, 
and got defeated and then made peace with 
Dunmore, which was quite like an Indian 
and which was better than Dunmore's 



treatment of Lewis ; but of all this we have 
elsewhere written. 

Unless Cornstalk knew that Dunmore 
was not going to join Lewis and was not 
going to aid Lews, nor was going to attack 
Cornstalk, we can see no great military abil- 
ity in attacking Lewis first, but if he did 
know these facts, then he had nothing else 
to do. 

Cornstalk crossed the Ohio river in the 
night and attacked Lewis early in the 
morning and was so near that Dunmore 
heard the battle going on, on October 10, 
1774, but took no action and let Cornstalk 
get back into his own towns. Had Corn- 
stalk supposed that Dunmore was going to 
aid Lewis, he did right in attacking one 
before they had united forces, but it would 
have been better generalship to have de- 
feated Dunmore. Mr. John Stuart of 
Greenbrier says of Cornstalk that he was a 
great man in war and an eloquent and dis- 
tinguished man ; that in his personal ap- 
pearance, his gracefulness of manner, 
strength, influence, he was great. That he 
moved about among his men encouraging 
them to be strong and to fight a good fight, 
and that he would have permitted no 
cowardice among his men. But he seemed 
to know that reinforcements were ex- 
pected, and when he saw the new attack- 
ing line on his flank, he supposed it was the 
reinforcements and he permitted his men 
to drop back and get away from Lewis. 
His death was not like a warrior's. He 
went under pretext of giving information 
that the British emissaries were attempting 
to induce the Indian to aid them against 
the Virginians, and because some Indian 
had just killed a soldier, the other soldiers 
could not be restrained from killing Corn- 
stalk, his son and another with him, and 
they did kill all of the Indians in the' fort. 
These Indians were buried at the fort and 
a monument was erected a few years ago 
with the name "Cornstalk" engraved there- 
on. It was in 1777 that he was killed and 
the Indians never seemed to have been 
satisfied thereafter, but committed havoc 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



45 



on the settlements ever after when they 
dared to try. 

For an Indian, Cornstalk may have been 
a brave warrior, but he was an Indian, and 
had done much harm to the prisoners and 
it was not unnatural that they should have 
put an end to him, even if it was wrong. 

In Harris's History of Virginia, Col. 
John Stuart wrote: "In the year 1777 
Cornstalk, with Red Hawk, paid a visit to 
the garrison at Point Pleasant, and he told 
them that the British agents were urging 
the Indians to join them in their war with 
the Virginians. He admitted that the 
dispositions of the Indians was to unite and 
give as much trouble to the settlers as pos- 
sible, but he declared that on his own part 
he was opposed to joining with the British; 
that all the Indians except him and his tribe 
were determined to engage in it and that 
he and his tribe would have to run with the 
stream. Capt. Arbuckle thought proper to 
detain him. Red Hawk and another fellow 
as hostages to prevent the nation from 
joining the British. 

"Col. Geo. Skillern had agreed to come 
from Botetourt to Point Pleasant and meet 
Gen. Hand and go to Ohio and chastise the 
Indians. The Greenbrier men joined Col. 
Skillern but did not find Gen. Hand and no 
preparation for an army. While we were 
there, two young men, Hamilton and Gil- 
more, went one day to hunt, as our pro- 
visions were about out. On their return 
to camp, some Indians had concealed them- 
selves on the bank and as Gilmore came 
along they fired on him and killed him. 
Capt. Arbuckle and I were standing on the 
bank when we saw Hamilton run down the 
bank and called out that Gilmore was killed. 
Capt. Hall's men jumped into a canoe and 
went to the relief of Hamilton, who was 
expecting to be shot. They brought Gil- 
more's body to the canoe, bloody and 
scalped, and brought him over in the canoe, 
and I remarked that the men would kill the 
hostages, which Arbuckle did not think 
they would do, but they had hardly touched 
the bank before the cry was raised "Let us 
kill the Indians in the fort," and they came 



up pale with rage. Capt. Hall was with 
his men and was their leader. Capt. 
Arbuckle and I were with them and tried 
to dissuade them, but they cocked their 
guns and threatened us with instant death 
if we did not desist and they rushed by us 
into the fort and put the Indians to death. ' 

An interpreter's wife said that the men 
had said that the men that killed Gilmore 
had come with Elenippico the day before, 
but he denied this. Cornstalk told his son 
that the Great Man Above had sent him to 
come and die with him. Red Hawk tried 
to go up the chimney but was shot down." 

Cornstalk was undoubtedly a hero, and 
had he been spared he would have been 
friendly to the Americans and nothing 
would have induced him to come to the 
garrison but to let them know the disposi- 
tion of the Indians and their purpose to 
unite with the British, that all the Indians 
were joining the British. 

The Governor of Virginia offered a re- 
ward for the apprehension of the men that 
killed him but it was without effect. After 
the battle of Point Pleasant when he re- 
turned to the Shawnee town he called a 
council of the nation to consult what was 
to be done and to upraid them for not let- 
ting him make peace before the battle. He 
told them they would have to fight now, 
for the "Big Knife" was coming and we will 
all be killed, but they said nothing. He 
then proposed that they kill all their women 
and children and then go and fight till they 
died, but no one said anything. Then he 
struck the tomahawk in the post in the 
center of the town house and said "I'll go 
and make peace," and this suited them and 
they sent runters to Governor Dunmore 
to solicit peace and the interposition of the 
Governor in their behalf. 

He made a speech while in counsel with 
the Virginians, when he called "Long 
Knives" and seemed to be impressed with 
an awful premonition of his approaching 
fate, when he said: "When I was young 
and went to war I thought it might be the 
last time and I would return no more. 
Now I am here among you, you may kill 



46 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



me if you please ; I can die but once and 
it's all one to me now or another time." 
This sentence he repeated often and at the 
end of each sentence of his speech, and he 
was killed within an hour after the coun- 
cil closed. 

We do not see exactly the purpose of 
Cornstalk coming to this fort. He admits 
that all the Indians are going to help the 
British and he has to go with them. He 
had led the Indians into Virginia to mur- 
der and burn and now he expects to begin 
anew under the auspices and pay of the 
British. Why was it not best to kill him 
at once and stop as much of it as possible. 
If ordinary war is hell, Indian war, with 
Cornstalk at the head, would be two hells, 
a pandemonium and a purgatory. 

PETITION OF SETTLERS ON THE GREAT KANA- 
WHA RIVER, IN THE COUNTY OF GREENBRIER, 
SEPT. 19, 1781 . 

From Virginia State Papers, Vol. II, pp. 
468-469. 

''To His Excellency the Governor, and the 
Honorable Council of Virginia : 

"The petition of sundry inhabitants of the 
County of Greenbrier, humbly showeth : that 
during the time a garrison was maintained at 
Fort Randolph, at the mouth of the Great 
Kanawha river, your petitioners emboldened 
by the protection thereof, had taken up and set- 
tled themselves on sundry plantations on the 
Great Kanawha, above the said station, which 
on the withdrawal of the troops stationed at 
the Fort Randolph aforesaid, they were 
through fear of the Indians obliged to abandon 
and leave desolate, to the great loss and detri- 
ment of your petitioners and to the no less pre- 
judice of the inhabitants of this county in gen- 
eral, as they thereby lost a barrier, which in a 
great measure covered the frontiers. Under 
these difficulties and hardships have we lain for 
these three years past, hoping that a peace 
might come by which we might be permitted 
to return to our habitations with safety ; but 
the much desired blessing not having arrived 
and worn out with the hardships we have sus- 
tained, your petitioners humbly beg leave to 
inform your Excellency and the Honorable 



Council that we are determined to return to 
the aforesaid habitations, and propose in the 
first place to erect a station at the mouth of 
Elk river for the protection of themselves and 
families and only request of the Government 
that a lieutenant and thirty (30) men of the 
militia of Greenbrier county may be stationed 
there for our assistance. The benefits which 
station there are so obvious that they need not 
be mentioned. The finding provision for them 
will occasion no such difficulty as formerly, as 
the tax grain annually paid by the inhabitants 
would accrue to this county in having such a 
may be applied to their support. As some of the 
Honorable Council are intimately acquainted 
with the situation of the place we propose to 
erect a station and the advantages which would 
result to this county therefrom, so we purpose- 
ly omit mention of them and only pray your 
Excellency and Honorable Council to take our 
petition into your consideration and we, as we 
as in duty bound will ever pray. 

James Hugart, Samuel Varner, John Os- 
borne, John Jones, John Patton, Pat- 
rick Murphy, Charles Gromer, John 
McCaslin, W. H. Cavendish, William 
Jones, Charles McClung, Simon Akers. 
Sam'l McGanaugh, Leonard Cooper, 
Thos. Teass, John Bellew, AVilliam Hu- 
gart, John AVilliams, Will Hamilton, 
James Jarrett, Peter Shoemaker, Jo- 
seph McClung, Jacob Lockhart, John 
Rogers, John Archer, William Craige, 
Charles Howard, Sampson xAxcher, 
Leonard Morris, James Smythe, Mich- 
ael See, Jas. McCay, Thomas Cooper, 
Richard Williams, Sam'l McClung, Jas. 
Jordan, Jas. Patterson, Will Fullerton, 
John Lewis, Jas. Hugart, Jr., Peter Van 
Bibber, William Bleak, John Dyer, And. 
McFarran, Andrew Donnally, Thos. 
Ellis, John Patterson, William Dyer, 
John Graham, Spencer Cooper, Jas. 
Thompson, John Viney, John Van Bib- 
ber. John Piper, Her. Miller, David 
Williams, John McFerren, Daniel Mc- 
Dowell, William Dunn, David McCoy, 
Jas. Kitchen, Shadrock Hareman, Geo. 
Malham, Jas. Hewston, Jos. Claypoole, 
John Harris, Arch Smithers, Tas. 
Flinn, Thos. Hoof." 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



47 



(This county, at this time, was Greenbrier, 
but these inhabitants were in the Kanawha 
Valley.) 

Campbell's creek Indian legend 

About four miles above Elk river this stream 
pours its turgid spring flood into the Kanawha. 
In the summer it comes trickling down through 
a deep, wild, densely wooded gulch; just be- 
low its mouth, a curious mound juts out from 
the bank, near this mound are three large 
trees. Beyond these trees, further up the 
creek, is a natural open space, giving a free 
view of the mountain to its very top. On this 
mountain top stands a gigantic oak, rising up 
from a thicket of undergrowth. 

From no other point in the gulch is this oak 
visible, but up through this undergrowth, along 
the edge of the open space and up to this oak 
is a trail not noticed except to those who are 
seeking the top of the mountain and start from 
the points mentioned. 

It has been noticed for many ages back, that 
Indians have been accustomed to make some 
pilgrimage to this creek and always to this oak 
on this mountain top by way of this certain 
trail. No record has ever been kept of the 
time of their coming, of the number of their 
coming, from whence they come, nor for the 
purpose of their coming. In fact, they come 
in the fall about the time of the first snow, and 
the number has been noticed to grow less each 
time; their visit is always made at the full of 
the moon and after night, so that if they are 
seen at all, it is only a glimpse. 

They make no explanations, they tell no 
stories and no questions have been answered, 
if any have been asked, and long before they 
come again their visit has been forgotten, until 
again repeated. 

When these visits commenced no one knows. 
For hundreds of years the fertile lands of the 
Kanawha were famous hunting grounds for 
the savages. Tradition has it that the first of 
these pilgrimages to be encountered by a white 
man was some time in the early '50s when a 
hunter tracking a bear was surprised by the In- 
dians and hid himself behind a fallen trunk for 
safety, and saw them come trotting up the 
creek in single file. They were in full regalia 



and numbered about a hundred, gathering 
about the tree points, they waited silently for 
the falling of darkness. At the rising of the 
moon, a signal cry brought the band into single 
file again, they plunged through the tangled 
brush and set about the ascent of the bank. 
Presently in the strong moonlight the wonder- 
ing huntsman saw the line of dusky bodies 
appear in the clearing and wind up the trail 
to the towering oak, another signal call told 
they had reached the summit and the huntsman 
stayed no longer but crept unnoticed to his 
home. 

From time to time the redskins visited this 
mysterious spot in dwindling numbers. In 
1880 a band of thirty came down the creek one 
November noon, a settler named Cojen, curi- 
ous to know what they would do, watched 
them until they set out by moonlight on the 
hidden trail, then followed. In the early morn- 
ing the band came down the creek, scattered 
and disappeared, the leader as usual with a 
bulky sack slung over his shoulder. 

Cojen's brother then made search for him. 
Anxiously and swiftly climbing to the top, tak- 
ing the black oak for a guide around the tree 
he found an area of trampled brush and the 
ashes of a big fire. Near by was Cojen's body, 
with a rifle wound in his back and his head 
scalpless. While trailing the savages he had 
been trailed and slain. 

In lessening numbers still the savages came 
every few years until, in 1900, only one lone 
Indian made the last sad pilgrimage. Now the 
hidden trail is untrodden and thickly over- 
grown. There are no ashes under the black 
oak. The last meeting of the silent night fires 
has been held at the three points. W as it some 
ancient tribal ceremony that brought these 
bands hither Was the fire on the mountain 
top part of a secret tribal rite? Did the sack 
contain some charmed medicine or the regalia 
of the high priest? 

How did the little company travel all those 
wear}'- miles that they must have traveled un- 
discovered? To what tribe did they belong? 
These are questions none can answer, but we 
may surmise. 

Miles away on the Kanawha river are many 
Indian relics, but none on Campbell's creek. 



48 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The woodsman has delved into the ground 
around the old black oak without results. 
There is nothing in that wild spot to tell of the 
visits of the savages, except the trodden herb- 
age and the ashes of past ceremonies. 

In the long ago, there was a salt lick near 
the mouth of Campbell's Creek, to which all 
kinds of animals came for the benefit of the 
salt. In time there was a well-worn trail to 
this oft-frequented spot on the river, so well 
known to deer and buffalo. The Indians fol- 
lowing the game, came too, to this important 
place, and here, ever afterwards held their 
gatherings, not for the salt but because it was 
the spot blessed of the "Great Spirit" for the 
good of his creatures. The great warrior and 
chief, Cornstalk, was born on the Kanawha 
and stood high in war and council in the esti- 
mation of all the tribes and after his death, in 
1777, the veneration of the Indians for him was 
so great, they established some rite or sacred 



ceremony on the mountain near the sacred spot 
blessed of the "Great Spirit" in recognition of 
his goodness to them and in memory- of their 
great chieftain. What this ceremony was none 
can say; the Indian did not intend any mortal 
to know, especially the pale face. In keeping 
up these periodical visits the red man showed 
his courage, his trust in the faith of his ances- 
tors. 

Daniel Boon knew of this place where game 
congregated, and settled just across the river 
from the spot. Perhaps he knew too of the 
savages' religious rites, but he never inter- 
fered nor sought to disturb them. These mys- 
terious rites are now ended, but the white man 
has remembered the greatest of Indian chief- 
tains and erected a monument to his memory, 
not at his birthplace on Campbell's Creek but 
at the place of his death and his great battle, 
Point Pleasant. 



CHAPTER IV 



ORGANIZATION OF KANAWHA COUNTY 

The Act Organizing the County — Origin of the Name, Kanawha — -Boundaries — "Gauley" an 
Indian Name — First Court Held at William Clendenin's — Organization of the County 
Court, i/8p, and Justices Present — Other Officials — Court Houses — Clerk's Office — Jail — 
Remarks by Dr. Hale — His Archaeological Enthusiasm — The First House — Trip of Anne 
Bailey — Fleming Cobb's Perilous Trip — Appointment of Constables and Magistrates — 
Land Assessments — Some "First Things" — Prison Bounds — Collecting Taxes Not a 
Wholesome Business in Early Days — Land Owners in 1791 — Land Books — Tithables in 
1J92 — Kanawha County Records — Justices of the Peace. 



Henning's Statutes at Large, Vol. 12, page 
670 — October 1788, thirteenth year of the Com- 
monwealth, contains the following: 

"An Act for forming a new county, out of 
the counties of Greenbrier and Montgomery." 
Passed 14th of November, 1788: 

" Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that from 
"and after the first day of October next (1789) those 
" parts of the counties of Greenbrier and Montgomery, 
" within the following bounds shall form one distinct 
" county and be called and known by the name of 
" 'Kanawha.' " 

This name is an unusual one, and so far as 
the record goes or even the tradition appears, it 
was unusual at that time. It is said there was 
a tribe of Indians bearing that name, located 
somewhere, some time, on the upper New riv- 
er, which may be a fact; but they left neither 
record nor tradition such as would induce us 
to honor them with the name of a county. 
They must have been an unusual tribe ; they 
had never been in Ohio, and their fondness for 
the long-haired, white folks' scalps had not 
been developed. 

There may have been a tribe of Indians so 
named and we must assume that the people of 
Virginia, in General Assembly, knew what 
they were doing; we should also conclude that 
by giving this name to the county, there really 
was a tribe of good Indians that deserved to 



be so honored. Only this presumption that the 
people of Virginia knew what they were do- 
ing, warrants the conclusion. But this is not 
to be regarded as precedent, or proof in all 
cases. 

"Kanawha" was the name given to the new 
county. It is usually pronounced as if it was 
"Ka-gnaw-y" with the accent on the "gnaw." 
It is neither musical nor otherwise attractive, 
and being "Indian," there is nothing attractive 
about it to us; but to others, who appreciate 
Indian melody, it may be charming. There has 
been no excuse or apology placed on record to 
satisfy us for the adoption of the name, and 
we are unable to furnish any other than that 
the Assembly of Virginia knew what they were 
doing. Still we have no favorable opinion as 
to the advisability of honoring an Indian or 
Indian tribe, nor of adopting their musical mel- 
ody. It was done, however, and done in 1788, 
and no one having suggested a better name, it 
has remained and perhaps will ever remain — 
"So mote it be." 

The Act provided that the bounds of the 
county should be : "Beginning at the mouth of 
the Great Sandy, in the county of Montgom- 
erv," which means the Big Sandy that now 
divides Kentucky from West Virginia, on the 
Ohio river, "thence up the Big Sandy to the 
Cumberland mountain; thence a northeast 



49 



50 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



course, along said mountain to the Great Kan- 
awha ; thence crossing the same, at the end 
of the Gauley mountain; thence along said 
mountain to the line of Harrison county, with 
said line to the Ohio river; thence down said 
river to the beginning", including the islands 
thereof." 

Here comes another Indian melody, "Gau- 
ley," which has by some supposed to mean the 
word Gaul, or French, and for which conclu- 
sion there may be some authority, but it is 
not in the spelling. The river which is now 
called "New river" was then called the Great 
Kanawha river. \Ye do not propose to ex- 
plain the names of these rivers, but we still 
insist that the General Assembly knew what 
they were doing. For explanation of this 
boundary see a former chapter. 

This Act said that the justices should "meet 
" at the house of William Clendenin upon the 
" first court day after the said county shall take 
"place" (whatever that means). We do not 
know where this house was, and there is noth- 
ing to locate it. The only house standing in the 
spring of 1788 was the Clendenin Fort, but 
this was to take place October 1, 1789, and 
they gave the Clendenins time to erect a house 
for William, in which the court was to meet. 

The Governor was by the Act, authorized 
to appoint the sheriff, that is the first sheriff, 
and the Governor appointed the first justices. 
In the future elections of a senator, Kanawha 
was to be in the same district with Greenbrier. 

It was provided: "That a place for holding 
courts for this new county and of the selection 
of a clerk, they were not to be made unless a 
majority of the justices appointed be present." 
Evidently this proviso was suggested by Mr. 
Clendenin and it had the appearance of being 
a proviso that would not let William Morris 
get the location of the court house in the vicin- 
ity of Morris's home, which was about twenty 
miles above that of the Clendenin home, on the 
Kanawha river. This matter of locating Capi- 
tols began early to attract the attention of land 
owners, and town builders and real estate spec- 
ulators. 

The Act provided that the justices should 
elect a clerk, take the bond of the sheriff and 
fix a place for holding court in the county at 



or as near the center thereof as the selection 
and convenience will admit and thereafter to 
erect the buildings for the public use at such 
place and until such place was provided, the 
court should determine the place. It seems 
that the determination of the center of the 
county was hardly material, and almost im- 
possible, at that day and date. It might have 
located the place a long way from any settle- 
ment or Fort and the presence of some parties, 
not summoned, might have been unwelcomed 
and not disposed to obey the orders of the 
Court, as to order. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY COURT 

The fifth day of October, 1789, arrived and 
the following gentlemen justices presented their 
commissions and were sworn and qualified as 
members of the County Court of Kanawha in 
the commonwealth of Virginia : Thomas Lewis, 
Robert Clendenin, Francis Watkins, Charles 
McClung, Benjamin Strother, William Clen- 
denin, David Robinson, George Alderson, 
Leonard Morris and James Van Bibber. Ten 
in all present. 

Thomas Lewis held his commission as sher- 
iff, took the oath of office and he selected John 
Lewis as his deputy. William H. Cavendish 
was selected as clerk and Francis Watkins was 
made his deputy clerk. 

Reuben Slaughter was selected county sur- 
veyor. David Robinson, John Van Bibber and 
Benjamin Strother were selected as commis- 
sioners of the revenue. 

William Droddy and William Rogers were 
selected as coroners. 

For County Lieutenant, George Clendenin. 

For Colonel, Thomas Lewis. 

For Lieutenant-Colonel, Daniel Boone. 

For Major, William Clendenin. 

For Captains — Leonard Cooper, John 
Morris. 

For Lieutenants — James Van Biber and 
John Young. 

For Ensigns — -William Owens and 
Alexander Clendenin. 

And this seemed to have completed the 
organization of the county: the civil and 
military. It seems that George Clendenin 
had the control of the affairs in the new 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



51 



county, and it also looks as if men were 
scarce. The public buildings were ordered 
to be erected on the land of George Clen- 
denin, which was on the Kanawha river, 
above the mouth of Elk river. 

The settlement at the mouth of Kana- 
wha was represented by Thomas Lewis, 
James Van Bibber. Leonard Cooper and 
William Owens and perhaps others. 

The settlement at the upper end of the 
valley was represented by Leonard Morris, 
William Droddy. David Robinson, John 
Morris and perhaps others : while the 
Clendenin settlement was represented by 
nearly all the others mentioned. 

Lewis Tackett, John Young and a few 
others represented the mouth of Coal river 
which hardly amounted to a settlement at the 
organization of the county. 

If there was a settlement on Elk. it is not 
mentioned for years afterwards. Daniel Boone 
lived a few miles above Charleston in what 
is now known as "Kanawha City.'" The Land 
Books do not give the location of the owners, 
only the number of acres and its value. 

We should have supposed that the largest 
settlement was in the vicinity of Kelly's Creek 
and Paint Creek, and no doubt but this was 
the case for some time after the organization 
of the count}-. Why the residence of William 
Clendenin is not given we can not explain. 
There were two maps or plates of the town 
made, one is recorded in the county court 
clerk's office and a copy thereof in Atkinson 
History of Kanawha, and the other is in the 
West Virginia Historical Magazine for Octo- 
ber. 1904, page 323; and on these maps appear 
to be written (supposed to be) the names of 
the owners, but on neither is the name of 
William Clendenin. 

COURT HOUSES 

The first court house was William Clenden- 
in' s residence and the next was built in 1796 
(on the present court house lot), which was a 
one-story log house ; the next court house was 
built in 1817. 

The present court house was built in 1891. 
It was said that Mr. Alderson was the owner 
of the court house lot and sold it to the county 
on some settlement made between them. 



The first clerk's office was a stone building 
on the Hotel Ruffner lot, 14x14 feet, one 
story. The next clerk's office was a one-story 
brick, near the court house, with two rooms. 
In 1873 an additional room was built for the 
records of the deeds and wills, near the court 
house on the opposite side from the older 
clerk's office. 

Jail. — This was erected under contract by 
Lewis Tackett and the next by David Fugua 
on the present lot ; it was made of large hewed 
logs, lined inside with sawed oak plank, about 
twelve inches wide and four inches thick, 
spiked on the walls, and not one ever escaped, 
except through the doorway, and on several 
occasions it was pretty well filled. Then there 
was a two-story stone jail, and then the iron 
cage which is now used, enclosed within brick 
walls. 

Hale's "Trans- Alleghany Pioneers," 289, 
says that "It is a curious fact the legislature 
officially established the county in 1789. as 
'Kenhawa' and the town in 1794 as 'Charles- 
town.' both names by common consent became 
changed, one to 'Kanawha' and the other to 
'Charleston.' How. why or when, nobody 
knows." 

In an edition of Henning's Statutes, vol. 12. 
page 670. published 1823, with a certificate 
that they have truly and accurately printed 
the statutes, except certain errata, which are 
corrected, in matters of smaller accounts. This 
act was passed November 14, 1788: the name 
is spelled "Kanawha" and so spelled in many 
places throughout the chapter. 

It is another curious fact, that even Dr. 
Hale made mistakes in his explanations of er- 
rors, and it may be that he was right, not- 
withstanding, and it is not generally safe to 
deny a historical statement made by him. He 
sometimes became enthusiastic on a matter 
and went to extremes, as he was said to do in 
making collection of Indian flints : he wanted 
all that he could get and purchased some valu- 
able and curious ones. It soon became known 
that he would buy any old flint, and Bob Carr 
said that "they had started a flint-factory over 
in Ohio, to furnish Dr. Hale therewith." 

The first house or residence- fort, or block- 
house or all three in one, was the property of 
George Clendenin, then David Ruffner's. then 



52 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



James Wilson's, then became the property and 
residence of Fredrick Brooks, and after him 
John A. Trnslow owned it. In 1872 Dr. Hale 
purchased and removed the building to the 
northeast corner of Brooks and Virginia, re- 
paired, painted and made it sightly and com- 
fortable, and it is now in the possession of 
Tom E. Jeffries, U. S. engineer. So that the 
said historical first house is still with us, not- 
withstanding the Indians, fires and floods, and 
the tooth of Time. 

The first white child born in Charleston was 
Gen. Lewis Ruffner, on October 1, 1797. 

Hale's branch, on opposite side of Kana- 
wha, was named for "James Hale," who was 
working for George Clendenin, and who went 
from the fort to a spring for a bucket of water 
fresh from the spring for a sick young woman 
also in the family, at the fort ; he was shot 
and killed by Indians. This was about 1790 
and his name has been kept alive and ever 
will be and ever should be. 

It was about this time that "Anne Bailey" 
made one of her trips to Lewisburg for pow- 
der, and for unselfish sacrifice, she also should 
ever be remembered and the story of her life 
kept alive. She was last buried on the battle- 
field at Point Pleasant, near the monument to 
the soldiers. There should be a separate 
monument erected to her memory. 

It was about this time, perhaps 1791, that 
Fleming Cobb went to Point Pleasant, for am- 
munition for the fort in Charleston. He went 
and returned and brought the supply. He 
was strong, was cautious and careful, and al- 
though he met and encountered Indians, he 
managed to out-manage them all. Fleming 
Cobb should be honored with a monument. 

Andrew Anderson was appointed constable 
at Belleville and Amos Morris at Point Pleas- 
ant. 

Abner Pryor and Joseph Woods were rec- 
ommended for magistrates. William Hughes 
was appointed constable for Capt. John Mor- 
ris's district. Thos. Asbury for Coal river, 
and Abram Baker for Clendenin's station. 
William Morris was recommended for magis- 
trate. Lt was ordered that "a Petition to the 
General Assembly, on behalf of this county, 
stating the disadvantages under which the in- 



habitants labored, the remoteness of this situ- 
ation, the thinness of the neighborhood and the 
frequent invasions of the Indians, and prayed 
to be exonerated from the payment of taxes, 
until the blessings of Peace are imparted, and 
they are enabled to derive those advantages 
from their labors which the fertility of the soil 
promised." 

LAND ASSESSMENTS 

At the next session of General Assembly a 
re-assessments of the values of lands was di- 
rected and commissioners to be appointed. At 
the February term in 1790, it was ordered 
that "Andrew Donnally, Sr., William Morris, 
and Joseph Carroll do view a way at the town 
ford on Gauley river, through the narrows on 
the north side, up to Morris's cabin, up above 
the upper ford, on said river, and make re- 
port to next term." (This perhaps was plain 
when made, and may be yet to some.) 

The first deed recorded was from Thomas 
Lewis to Benjamin Eulin, for a lot in Point 
Pleasant. 

The next deed recorded is for a lot in Belle- 
ville. George Clendenin made three deeds to 
his daughters, Cynthia, Parthania, and Mary, 
giving to each two negroes, horses, cows, etc. 

Thomas Upton conveyed to Thomas Davis 
two hundred and forty acres at the mouth of 
Davis creek. 

The first will recorded was that of Thomas 
Hughes. The will of William Morris, Sr., 
was recorded in 1794. 

Administrators of the estates of James 
Hale, Michael See, Edward McClung, Roland 
Wheeler and Shadrock Herriman were ap- 
pointed by the courts. These men were killed 
by the Indians ; Shadrack Harriman marked 
the last white man killed by an Indian, March, 
1794, in the Kanawha valley. 

The prison bounds were extended, so as to 
include the garrison and house where George 
Clendenin lived, for the safety of the prison- 
ers, from the hostile invasions of the Indian 
enemy. 

PRISON BOUNDS 

Prison bounds were lines or boundaries out- 
side of the jail, in which prisoners were al- 
lowed to go without forfeiting their bonds, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



55 



that is, certain prisoners were considered to be 
within the jail while within these bounds. In 
those days men were imprisoned for not pay- 
ing their debts and for other cases, whose 
close confinement was not required. It might 
have been the case that some prisoners were 
within bounds and not able to go to the fort, 
in time of an invasion, and the court thought 
they were entitled to the benefit of the garri- 
son's protection; as if a man would hesitate 
about getting within the fort, whether he were 
in the bounds or not, if an Indian were after 
him ! 

We notice that Thomas Lewis of Point 
Pleasant was appointed sheriff of Kanawha 
on the morning of the first day and before 
night he came into court and resigned his 
office. What did that mean? Suppose he had 
a summons to serve on a man living at Belle- 
ville, and one on the North Carolina line, at 
the head of New river, and for such services 
he was allowed a few shillings. It was prob- 
able that Mr. Lewis knew why he resigned. 
Collecting taxes was not the most wholesome 
business in those days at best, and this also, 
perhaps, induced him to resign his office. 

But in this year 1789, in October, we see 
the county of Kanawha fully organized and 
ready for business, with a territory as large 
as some states, without a road, with but a few 
people and few houses ; but she had her Daniel 
Boone and his gun. 

LAND OWNERS IN 1 79 1 

The land books of Kanawha, 1791, show 
the following names of persons owning land 
in that year: 

William Arbuckle, Henry Banks, Thos. 
Bulletts Hairs, Jos. Mayor Carington, Leon- 
ard Cooper, Jas. Carnahan, Thos. Chenowith, 
John Chenowith, Michael Carnes, John Cal- 
loway, James Craig, Robt. Davis, Thos. 
Davis, Win. Duval, Wm. Donovan, Zechariah 
Dercer, James Donnally, Marcus Elkins, 
Thos. Edar, Baird Edmonson, Wm. Trigg, 
Geo. Welch, John Finley, Michael Gratz, 
Chas. Welling, Josiah Willard Gibbs, Ga- 
briel Green, David Gourd, Levi Hallengsworth, 
Easom Hanen, Shad. Harriman, Merdecai 
Hord, Hogg and Bullett, James Hines, Moses 



Hunter, Wm. Hepburn, John Dundass, John 
Jones, Benj. Lodge, Thos. Levacy, Jacob 
Lochard's heirs, Isaac Moses, Robt. Mercer, 
Jas. Mercer, Nat. McGill, Geo. Muse, Levi 
Osborn, T. F. Preston, Wm. Pryor, Benj. 
Pollard, Ed Price, Jas. Penberry, Sam'l 
Pleasants, Geo. Snuffer, Thos. Upton, James 
Vaughan, Morris Given, Wm. Griffith, Isaiah 
Hews, Benj. Wyncoop, John Wilson, John 
Ward, Solomon Wilson, Geo. Washington, 
Geo. Washington and Andrew Lewis, Sam'l 
Ward, Foster Webb, Jonathan Windsor, 
Sinah West, John Young, Mathew Vaughan, 
James Wilson, Wm. Henderson and others. 

The year 1790 was the first year that there 
was a land book in Kanawha, and as this was 
smaller and badly written, we made selection 
of 1791. 

How many or rather how few of the above 
named persons were residents of the county? 

The list of Tithables is supposed to give the 
names of the residents of the county, and the 
number found on the land book and also on 
land books, will show the resident land 
owners. 

Taxes were charged in English money, 
pound and shilling and pence. The dollar and 
cent were not used until 1799. 

TITHABLES OF KANAWHA IN 1 79- 

William Allen, Davis Alderson, Charles 
Alsbury, Thos. Alsbury, Emos Alwater, 
William Arbuckle, Daniel Boone, Jesse 
Boone, Michael Baker, David Brown, Abra- 
ham Baker, John Bailey, John Beckley, Geo. 
Clendenin, William Clendenin, Alex. Clen- 
denin, Joseph Carroll, William Carroll, John 
Childress, Leonard Cooper, William Craig, 
James Craig, Jacob Coonci, John Carter, 
John Cavender, John Campbell, Jacob Cas- 
dorph, Fleming Cobbs, Thomas Craig, An- 
drew Donnally, W'illiam Droddy, Joseph 
Don, James Ervin, David Ervin, John Ed- 
wards, Joseph Edwards, James Ferguson, 
John Fleming, Geo. Fitzwater. Leeman 
Gibbs. Edward Hughs, Thomas Hariman, 
William Hall, Joel Houston, Samuel Hous- 
ton, Thomas Hughes, Nat. Huddleston, 
John Huddleston, Daniel Huddleston, Tohn 
Moss, Amos Morris, Chas. McClung, [ohn 



56 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Morris, William Morris, Levi Morris, Henry 
Morris, Ed. McClung, And. McClung, Will- 
iam Morris, Jr., David Milburn, Benj. Mor- 
ris, Leonard Morris, William McClung, 
Daniel Northup, Michael Newhouse, Henry 
Newhouse, William Owen, Abner Pryor, 
Edward Price, William Pryor, Allan Pryor, 
John Reynolds, Maurice Reynolds, Isaac 
Robinson, Allen Rue, Michael See, Reuben 
Slaughter, AYilliam Smith, James Shirkey. 
John Shepperd, Thomas Smith, Robt. St. 
Clair, Geo. Thornton, Isaac Taylor, Francis 
Tackett, Levi Tackett, Benj. Uland, Jesse 
Yan Bibber, Peter Van Bibber, Jas. Van 
Bibber, Isaac Van Bibber, Mathious Van 
Bibber, John Van Bibber, Joseph Wood, 
Nemen Watkins, Roland Wheeler, John 
Wheeler, Roland Wheeler, Jr., Shadrach 
Harriman. John Hansford, John Hart, John 
Jones, John Jenkins, Robt. Iron, William 
Wheeler, Samuel White, John Young, Con- 
rad Young, Mathias Young, Ezekiel 
Woody. 

KANAWHA COUNTY RECORDS 

Thos. Lewis resigned as sheriff. Cav- 
endish resigned as clerk and Frances Wat- 
kins was appointed as clerk in his place. 
Daniel Boone presented his commmission 
from the Governor, appointing him Lieut. - 
Colonel, who came into court and qualified 
April 4, 1 79 1. 

1791 — Philip Iron qualified as deputy 
surveyor for Reuben Slaughter. 

May — Andrew Donnally was appointed 
a Justice by the Governor. (AVhat is the dif- 
ference between a justice and a magistrate ?) 

George Clendenin, AYilliam Morris, 
George Alderson and John Van Bibber, 
were licensed to keep public house and they 
gave bond and received the rates, which 
last then meant, that the court determined 
and furnished the prices to be charged for 
meals and drinks. 

Feb., 1792 — A road ordered to be cut and 
cleared from William Clendenin's to the 
Great Sandy river, and a levy of two shil- 
lings per head ordered for repairing the 
road to the top of Gaidey Mountain. 

Jan.. 1793 — Leonard and John Morris 



were appointed as administrators of Wm. 
Morris, Sr., and Jacob Carter, John Camp- 
bell, were made appraisers. Elizabeth See 
appointed administratrix of Michael See, 
deceased, and Thos. Lewis, Leonard Cooper 
and John Van Bibber, appraisers. 

Nov., 1793 — Geo. Clendenin, clerk of this 
court, begged leave to resign. Andrew 
Lewis of Bath County, was appointed in his 
place but failed to attend. John Reynolds 
was made clerk in place of Lewis. Francis 
Watkins was made a Justice (though he is 
acting clerk). 

Thos. Lpton's will is proven and Fleming 
Cobb, executor. Francis Watkins is ap- 
pointed sheriff and also commissioner of 
land tax. (Thus we have seen Francis Wat- 
kins was on the court bench, was clerk and 
sheriff and commmissioner). 

August, 1795 — Thos. Hannan versus John 
Edwards, jury trial. Joseph Ruffner made 
surveyor of roads in place of George Aider- 
son. Jesse Jarrett, Leonard Morris, John 
Miller, road surveyors. 

Nov. 2, 1795 — George Alderson is ap- 
pointed sheriff by the Governor. George 
Clendenin enters dissent against his quali- 
fication because the language of the com- 
mission is insulting and uncustomary, it 
being as follows : "Know ye that the Court 
of Kanawha having failed to nominate fit 
persons for the office of sheriff, etc." 

Nov., 1795 — Present, George Alderson, 
gentlemen, who refused to adjourn the 
Court. (The next court held Jan. 4, 1796). 

March 7, 1796 — William Clendenin quali- 
fied as sheriff. Grand Jury sworn. Geo. 
Alderson has John Allen qualified as his 
deputy. Deed of William Duval to Jas. 
Swam recorded. 

March 8, 1796 — Committee report on 
road from Ten Mile to Point Pleasant. 
John Miller and Edward Erwin granted 
license to keep ordinary. 

April 4, 1796 — There were 90 wolf scalps 
presented for payment, and allowed 2 s. 8 d. 
each. 

There was allowed to Chas. Donnally for 
his house for a courthouse, 200 s. and for 
inside work of courthouse, for good floors, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



57 



2 doors, 4 windows, one pair of stairs and 
stair door, a fashionable seat for the magis- 
trates' and the clerks' table and the attor- 
neys' bench and bar — 128s. To be chinked 
and daubed in workmanlike manner. 

August 1, 1796 — Edward Graham, pro- 
cured license to practice law in the Inferior 
and Supreme Courts of this commonwealth 
under the hand and seal of Paul Carrington, 
Edward Winston, and S. Henry, judges of 
the Superior Court. Liberty is granted to 
him to practice law in this county and said 
Edward took the oath as attorney to sup- 
port the constitution and the oath of office 
and he was appointed State's Attorney for 
this county and allowed $40.00 per annum. 
(This is the first named attorney since the 
county was organized.) 

Nov., 1796 — Presented Joseph Ruffner 
for failing to repair road. Presented Joseph 
Burrell for hunting on the Sabbath day. 
Presented William James for taking the 
Lord's name in vain. The ferries kept by 
Thos. Lewis on Ohio and Kanawha rivers, 
continued. Geo. Clendenin's ferry on Kana- 
wha, continued and assigned to Joseph 
Ruffner. 

George Alderson again protests against 
the "sufficiency of the jail." 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE FOR KANAWHA 
COUNTY FROM 1797 TO 1847 

(The dates given are those of qualifica- 
tion.) 

1797, David Milburn, died. 
1809. Daniel Ruffer, sheriff, 1839-40, re- 
moved to Cincinnati. 



1814, Andrew Donnally, sheriff in 1843, 
his office expired in 1845. 

1817, Joel Shrewsbury. 

1821, John Slack, sheriff in 1841-42. 

1825, Jesse Hudson, sheriff in 1845-47. 

1825, Van B. Reynolds, removed to 
Louisville. 

1825, James Staton. 

1826, James C. McFarland. 
1826, John P. Turner. 

1831, Samuel Summers, departed this life 
in 1845. 

1833, John Hansford. 
1833, William Gillison. 
1833, Philip R. Thompson. 
1835, Joel Shrewsburv, Jr. 

1835, Alex W. Handly. 

1836, John Synder. 
1836, John C. Thomas. 
1839, Alex Wallace. 
1839, Spicer Patrick. 
1839, Isom Adkins. 
1839, Felix G. Hansford. 

1839, Allen M. Smith. 

1840, John Lewis. 

1841, Mahlon S. Morris. 

1843, Shepherd Duke, removed to Ken- 
tucky. 

1843, Richard E. Putney. 
1843, J oe l Ruffner. 
1843, Mason Campbell. 
1843, William King. 
1843, Adam Cook. 
1843, L. H. Brannon. 
1847, John D. Lewis. 
1847, Henry H. Wood. 



CHAPTER V 



THE PIONEERS 

The Morris and Clendenin Families — John Jones — Perils of a Settler's Life — Individuals of 
Morris Family; Their Record — Bishop Thos. Asbury Morris — Major John Hansford — 
John Jones — John Paddy Huddleston — Daniel Nihoof — Kanawha Valley in 1808 — Sum- 
mers' Journal — The Clendenin Family — Payroll of Capt. Wm. Clendenin s Company, 
1/88 — Muster Roll of Capt. John Morris, i/pi — Pensioners under Act of March 18, 1818 
— Pension Applicants — Ruffner Family — Peter Ruffner, the Immigrant — -Individual 
Mention — Gen. Lewis Ruffner — Elk River Settlers — Skeleton on Strange Creek — Early 
Patents of Elk Lands — Jarrett Ford — Rescue of Boy from Indians — White Man Disguised 
as Indian; his Merited Death — Mrs. Mary Ingles — Abb's Valley — The Moore Family 
Tragedy — Rev. Jas. M. Brown — Killing of the Stroud Family — Wiping-out of Bull Town 
— Lewis Tackett — Tackett's Pine — Anne Bailey; her Interesting Story and Heroic Char- 
acter — Alvah Hansford's Recollections — James River and Kanawha Turnpike Opened — 
Daniel Boone; his History — Simon Kenton — Simon Girty — Wilson Harris's Recollections 
— Coalsmouth — Tobacco, a Legal Tender. 



THE MORRIS AND CLENDENIN FAMILIES 

The upper settlement in the Kanawha 
Valley, was made by the Morris family, 
which was the first white family* that be- 
came permanent settlers in the Kanawha 
Valley. About fourteen years thereafter 
there was made the lower settlement at the 
mouth of Elk river, by the Clendenin family. 

AYalter Kelly previously attempted to 
make a settlement on the Kanawha river; 
he brought his family from the Greenbrier 
country and settled at the mouth of Kelly's 
creek, but he sent back his family, only re- 
maining- himself. He was too early and had 
not sufficient force to maintain himself. He 
was at work and Col. Field had stopped 
with him and they had a black man with 
them ; the Indians came up on them by 
stealth and fired upon the settlers while 
they were at work making leather. They 
killed Kelly and the black man, but Field 
made his escape. 

The exact date of Kelly's coming is not 



known but he was killed early in 1773, and 
then followed the Morris family, who took 
possession of the place left by Kelly. 

AYilliam Morris was on the ground in the 
fall of 1774 and just what month he and his 
family came to the valley is not definitely 
known. But he came to stay and stayed. 
His family was large enough to make a for- 
midable resistance, and Indians did not at- 
tack when they had reason to expect a warm 
reception. 

The Morris family was composed of Will- 
iam Morris, Sr. and his wife, and his ten 
children, to wit : William, Jr.", Henry, Leon- 
ard, Joshua, John, Carroll, Levi, Benjamin, 
Elizabeth, who was the wife of Mr. See, and 
Frances, the wife of John Jones. These, 
were thus eleven men and as many wives 
and many children and with each holding a 
good gun, they made too formidable an 
array for an ordinary Indian squad to attack. 

Mr. William Morn's, the father, was be- 
coming old when he arrived ; he was a quiet. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



59 



peaceable patriarch whose business was to 
protect his family. His eldest son was Will- 
iam. Jr.. a strong, hale, hearty man, who, 
when he decided, executed and never let 
small objections interfere ; he was the leader 
of the family and while he had not the 
benefit of an education, nevertheless he was 
a born leader of men. 

Henry was hardly second to William, a 
perfect giant physically, who suffered from 
the Indians, that killed two of his daugh- 
ters: he swore eternal vengeance, and he 
never afterwards let an Indian escape, if 
he had an opportunity to kill him. 

Leonard was also a strong character and 
was the best known member of the family. 
He took more interest in affairs generally, 
and was at one time supposed to have been 
the first of the family to arrive from the 
Greenbrier Country (although yet in Green- 
brier County, on the north side of the river 
and was in Montgomery County, on the 
south side of the river). 

Joshua and John were strong, reliable 
men of good judgment: there were also 
Carroll. Levi, and Benjamin, that were 
rather disposed to belong to the quiet order 
of mankind. 

Mrs. See lost her husband early : while the 
cause of his death was not given, evidently 
we are authorized to consider that it was an 
Indian. 

Mrs. John Jones had a husband that was 
much of a man. He and John Morris, and 
perhaps others, were in the battle of the 
ioth of October. 1774, and it is said Mr. 
Jones also volunteered in the service of the 
state in the Revolutionary war. It would 
seem that in every way this family was ad- 
mirably adapted for the times and they made 
the most of it. It is probable that there 
were others that came with them, but we 
are unable to give their names, and no In- 
dian is recorded as having made any suc- 
cessful attack on their homes. They prac- 
ticed eternal vigilance. 

They were on the line that the travelers 
to Kentucky adopted to go to the Ohio 
river and thence down the same, and while 
the trail from Lewisburg to this valley was 



by no means a turnpike, it became the trail 
that the travelers, hunters and surveyors 
adopted and used, through a hundred miles 
of wilderness, and here it ended. 

THE SETTLERS' PERILS 

To bring a family of men, women and 
children into a wilderness and to maintain 
them there, was no small undertaking. They 
had plenty of water and wood and the wild 
animals were all around them ; all of which 
required energy and forethought and activ- 
ity to feed and protect them. They had no 
crops, no grain, no mill, no store, no mar- 
ket, but game and fish were plenty; there 
were nuts and wild fruits, etc., by which they 
could live for a year or so ; they had no doc- 
tors, nor ministers, nor churches, no drug 
store, and they only had what they made 
(home-made) and gathered by the use of 
their guns. All this was bad enough, but 
it was not the worst. They had an enemy, 
a most brutal and cruel savage Indian 
enemy, whose whole purpose of life was the 
destruction of the white man, woman and 
child, and they had no nature or instinct to 
which any appeal could be made. These 
brutes came in squads and whenever they 
found a white person unprotected or a home 
that was not guarded, then they delighted 
to take scalps, which meant life. Conse- 
quently the settlers had to keep a watch and 
guard and always have their guns loaded 
and near at hand. This added greatly to 
their worry, and their fears and their dan- 
gers. 

We are advised that a settler's life was no 
picnic. 

Your imagination will aid you when vou 
hear that none went outside of the house, 
but what some skulking Indian was likely 
to fire on them from some hidden post; but 
with all this dread and this lack of conve- 
niences and even necessities, the Morris set- 
tlement progressed, and it spread to the 
opposite side of the river, and up and down 
the river, and others came and settled. One 
may have supposed the more of them there 
were, the more misery and suffering, but 
they continually improved their condition. 



60 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The Morris family was in the Valley when 
General Andrew Lewis's army marched 
down to the Ohio river, and some of the 
Morrises joined said army and were engaged 
in the battle at Point Pleasant on October 
10, 1774. 

Boat building begun early and travel was 
made better by it ; they were able to sell 
boats and this travel was safer, and the 
settler was bettered, and his finances im- 
proved. Farms were appearing in better 
shape, fences looked better, houses and 
stables, pastures for stock, and the trade 
from the east began; they had to have pow- 
der, and they were constantly improving 
their conditions, and all the while they had 
to obtain new almanacs, time kept passing 
on, seasons followed seasons, and no note 
of time was kept. Tempus fugit. 

Major Billy Morris's wife was Catherine 
Carroll, born in 1751 ; married in 1768. 
From the death of the father, the Major 
became the head of the family, and one of 
the leading men of the county. 

The first settlement in Kaifawha was 
made at the upper end of the valley, the 
lower part was not settled for some time, 
that is, in 1788, when George Clendenin 
and his friends came to the mouth of Elk 
river, at least twenty miles below that of 
the Morris settlement. . 

The children of Major and Catherine Mor- 
ris were : Jane, born in 1770, married Major 
John Hansford; Gabriel, born in 1772 ; Will- 
iam (the 3rd), born in 1773, married Polly 
Barnes; Catherine, born in 1778, married 
Charles Venable ; Carroll, born in 1779; 
John, born in 1783; Cynthia, born in 1792, 
married Isaac Noyes. 

The Morris family were English and also 
were Baptists. They first came to Phila- 
delphia, then to Culpeper, Va., then to 
Greenbrier and then to Kanawha Valley. 
They were movers and were growing all 
the time. They were land buyers and were 
on the lookout for good lands all the while. 

Jane Morris (A-i), born in 1770, became 
the wife of Major John Hansford in 1787, 
at Lewisburg, in Greenbrier County; she 
was the oldest child of Major William and 



Catherine. Major Hansford lived at the 
mouth of Paint Creek and he was in the 
Legislature, 181 1 and 1813. Jane died in 
1854 and left twelve children, one of whom 
was Sarah, born in 1792, who married a 
William Morris, whose children were: Ful- 
ton, Joshua and John. His sons were : Her- 
man, William, Morris, Felix G. John, Car- 
roll, Charley, Alva, Gallatin and Melton. 

Gabriel Morris we can get no information 
of, and we shall not undertake to guess that 
he went to Kentucky or elsewhere. 

William Morris (the 3rd), born 1775, 
married Polly Barnes, daughter of Joseph 
Barnes, and the mother of Polly was the 
sister of James Ramsey, of Shepherdstown 
on the Potomac, the inventor of the steam- 
boat. This William Morris was the in- 
ventor of the "stips or jars," a tool that 
made deep well boring possible, which in- 
vention was a public benefit. Their children 
were : Joseph Barnes, married Sally 
Hughes ; Catherine, married Morris Hans- 
ford ; Roxie, married Joel Alexander; Ja- 
nette ; Cynthia, married Wm. White ; Will- 
iam (the 4th), married Julia Mitchell; 
Maria, married Norborne Thomas ; and 
Thomas Morris. 

Catherine, who married Morris Hansford, 
had four children, viz : William, Franklin, 
Monroe and Emeline. 

Tanette never married; she lived to be 
eighty years of age, but she never grew old. 

Catherine Morris, daughter of Major 
William, was born in 1778, married Charles 
Venable in 1800; they left no children and 
he was one of the first to emancipate his 
slaves. She was a Morris by all the rules 
of inheritance and was exceedingly popular 
with the young peop^ and there they were 
always found. She decided a question and 
then acted with determination and let no 
trifling matter interfere with her. She once 
decided to attend some gathering on the 
opposite side of the river, and there was no 
boat on her side. She took the clothes she 
wanted to wear and placed them in a sugar 
trough, shoved the same ahead of her and 
swam the river, and attended as if nothing 
unusual had transpired. She had been 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



61 



heard to say that she had done this often. 
Her home was in the lower part of Kana- 
wha City, a few miles above Charleston, on 
the south side of the Kanawha river. She 
was a woman of character and decision and 
one whom everybody admired. 

Carroll Morris, fifth child of Major Will- 
iam, married we know not whom. His chil- 
dren were : Maria, married John Hansford ; 
Letitia, married Norris Whitteker ; Parth- 
enia ; Catherine, married Dr. Sutherland; 
Michael ; and Carroll, Jr. 

John Morris, born in 1783, sixth child of 
Major William and Catherine Morris, mar- 
ried Polly Duke. He sold his place to 
Aaron Stockton and moved to Missouri. He 
had a son, Granville, who was killed in the 
Black Hawk War. He decided to go West, 
he built a boat, into which he placed his 
family, servants, wagons, tools and some 
stock, etc. The entire Baptist congregation 
assembled on the shore to see him start, a 
prayer was offered for his safety and he 
launched his boat and left the Valley. 

Cynthia Morris, seventh child of Major 
William, was born in January, 1792. She 
married Isaac Noyes, who came from one 
of the northern states and was one of the 
leading merchants and salt makers of the 
Valley. His home was on south side ad- 
joining the Venable home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Noyes lived to be quite old 
and were well known and respected by all 
the people of Charleston and vicinity, and 
they were the ancestors of the families of 
Noyes, Smith, Rand, Arnold, Ruby, and 
others, of Charleston. 

Col. Benj. H. Smith and his son Isaac H. 
Smith, and his son Harrison B. Smith, were 
all lawyers of prominence, and the latter is 
so eneaged yet. To write a full history of 
this Smith family would alone require a 
volume. 

Henry Morris, the second son of William 
Morris, Sr„ married Mary Bird of Bath. 
County, Va., who was, with her sister, made 
a prisoner by the Indians and held for seven 
vears, until she was sixteen years of age. 
Henry built his home on Gauley river in 
1791 and his only neighbors were Conrad 
Young and Edward McClung. 



Henry and Mary had eight children, 
seven daughters, and one son, John Morris. 
The girls were Leah, Catherine, Margaret, 
Polly, and Betsy, and the names of the 
others we have failed to learn. In 1792, 
while Margaret and Betsy had gone after 
the cows, they were caught and scalped by 
Indians and both buried in one grave. The 
rest of the family went to the Fort on the 
Kanawha, and Henry swore eternal ven- 
gence on all Indians. Mr. Young's family 
were boys and could handle a gun. 

Henry Morris was a large, stout, healthy 
man, had no fear and when aroused was a 
desperate one. He never recognized any 
Indian as a friend, and it was his business 
to kill all of them that he saw. He was at 
the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 and 
with the flanking party on Crooked creek. 

One of his daughters married William 
Bird of Bath County, and they settled on 
Twenty Mile and afterward on Sycamore. 
Another daughter married Jesse James, of 
Bath County, and they settled on Otto 
Creek. Another daughter married Conrad 
Young, Jr. Henry died in 1824. John, son 
of Henry, married Jane Brown and they 
had some sons and five daughters. Alfred 
N. Morris, son of John, was a Baptist min- 
ister. 

Leonard Morris was the third son of Will- 
iam Morris, Sr. It has been said that he came 
to the valley before his father or any of the 
others, but so far as history or tradition goes, 
they all came together. He v/as one of the 
judges of the county court. He in 1775 saw 
the surveyors making the survey of the Burn- 
ing Spring two hundred and fifty acre tract. 
In 1798 he was the sheriff of the county, his 
home was at the mouth of Slaughter's creek, 
and his neighbor was John Flynn who was 
killed by the Indians on Cabin creek, and his 
son made a captive, taken to Ohio and burned 
at the stake. 

He first married Miss Price and afterwards 
Margaret Likens. The children of the first 
union were as follows : 

John, went to Missouri and died about 
183 1 ; Meredith, went South; Mary, married 
1791 Lawrence Bryan; Sarah, married 1794 
to' Fleming Cobbs; Elizabeth, married Robert 



62 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Lewis: Leonard, Jr., married Ann Austin in 
1805. 

Leonard Morris's children by his second 
union were : Charles, married Lucinda 
Crocket; Nancy, married John Shrewsbury; 
Parthinia, married J. B. Crocket ; Joshua, 
married a daughter of Jonathan Jarrett; 
Hiram, never married; Peter, married a 
daughter of Jonathan Jarrett; Andrew, never 
married, died in Indiana in 1842; Cynthia, 
married Samuel Hensley; Madison, married 
Nancy Spurlick; Dickinson, married Susan, 
daughter of James Morris. 

Hiram Cobb, a grandson of Leonard Mor- 
ris, came from Point Pleasant to Charleston 
in a canoe, from sunrise to sunset, and won a 
gallon of peach brandy thereby- This is as 
fast time as the little packets usually made it 
in, the distance being nearly sixty miles. 

Charles Morris, son of Leonard, born 1790, 
died in 1861. His children were: Leonard, 
born 1819, married Courtney Walker, resided 
in Brownstown, and is yet hale and hearty; 
Hamilton, born 182 1, known as "Ham Mor- 
ris," the clerk, and one of the best and most 
popular men of the county ; Francis, died 
young; Andrew, born 1828, went to Texas, 
died in 1875; Charles, Jr., married Miss Fos- 
ter, died in 1875; Margaret, born 1829, mar- 
ried Mr. Samuels, attorney; Parthinia, born 
1831, married Tom Swindler; John, born 
1833, married Miss Abton. 

Joshua Morris, fourth son of William Mor- 
ris, Sr., married Francis Simms of Virginia; 
their children were : W'illiam, who married 
Sarah Hansford, lived at Gauley Bridge; 
Edmund ; Henry ; Elizabeth ; Lucy, married 
Mr. Chapman ; Nancy, married John HarrL 
man ; Thomas ; Mary ; and John, born in 1 794 
in Culpepper, Va. 

Joshua settled in Teays Valley, but Indians 
were too troublesome. William, his son, mar- 
ried Maria Hansford, lived near the Falls and 
moved to Missouri. Their children were 
Fenton, Joshua and John. 

The will of Joshua Morris, Sr., was re- 
corded in 1824, Will Book No. 1, page 46. 

John Morris of Cabell county, son of 
Joshua, was born in 1794, in Culpeper 
county, Ya. ; be married first Mary Everett, 



and their daughter Eliza married William 
Love. 

Mary, the wife of John Morris, died and he 
then, in 18 19, married Mary Kinard and their 
children were as follows: Charles K., married 
Martha A. Kilgore; Albert A., never married; 
Joseph W., married Sarah A. Russell (he was 
a captain in the Confederate States army and 
was killed in Fredrick, Md.) ; Edna E., mar- 
ried Addison T. Buffington; James R., mar- 
ried Helen M. Russell; Mary S., married first 
Ira T. McConihay and then John P. Sibrell. 

John Morris was an extensive stock raiser; 
he lived east of Milton, was frequently elected 
to legislature, and was known as a man of 
wealth. He went East with his slaves when 
the war came on and died in 1862, and while 
he was absent his house was burned and a 
great loss inflicted on his family. 

Joseph and James attended school in Cabell 
at Marshall Academy. Dr. McConihay of 
Charleston is a descendant of this family. 

John Morris, fifth son of William Morris, 
Sr., married Margaret Droddy and their chil- 
dren were John, Jr., Edmund, Levi, William, 
and Thomas Asbury. 

John was a captain of the Kanawha militia 
in the early days, and was an executor of his 
father's will. He lived about five miles above 
Charleston on the south side and afterwards 
moved to Cabell county and his son Edmund 
became a clerk of Cabell court in 1809. John 
Morris seems to have invested in lands on 
Hurdican and on Mud and owned one thou- 
sand acres on Mud, hence he was mound in 
Cabell county in 1809. 

BISHOP THOMAS ASBURY MORRIS 

The house where Thomas Asbury was born 
stood on a beautiful swell of ground, near a 
never-failing spring of excellent water, which 
house commanded a fine view up and down 
the Kanawha river for miles. All of the Mor- 
ris family were strict Baptists and while 
Thomas A. was in Cabell county w-ith his 
brother Edmund, he attended a school under 
Dr. William Payne, who was a Methodist, 
and the education and the religion of the 
teacher became that of the pupil. Thomas 
joined the Methodist church in 1813. and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



03 



gave his hand to Rev. Samuel Brown, who 
was conducting" the services while the congre- 
gation was singing, "This is the way I long 
have sought." He was instructed by Rev. 
Burwell and Rev. Stephen Spurlock, two 
Methodist ministers that preached for a long 
time in the county of Cabell and in Wayne. 

Thomas Asbury attended all their church 
meetings and he was licensed to preach by the 
quarterly conference in April, 1814. 

In some of these meetings he met and be- 
came acquainted with Miss Abigail Scales, a 
daughter of Major Nathaniel Scales, who 
lived on the Ohio river, where Huntington 
now is. Thomas and Abigail were married 
and they went to live at their home called 
"Spice Wood Cottage" on his father's land; 
this was in 18 14. He was made a bishop in 
1836. His life was published in 1875 and 
there was written by the bishop a sketch of 
his early life. There was also published a 
sketch of the life of his first wife, Miss Scales, 
in the Ladies' Repository in 1842 and it is 
written that she was born in Patrick county, 
Virginia, and came and lived with her father 
on the Ohio river until her marriage. Mrs. 
Morris was a sister of Mrs. Jacob Hite, Mrs. 
William Buffmgton, Mrs. Dr. Benjamin 
Brown and other daughters of Major Scales 
from North Carolina. His daughter Jane was 
born in Cabell county in 181 5 and she became 
the wife of Joseph G. Rust of Cincinnati, O., 
and they also had a son, who became a minis- 
ter, Rev. Francis Asbury Morris. 

The bishop lost his wife in 1842 and he 
married Mrs. Lucy Merriweather in 1844. 
She was the widow of Dr. Merriweather of 
Kentucky. She died in 1871 and the bishop 
subsequently contracted a third marriage. A 
handsome steel engraving of him is contained 
in the "Life of the Bishop" and he was a 
fine specimen of a man. 

It was said by some of the bishop's Baptist 
friends, that he chose the Methodist church 
because there were no bishops in the Baptist 
church and no opportunity for promotion. 
While Bishop Morris was one of the bishops 
of the old Methodist church, before the divi- 
sion, he made no change but remained therein 
until his death, which was in 1874. 



Bishop Morris was a talented man, of fine 
address and appearance, and perhaps may be 
said to have been the most illustrious of the 
Morris family. And as a bishop, he was sec- 
ond to none, at the time in which he served 
his church. He was a man of great executive 
ability and an earnest, faithful minister. 

Carlos Morris or Carroll was sixth son of 
William, Sr. We have no information of this 
son. 

Levi Morris, seventh son of William, Sr., 
married Margaret Starks first and Peggy Jar- 
rett secondly. The children were: Cynthia, 
married L. Brannon, the hatter; William; 
Benjamin, married Amanda Hamilton; James, 
married Sarah Shelton ; Francis, married 
William Spurlock; G. W., married Sarah- 
Hamilton ; Elizabeth, married Levi Spurlock ; • 
Martha, married Mr. Burgess. 

Levi was born in 1768 and died in 1834. 
James Morris, son of Levi, married Sarah 
Shelton, and their children were : George, who 
was killed by fall on the ice when a boy; Levi, 
Jr., married Mary Voirs and went to North 
Carolina; Benjamin, married Ann Montgom- 
ery; James D., married Alice L. Hammaker; 
Susan, married Dickinson Morris; Amanda, 
married E. F. Flagg; Sarah, married William 
Hamilton; Ellen, married Silas Custer; Eva, 
married Dr. Manser of Kentucky; Margaret, 
married Joshua Harriman; Emma, married 
first Dr. Early and secondly William Riggs ; 
Mary died young. 

Benjamin Morris, eighth son of William 
Morris, Sr., was born in 1770 and died in 
1829. He married Nancy Jarrett and their 
children were: Achilles, who went to Mexico 
and died ; Frances, married William ■ Shelton 
and went West; Virginia, married J. Kincaid 
of Ohio; Catherine, married Miles Manser of 
Kentucky; Jane, married Jacob Johnson; 
Celia, married Captain John Harvey; Eden, 
married Miss Edgar of Greenbrier; and Leah, 
who married Mr. Pardy. 

Benjamin Morris in 1824 built a brick 
house which is now known as the "Dunn 
House." He was a great hunter and once 
killed thirteen bears in one day. 

Morris Harvey of Fayetteville was a son of 
Capt. John Harvey and the wife of Morris 



64 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Harvey was a daughter of H. M. Dickinson 
and the sister of Morris Harvey. Miss Fanny 
married Capt. Snelling C. Farley of steamboat 
fame. 

Elizabeth Morris was the ninth child of 
William Morris, Sr. She married Mr. See. 
Michael See and Adam See were sons of 
Geo. See and they came from the south branch 
of the Potomac. Michael See was in Kana- 
wha in 1792. 

Frances (or Franky) Morris was the tenth 
child of William Morris, Sr. She married 
John Jones, who was born in 1775 and died 
in 1838. He was in the battle of Point Pleas- 
ant, and from the account published of his un- 
usual conduct, he must have been excited ; but 
if he ran, it was towards the enemy. He 
came from Culpepper county and he was also 
in the Revolutionary War. He settled above 
Paint Creek, was thrifty and had a good home, 
plenty of land, was generally well known and 
was a good Baptist. He delighted to tell of 
his martial experiences, while resting under 
the shade of an apple tree, brought home with 
him and growing near his house. His wife 
survived him and the monument to him and 
other members of his family she erected in 
her life time. 

Col. B. H. Jones of 60th Virginia Infantry, 
C. S. A., was a grandson of John and Franky 
Jones. He was a writer of much history of 
the late war and died in Lewisburg. 

Among the early marriages in Kanawha are 
found the following: 

1793, Sarah Morris and Charles Young. 

1795, Sarah Morris and Fleming Cobb. 

1796, Elizabeth Morris and Joshua Hil- 
yard. 

1796, John Morris and Mary Ann Coleman. 

1794, Mary Morris and Lawrence Bryan. 
1800, Catherine Morris and Charles Ven- 

able. 

1802, Lucy Morris and Lucas Chapman. 

1803, Edmund Morris and Sally Estell. 

1804, John Morris and Jane Jordan. 

1 80s. Leonard Morris and Mary Heister. 

1806, Polly Morris and Jas. Ellison. 

1807, Cynthia Morris and Isaac Noyes. 
1807, Miriam Morris and Easom Hannon. 
1807, John Morris and Jane Brown. 



1802, John Morris and Hannah Morrison. 

For further particulars of the Morris fam- 
ily, refer to the W. Va. Historical Magazine, 
April, 1905, and for John Jones, October, 
1903- ls< 

MAJ. JOHN HANSFORD 

Major John Hansford, born in Orange 
county, Va., 1765, died in Kanawha, 1850. 
He is said to have come to this valley in 1778; 
he married Jane Morris, daughter of William 
Morris and who was born in 1770 and she 
was four years old when she came to Kana- 
wha valley. Some say that he was married in 
Lewisburg in 1787. As this part of the coun- 
try then was in Greenbrier county and the 
record of the marriage was made in Lewis- 
burg, we presume that it was intended to say, 
that their marriage was in Greenbrier county; 
we should say that they were married at her 
father's house, at the mouth of Kelly's creek, 
on the Kanawha, where she lived with her 
father. John Hansford and Jane lived near 
William Morris until 1798, when they went 
across the Kanawha to a house there which 
they built just below the mouth of Paint creek. 
He had patented five hundred and thirty acres 
on Kanawha in 1793, four hundred acres on 
Paint creek in 1800, four hundred and ten 
acres on Kanawha in 18 18 and one hundred 
and ninety-seven acres on Paint creek in 1822. 
So he had land enough ; besides it is said his 
wife's father gave them a tract on which they 
built their home, which house, when built, was 
said to be the best in the valley; it was a 
frame, two-story, six rooms, the inside was 
made of cherry and walnut, but the material 
was all handmade. He is described by those 
who remember him, as a handsome, clean 
shaven man, well dressed, in blue broadcloth 
and silk hat. He entertained most hospitably 
and at eighty was as gay as a boy. He had 
many interesting stories to tell of his time 
while in Richmond in the House of Delegates, 
for he represented Kanawha from 181 1 to 
1818 inclusive, was there at the time of the 
burning of the theatre, and some solid silver 
spoons he purchased are still in existence, 
marked "J. H." He was a magistrate and a 
captain of the militia. His commission bore 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



65 



date 1809, captain of a company in the 80th 
Regiment in 13th Brigade in the 3rd Division 
of the Virginia militia. He was a Whig, a 
Baptist, a farmer, a salt maker and almost 
everything else. He drilled his company on 
each muster day near his home and after the 
muster was over he set out "something good" 
of his own distilling, and then he took his 
leave; and as a magistrate and as their cap- 
tain he could no more be found that day. He 
said that he wished the boys to have their own 
fun in their own way, which was to drink and 
fight as long as the brandy lasted, and Ave all 
know that good soldiers have been drilled to 
fight. There were no fines to pay on that oc- 
casion. He was a very industrious man all 
his life; he died in 1850, and his wife in 1854. 
Their boys were : Herman, William, born 1790, 
Morris, born in 1794, Alex G. born 1795, 
John born 1798, Carrol born 1799, Charles 
born 1800, Alvah born 1803, Marshall born 
1807, Gallatin born 1808, married Nancy 
Harriman; Milton born 181 1, married Mary, 
daughter of Andrew Parks, whose mother was 
a niece of General Washington. 

Of the family of Felix G. Hansford, we 
have learned probably the most. He was edu- 
cated under Dr. McElhamy of Lewisburg 
who as a Presbyterian minister served his 
church for sixty years. He there met Miss 
Frazier and they were married in 1821. They 
then came to Kanawha and he built a two-story 
brick residence near Paint creek in 1825. 
Their children were : James Frazier Hansford, 
who married Anne Noyes; Martha Jane, who 
married John S. Smith; Sally, who married 
Philip Doddridge; Felix G., Jr., who married 
Miss Hamilton, and Philadelphia Hansford 
who married William Hobson of Richmond. 

The home of Maj. John Hansford was a 
stopping place for travelers and the Hansford 
family was not only an early one but it was 
as good as it was early — one of the very best 
in any country. Paint creek was named from 
the fact of the Indians having painted some 
trees there to show them that it was a high- 
way over to the New river, far in the centre 
of the state, and that it was a nearer and bet- 
ter route. 

The Morris and Hansford families inter- 



married later and they all did much to build 
up the country and the Baptist church, which 
proved their value as pioneers. 

JOHN JONES 

John Jones, previously mentioned in brief, 
came to Kanawha as a pioneer and settled 
just after the end of the Revolution; he first 
came with Genl. Andrew Lewis on the way 
to Point Pleasant. He returned to his home 
in Culpepper county, Virginia, and then went 
into the Revolutionary army and remained 
until the end of the war. He was born in 
1755, finally came to Kanawha soon after the 
Yorktown surrender in 1781, and the first 
next thing he did was to marry Frances Mor- 
ris, of Kelly's creek. In 1792 he took a patent 
for three hundred and fifty-nine acres on the 
Kanawha river, also for four hundred acres 
in the same year, and for four hundred acres 
in 1797 in the Teays valley, also for land on 
Paint creek. He is said to have controlled 
the situation from Paint creek up to the Nar- 
rows and the town of Clifton was located on 
his farm and his own homestead was there 
also. This town was afterwards called 
"Dego" and now it is "Pratt." Why not call 
it Jonesburg? 

He was a quiet, easy, but positive man; he 
made more by attending to his own business 
on his own farm in his own way than he could 
in any other way. He had peculiar views as 
to some things, but they were his own iffair. 
He was a member of the Baptist church for 
over forty years. He made his home and his 
farm comfortable and when a traveler stopped 
with him once, he always wanted to go again. 
He was near to Capt. John Field when he was 
wounded at Point Pleasant. His will was re- 
corded in 1838 and he was buried in the Clif- 
ton cemetery. He had a son, Gabriel Jones, 
a daughter Nancy, who married Huddleston; 
Frances, who married a Shelton, and she was 
the mother of Hon. Winston Shelton of Nich- 
olas county. Several of the family went to 
Indiana and this is all we shall tell of this 
pioneer — a man who did his duty, attended to 
his own business, and was a member of the 
Baptist church for forty-two years. See Oc- 



66 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tober, 1903, W. Ya. Hist. Magazine for the 
residue. 

JOHN PADDY HUDDLESTON 

His father Daniel Huddleston was born 
and reared in eastern Pennsylvania, and went 
to Virginia and settled in Bedford county. In 
after years Daniel Huddleston married Rachel 
Martin and their son was named "John Paddy 
Huddleston" and this family came to Kana- 
wha after the Morrises but before the Clen- 
denins. 

He had a house, that tradition says, was bu>1^ 
in 1785, the style of house then built is the 
kind this house was ; a double, two-story, 
hewed-log-framed, especially when it was in- 
tended to keep travelers on the roadside ; a 
tavern, inn or ordinary. At first Daniel 
stopped at Loop creek, but subsequently 
crossed the Kanawha and built on the opposite 
side. 

Daniel, when he heard of the coming battle 
by Gen. Lewis, took his gun and his canoe and 
went down the river, but reached the Point 
just after the battle, but he was doing the best 
he could. 

Owing to the location of the stream and 
mountains, the travel from the East was either 
around to the north of the Falls, and down 
Kelly's creek to the river, or they crossed 
New river higher up and came down by Paint 
creek. And those living above Kelly's creek 
were to a great extent cut off from the line of 
travel for some time. Roads were out of the 
question. 

Daniel Huddleston patented three hundred 
and eight acres on the Great Kanawha in 
1791. on which he made his farm and his tav- 
ern home. Nathan Huddleston patented two 
hundred acres of land on Laurel creek in 1801 
and also two hundred acres on the waters of 
Kanawha in the same year. David Huddles- 
ton seventeen and a half acres on Loop creek 
in 1809. Daniel Huddleston in 1810, twenty- 
seven acres on Kanawha, John P. Huddles- 
ton, fifty acres on Armstrong creek, 18 10, and 
fifty acres on Kanawha river T815, and Job 
Huddleston one hundred and sixty-eight acres 
on Jarrett's branch 1830, etc. 

John Paddy Huddleston was born in 1771, 



died in 1862 and hence he was aged ninety- 
one. He was yet a boy when Daniel Boone 
came to Kanawha and took Paddy with him 
to set a trap for beavers, which he discovered 
in the Kanawha. This trap is now in the 
historical rooms in the Annex, left there by 
the Huddlestons. 

John Paddy married Miss Mirian Jarrett of 
Paint creek and their children were : Job Hud- 
dleston, Jarrett, Allen, Nathan, George 
Paddy, Fleming, Ruth, who married Samuel 
Hanna and lived in Clifton; Nancy, married 
first Pinckney Peeples of North Carolina and 
later John A. Dempsey, and she yet resides 
in Fayette county, is ninety-one years of age 
and is bright and cheerful as ever; Elizabeth, 
married Frederick Nihoof of Frederick City, 
Md. ; Hulda, married Maj. Hiram Marsh of 
Vermont ; and Mary married John Martin. 

Mrs. Ruth Hanna was ever regarded the 
most beautiful woman in the Kanawha valley. 
There was Peter Likins who owned from 
Smithers creek to Boomers branch. Then 
came John Boomer who was a cousin to 
Paddy Huddleston, and from Boomer up, for 
about four miles, was owned by the Huddles- 
tons. There was living above them, Zack B. 
Thomas, Mr. Copeland and Mr. Keeny. 

Just when Daniel, the ancestor died, we 
have not learned, but John Paddy Huddleston 
became known of all men, and he knew every- 
body and never forgot anybody or anything. 

He was called "Paddy" and this was one 
of his names, and not a nickname, nor was he 
an Irishman. He was rather a small man and 
a very quiet, easy going man, never drank, 
although he distilled peach brandy, which all 
taverns well kept were expected to have, 
among the other good things to be found 
when wanted, and which were among the first 
things called for by tired travelers, but neither 
Paddy nor his sons ever indulged and none 
were ever known to use profane language. 

J. Paddy Huddleston was a decided Union 
man and did all he could to keep the state from 
seceding, but when the state of Virginia passed 
the ordinance and the same was ratified, then 
Paddy said, "We will have to go with her," 
but he took no part with either side in the war, 
and he and his family and his property were 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



07 



respected by all parties. He had two grand- 
sons, Dan Nihoof and William Marsh, who 
spent a part of the war time in the service of 
the "C. S. A." and lived to return home after 
it was over. 

There were several of the Huddleston name 
that moved to Indiana but the family of John 
Paddy all died at home in Kanawha, or in 
Fayette. Fleming - Huddleston died on Blue 
creek in 19 10, and Nancy still surives. The 
others have all gone. 

DANIEL NIHOOF 

Daniel Nihoof, son of Frederick and Eliza- 
beth Huddleston Nihoof, was born in 1837, in 
1857 married a daughter of Joseph Perkins of 
Gauley and their children are : Frederick, who 
lives in Kentucky ; Elizabeth, married Mr. 
Tamplin and is a widow ; Anne, married Mr. 
Morris, both died ; Kate, married Mr. Easely, 
said to be the image of her Aunt Ruth ; Joe, 
is in Ronceverte; Charles, with his father at 
Boomer. 

On the C. & O. Railroad, Mt. Carbon is at 
the mouth of Armstrong creek; at the mouth 
of Loup creek, is "Deep Water," on the Ka- 
nawha river and the C. & O. Railroad, and is 
the terminus of the Virginian Railroad, about 
half way between Montgomery and the falls 
of Kanawha. 

Mr. Nihoof tells that near his home there 
was a large flat rock in the river's edge on 
which there was engraved there distinct fig- 
ures representing an arm from the elbow in- 
cluding the hand ; a wild turkey track ; and a 
fish ; that they are well executed figures and 
have been there since the memory of man run- 
neth not to the contrary, and that the Indians 
have always been credited with the execution 
thereof ; the rock is covered with the water 
since the dam has been built. 

KANAWHA VALLEY IN 1808: SUMMERS' 
JOURNAL 

Lewis Summers made an inspection of 
this valley in 1808, passing down it on horse- 
back, with an eye for an investment in real 
estate, and watching for the outlook, to see 
what was the income to be. Exactlv how 
he heard and learned that there was a Kana- 



wha Valley we do not know, unless it was 
through George Clendenin, who had been 
in Richmond in the Legislature. 

Summers kept a journal for the use of 
his father, whereby he could make selection, 
which was retained in the family and pub- 
lished in the Southern Magazine. He left 
Alexandria, Virginia, June 22, 1808, passing 
through Centreville, Haymarket. Fauquier 
C. H., Culpepper, then across the Blue Ridge 
to New Market and Harrisonburg, on the 
27th. Leaving Staunton to the left, he went 
to the Warm Springs, the Hot Springs, 
Jackson's river, to Dennis Callahan's, and 
the White Sulphur Springs, then Lewis- 
burg, in Greenbrier, where the tavern was 
kept by Mr. Tyree. On the 30th he reached 
New river and struck Kanawha river at 
Hoof's Ferry and went on clown to Mr. 
Jones's, here he notes that the farms are 
larger, the houses, buildings and orchards 
are better and more comfortable. July 2d, 
he left Jones's, crossed the river and w T ent 
down on the north side to Ruffner's Salt 
Works, which had lately commenced; he 
had but 64 kettles and the parts were quite 
temporary. The salt made was good and 
50 pounds made a bushel. He dined with 
Mr. Joseph Ruffner, who said they made 
from 25 to 30 bushels per day and sold it 
for $2.00 per bushel. He met Mr. Whit- 
tiker at the court house. The farms in- 
creased in size as he descended the valley. 
Mr. Ruffner told him that the Dr. Craik 
land, opposite Pocatalico. was the finest 
piece of land he ever saw and was worth 
four dollars per acre, taking it all. Mr. 
Andrew Donnally. the clerk, estimated the 
best of the bottom land at twelve dollars 
per acre. That there was a fine settlement 
in Teays Valley. July 3d. saw James Wil- 
son, who had been here twelve months and 
had gone to the Mason Court : saw Mr. 
Reynolds. July 4th, the day was celebrated 
by gentlemen and ladies, about twenty of 
each : Mr. Reynolds, David and Joseph Ruff- 
ner and their families; Mr. Buster and fam- 
ily: Col. Andrew Donnally and family; Mr. 
Sparks and family and others, some fine 
girls from Teays Valley. 



66 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



While at the court house, his horse be- 
came lame and "Mr. Reynolds proposed a 
swap, and we selected Mr. Buster and Mr. 
McGee to make the trade for us." Mr. 
Summers then proceeded down the river to 
Blakes, then to Caruthers, and on the 6th 
of July he crossed the Kanawha, at Poca, to 
the Craik land which had been laid off into 
lots from 150 to 350 acres; the first lot was 
vacant, the second was held by Caruthers, 
the third was held by Tacket, the fourth 
by Asbury. 

He crossed the river at Red-House and 
went on Johnson's in Bronaugh's bottom, 
July 7th, examined G. W. Craik's bottom 
land, Col. Powell's, Mrs. Aldrich's and G. 
W. Craik's. 

July 9th, met Mr. Hale, brother to Mrs. 
Minor; his first wife was sister to John 
Bronaugh, and his present wife, sister to 
William Bronaugh. Concerning Point 
Pleasant, he says, nature has been liberal 
to this place, but enterprise, industry and 
capital appear to be wanting. "Proceeded 
to Gallipolis and stopped at Menager's; met 
Mr. Le Clerc, Mr. Bruno; dined with Mr. 
Hereford; went with Col. William Clen- 
denin and examined Mercer's bottom land; 
met Mr. Andrew Lewis and Mr. McKee,", 
etc. 

On the 1 6th of July, he returned to Point 
Pleasant, and went on to Parkersburg on 
the 18th, where he saw Mr. Neal, Mr. James 
G. Laidley, and talked politics; and went 
on to Wheeling, then through Pennsylvania 
on to the Potomac and down the same to 
his home and made his report, and his 
father purchased the Dr. James Craik place 
afterwards, who resided in Alexandria. 

THE CLENDENIN FAMILY 

It was in the spring of 1788 that the Clen- 
denins came to the mouth of Elk river and 
this family with those that came with them 
made quite a settlement below the Morrises. 
Evidently the Clendenins knew the situa- 
tion and the first thing they did was to con- 
struck a fort, or fortified house, made bullet 
proof. They had purchased the "1030 
acres" immediately above the Elk river, 



that had been surveyed for Col. Thos. Bul- 
litt, and they came prepared to stay and 
likewise had guns and axes and men. All 
these people were active and energetic and 
made the bark fly. 

They, too, came from the Greenbrier 
country ; they had learned what an Indian 
was and his ways of warfare, and they felt 
that while it was bad enough, they could 
take care of themselves, and with the people 
now in the valley, they all felt that with 
care and watchfulness, they could resist any 
and all that might come against them. 

While the Morrises were constantly im- 
proving their acquired lands, they also were 
on the lookout for other choice lands and 
were rapidly acquiring them ; there was 
plenty of it, but there were choice pieces 
which were a good thing "to have and to 
hold." 

The Clendenins were Charles, the father, 
George, William, Robert, Alexander and 
Mary Ellen. All of these were quiet, sober- 
sided, thoughtful men, good and true, kind 
and generous, able, educated and well 
trained and acquainted with the ways of 
the world. 

The settlement at the mouth of Elk was 
rushed forward and buildings around the 
fort to entertain the people that might 
come, and to shelter the farmer, that was 
clearing the land, were constructed. The 
settlement was growing, communication 
with the East more common, and business 
was looking up all along the line. No 
doubt it was quite an entertainment to have 
a blacksmith shop in their midst, and a ped- 
lar was a God-send, and besides it was not 
so lonesome. It was some fifteen or twenty 
miles from one settlement to the other, but 
between the two it was filling up with 
settlers. 

The Clendenins seemed to have been .a 
little ahead, in some respects, of the Mor- 
rises, and although the upper settlement 
was the larger, it seemed to have been bet- 
ter satisfied with this situation, while the 
Clendenins had an "eye out" for the future 
and especially for the Growth of the lower 
settlement; and the Clendenins supposed 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



71 



a little town might get a start — at least a 
start, on Major Morris. It was not long be- 
fore it was announced by George Clendenin 
that the Legislature had made a new county 
and directed a court to be established and 
the court house was to be at "Clendenins" — 
all of which had a tendency to start a boom 
at this settlement at the mouth of Elk, 
where the people were wont to meet; to 




WILLIAM CLENDENIN FROM A PAINTING 

which place they would have to come, and 
even Major Morris, would be summoned 
to attend. 

We do not know that Clendenin "chuck- 
led" or that Major Morris "cussed," but the 
court house of "Kanawha" was located at 
"Clendenin's." Perhaps few, if any, had 
ever heard the name of the new county; 
many wondered why they had selected an 
Indian name, and more were wanting to 
know why the court house was located 
"away clown" at the mouth of Elk, etc. 

Evidently the Clendenins had had a hand 
in it, if they had not been so long in it 
otherwise, and our pioneers, the Morrises, 
who had been too busy in other matters, 
were out-generaled. 



Another account of this family runs as 
follows : 

There came to Greenbrier in 1761, Archi- 
bald and Charles Clendenin, and in 1763, 
peace was made between the French and 
English and the Indians had no excuse for 
murdering raids into the settlements in Vir- 
ginia, yet there was a raid made under Corn- 
stalk into Greenbrier county that destroys 
the settlement on Muddy creek, and the 
family of Archibald and Mrs. Clendenin, 
with an infant and her brother John, were 
taken off as prisoners into Ohio. 

Charles Clendenin's home and family es- 
caped, and its location at the time men- 
tioned, is not given. Charles had four sons 
and one daughter, viz : George, William, 
Alexander, Robert and Mary Ellen. George 
was born in Scotland in 1746 and was with 
Col. John Stuart, sent from Greenbrier to 
the Richmond convention in 1788, and 
George met Cuthbert Bullett in Richmond 
and purchased from Bullett the 1030 acre 
tract of land on the Kanawha, just above 
the mouth of Elk. 

Dr. Hale wrote that on May 1, 1788, the 
Clendenins. and others were on the land 
purchased of Bullett and were at work con- 
structing a fort and a residence for his fam- 
ily and associates, and the fort was built 
and the town was begun. With Clendenin 
came Francis Watkins, Joshua Harrison, 
Charles McClung, John Edwards, Lewis 
Tackett, John Young, and others whose 
numbers were sufficient to prevent an ordi- 
nary Indian attack. The official designation 
of the fort was "Fort Lee," though usually 
known as Clendenin's Fort. And for a time 
it was used as the court house of Kanawha 
county. It was a two-story, double, hewed- 
log, bullet-proof building and near by were 
some cabins for residences. 

Charles Clendenin, the father, died in 
1790 and was buried near the fort, which 
was located about the corner of Brooks and 
Kanawha streets, where the residence of 
Charles C. Lewis, Sr., now is. The first 
county court was held Oct. 5, 1789, in the 
fort, when the county was organized. 
George Clendenin was sent to the legisla- 



72 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ture from Kanawha in the years 1790-1791- 
1792- 1 794 and 1795. 

In 1795 the 1030 acre tract was sold by 
the Clendenins to Joseph Ruffner, except- 
ing only the lots that had before that time 
been sold, and the Clendenins went to the 
mouth of the Kanawha on the Ohio. George 
went on a visit to Marietta, Ohio, and there 
died before May, 1797. 

William Clendenin was born in 1753 and 
Margaret, his wife, was born in 1762, their 
children, Elizabeth and Sophia, were born 
in 1785 and 1787, Charles, Jr., in 1789 and 
John in 1790. 

William died in Sept., 1828, aged seventy- 
six years. Margaret died in 1833, aged 
seventy-three. He also represented Kana- 
wha in the legislature. He lived the latter 
part of his life below Point Pleasant, oppo- 
site Gallipolis. He and his family were 
buried in the Steinberger cemetery, near his 
home. 

The Clendenin family were all good citi- 
zens, good business men and reliable, quiet 
people, and are entitled to the credit of be- 
ing the founders of the town of Charleston, 
which they named after their father. 

For further details of the Clendenin fam- 
ily. Ave would refer the reader to the West 
Virginia Historical Magazine for July, 1904, 
and to the Southern Magazine, in which the 
journal of Lewis Summers is published, 
which gives much information as to William 
Clendenin and family. 

Just exactly why the Clendenins sold their 
holdings at the mouth of Elk, on the Kana- 
wha, has not been explained. The Indians 
had ceased to trouble, and the country was 
growing; they had great holdings for sale, 
the county was organized and they had been 
honored in every way and it looks as if they 
should have remained, and sold lots, cleared 
and cultivated land and continued to repre- 
sent the county in the legislature, but Ruff- 
ner's gold induced him to let it all go, and 
there may have been other reasons; but if 
so. it is not related; therefore we will repeat 
that it was to rest in his old days and be 
quiet and enjoy the sight of the two towns 
and the big boats, etc. 



Peace to the founders of Charleston for- 
ever. 

PAY ROLL OF CAPT. WILLIAM CLENDENIN's 
COMPANY, GREENBRIER COUNTY, MOUTH 
OF ELK, IN 1788 

Capt. Wm. Clendenin. 

Lieut. Geo. Shaw. 

Ensign Francis Watkins. 

Sergeant Shadich Harriman. 

Sergeant Reuben Slaughter. 

Privates. John Tollypurt, Samuel Dun- 
bar, John Burns, Isaac Snedicer, William 
Miller, John Buckle, Jas. Edgar, Michael 
Newhouse, Robert Aaron, Wm. Carroll, 
Thomas Shirkey, Nick Null, Archer Price, 
Ben Morris, Levi Morris, Jo Burwell, Wm. 
Boggs, Wm. Morris, Wm. Turrell, Wm. 
Hylliard, John Cavender, Henry Morris, 
Chas. Young, Wm. George, Alex Clendenin, 
John Morris. 

MUSTER ROLL OF CAPT. JOHN MORRISES CAMP, 

Capt. John Morris, Lieut. Geo. Shaw, En- 
sign Andrew Lewis, Ensign Alex Clendenin, 
Sergeant John Hansford, Sergeant Geo. 
Roberts. 

Privates. Thos. Upton, David Johnson, 
Sr., Jas. Hazleton, Lewis Floyd, Wm. Mil- 
ler, Edmund Newhouse, Leonard Morris, 
Edward Price, John Moss, Reuben Slaugh- 
ter, Adon Mathews, Henry Morris, Chas. 
Young, John Jones. Wm. Droddy, John 
Tackett, John Bailey, Jr., Nathaniel Hud- 
dleston, Wm. Smith, Rowland Wheeler. 
Phillip Tuon, John Wheeler, Ezekiel 
Droddy, Wm. Pryor, John Windsor, John 
Sheppard, Michael Newhouse, John Mor- 
ris, Jr.. Chas. McClung, Henry Newhouse, 
Ed. McClung, Jas. Spencer, Wm. Hall, Wm. 
McCallum, Jo Graham, Geo. Alderson, Wm. 
Griffith. Wm. Carroll, Wm. Morris, Jr.. 
Tonathan Windsor, Conrad Young, Joseph 
Edwards, Levi Morris, Thos. Alsbury, Jr., 
Arch Casey, John Cavender, Roland 
Wheeler, John Childers, Samuel White, 
Wm. Hughes. Davis Alderson, John Jen- 
kins, Carrol Morris, Chas. Alsbury, John 
Sharp, Wm. Crain, Wm. Neil, Jo Burwell, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



73 



Thomas Sammons, John Carter, Benjamin 
Johnson, Patrick Cockhern, Pleasant Wade, 
Reuben Simmons, Abram Barker, Jos. Car- 
roll, Francis Watkins, John Bailey, Wm. 
Rider, Mathias Young, Lewis Tackett, 
Benjamin Morris, Lewis Tackett, Jr., Ed- 
ward Hughes, Jo Clymer, Henny Bailey, 
Mathew Wheeler, Robt. Juon, John Case- 
bolt, Sam Peeples, Thos. Hughes, Thomas 
Shirkey, Thomas Hughes, Jr., Gabriel 
Jones, John Edwards. 

To the roll of Capt. John Morris's com- 
pany, called into service from March 13, 
1792, to Jan. 1, 1793, which is substantially 
the same as for 1791, there is appended un- 
der the head of "Remarks" a statement of 
where they did duty, etc., viz: 

Capt. John Morris performed his duty at 
his own fort and with him there were Eze- 
kiel Droddy, sergeant (he had no family) 
and Thos. Alsbury ; made a crop there ; 
family there also and Chas. Alsbury; made 
crop, family there also; Thos. Alsbury, 
made crop (no family), and Thos. Haman, 
part of the time at home and at George 
Alderson's. 

At Clendenin Fort was John Young, 
lieut., with family. Alex. Clendenin with 
family, made crop; also Abram Baker, his 
family; John Edwards, with family, made 
crop; Thos. Upton with family; Larkin 
Stone, single ; Thos. LTpton, Jr., John Bur- 
well, Andrew Hamilton; Michael New- 
house and family, made crop ; Ed. New- 
house ; Lewis Tackett, Sr., made crop on 
town lots, family with him ; Amos Atwater, 
Lewis Tackett, Jr., single; after death of 
Michael See; Francis Tackett, single: 
Pleasant AYade. single. 

At Col. Andrew Donnally's. Francis Wat- 
kins, resided in town; William Miller, sin- 
gle: Wm. Droddy and family, made crop; 
Thos. Smith, with family, made crop there ; 
Geo. Alderson with family, made crop at 
home on river a mile above John Shepherd, 
was shot in the thigh, cured by Mr. Alsbury. 

At Leonard Morris's : Edward Price and 
family: Henry Newhouse, single; Robt. 
Lewis and family; William Lewis, single. 

At William Morris's: Jo Carroll. Will- 



iam Carroll, son of Jos. Carroll, Davy Aider- 
son, John Moss (wife Avas daughter of Jo 
Carroll), Henry Wheeler, captured by In- 
dians; Mathew Wheeler, killed by Indians, 
16th October, 1792; Allen Rice with family, 
made crop ; Jo Chymer, single ; William 
Smith, single. Boat building. 

Jonathan Henderson, family made crop; 
William Morris, Jr., at home; Edward 
Hughes, single, made crop; John Hans- 
ford, made a crop over the river ; Jonathan 
Kindson, little boy of 14; Carrol Morris, at 
home ; John Cavender, single, boat build- 
ing; John Bailey, single; Thos. Castor, sin- 
gle; Samuel White, took family to Jackson 
river, had a negro ; John Nugent, single ; 
Nathan AVheeler, single, made crop; Will- 
iam Pryor, made crop at home; Isaac Jen- 
kins, bov of 14, with father, John Jenkins ; 
Roland Wheeler, killed Oct. 16th. 

At John Jones's : John Jones, at home, 
kept boat yard ; John Jenkins, with family, 
made crop ; John Campbell, single, made 
crop; Nathan Huddleston, family, made 
crop ; Robt. Irwin, single ; Joseph Edwards, 
Ben Morris, Gabriel Jones, Isaac Jenkins, 
15; Thos. Hughes, Jr., boy of 15 years; 
James Shirkey, single, made crop. 

Peters Creek Station — Henry Morris, 
two children killed, then at Jones's; Mathias 
Young, Chas. Young, John Nidclle, James 
Robinson, single : Henry Young single. 

At Pryor's — Daniel Tawney, Allyn Pryor, 
Wm. Pryor. 

STATEMENT OF KANAWHA COUNTY OF PER- 
SONS ON THE PENSION LIST UNDER ACT 
OF CONGRESS, MARCH l8, l8l8 

Isham Bailey, private, allowed $25.97, 
Virginia Militia, placed on pension roll Sept. 
16, 1833; pension commenced March, 1831, 
aged 79. 

William Bailey allowed $80.00, aged 80. 
Marshall Bowman allowed $30.00. aged 
74- 

John Cassey allowed $80.00, aged 70. 
Robt. Christian allowed S23.33, aged 70. 
Peter Grass allowed $43.33, aged 79. 
Rush Millam allowed $30.00, aged 75. 
Job Martin allowed $80.00, aged 81. 



74 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Alex. Thompson allowed $20.00, aged 71. 
Joseph Thomas allowed $43.33, aged 75. 
John Young allowed $46.66, aged 74. 
Benjamin Stono, aged 74. 

APPLICATIONS FOR PENSIONS 

Fleming Cobb, Kanawha, did not serve 
six months. 

Thos. Smith, Kanawha, did not serve six 
months. 

Ben Johnson, Kanawha, did not serve six 
months. 

Jonathan Windor, Kanawha, did not 
serve six months. 

Chas. Young, Kanawha, served in Indian 
War. 

Samuel Martin, Kanawha, awaiting fur- 
ther proof. 

Jas. S. Wilson, Kanawha, not six months' 
service. 

Peter Cook, Kanawha, awaiting proof. 
Edward Brown, Kanawha, not six 
months' service. 

RUFFNER FAMILY 

Having treated of the Morris settlement, 
and then of the Clendenin settlement, we 
come now to the Ruffner family, that takes 
the place not only of the Clendenin but also of 
the Dickinson salt property, which together 
for a long time in the history of the county is 
to control the destiny of the valley. 

The Ruffners came to Kanawha from the 
valley of Virginia, the Shenandoah valley. It 
has been stated that this family were among 
the Hessians that came with the British to 
overcome the revolution brought about by 
England's tyranny and formally announced 
in the Declaration of Independence by the 
colonies, July 4, 1776, and who remained in 
the United States after England's failure to 
hold her supremacy over the colonies — that 
her hired German soldiers chose to remain as 
Virginians instead of returning to Germany. 
But this is not true. In the first place, the 
ancestor, Peter Ruffner, was born in Switzer- 
land and came to America when a young man, 
bringing with him an only sister, who became 
Mrs. Abraham Strickler, they being the par- 



ents of the Strickler family, Jacob and Joseph 
and others of Shenandoah county, Va. 

Peter Ruffner married Mary Steinman in 
Lancaster county, Pa., and also settled in 
Shenandoah, where he lived and died. He 
was the first of the name in Virginia and he 
settled in 1739 and hence was among the first 
of the German settlers of the valley of Vir- 
ginia. 

"The German Element in the Shenandoah 
Valley" is a work published in 1907 by Prof. 
John W. Wayland of the University of Vir- 
ginia, who says, "One of the largest land 
holders in the Shenandoah valley was Peter 
Ruffner, who was the first of the name in Vir- 
ginia and settled at the large spring on the 
Hawksbill creek, in 1739, now close to the 
town of Luray. His wife was Mary Stein- 
man whose father gave to them a large tract 
of land on the said creek, extending eight 
miles from its mouth on both sides, and then 
Peter added to this estate extending it four 
miles further up the same." 

In one of the conveyances dated in 1746 the 
name is spelled Ruffnaugh and Ruffner, and 
Peter became the administrator of the estate 
of Abraham Strickler, his brother-in-law. It 
is said in said Wayland authority, that Peter 
was of the Menonite sect, but Daniel Ruffner 
said that the Ruffners and himself were Luth- 
erans. 

The children of Peter and Mary were: Jo- 
seph, born September, 1740, died March, 
1803. He married Anna Heistand who also 
was born in Shenandoah in -1742; the mar- 
riage was May 22, 1764. There were some 
six or seven others of the family but as they 
never came to Kanawha, we will omit their 
mention. They were Benjamin, Catherine, 
Peter, Jr., Reuben, Tobias, Elizabeth and Em- 
anuel. 

The children of Joseph and Anna were : 
Esther, born 1765, died young in Shenandoah; 
David, born 1767, died 1843 in Kanawha; Jo- 
seph, born 1769, died 1837 in Cincinnati; To- 
bias, born 1773, died 1836; Eve, born 1777, 
married N. Wood, went to Ohio ; Daniel, born 
1779, died in Kentucky, July, 1865; Abraham, 
born 1 78 1, died in Ohio. 

Joseph and wife moved to Kanawha in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



75 



1795. He had been out West before that, and 
had purchased the five hundred and two acres 
salt property including other at mouth of 
Campbell's creek, from Col. John Dickinson 
of Jackson's river. 

Joseph became interested in the town of 
Charleston and he purchased all the land that 
the Clendenins had not sold; he owned all the 
salt property that was then known; and with 
the beginning of a new county, and a new 
town, and a new business, in a new world, he 
invested heavily and wisely. Consequently 
every proposition that had for its purpose the 
aiding of the upbuilding of the town or the 
county he became interested in. He was an 
active energetic, full of a go-ahead spirit and 
determination, and made a success of every- 
thing. He did not live to be over sixty-three 
and died in 1803. His wife died in 1820 and 
was seventy-eight years of age and both are 
buried in the Ruffner cemetery. 

His son David succeeded him as the leader 
of the name; he was prominent as a justice, 
as a salt maker and man of affairs. His wife 
was Anne Brumbach and they were married 
in 1788. Their children were: 1, Henry, born 
1790, married Sally Lyle and then Laura 
Kirby; 2, Ann E., born 1792, married Dr. 
Richard Putney; 3, Susan, born 1794, married 
Moses Fuqua; 4, Lewis, born October 1, 1797, 
married Elizabeth Shrewsbury and then Viola 
Knapp. 

David lived in Maiden and was a very im- 
portant personage, acting as a justice, he cared 
nothing for limited jurisdiction and his de- 
cisions were often compromises and arbitra- 
tions, but always for the best of both parties. 

It is said that he never .lost his German ac- 
cent and German notions and that everyone 
recognized them as good ones. 

(1) Henry, became Dr. Henry Ruffner of 
the college at Lexington, Va., and was rated as 
one of the great men of the country. He was 
the author of the "Ruffner Pamphlet," which 
advocated gradual emancipation of the slaves, 
and excited a national interest. 

Dr. Henry had a son, William Henry; a 
daughter, Miss Julia ; and a son, David Lewis ; 
all of whom were much more than ordinary 
people in point of talent and education. Will- 



iam Henry was the greatest of Virginia's 
schoolmen. Miss Julia was a teacher and 
stood among the teachers of the country as 
unexcelled, and David Lewis was a civil en- 
gineer and as such had no peer. 

For detail of these people we refer to the 
W. Va. Historical Magazine and elsewhere 
herein. 

Daniel Ruffner was another son of Joseph 
and Anna; he also was born in Shenandoah, 
in the year 1779, and came as a lad with his 
parents in 1795. His first wife was Elizabeth 
Painter and their children were: I, Catherine, 
born 1799, and went to Ohio and died 1849; 
II, Charles, born 1801, married Anna Hedrick 
and had two children — Mary, who was Mrs. 
C. L. Roffe of Cabell county and Lucius; 
Charles married second Elizabeth Wilson, 
children viz.: 1, Charles, Jr., who died young; 

2, Elizabeth, who married Rev. Mr. Rider; 

3, Goodrich, who was the wife of Mr. Sim- 
mons, of Cal. ; 4, Ann Placentia, who was 
Mrs. Watson of St. Charles, Mo. ; 5, Ella, 
who died young, Charles Ruffner died in 
1881. 

III. Joel Ruffner, born December, 1802, 
and married Diana Mayre, of Page county, 
Va., and they were the parents of a large fam- 
ily and they lived at upper part of Charleston. 

The children of Joel and Diana are as fol- 
lows : 1, Mary E., who died early; 2, Frances 
E., married David Lewis Ruffner, born 1830; 
3, Virginia, died young; 4, Anne M., born 
1834, never married; 5, William Mayre, born 
1836, died 1896, never married; 6, Alexander, 
born 1837, married Miss Wallace; 7, Daniel, 
born 1839, joined "Border Rangers" and died 
in C. S. A., 1862; 8, a daughter that did not 
live; 9, Joel, Jr., born in 1840, died 1861 in 
C. S. A. ; 10, Lydia D., born in .1842, unmar- 
ried; 11, Catherine A., born 1844, married 
Mr. Fant; 12, Jane A., born 1845, married 
W. W. Dorsey; 13, Theda E., born 1847, 
married Mr. Brans; 14, Willie A., born 1849, 
married Chas. Blaine; 15, Louisa B., born 
1851, married John Hopper; 16, James Au- 
gusta, born 1853, married Miss Bach. This 
old patriarch Joel died in 1882. 

IV. Augustus, son of Daniel, born 1805, 
married Mary Rogers, their children were as 



76 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



follows: i, Henry Daniel, married Miss Sally 
Patrick, secondly Miss Abbott; 2, Leonora C, 
married W. A. Alexander; 3, Mary E., mar- 
ried Dr. L. L. Comstock; 4, Augustus, died 
in 1855. 

V. James and Andrew Ruffner, born in 
1807 — Andrew died unmarried in 1850. 
James married (1) Martha Morton, their 
children were: 1, Adeline M., died young; 2, 
Andrew L. ; 3, Meredith P., married Miss 
Maxwell, died March, 191 1 ; 4, Annastine W., 
married Col. W. H. Hogeman. 

James married (2) Ellen McFarland, and 
they were the parents of Mrs. Nellie Jackson. 
James died in 1868. 

VI. Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel, born 
July, 1810, married Nathaniel V. Wilson. 
To these were born: 1, Catherine A., who 
married P. H. Noyes; 2, Daniel A., married 
Miss White; 3, Elizabeth J., married Chas. 
C. Lewis; 4, Annie, married Mr. Allemong; 
5, Virginia, married Rev. Dr. Hall; 6, Willie, 
married Chas. Rooke; 7, Nathaniel V., Jr., 
married a Miss Spiegel; 8, James W., died. 

Daniel Rugner married (2) to Elizabeth 
Singleton, a widow, who was a daughter of 
Samuel D. Honeyman, and they were the 
parents of the following children, viz : 

1, Walter, born 1845 an d died young; 
2, Daniel, Jr., born 1847, died unmarried in 
1909; 3, Joseph, born 1848, married Miss 
Mary Jackson ; 4, Virginia, born 1850, mar- 
ried Mr. Stroughton ; 5, William, born in 
1853, nves i 11 Kentucky. 

The Ruffner family has not all been given 
even of the Kanawha generation, but we 
are not able to give them. 

One of the ablest men of his day was 
General Lewis Ruffner, son of David, who 
was the first white child born in Charles- 
ton, Oct. 1, 1797. He was a salt maker, a 
member of the legislature. AVas prominent 
in the formation of the state of West Vir- 
ginia. Lived to an old age, and left Lewis, 
Jr.. Ernest, Joel, and Mrs. Wiley. His son 
Ernest, graduated at the head of his class 
at West Point, and stands high in Engineer 
Department, U. S. A. Joel taught Booker 
AYashington all that he'learned in his West 
Virginia home. Joel died in 191 1 at Maiden. 



Daniel Boone had heard of the valley and 
had come and settled amongst the Kana- 
wha settlers about half way between the 
two settlements. He wanted a new game, 
and beavers were his selection and he 
taught Paddy Huddleston how to catch 
them with their traps. In the mouth of 
each creek was the beginning of a farm ; 
the flat-boat business had continued to grow 
and boats of all kinds - * could now be seen. 
From the list of persons in the county, now, 
the reader will be surprised to find so many 
persons in the country, and will also find 
that other persons, not present, had taken 
out patents for so much land in this wild 
country. 

Ann Bailey had become a frequent visitor 
and had become acquainted with them all, 
houses were better and farms were more 
farmlike, the legal tender crops, tobacco, 
was being grown and they all had hopes of 
being able to pay their taxes. 

While all this was progressing, and both 
settlements were growing, there was occa- 
sionally some talk of the need of more civil- 
ization and government, and in fact, there 
had been some steps taken and members of 
the legislature had been communicated 
with. Roads were needed and only a court 
could make them ; there were many cases 
between traders which could not always be 
decided without a justice and a jury, and 
constables to keep the peace were often 
needed. Business was looking up. 

ELK RIVER SETTLERS 

Elk river settlers, in the order in which 
they settled, prior to 1820: 

Beginning on the north side, there was 
Henry Newhouse, on Newhouse Branch, 
who came about 1801 ; next above, was Ed- 
ward Burgess, about the Connor place : 
William and John Atkinson, about the Jar- 
vis place ; James Reveal, a boat builder, 
came in 1815; and Ephraim Foster. 

Then came Leonard and George Cooper, 
who settled on Cooper's creek ; they sold 
out to Mike Newhouse. Michael New- 
house, John Porter of Porter's Island. Na- 
than Porter, above Cooper's creek. Then 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



77 



came John Slack. Thomas Joplin was lo- 
cated in 1808 where afterwards Friend's 
salt-fnrnace was bnilt in 1838. Joplin sold 
to Henry, and moved to the Kanawha river, 
where the Blaine farm is. Ralph Joplin was 
a Revolutionary soldier. 

Next above came Andrew and Doss At- 
kinson : Jacob Jarrett came next at Little 
Sandy. Jarrett's Fort, in Greenbrier, was 
built by Jacob Jarrett and he is supposed to 
have been the same man. Martin Ham- 
mock came in 1808, and settled near Little 
Sandy. James Summers came and settled 
next above, and then John, son of Martin 
Hammock. William Givens came in 1815, 
he was the father of Adam Givens. Abra- 
ham Jarrett, came next above and then 
George Rucker. who resided opposite the 
mouth of Blue creek ; Benjamin Slack, at 
Slack's Branch, at foot of Young's shoal. 
John Young, the old Indian fighter, who 
helped to save the boy on White Man's 
Fork, of Aaron's Fork, settled at Young's 
Shoals and afterwards went to the mouth 
of Coal river. 

John D. Young, son of John Young, came 
next. Ed. Price came next above. Samuel 
James was at Jordan's creek. Arch Price, 
above Jordan's creek, and opposite Falling 
Rock was William Cobb, and then another 
John Young and William Hays. In 1808 
came Dr. Cobbs and settled at the mouth 
of Big Sandy. He was the first doctor in 
Kanawha and he had an extensive practice 
and was prominent and of decided character. 

We will come back to the mouth of Elk. 
above the town and there was Capt. Genat, 
at the mouth of Two Mile creek and there 
was a salt furnace on Two Mile creek. 
'Joseph C. Youns:, a salt maker, came from 
Kentucky. William Young settled on the 
hi H. Aaron Crank settled in same vicinity. 
John Buster owned the Barlow farm. An- 
drew Atkinson had a boat-vard at the mouth 
of Mill creek. William Griffith lived at the 
mouth of Mill creek; an old settler. Then 
came John Slack, the father of Greenbury, 
John and Beniamin and Mrs. Chas. Bryant 
and Mrs. High. William Porter opposite 
Cooper's creek. John Phillips, the boat 



builder. Nathan Porter, about the Graham 
mines. Samuel Henry came next : he pur- 
chased Blaine's Island for a bob-tailed mare 
and a spotted bull; he died on the Blaine 
farm. Sol Ratcliffe, was at Indian creek, as 
also was James Sewall, who sold to Wilson. 
Squire Jarrett and Ownen Jarrett were at 
Jarrett's Ford. Then came" John Graham, 
who killed the last buffalo. Arch Price was 
at Blue creek. Joseph Newhouse, at Wal- 
nut creek. John Young was at the narrows. 
F. Rucker was at Falling Rock creek, he 
first discovered cannel coal and was a black- 
smith. Hiram Samples, Lewis Young, son 
of John. Wilson Woods, Lewis Young and 
Edmund Price, all lived where Clendenin 
now is. 

The land books in 1812 first gave any 
description of the land, and frequently was 
satisfied with saying "on Elk." These, with 
the description "on Elk." were Martin 
Hammock, Ralph Joplin. Ed. Price, John 
Slack and others. Pat Murphy, "at mouth 
of Strange creek." David Heaton, "above 
Birch." William Cobbs, "at Little Sandy." 
Geo. Hancock, "adjoining Cooper's," etc. 

" Strange is my name and I'm on strange ground 
" And strange it is that I cannot be found." 

This was found cut on a beech tree, on a 
creek of Elk, and the skeleton of a man and 
the rusty barrel of his gun near by ; evi- 
dently he was lost. The tree and the creek 
are there and the creek is called "Strange 
creek." 

Adam O'Brian lived on Elk. he built his 
cabin in a secret-like, out-of-the-way place, 
to hide from the Indians, then blazed the 
trees so he could find it. He died in 1836, 
on Big Sandy, over one hundred years of 
age. He said he liked to live on the fron- 
tier; that he could kill an Indian but he 
dared not kill a sheriff, or a justice. He 
liked it when there were no laws ; he could 
fight it out with varments and savages but 
had no show with lawyers and sheriffs. 

The following are early patents of Elk 
lands: In 1787. William Arbuckle. John 
Archer. Cooper and Morris. William Grif- 
fith. John Goodman.' William Royal. Will 



78 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



iam Smuffer, Daniel Shedey. In 1788, John 
Osborne. In 1793, John McCae, David 
Robinson, Alex. Stuart. In 1795, James 
Stroud, Jas. Givens. Elk did her duty in 
furnishing fighting men also. 

Jarrett Ford is twelve miles up Elk river 
and for a long while there could be seen 
around his house the old patriarch, Eli Jar- 
rett, a good old man that everyone knew 
and all respected. 

In 1780 some Indians came from Green- 
brier with a lad as a prisoner. They went 
up Elk ; then Little Sandy and some men 
heard of it and the Indians were followed 
by John Young. Ben Morris, William Ar- 
buckle and Robert Aaron. These men 
came up to the Indians and fired, and one 
Indian was killed and the other escaped and 
the boy was rescued. The dead Indian 
proved to be a white man, disguised, and 
the stream was ever afterward known as 
"White Man's Fork, of Aaron's Fork, of 
Little Sandy." 

The most of the information concerning 
the Elk river settlers was furnished by John 
D. White, who knew almost every one on 
Elk, in Kanawha County, and he had been 
learning about people for many years and 
never forgot anything. It was written 
down at his dictation and preserved and 
may be regarded as reliable as one's mem- 
ory could be. 

MRS. MARY INGLES 

She was in her young days Miss Mary 
Draper, and she married William Ingles; 
she left a son, John. He left a daughter, 
who was the mother of Dr. John Hale. 
Draper's Meadows and Ingles' Ferry were 
located on New river on the frontier. It is 
stated that some Indians were removed 
from Williamsburg to Reed creek, in 
Augusta, and this creek empties into New 
river above Ingles' Ferry; this was in 1 75 1 . 
In 1749 Adam Harmon, near Ingles' Ferry, 
had some furs taken by some Indians. In 
1758 there were explorers in the vicinity 
again. 

As a girl she went with her brother, and 
partook of his vocations; they played, 



walked, rode and talked together; she could 
cross a ditch or a fence as easily as he, she 
could stand and jump nearly as high as her 
head, and she could stand beside her horse 
and leap onto the saddle unaided. 

She married in 1750 and her brother John 
married Betty Robertson in 1754. At this 
time the Indians had never been more 
troublesome than in taking some things 
that did not belong to them ; they had hurt 
no one. In July, 1755, the Shawnees from 
Ohio fell upon the people of Draper's 
Meadows and killed, wounded and captured 
the entire inhabitants of the settlement. 
Mrs. Mary Ingles and Mrs. Betty Draper 
were made prisoners. The Indians started 
for Ohio with all they could carry away. 
They went down to Blue Stone, up Blue 
Stone to the head of Paint creek and down 
to Campbell creek, where they rested and made 
salt for several days, which was done 
principally by the prisoners. After they 
all reached the Indian town, the prisoners 
were distributed and Mrs. Ingles' two 
children were taken from her. It was not 
long before she gave birth to a little girl 
which she kept with her. 

She was required to make shirts for the 
men, after a trader had visited them and 
they had procured the goods, and the war- 
riors were greatly pleased with her work. 

The Indians went into Kentucky to the 
Big Bone Lick to make salt and they took 
Mrs. Ingles and a Dutch woman they had 
captured in Pennsylvania, and the women 
soon began to consider their chances of 
escape, after they reached the salt works 
and had opportunity to talk and had been 
allowed more time to themselves. 

They were inland from the Ohio river 
about 40 miles below Cincinnati when they 
made up their minds to make the attempt 
to return to the home of Mrs. Ingles. They 
wasted no time in getting ready. They 
proposed to go toward the Ohio river in the 
afternoon and after getting to the river, go 
up it to Kanawha, then up the Kanawha, 
then up the New river until they reached 
the old home place. There was no trans- 
portation ; it was necessary to walk each 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



79 



step, without any road, through bush and 
briers, over sticks and stones, across rivers, 
creeks and branches, without hotel or tav- 
ern, nothing to eat except what they could 
gather of nuts, fruits and such wild prod- 
ucts of nature. 

Before Mrs. Ingles left she had another 
trial, what was she to do with her baby? 
She either had to leave it, which meant its 
certain death, or to take it with her. The 
last was impossible, for she could not 
carry it ; she either had to abandon the little 
one or the trip. She took the babe in her 
arms and tenderly hugged it to her and 
kissed it and laid it carefully away to sleep 
and she started, and that was the last she 
ever heard of it. What an awful undertak- 
ing for two frail women ! 

They kept going; each mile lessened the 
long distance. They recognized places 
that Mrs. Ingles had seen; they reached 
the mouth of the Kanawha and afterwards 
saw the Kanawha Salt works, then the 
New River. They did not leave the main 
stream but kept going, growing weaker 
and more tired and feeble, as the hills grew 
less steep and high. Finally one day Mrs. 
Ingles knew she was getting close to her 
home and she went into some hunter's 
camp and began to call, and soon she was 
heard and answered and they came to her 
and she was at once recognized by Mr. 
Harmon and some young men. 

The old Dutch woman had become 
crazed and wanted to devour Mrs. Ingles 
and she had to keep away in front of her. 
Everything was done for Mrs. Ingles and 
after feeding and resting , her they placed 
her on a horse and took her home. Just 
think of it ; forty days without fire and 
tortured by semi-starvation. Mrs. Ingles 
was actually disappointed that the Indians 
had made no attempt to recapture her but 
gave her up as having been destroyed by 
the wild beasts of the forest. May no 
other woman ever have the same to suffer 
and if you wish to read the account more 
fully, see Hale's "Trans-Allegheny Pio- 
neers." i 



abb's valley 

Dr. Hale wrote that pioneer history does not 
repeat itself. The history of the Trans-Alle- 
gheny country-, which it has but lately passed 
through and from which the Farther West has 
hardly yet emerged, can never be repeated. The 
discovery, exploration, conquest, settlement and 
civilization of a continent once accomplished, 
is done for all time. There are no more conti- 
nents to discover, no more worlds to conquer. 

It is not supposed that this country will ever 
retrogade, but we do not know what will hap- 
pen. The ruins of mighty empires of the an- 
cient world are now being visited as curiosi- 
ties ; people go to see ruins of temples and all 
sorts of buildings. Who constructed the pyra- 
mids ? Where is Rome or Greece and Babylon, 
etc? These countries were once great; to be 
sure they were not Christian countries, but if 
it depends upon the religion of the people, it 
may be all to do over: the ratchets of steam, 
electricity and printing will not of themselves 
hold the world from going back. But we do 
not know, and for fear that Indian stories will 
soon all be lost and no more made, we owe it 
to Dr. Hale and Dr. Brown that both the story 
of Mrs. Ingles and that of Abb's Valley can be 
preserved for the sake of these men and also 
for the sake of the women. 

Abb's Valley was settled in 1771 by Absa- 
lom Looney. In 1786 Black Wolf and Shaw- 
nee who had destroyed Burke's Garden, came 
to the house of Capt. James Moore, who with 
his brother-in-law, John Pogue, had located 
there in 1772. They found Capt. Moore on 
his farm and shot and killed him, then killed 
two children and Mr. Simpson, a hired man. 
There were other men who fled for their lives. 
They made prisoner of Mrs. Moore and her 
four children, John, Jane, Mary and Peggy. 
John being feeble was tomahawked and scalped 
in the presence of his mother. Then Peggy 
was burned against a tree. It was decided 
that Mrs. Moore and Jane should be burned 
in retaliation for the death of some warrior. 
They were tied to stakes in the presence of the 
other daughter and Mrs. Evans, and a crowd 
of savages, and slowly tortured with fire- 
rands and pine splinters until as an an- 



80 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



gel of mercy Death came to their relief. This 
was the noble Red Man, the oppressed son of 
the forest, who thus tortured women and young 
girls to death. 

Simon Girty refused to shoot Crawford, 
when he could have shown no greater mercy. 
What cruelty not to kill! Mary Moore re- 
mained a prisoner and for much of the time 
with a white family who were more cruel than 
the Indians. 

James Moore, Jr., had been captured two 
years before and had heard of the terrible fate 
of his father's family and that Mary was still 
left a prisoner. He managed to communicate 
with her. In 1789 Mary and Mrs. Evans were 
ransomed by their friends and restored to their 
friends in the Valley of Virginia, and James. 
Jr.. not long after, returned to Abb's Valley 
and died afterwards in 1851. Mary Moore 
married Rev. John Brown of Rockbridge 
and had five or six sons, all Presbyterian 
ministers, one of whom was the Rev. James 
M. Brown, who was pastor of the Presby- 
terian church in Charleston, W. Va., for a 
quarter of a century and whose memory is 
warmly cherished by all who knew him. or 
of him. 

He has a son. Rev. Samuel Brown, and also 
another, Rev. John Brown, the first of Green- 
brier, and the latter of Maiden church. It was 
Rev. Dr. James Brown that found the boy 
Stuart Robinson and reared and educated him, 
and who became a distinguished man of na- 
tional reputation, teacher, preacher and author. 
Dr. Brown wrote the little book called the 
"Captives of Abb's Valley" and from this book 
is this story taken. 

THE STROUD FAMILY 

About 1772, before or afterward, there was 
a German, who brought his family and located 
on the Gauley river. The reason why we can 
not be more definite as to date, why we can not 
tell you from whence he came, how many were 
in his family, and give more particulars of him 
and family and of his stay on Gauley, is that 
before any, or many, white people made his 
acquaintance, there were some visitors from 
Ohio, who sought to cultivate his closer 
acquaintance, and that ended all opportunity for 



any others. They made a visit and came away 
leaving the entire family dead and his home 
burned to the ground. 

He had been somewhat known by some peo- 
ple near Hacker's V alley and they heard of the 
distressing story, and they became aroused 
after it was too late to help the German settler. 

There was not far distant a place called 
"Bull-town" on the Little Kanawha, where an 
Indian collection of huts, or town, had been 
made, and these settlers of Hacker's Valley 
made a visit to the Bull-town Indians and when 
they came away, there was no Bull-town, nor 
Indians, and it was as difficult to get informa- 
tion of the Indians as it was of the German. 

It was strange that any one family could ex- 
pect safety in the neighborhood of Indians who 
were able to have their own way with white 
people unprotected; such expectation argues a 
want of information of the Indian nature and 
habits. 

What the Bull-town Indians expected is 
possibly as strange — if they had expected to 
remain in safe proximity to white settlers 
after the German family had been missed, 
without any satisfactory explanations 
having been made. 

There seems to be no question of the exis- 
tence some where, some time, on the Gauley 
river, of such a family and of such Indians, 
but all that is now tradition — an echo of what 
has been. There is no history, no monument. 
This world was not large enough for all the 
parties to the story, and there is nothing more 
to tell. "Stroud's Glades" is a locality some 
where -on Gauley. 

LEWIS TACKETT 

There were several of this name that came 
to the Kanawha Valley with the Clendenins 
and Lewis was just the kind of a man to make 
an Indian shudder. He was strong, athletic 
and brave, and was not afraid of the devil, 
were he in the shape of an Indian. The Tack- 
etts made a settlement near the mouth of Coal 
river where they found it necessary to con- 
struct a fort, and the name of Tackett's creek 
was given in honor of his family, who were 
Indian fighters. Lewis Tackett was given the 
contract to construct the county jail, and also 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



-1 



the privilege of killing all the wild animals, in- 
cluding Indians, that his inclination dictated. 

The Indians, however, captured him on one 
occasion and started with him to Ohio, and 
after going down the Kanawha to about where 
the Knob Shoals are, they were moved with a 
desire to hunt for a deer, and so they tied 
Lewis to a pine tree, expecting him to remain 
until they returned. There came up a storm 
while they were gone, and made wet the thongs 
by which he was fastened and he was able to 
work loose and made his escape, and did not go 
to Ohio but went back up the Kanawha. This 
pine tree was known for many years as 
"Tackett's Pine" and was a land mark for 
the steamboat pilots on the river until a 
few years ago. 

Lewis and Samuel Tackett and John Young 
then built the Tackett's Fort. There was a 
Polly Tackett who became a Mrs. Rider, and 
whose daughter Hannah, became Mrs. Mines, 
who lived to be quite old and was- known by 
everybody about Coal's Mouth. John Young's 
wife was a Miss Tackett. 

John Young came to the Kanawha about 
the same time that the Clendenin settlement 
was made. His wife was "Keziah," a 
daughter of Lewis Tackett. 

There seems to be some unconsistency as to 
dates in connection with Young and the Tac- 
ketts going to Coal Mouth; some have said it 
was in 1786, some in 1788 and some later. 

There is one known fact, however, which is 
that John Young and wife and a very young 
baby were in the fort when it was attacked by 
a number of Indians, and Young became satis- 
fied that the fort would be taken, and while it 
was quite dark and during a storm, Mr. Young 
picked up the bed with the mother and child 
and made haste to his boat and to the fort at 
Charleston, and strange to say that neither the 
mother nor the child suffered any harm from 
the exposure. The said child was Jacob; the 
mother lived to a very great age and Jacob 
was living but a few years since. He lived to 
be eighty years of age. 

ANNE BAILEY 

Anne Bailey! There was but one of the 
name and no other of like character and 



fame ; she was the heroine of the pioneers 
of the Kanawha Valley and it is both fit 
and becoming that her history should be 
preserved in the history of this county. 
This is no fancy sketch, no imaginary out- 
line of a supposed being, but the plain facts 
of a well established and well known wo- 
man, who lived on the outposts of civiliza- 
tion. 

She was an English girl, born and edu- 
cated in Liverpool, and her maiden name 
was Anne Hennis. She was born in or 
about 1742 and her education was limited; 
her father was an old British soldier. Her 
age is obtained by the fact that Lord Lo- 
vat was executed in 1747, and Anne says 
she was present and was five years old. 

The manner in which she arrived at 
Staunton. Va., is not very clearly shown, 
and the accepted story is about like this : 
That her parents died and she was left 
alone in the world, that she knew she had 
friends or kindred by the name of Bell that 
had gone to Virginia and she determined to 
follow them and she went aboard of a ves- 
sel about to sail and remained aboard and 
was brought to Virginia. This was in 1761 
and by some means she heard of the Bells 
being in Staunton, Va. and she found her 
way there, and they gave to her a home 
and a welcome. 

In Augusta county, she met with Richard 
Trotter, who was a soldier defending the 
border from the incursions of the Indians. 
He had been with Braddock in 1755, and 
he" escaped and lived to return to Staunton 
and here he married Anne Hennis in 1765. 
In 1767 they had a son born, whom they 
called William and who was in later years 
the support and blessing of his mother 
Anne Bailey. 

The Dunmore war came on in 1774. and 
Richard Trotter was one of the soldiers 
that fought in Andrew Lewis's. army, on 
the 10th of October, 1774, at Point Pleas- 
ant, and then and there he was wounded, 
and died and there buried. 

When she heard of her husband's death, 
she was thirty-two years of age. a widow, 
with a son, seven years of age. but she de- 



82 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



termined to make the Indians suffer for her 
loss and to avenge his death. She left her 
son with a neighbor Mrs. Moses Mann, 
while Ann entered upon a career which has 
no parallel in Virginia history. 

The Revolution was at hand and Indians 
were aiding the British and she had be- 
come a Virginian. She started out as a 
recruiting agent and her appeals in behalf 
of the defenseless women of the border per- 
suaded men to enlist. She went from the 
Roanoke to the Potomac, and she became 
acquainted all along the line. 

Then she began to carry messages to the 
soldiers westward, to Fort Fincastle on Jack- 
son's river, Fort Edward on the Warm Spring 
Mountain, and, in 1778, Fort Savannah at 
Lewisburg in Greenbrier county, which was 
the most western outpost except Fort Randolph 
at Point Pleasant. 

Somewhere she met John Bailey, who was 
one of a hand of rangers employed to scout 
the country and to then notify the people and 
the forts. This John Bailey had no doubt 
heard of Ann. Time had had its usual ef- 
fects and John gained her ear and she lis- 
tened to him as she did to Richard, and 
they went together to Lewisburg, and met 
the Rev. John McCue, and if an opportunity 
was given, no doubt but that there were in 
attendance upon the marriage, many sol- 
diers, that wished Bailey and Anne a safe 
and happy life. On the 3rd of November, 
1785, they were married and through the 
offices of Rev. John McCue, at Lewisburg 
Anne Trotter became Anne Bailey, and in 
the marriage record book No. 1, page 7, 
in the county court clerk's office of Greenbrier 
county will be seen the evidence of the above 
facts. 

It was when the Clendenins came to the 
Kanawha Valley and constructed the fort, at 
the mouth of Elk river, in 1788, that there 
were others came with them and John and Ann 
Bailey came along to help garrison this fort. 
She was always ready to go, or to do, and she 
knew no fear; she was ready and willing to 
rifle to any quarter of the country, and she 
handled her rifle equal to any Indian or any 
scout. When in the fort, she was the best of 



the nurses, and always ready to lend a helping 
hand. She often took messages to Fort Ran- 
dolph, sixty miles down the river, with little 
or no road, and not a house between the forts. 
She had to make the trip in two days, and with 
one night on the road, and a cave was usually 
adopted by her for her shelter. At other times 
Anne Bailey went on the road to Lewisburg 
one hundred miles from the Clendenin's. Col. 
Geo. Clendenin was commander-in-chief of 
Kanawha, and Daniel Boone was lieutenant 
colonel of the same county, and gave in his re- 
port the following account : 

"For Kanawha 68 privates, Lenard Cooper, Captain, 
at Point Pleasant, 17 men, John Morris, Jr. Insine at 
the Bote yards 17 men. Two sypes or scutes will be 
necessary at the pint to sarch the banks of the river at 
the crossing places. More would be wanting if they 
could be aloude. These spyes must be compoused of 
the inhabitence who will know the woods and waters 
from the pint to Belleville 60 milds, no inhabitence, also 
from the pint to Elk 60 mildes, no inhabitence, from 
Elk to the Bote yards, 20 milds, all inhabited." 

This was written by Lt.-Col. Daniel Boone, 
December 12, 1791. The ''Bote Yard" was 
at the mouth of Kelly's creek. 

From Point Pleasant to Elk there were no 
inhabitants, while from Elk to Kelly's creek, 
where they built boats, it was all inhabited in 
1791. 

It was in this year that a body of Indians 
was said to hover near the Clendenin's fort 
and in the preparation for defense, it was as- 
certained that there was but a small quantity 
of powder remaining and they could with- 
stand an attack but a short time. To Lewis- 
burg some one must go for a supply and the 
sooner the better, and men were needed, so 
Anne Bailey said she herself would go. And 
it was but a short time before she was on her 
way, and as soon as a good horse could well 
go the one hundred miles, she went and re- 
ported at Lewisburg the purpose of her trip. 

Her horse was fed and rested, and another 
horse was sent with the ammunition and they 
returned with the powder to Fort Clendenin. 
The trip had been made, the magazine supplied 
and the garrison felt competent to take care of 
itself, and no one was hurt, but the trip made 
was one of danger, hardship and worry. Had 
the Indians started to go to Greenbrier they 
would have met her and neither she nor the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



■85 



powder nor the horses would have reached the 
fort, and the story would have become known 
because of the want of powder. 

" The succor thus so nobly sought 

" To Charleston's Fort was timely brought 

" While Justice on the Scroll of Fame 

" In letters bold, engraved her name — Anne Bailey." 

John Bailey died about 1802, Indians had 
ceased to come any more, after 1794 and the 
influence of civilized life spread abroad over 
the county, and no more was there need for a 
squad or a gun, nor for fear nor a fort. 

She remained in Kanawha and after the 
death of Mr. Bailey she became a regular ex- 
press company for the East to the settlement 
in the W est, bringing anything that could be 
carried on a horse, medicines, small packages, 
doing business from Gallipolis to Staunton. 

In all these transactions she was honest to 
a cent and was trusted by all and every one 
to make purchases for them and made pay- 
ments, etc., and while perhaps no church mem- 
ber she was a good woman and observed the 
Sabbath day and said her prayers and was re- 
ceived and welcomed into all the families. 

The last time she was known to have been 
in Charleston was in 181 7. Her son William 
Trotter married Mary Ann Cooper, a daugh- 
ter of Capt. Leonard Cooper of Mason coun- 
ty, and for whom Cooper's Creek was named. 
William settled in Ohio near Gallipolis and in- 
sisted on his mother coming and making her 
home with him, but she was opposed to going 
into Ohio, and this was not unnatural. She 
knew everybody on the Virginia side and all 
were her friends while on the Ohio side they 
were all strangers. The people of Gallipolis 
were French and she being English was not so 
familiar. She had no home of her own and 
she felt that she must go with him. He built 
for her a small house near his own where his 
family was. She had become old and died No- 
vember 22, 1825, being 83 years of age, and 
was buried near her home. 

William Trotter was a land owner, and a 
justice and died in 1831. Their children were 
Philip, born 1801, who lived in Lawrence 
county, Ohio; Elizabeth, born 1803, who mar- 
ried William C. Irion, and left sons and daugh- 
ters ; John, born 1805; William, born 1807; 



Mary, born 181 1, who married James Irion. 
Davis, born 181 6, married Jas. Sarah Knight; 
Sarah, born 1816, married John Gilmore; 
Phebe, born 1818, married John Willey; Jane 
born 1820, married J. S. Northrup; Nancy, 
born in 1822, married Francis Strait. 

The remains of Anne Bailey were removed 
to Point Pleasant by the Daughters of the 
Revolution and buried near the Monument to 
the Soldiers who fell on the 10th of October, 
1774, and when you see this monument you 
will naturally think of Anne Bailey. In the 
lower part of the then county there was a cave 
known as "Anne Bailey Cave," and in the 
upper end of the county there is a branch 
known as "Anne Branch." And said names 
were given on account of her having used those 
places for shelter. There is a descendant of 
Anne Bailey now in Charleston, Mr. Simeon 
Irions, who has aided us in this article. She 
is described as having had a fair complexion, 
hazel eyes, a rather undersized but perfect 
form, a sweet disposition, and a mind strong 
and vigorous, and was always and at all 
times perfectly fearless and made herself at 
home with the pioneers. 

There should be a monument to Anne Bailey 
erected by the women of this part of the state 
and especially from Kanawha Valley. She 
was ever ready to give herself or either of her 
husbands or both of them for the good of the 
settlers in this valley and such devotion and 
sacrifice should be remembered. "Cornstalk" 
has his monument and the soldiers of General 
Lewis have their monument and it is time 
that Anne Bailey should have her monu- 
ment also. 

alvah hansford's recollections 
In 1884 Alvah Hansford gave to Col. W. 
H. Edwards of Coalburg, a long talk and 
was drawn out as to many things of the 
long ago — and the Colonel wrote it down. 

Alvah was an old bachelor who had lived 
pretty much as he pleased and he never 
hesitated to express himself, and he had no 
inclinations either to suppress or enlarge 
the facts. He was born in 1803, on the 
Kanawha near the mouth of Paint Creek, 
was a son of Major John Hansford, and his 



86 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



home was at St. Albans and his death was 
in 1886. 

Starting- at Paint Creek and going down 
the Kanawha river, the first house below 
was that of John Harriman's, a log house 
where now is the brick house occupied by 
Mr. Shaver. Near where William Pryor 
now lives, then John Milburn resided. 
James Pryor, the father of William, lived 
on an Indian mound, near Mr. Buck's 
home. The next house was built by a Mr. 
Johnson, near where the late James John- 
son lived. These were all the houses from 
Paint Creek to Cabin Creek and it was all 
in forest except a small clearing at each 
house. From Cabin Creek to Slaughter's 
Creek there was no one living, and just 
below Slaughter's Creek lived Mt\_Tohn 
Starke. On Paint Creek there were no 
residents. 

Going east from Paint Creek, the only 
occupant of the bottom was John Jones, 
and his house was near the site of John 
B. Johnson's house, now in Dego. Dego 
was formerly known as Clifton, and later 
known as Pratt. John Jones's farm was not 
a very large one, but it grew. The road 
east continued up the Kanawha and New. 
River and crossed Cotton Hill, leaving the 
river, going southward and again came to 
the river and crossed to the north side, at 
Boyer's Ferry. 

Alvah says his father finished his own 
home in 1799 and there was then only a 
small clearing and a cabin between his new 
house and Paint Creek, about where Felix 
Hansford built his brick house in 1824. 
The home of Major Hansford was the first 
frame house built on the Kanawha river 
and it was built by his father, he doing all 
the work. Alvah says there were eleven 
boys and one girl in the family, that he did 
not get to go to school much — about .three 
months in the winter time — and it does not 
appear that he did much visiting away from 
home for he was eighteen years of age be- 
fore he had been to the "Licks" or Maiden 
as it now is called, and he never was in 
Charleston until he was twenty years of 
age, in 1823. It will be remembered that 
the upper part of the Kanawha Valley was 



the most thickly settled. He says he was 
principally employed in lumbering, cutting 
saw-logs, building salt boats, etc. He built 
two salt furnaces on the home place ; one 
furnace was rented out and the other was 
worked by his father. One furnace was at 
the mouth of the Meeting House Branch 
between Crown Hill and Belmont. The 
other was where the house owned by the 
Maury Estate stands. They ran the furnace 
with wood and Alvah was a good chopper. 
He says that Mr. Oakes was the onlv better 
one — this was the father of Ben and Ira 
Oakes. He says that game was plenty, 
bear, deer, wild cats, panthers, wild tur- 
keys, etc. 

AYhen he was about nine years old, he 
heard them talking of the war with Eng- 
land, the AYar of 1812. His father was in 
the Legislature at Richmond, that he went 
on horseback for seven days. His brother 
Hiram volunteered and was a Lieutenant 
and he saw Hiram then at Kelley's Creek 
in his uniform and he and some soldiers 
took dinner there before starting off to the 
war. His grandmother lived at Kelley's 
Creek and on the hill east of the creek, 
Morris purchased the place of the children 
of Mr. Kelly, who was killed there in 1773, 
and that Mr. Morris gave to each of the 
children as they became of age, a horse, 
saddle and bridle. 

His father kept entertainment at his 
home and members of the Legislature and 
congressmen and persons hunting for lands 
always stopped with him and his father 
made some fine peach and apple brandy 
which he kept on hand until it became 
superior. His father was a very religious 
man and was a member of the Baptist 
church before Alvah was born, and he was 
never known to swear and would not allow 
it on his premises, nor would he allow fid- 
dling and dancing in his house but on Mus- 
ter day he would set out his brandy after 
the drilling was over and pretty soon the 
fighting would begin. The Major was a 
justice but he took care to be out of the 
way. as he wanted his men to have their 
fun. 

The James River and Kanawha Turn- 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



87 



pike was opened in 1823-4 and the settle- 
ment was not great, and this road was 
made only to Huddleston, six miles below 
the falls for several years. His sister Sarah 
married William Morris, who lived at the 
Falls, and Fenton Morris was her only son. 
That his father leased some coal land at 
the lower end of the Hansford Narrows to 
Anderson and Herriman and they shipped 
coal in 1829. His father would stand 
guard with his gun in hand while his 
mother wonld milk the cows, as the In- 
dians were strolling about through the 
valley, coming from Ohio. Albert Galla- 
tin attended to his own surveys and had 
the most remarkable memory and made his 
headquarters with Mr. Hansford. 

DANIEL BOONE 

This famous pioneer and frontiersman 
was born near Philadelphia in 1735 and 
died in Missouri in 1820. He was the son 
of Squire Boone and Sarah (Morgan) 
Boone, and George Boone was the father 
of Squire. 

George was acquainted with William 
Penn in England and when he came to 
America he sailed for "Penn's Plantation," 
where there were Friends, called Quakers, 
of whom he was one. In 1748 Squire re- 
moved to North Carolina, and there Daniel 
heard of Kentucky through John Finley 
and it seemed to suit him exactly. 

He was married in 1755 to Rebecca 
Bryant. She had a cousin, Mary Bryant, 
and Mary was the grandmother of John 
L. Cole, the lawyer, surveyor, poet, artist, 
humorist and antiquarian of Kanawha. 
Boone was in Kentucky in 1769 and 
Boonesboro was one of the earliest settle- 
ments in the new county of Kentucky. 

He was continually engaged in skir- 
mishes with the Indians and at one time he 
was captured and taken to Chillicothe and 
was adopted by a Shawnee chief, "Black 
Fish." and was made an Indian : but he 
would not stay so made, for he was, one 
morning quite early, on his way back to 
Boonesboro. and he made the trip on one 



meal, in three days. He had a brother 
killed and a son, also another son wounded. 
In 1774 Lord Dunmore placed him in 
charge of several forts in the Greenbrier 
country, while the army marched to the 
Ohio. He was at Point Pleasant, at the 
mouth of the Kanawha, in 1786, and he 
subsequently came to the upper Kanawha 
and in 1789 was elected to the office of 
lieutenant colonel of the Kanawha militia 
and he made military reports through Col. 
George Clendenin to the Governor. The 
exact date of his coming to his home above 
the mouth of Elk, is not known but he 
was well known when the county was 
organized. 

His house was on the south side of the Ka- 
nawha river, opposite the mouth of Campbell's 
creek, and it was a double log house, of two 
rooms, with a passage between, and a porch 
in front. Paddy Huddleston and Mathias Van 
Bibber were both well acquainted with him, 
as they hunted together and it is stated that 
they caught all the beavers on the Gauley and 
Kanawha rivers. He and George Clendenin 
were elected to the Legislature in 1791, and 
when he started to attend the session in Rich- 
mond, he took his rifle and started on foot 
through the woods for the East, but after re- 
maining a while, he tired of law-making, 
shouldered his gun and started back for Ka- 
nawha Valley and his home. 

He seemed to have been eternally on the go, 
either hunting and trapping or looking for 
choice land and sometimes making surveys or 
rescuing a captive. On a line run from Boone 
court house, or where it was afterwards lo- 
cated, he ran a line across to the Guyandotte, 
Twelve Pole creek, and Big Sandy, the Ken- 
tucky line, and on a tree were cut the names of 
his party, viz : George Arnold, Daniel Boone, 
Edmund Price, Thomas Upton and Andrew 
Hatfield. This was done in 1795. 

He made a survey at Point Pleasant in 1791. 
the original report of which is in the historical 
rooms in the Annex in Charleston and in Dr. 
Hales "Trans- Alleghem r Pioneers" is a copy of 
another. 

Boone's handwriting is not the most grace- 
ful and his spelling is not according to Web- 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ster, but you can learn what he is attempting to 
tell. 

He had a son, Jesse Boone, who lived in Ka- 
nawha, whose wife was Chloe Van Bibber, 
and the wives of Col. Andrew Donnally, Col. 
John Reynolds and Goodrich Slaughter were 
sisters of Mrs. Jesse Boone. 

Tesse was the first salt inspector of Kanawha 
and continued until 1816. 

Daniel Boone resided in Kanawha until 
1799 when he decided to go to Missouri. 
When he decided to go west, the day and date 
of his departure from the mouth of Elk was 
given out to the public and the entire country 
came to see him start in his canoes and Tice 
Van Bibber w ent with him to his new home. 
He lived until September 26th, 1820. 

Daniel Boone was one of the remarkable 
men of his time. He was a pioneer, frontiers- 
man, explorer, hunter. Indian fighter and pilot 
of civilization. There have been writers of 
his history and sketches of his life by Mar- 
shall, Bryant. Flint. Bogart. Filson. Abbott, 
Byron, Hale and others. His picture was 
painted in 18 19 by Harding who went from 
Xew York to execute the same in Missouri, 
and his rifle and his trap are on deposit in 
the Historical Rooms in Charleston. 

Simon Kenton once saved Daniel Boone's 
life, but there is no telling how many lives that 
Boone saved. 

It would have been impossible for Boone 
to have accumulated much property; he was 
going all the time and never remained any- 
where a sufficient time to accumulate much, 
but he was doing something for the general 
good of the country, or rescuing some poor 
Indian captive, helping to drive back the Indian 
invader, at all times, both in Kentucky and in 
Virginia. 

While he was a citizen of Kanawha for at 
least twelve years, there are a great many 
that do not know that he was ever outside of 
Kentucky. 

Tradition says that Boone was with Wash- 
ington on the Braddock expedition, that he 
was in the Shenandoah Valley, in North Caro- 
lina, Tennessee and Kentucky and Ohio, but 
never mentions his home on the Kanawha, and 
the same report says he represented the coun- 



ty of Kentucky in the legislature of Virginia, 
in Richmond. We do not know where he was 
not, but he seems to have been in the right 
time at the right place and doing the right 
thing when most needed. 

Kanawha county should recognize his great 
services and recognize him as one of her sons 
by a monument to his memory. Daniel Boone 
was a citizen and resident of Kanawha county 
and we would record the fact and do him hon- 
or for his services and his great worth. 

SIMON KENTON 

Simon Kenton was born in Fa\rquer coun- 
ty, Virginia, April 3, 1755; he died in Ohio in 
1836. He was of obscure parentage and his 
education was neglected. At the age of six- 
teen he had an affray with another and sup- 
posed that he had killed his adversary. He 
tied west of the Alleghenies. Here he became 
acquainted with Indian traders, hunters and 
among whom was George Yeager. He also 
knew Simon Girty. He was said to have been 
engaged by Lord Dunmore and was one of 
the messengers sent to General Lewis with 
Girty on the day before the battle. He was 
the friend and companion of Daniel Boone, 
whose life Kenton saved in Kentucky. He also 
was with George Roger Clark at the Falls of 
the Ohio and elsewhere. He was captured by 
the Indians and Girty used his influence to save 
his life. The Mingo Chief Logan prevailed 
on Draya, a Canadian, to rescue Kenton from 
the Indians and he was carried off to Detroit 
and made his escape in 1779, making his way 
back to Kentucky. Having learned that his 
Virginia adversary did not die, he went back 
home in 1782 and brought his father's family to 
Kentucky and settled near Maysville. He com- 
manded a battalion under Gen'l Wayne in 
1794, was a Brigadier General of Ohio militia 
in 1805, and was at the battle of the Thames 
in 1813. He became quite poor and lost his 
land. He was regarded as second only to 
Boone as the greatest adventurer of the West. 
He was given a pension by Congress. He was 
in Kanawha county with Yeager and Strader 
in 1 771, and was wounded by the Indians, 
and he returned to the Ohio river and probably 



I 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



89 



then went to Fort Pitt and afterwards to Ken- 
tucky. 

He was a bold daring hunter of great endur- 
ance and sagacity and had great self-reliance 
in the Indian days of the wild west. He was 
greatly beloved and treated with great respect 
everywhere and Kenton county, Kentucky, 
was named in his honor. 

SIMON GIRTY, THE RENEGADE 

Old Simon Girty was an Indian trader in 
western Pennsylvania and he had four boys — 
Tom, Simon, Jim and George. They lived near 
Harrisburg, Penn., where the whites and In- 
dians lived much as Indians lived. One day 
old man Girty was killed by an Indian. The 
old man's best friend was a fellow called Turn- 
er, and he killed the Indian that had killed old 
man Girty, and then Turner married the wi- 
dow and the mother of the Girty boys. After- 
wards the Indians captured Turner and killed 
him. 

Such was the training of Simon Girty, and 
he grew up to be as much of a savage and more 
so than any Indian, a cruel, unprincipled man, 
a traitor to his country, a renegade, a leader 
of the Indian enemies, a coarse low type of a 
Benedict Arnold, and the most hated man on 
the border. There is no doubt of his treachery 
and blood-thirsty cruelty, or that he led the 
savages under orders from the British, and to 
those he regarded as personal enemies he was 
brutal and cruel in the extreme. He first enlist- 
ed in the war of the colonies for American In- 
dependence with the Americans, but afterwards 
he went over to the British side and was used 
by them as an Indian interpreter and scout and 
for making the Indians war against the Ameri- 
can settlers, when the Indians were disposed to 
remain neutral. Simon Girty was born about 
1740. He had been with Indians in many at- 
tacks on the settlers. He was present when 
William Crawford was burned and made no at- 
tempt to save him and he refused to shoot 
Crawford when the latter begged him to do so 
to save him from the torture. 

He had been along with Indians in their 
forays against settlers when men, women and 
children were killed and he was an Indian 
among Indians. He was much worse than the 



Indians, a mean type of very bad white man. 
He was at times very abusive, quarrelsome and 
noisy, and was a complete slave to liquor. Af- 
ter the Revolution was over, Girty went to 
Canada and lived to be a half blind, rheumatic, 
drunken old man and died in 1818. 

Wilson Harris's recollections 

Wilson Harris was the servant of Will- 
iam R. Cox, and he has given his recollec- 
tions, and although ninety years of age, in 
some respects has a remarkably clear 
memory. He says that he was born Oct. 
28, 1821, in Amherst county and that he 
and his mother were brought to Kanawha 
and their home in Snow Hill Hollow, in 
the "Licks" on the day he was six years 
old, 1827. 

That the furnace was run by Mr. Luke 
Wilcox, and that he remained at the fur- 
nace until Mr. Cox removed to Charleston 
in 1830, where he purchased a farm of 
seventy-five acres on the rear of the town, 
and which was reached by what was 
known as "Coxes Lane," now known as 
Capitol street. Mr. Cox died in 1843 an d 
his widow afterwards built the brick house 
which was occupied by her family, after- 
wards by Col. J. N. Clarkson, then by John 
Slack, Sr. The wife of W. R. Cox was a 
Miss Hedrick and their children were 
Charles, William, George, and Frank, and 
Mrs. Cornelia Gillison, Miss Mary Ann and 
Miss Elizabeth. That Mr. Cox was a very 
active busy man, a kind hearted, generous 
man to his family and especially to his ser- 
vants. His son Frank in appearance was 
the image of his father. 

Major James Bream was a salt maker 
and Wilson Harris says he worked for him, 
that the Major was a tall stout man, an 
out-spoken, kind-hearted old gentlemen, an 
Englishman and a Presbyterian and was 
the wealthiest man in the Valley. His 
manager was William Graham. "Peter" 
was his driver and "Terry" his gentle old 
horse. 

Col. Joseph Lovell was a lawyer, a salt 
maker and a merchant. His furnace was 
on the South Side about a mile above the 



90 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



upper ferry, and his residence was on Vir- 
ginia street in Charleston, and he sold his 
place of business to James A. Lewis, where 
now the twelve-story building' has been 
erected. Col. Lovell was an exceeding 
kind, frank, familiar-spoken man. He be- 
longed to the Breams family. 

Col. Andrew Donnally ran a furnace on 
the South Side. Also and among the other 
salt makers that he remembers were Mr. 
Prudy. Mr. Nash, Mr. Steele and Mr. Don- 
nally, Mr. Dickinson and Mi". Shrewsbury, 
Mr. William Tompkins and others. Gen- 
eral Ruffner's furnace was in Tinkerville. 
Daniel Ruffner kept a stage stand, a tav- 
ern and stable, where .Mr. Silas Ruffner 
afterwards lived. 

Commencing on the river bank, Wilson 
says he remembers the house of Mr. Gar- 
reau, the hatter, then on the corner of 
Truslow street was Mr. Brigham, then Dr. 
Patrick, then the lower ferry, then the Gos- 
horn tavern kept by Silas Cobb. Mr. Hutt 
had a grocery; one of his daughters mar- 
ried Cobb, and another daughter married 
Judge Dunbar ; he lived above Court. John 
and William Goshorn did business on the 
bank below Court street. Mr. Williams 
made furniture, just above Alderson street 
on the bank, he used horse-power to run 
his lathe. Next came the tailor shop of 
John and William Truslow; Dr. Rogers 
had a drug store on the bank and then 
came the store of Mr. Shrewsbury where 
afterwards the Goshorns kept. Then there 
was a Mr. Hutt's tailor shop where Mr. 
Beller kept after the war. George and 
Frank Allen kept hardware, where Fisher 
and Fruth does now; Frank Noyes. kept 
dry goods where Mr. Ward lately kept; 
William Brigham, clerk, was located on 
corner of Summers ; John Welch, dry goods, 
above Summers and Mr. Fred Brooks had 
a mill just above the wharf boat. Then 
Thomas Whitteker; then Davis Estell, dry 
goods; then Aaron Whitteker, general 
store; then Jas. A. Lewis, dwelling; then 
the post office in a frame building, replaced 
with a brick, built by W. Gray. Above 
Capitol street on the bank was a frame 



building, a tavern kept by James Wilson, 
father of Lewis AYilsori ; then the residence 
of a Presbyterian minister. Rev. M. Cal- 
houn about where the telegraph office is 
now. Wallace Whitteker's residence, then 
Mr. Cunningham's residence, the Mrs. 
Haycock ; Mr. Trudgeon, a carpenter. Dr. 
AVatkins lived above and Mr. J. H. Fry 
the sheriff, was above. 

Having come up Front street along the 
bank, as near as his memory served him, 
he now will proceed down the street on 
the opposite side. Bradford Noyes lived 
where Mr. J. 0. Dickinson now lives ; a 
Mr. Fitzhugh lived where Mr. Rand after- 
wards lived ; (that Mr. Fitzhugh went 
around on the Ohio river to Ravenswood.) 
Mr. Ruby lived next ; Judge G. W. Sum- 
mers lived on the corner, and next below 
was a vacant lot ; Mr. Fred Brooks lived 
below on corner of Brooks, (this was the 
old Clendenin Fort, a hewed log weather- 
boarded house) and below this lived Col. 
Smith. Then lived Aaron Whitteker and 
then came Col. Andrew Donnally, where 
John Goshorn afterwards lived. Judge 
Dunbar afterwards came up street and his 
residence was below Col. Andrew Don- 
ally's. Dr. Patrick's residence was next 
below ; then Jas. C. McFarland, then John 
P. Hales on the lot on which the old stone 
derk's office was. Then came Rev. Dr. 
Brown's next below Hale street; then Mr. 
Wihiam Brigham, then Dr. Cotton's two- 
story brick ; then, on the corner of Capitol, 
there was a store kept by Brooks Brothers. 
Just below Coxe's lane was the Bank of 
Virginia, J. C. McFarland, Samuel Hanna, 
and John M. Doddridge, the officers. In 
the rear of this bank was the office of Dr. 
Putney. The upper ferry was kept by 
Capt. Jas. Wilson. After J. A. Lewis, Mr. 
Norris Whitteker was postmaster and the 
office was where Mr. Burlew's Hardware 
Store is now. Then came the old "Kana- 
wha House" on the corner of Summers 
street, kept by a Mr. Withrow. then by 
Aaron Whitteker and then by John G. 
Wright; and here was the stage office, and 
here was killed Mr. Kenna by the Lewis 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



91 



brothers. This house was burned at the 
time of the retreat of Col. Leghtburn dur- 
ing the war, and the Bank of Virginia and 
others were also. 

Below Summers was a Mr. Brigham's 
store, then Dr. Patrick's residence, then 
was the law office of Judge Summers, then 
the Beech Hotel, then a tavern by Mr. Ben 
Anderson, then a vacant lot to Alderson 
street, then a tavern by Orestes Wilson, 
then Samuel Beech's shoemaker ship, then 
George Wade, a baker, then a hotel be- 
longing to Mr. John Truslow, then a store- 
house kept by Adam Wright, then a hotel, 
which Mr. O. Wilson . also kept. Then 
we reach the Court House square, the 
Clerk's office which was taken care of by 
A. W. Ouarrier. John and Alex Dryden, as 
assistants; then the George Bender, Sr., 
Charles Gabhart. and Mr. Hull, the black- 
smith's which was replaced by Mr. Lang- 
horn, the furniture maker, then the store 
and residence of C. J. Botkin, then Bob 
Snyder's baker shop, then Mr. Saunder's 
residence, a two-story log: then a brick 
one-storv where Mr. Fox lived, and then 
the Farley House, which was said to be- 
long to "Stocking Leg Wilson" — the only 
name ever heard given to him. 

Next below Qendenin street came the 
mill built by Mr. William Rand and the 
only other house on this street, was down 
on the Point — a brick house where lived 
Mr. Charles Brown, the ferryman at the 
ferry across Elk river; his sons were Tally 
and Pitt and Porus. This Mr. Brown has 
some property up Elk near the mouth of 
Magazine and he was with the Browns and 
Slaughters buried there. 

Wilson Harris has always been a good 
natured co^red man. with good ideas of 
propriety and good manners and one 
whom the people have ahvavs been will- 
ing to receive in their houses. He has 
acted as nurse in the best families, and 
perhaps attended at the death bed of more 
men than any one person in the town. 
He is unwilling- to sav anything that he 
does not think is absolutely true. Of 
course, he may be mistaken: he mav for- 



get, but he is reliable as far as his disposi- 
tion to tell the truth goes; and even if it 
should be true, if not proper to repeat, it 
can not be had from him. He is now nearly 
ninety years old and time is bending him 
down some little but he is as ever, kind, 
gentle, and true to the nature of a gentle- 
man. 

COALSMOUTH 

S. P. Capehart says that it was in 1786 that 
Lewis and Sam Tackett and John Young came 
to Coalsmouth and erected a fort half a mile 
below Coal river, and a few hundred yards 
back from the Kanawha river. That they did 
not pretend to own the land. The creek that 
empties into Coal river was known as Tackett's 
creek, and that it was in 1789 when the Indians 
came from Ohio and captured the fort and 
Polly and Hannah Tackett made their escape. 

Polly married a Mr. Rider and Hannah Mor- 
ris was her daughter. Stephen Teays settled 
at Coalsmouth in 1800, on the lower side of 
Coal, where he kept a tavern and a farm. The 
survey above Coalsmouth was made for Wash- 
ington; that immediately below was for Capt. 
Teays. 

Morris Hudson came from Pennsylvania in 
1808 and bought from Two and Three-quarter 
Mile creek and built a large double log house. 
His sons were David Jesse and Samuel and they 
lived there until the death of their father. Jesse 
took the upper, and Samuel the lower part of 
the land. Jesse had six girls and two boys and 
Samuel had two girls and six boys. 

In 1816 Col. Philip R. Thompson came from 
Culpepper and purchased the Washington land 
up to Hudson's. Samuel T. Washington mar- 
ried a Hudson. Col. P. R. Thompson was a 
son of Rev. John Thompson. There were B. 
D. Thompson, Philip R. Thompson, John. 
Robert A., Francis. Benjamin S. Thompson, 
and William, and daughters, Mrs. Eleana B. 
Thornton, Mrs. Eliza R. Fry, and Sara E., M. 
A. Thompson. Berseder Dand, Jesse and Sam- 
uel Hudson. There were Mrs. Sarah Philson, 
Nancy Hudson and Mrs. Abigail Jones. There 
were the Hudsons and Thompsons on the up- 
per side and the Teays and Lewis family on the 
lower side of Coal river. John Lewis, a grand- 



92 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



son of Gen. Andrew Lewis, bought large tracts 
below Coal, built a large brick dwelling, which 
he called Valconlon, and here brought his wife, 
a daughter of Andrew Donnally; and John 
brought also his brothers William and Samuel 
Lewis. 

There was a James T. Teays and a Stephen 
Teays. John Capehart married a daughter of 
Stephen Teays, and Stephen P. Capehart was 
a son of said marriage, born 1832. The post 
office was called Coalsmouth. 

Col. Thompson laid off some lots and streets 
and sold some and called the place "Phillipi." 

Morris Hudson gave the lot and built the 
church for the Episcopalians, and Mrs. Stephen 
Teays built a log church for the Methodists 
and retained the title — this was in 1820 — and 
the brick Episcopal edifice was built in 1825. 
This was some distance above Coal. 

Samuel Benedict, in 1856, bought part of the 
Thompson tract and laid it out in lots and 
streets and called it Kanawha City. The post 
office remained the same — Coalsmouth. 

When the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad was 
being constructed the Central Land Company 
purchased the Benedict-Cunningham land, in- 
cluding Kanawha City and made that a town 
and called all St. Albans, and there was the 
end of Coalsmouth, Phillipi, Kanawha City, 
and the old name for St. Albans. Coal river 
had been improved sufficiently by 1847 so that 
they could ship cannel coal to New Orleans. 
General Rosecrans was president of the Navi- 
gation Company. 

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad was fin- 
ished in 1872-3. There was a Coal river 
boom on Coal river to catch and hold logs. 
Then there was a Coal river railroad built and 
which is now running, further mention of which 
may be found elsewhere in this volume. 

TOBACCO A LEGAL TENDER 

When the Colony of Virginia first settled 
on the James, among the many curious things 
they saw, was the Indians smoking tobacco. 
Upon examination they found that it was a 
broad leaf weed, that was cultivated, and taken 
care of until it reached a certain stage of de- 
velopment, when it was cut and dried and pre- 
pared for use, and then smoked in a clay pipe. 



One of the peculiarities was that many of them 
smoked the same pipe and they all seemed to 
enjoy it. 

- The colonists began to use it and they became 
fond of it and shipped some of it to England 
and the English too, became disposed to use 
it. Perhaps because it was an Indian custom, 
it was adopted in London. In 1616 it is said 
Governor Yeardly introduced it into England 
and there they began to call for it. There be- 
gan to be a demand and the colonists sent it 
to them, and thus began trade and commerce 
in tobacco. King James wrote against its use 
and said that it produced imbecility, etc., but 
the trade increased. In 1769 it was said there 
were one 20,000 shipped to London. 

Then King Charles attempted to monopo- 
lize the trade, but this was no more successful 
than was King James' attempt to suppress it. 

The two attempts perhaps did more to flush 
the market than anything that could have been 
done, and the beauty of the traffic was that it 
brought back to Virginia the cash. Then the 
people began to spend it in things they were 
unable to buy without this extra deposit to their 
credit in the bank. With ready cash and with 
purchases of finery as an incentive the growth 
and cultivation increased and kept up with the 
demand. The tobacco crop became the wealth 
of the people with rich land, and with the ne- 
gro to attend to it, the business flourished and 
everything prospered. Under these circum- 
stances was it a wonder that this colony was 
not loyal to the Crown ? 

There was never a sufficient amount of coin 
in the country and it was not possible for the 
business to be done therewith but with the to- 
bacco crop to help out, they began to use their 
credit and paper money helped along. Then 
they began to pay their debts with tobacco and 
then they paid their taxes, their ministers' sal- 
aries and all the other official salaries were paid 
in tobacco ; so that it was not surprising that 
they had two currencies — money and the money 
producer. And the one soon became the more 
common of the two, and it was not a great 
while before taxes, fines, debts, judgments and 
all other demands were payable in tobacco and 
it became a legal tender in Virginia. In the 
early days of Kanawha the people could raise 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



9;j 



tobacco, but they could not always raise the 
money. Other crops would some times fail and 
money would not always be plentiful and a con- 
venience was made and a price per pound estab- 
lished and either commodity was accepted. 

Among the peculiarities in its use, it was the 
custom to ask your friends to drink it, and it 
was kept for use in a lily-pod of white earth 
and lighted with a splinter of juniper or with 
a live coal held with a pair of silver tongs. 
Two pence a pound was placed on it and if the 
price was a little better, they paid their debts 
in money and sold their tobacco. 

There was some tobacco* raised in Kanawha, 
but just exactly how it was marketed, we do not 
know ; probably they did not ship it, only used 
it instead of money. 

KANAWHA FALLS TO MONTGOMERY 

From the Kanawha Falls, down the river, 
on the South side, the first old settler was 
Isaac Jenkins." He owned all the land from 
the Falls down to Loup Creek on the river; 
his house was about three and a half miles west 
of the Falls about half a mile above Loup 
Creek. He patented 100 acres on the Kanawha 
River in 1818 and 100 acres on Loup Creek in 
1828. 

Buster — This family was from Kentucky and 
there was a family from Virginia. They may 
have been of the same family long ago. 
Thomas Buster lived above Armstrong Creek 
and his holdings were from Armstrong to 
Loup. He had William, Thomas, Jr., J. R., 
Philip, Joseph and Dorcas. William B. mar- 
ried Sarah Bousman. Thomas, Jr., who was 
a physician, never married, and died about 
1885. J. R. married Elvira Dempsey; he was 
a farmer, miller and merchant. Philip went to 
Missouri. He sold out to Aaron Stockton, 
Deepwater; Joseph, died in 1839; his wife re- 
turned to Giles County. Dorcas married Ma- 
son Coleman, and a descendant of theirs re- 
sides there. He is a "long-fellow," about six 
feet, five inches. The widow married Nic 
Jones, brother of John Jones; she died in 1850. 

George Richards lived below where "Eagle" 
now is, and owned land there and the islands in 
the river. They left a son, William Richards, 
who lives at Oak Hill, aged ninety. He pat- 



ented 76 acres on Armstrong and 57 at Arm- 
strong and Kanawha in 1825. 

Next below was Ben Morris, who sold his 
brick house and farm on the north side of the 
river to his brother Levi and moved over on 
the south side, and afterward it became the 
Montgomery farm and now the town of that 
name. Mrs. Manser, the daughter of Ben Mor- 
ris, was born in 1792. 

Aaron Stockton purchased the Kanawha 
Falls in 181 6 and also the place at the mouth 
of Kelly's Creek. Tom Buster, from Maiden, 
owned the Blue Sulphur Springs in Green 
Brier, which was a favorite summer resort. 

Col. Andrew Donnally was born in the north 
of Ireland and came to the Valley of Virginia 
in 1750. He was the county lieutenant and 
sheriff of Botetourt County in 1775. He mar- 
ried Jane McCreary of Augusta in 1776. 
Donnally 's Fort was built in 1771 near Lewis- 
burg, which at that time was in Botetourt 
County. Col. Donnally was county lieutenant 
in Greenbrier under Gov. Thomas Jefferson. 
Hammond and Prior went from Pt. Pleasant 
to notify the settlers in Greenbrier in 1778, and 
the Indians attacked the fort soon after the 
notification. His daughter, Katie, a young girl, 
made bullets for the defenders ; she married 
Capt. John Wilson. Andrew Donnally was a 
man of great natural ability, with much cour- 
?ge and physical strength. 

It was in 1782 that Lewisburg was estab- 
lished by law and Col. Donnally, Samuel Lewis, 
James Reed, Samuel Brown, John Stuart, 
William Ward, Thomas Edgar -were appointed 
trustees. Col. Donnally went to near Point 
Pleasant and remained a year or two. He 
owned Dick Pointer, the negro who fought in 
the fort in 1778. Dick's son was made a cap- 
tive in 1790 and became an Indian Chief, but 
in 1 81 2 he sided with the Americans. 

After leaving Point Pleasant, Col. Donnally 
came to the mouth of Elk, and afterwards went 
above Charleston, about five miles, and there, 
died in 1825. His son, Andrew Donnally, Jr., 
married in 1802, Marjorie Van Bibber, a 
daughter of Capt. John Van Bibber, and they 
had six sons and two or more daughters. One 
daughter married J. H. Fry and another mar- 
ried Col. John Lewis. Jesse Boone (son of 



94 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Daniel) was a brother-in-law of Andrew Don- 
nally, Jr., and he, Jesse, , went west in 1816. 
Andrew, Jr. died in 1849. 

In the early days of Greenbrier county, it 
was alleged by some Presbyterians that Andrew 
Donnally was a Romanist. The principal rea- 
son for the charge was that on some record or 
legal document his name had been spelled 
O'Donnally. This, in the county of Green- 
brier, in those early days, was a serious charge, 
in politics, except only in the "Irish Corner." 
Mr. Donnally had an investigation made and 
the statement was shown to be incorrect. The 
parties making the charge subsequently ad- 
mitted that they were in error. 

Davis Creek. At the mouth of Davis Creek, 
Fleming Cobb settled and he was a very early 
man in the valley and went to the mouth of 
the Kanawha, to Fort Randolph, to bring some 
powder to the Fort in Charleston, and on his 
return the Indians tried to capture him, but 
failed and he brought in the powder. His home 
was near the river. 

Reuben Daggs settled about four miles up 
the creek. His wife was a sister of Samuel 
Cook, who also lived on this creek. Elisha 
Dodson was also a settler and he has a son, 
James M. Dodson. His wife was Margaret 



Daggs, daughter of Reuben Daggs, and Bob 
was their son. Reuben who was born in the 
fort in Charleston, died in 1872. 

Thomas Davis died in 1878, aged about 
eighty years. He settled about six miles up 
the creek. Samuel Cook settled about four 
miles up. 

Davis creek became known as having there- 
on the Black Band Iron Ore, that is, there was 
coal found thereon in which there was iron ore 
and it was supposed that the coal would smelt 
the ore and a furnace was built to make iron 
and it was not a success for some reason, but 
it lead to a railroad being built up Davis Creek 
to bring out coal. 

We heard no more of the iron ore and fur- 
nace but there was a coal which took the name 
of Black Band coal, of the very best quality of 
block coal, which was in great demand, found 
on Davis Creek and on Brier Creek and else- 
where on the creeks of Coal River. This 
Davis Creek Railroad was built to haul this 
coal to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad on 
the Kanawha and the coal shipped to Chicago. 

The said Davis Creek Railroad was greatly 
injured by a freshet on Davis Creek and they 
have not been shipping for some time. 



CHAPTER VI 



BENCH AND BAR 

Organization of the Courts — Judges John Coalter, James Allen, Lewis Summers, David 
McComas, James H. Brown, Joseph Smith, George W. Summers, Mathew Dunbar, James 
IV. Hoge—F. A. Guthrie — 5". C. Burdett Judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia — 
Early Attorneys of the Kanawha Bar — Charleston Lazvyers, iqii — In Memoriam. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COURTS 

To explain the judiciary system of Virginia 
and note its changes and its growth would en- 
tail more labor than its compensation in cur- 
iosity would justify. Its interest would be ap- 
preciated only by a few lawyers, and lawyers 
are not paying men, generally. Without going 
far into details we might say, that in the Col- 
ony there was no court of final resort, except 
to the King and Council and that would gen- 
erally amount to nothing. 

There was the county court, composed of 
justices of the county and they were appointed 
by the Governor, they served without fee or 
reward ; except, that by rotation, the office of 
sheriff for two years was given to a justice, 
for his services on the County Court. 

These county courts, these justices, could 
and did almost any and everything that any- 
body could do, and were a sort of legislature, 
judicial and executive body for their own coun- 
ty. 

The General Court, so called because its ju- 
risdiction was general over all persons, causes, 
matters or things at common law whether by 
original process or appeal, or any other writ, 
or other legal way or means, and its jurisdic- 
tion extended all over the state. 

District Courts were established and the civil 
and criminal jurisdiction of the General Court 
was given to this District Court by appeal, etc. 

In 1809 the District Courts were abolished 
and the Circuit Superior Courts of Law in 



each county, were substituted in their stead, 
and in 1819 there were fifteen circuits, and 
each circuit had about seven counties, on an 
average. 

There was a Supreme Court of Chancery. 
There was such courts in Staunton, Winches- 
ter, Clarksburg and at Wythe court house, 
Richmond and Williamsburg and the places 
for holding them increased. 

The Supreme Court of Appeals was estab- 
lished in 1778 but was held by Judges of other 
Courts. 

In 1788 this Court was organized by Judges 
to be appointed by both houses of the Assem- 
bly and it has remained a separate court ever 
since and in 181 1, there were five judges. 
Judge John Coalter was appointed on the Gen- 
eral Court in 1809 and on the Court of Appeals 
in 181 1. 

That Judge James Allen's appointment to 
General Court in 181 1, must have been to fill 
the place of Judge Coalter. Lewis Summers 
was appointed on the General Court in 18 19 
and served until in 1843 an d after his death 
David McComas was placed on the General 
Court and this Court was abolished in 1851, 
and the Circuit Courts of law and chancery 
substituted and the first judge for Kanawha 
Circuit was Judge George W. Summers ; he re- 
signed in 1858, and David McComas was then 
selected and he held until the war came on, 
during which he died, and then the re-organized 
government of Virginia placed Judge James H. 
Brown on the Kanawha Circuit and he after- 



95 



96 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



wards was elected for the Supreme Court of 
West Virginia when Judge Daniel Polsley 
succeeded him, until he was elected to Con- 
gress and then Judge James H. Hoge took 
this bench and he was succeeded by Joseph 
Smith, who was followed by Judge F. A. 
Guthrie, and he was followed by Judge S. C. 
Burdette, who now presides on the bench of 
the Circuit Court of Kanawha. 

JUDGE JOHN COALTER 

Judge John Coalter held the first court held 
in Kanawha county and it was April, 1809. 
He was born near New Providence in Augusta 
now in Rockbridge, Virginia. He was a son of 
Michael Coalter, and he studied law, went to 
Staunton to practice, and was made judge of 
the General Court and as such came to Ka- 
nawha to hold the Court here, and in 181 1 
he was promoted to the Court of Appeals, on 
which he served until 1838 when he resigned. 
He lived in his later life near Fredericksburg. 
He was married four times and he belonged to 
a good old Virginia family, and was honored 
and respected as a Judge. 

It would not do to omit Hale's joke on this 
judge. He was a stranger to the people and 
ways of Kanawha, whose only acquaintance 
with courts was their own County Court, 
whose rules were rather easy. Some offender 
was tried and found guilty of some offense 
not regarded serious and the judge gave him 
the full benefit of the law, when the convicted 
man meant to make an appeal for less sen- 
tence. Thus he spake : "See here, Judge, don't 
you think you are setting your colter a little 
too steep for a new ground?" 

JUDGE JAMES ALLEN 

James Allen was appointed on the Gen- 
eral Court in 181 1. He was from Wood- 
stock, Shenandoah county, because his son 
is reported as having been born in Wood- 
stock. This son was John James Allen, 
who went to Clarksburg, Harrison county, 
and settled, and afterwards was on the 
Court of Appeals. 

James Allen held the Circuit Court in 
Kanawha until Judge Lewis Summers was 
appointed in 1819. We regret that we are un- 



able to furnish any further data of Judge 
James Allen. 

JUDGE LEWIS SUMMERS 

There came from Fairfax county, Vir- 
ginia, the Summers family, consisting of 
George, the father, and Ann, his wife, and 
five sons and five daughters. This George 
Summers was the son of Francis and Jane 
Summers of Alexandria. He was born in 
1758 in Fairfax and died in Kanawha in 
1818; his wife was Ann Smith Randolffe,- 
and they were married in 1776. 

Lewis Summers was their first born, arid 
his birthday was November 7, 1778; he 
never married and he died in August, 
1843, at the White Sulphur Springs and 
was buried at Walnut Grove, now in Put- 
nam county, W. Va. Besides him there 
were Cotton, Jane, Elizabeth, Ann M., Fer- 
dinand, Celina, Sydney, Albert, and George 
AVilliam. 

Of Col. George Summers, the father, it 
was said, that in all the relations of life, he 
manifested a vigorous and correct under- 
standing and an integrity the most inflex- 
ible. He served several sessions in the As- 
sembly at Richmond, and was in the Con- 
vention of 1800, and was once the sheriff 
of his county. 

In 1810 he made a tour of inspection, 
following the route that Lewis had pre- 
viously marked out and came to the Kana- 
wha Valley, and went down the Ohio as 
far as Guyandotte, and returned by way of 
Wheeling and then back home to Alexan- 
dria. 

The trip resulted in the purchase of 
Walnut Grove, known as the estate of Dr. 
Craik. also of Alexandria. In 1813 he 
came to take possession of his land and 
prepare a home for his family and in Jan- 
uary, 1814, the calvacade moved westward. 
They reached their new home and he spent 
the rest of his life in fixing his farm and 
home. 

After four years on the Kanawha, he 
was laid to-rest, with his fathers. Lewis 
Summers then became the head of the 
Summers family in Kanawha. He pos- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



97 



sessed a liberal education, and was ad- 
mitted to the Bar at twenty-two years of 
age, and was also much interested in polit- 
ical affairs. It was in June, 1808, he made 
a trip and passed down the Kanawha Val- 
ley and spent a few days in Gallipolis, 
Ohio, thence up the Ohio to Wellsburg and 
then up the Monongahela and down the 
Potomac to his home and in the fall of the 
same year, he made his last trip and settled 
in Gallipolis. While in Ohio he was 
elected to the Senate, but he did not long 
remain in that state and in 181 5 returned 
to Virginia and made his home in Charles- 
ton. He began the practice of law and 
also was one of a commercial firm, after- 
wards known as Summers, Scales & Co., 
which was a leading firm from 1816 to 1822. 
He was also engaged in salt making until 
1833. His mother and two brothers, 
Albert and George, came from the Grove 
to Charleston and lived with Lewis, after 
the death of the father in 1818. Albert 
died in 1824. In 182 1 the boys being off to 
school, the mother returned to the Grove 
and Lewis attended her and ever after- 
wards made that his permanent home. He 
built at the Grove a large flouring-mill, es- 
tablished a large warehouse and general 
merchandise store and with his houses 
there was quite a little village. He ac- 
cumulated a good large library of law and 
miscellaneous books. He became a judge 
of the General Court and Judge of the Ka- 
nawha Circuit Court in 1819, and he re- 
mained on the bench until his death in 1843. 
He was able and conscientious and his 
court was one of great dignity and de- 
corum. He was elected to the General As- 
sembly in 1817 with John Hansford. He 
and others were appointed to equalize the 
lands known as the "Savage Grant," lo- 
cated between Guyandotte and Catletts- 
burg and their report is yet on file. He 
was greatly interested in the improvement 
of the water ways and highways and \was 
interested in the Board of Public Works, 
etc. He never married, and the Summers 
family were all Episcopalians. He was a 
supporter of that church and gave aid to 



the building of St. John's church in Charles- 
ton. 

There is a portrait in oil in Charleston, 
at his niece Mrs. A. J. Ryan on Broad St., 
who prepared a sketch of him which was 
published in the July, 1903, W. Va. His- 
torical Magazine, which is more fully and 
at large set forth, and from which this is 
taken. 

JUDGE DAVID M'COMAS 

He was the son of General Elisha Mc- 
Comas, and the wife of the Judge was a Miss 
French. He was a member of the General 
Court of Virginia, a judge of the Kanawha 
Circuit Court and was at one time a state sen- 
ator from the Kanawha district. He was born 
in 1795 and died in Giles county, Va., in 1864. 
He was full of humor, good natured and was 
a distinguished judge. 

There are many stories told of him — of his 
negligence of dress and other habits. He gen- 
erally on his circuit neglected to relieve his 
soiled clothes but left them at his boarding 
house. He and his wife went to Cabell to visit 
his relations and made a visit to them all, ex- 
cept one unfortunate brother and he told his 
wife that they must go and see him, and she 
inquired whether he was not at the poor-house. 
"Yes," said the Judge, "but there is no differ- 
ence between him and myself ; he is on the 
county and I am on the state." 

It has been said that he made the first 
straight-out secession speech that had been made 
in Virginia, while he was in the state senate. 
His home was for some time in Charleston on 
Virginia street above the old Episcopal church. 
He left no children. Judge McComas, not- 
withstanding some personal peculiarities, was 
ever held in high esteem acting as a judge of 
correct principle and a learned man, ■ and was 
highly esteemed as a man. 

JUDGE JAMES H. BROWN 

He was the son of Dr. Benjamin Brown of 
Cabell county, who came from Prince William 
county, Va., to Cabell county in 1805. He 
was born in 1818, was educated in Marietta 
College, Ohio, and in Augusta College, Ky. 
He read law with John Laidley of Cabell, was 



98 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



admitted to the bar in 1842 and practiced in 
Cabell, Wayne, Logan, Jackson and Kanawha 
and in the Appellate Court and in the Federal 
Courts. In 1848 he removed to Kanawha and 
made Charleston his home, and- here he went 
into the Courts where there were older and 
younger lawyers and where the bar was recog- 
nized as a strong one. He made the trial of 
land cases a specialty and he took conditional 
fees and won cases and gained lands. 

When the war came on he was elected to 
succeed Judge David McComas, who went 
South and died ; Judge Brown was judge of 
the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia. 
He resigned his seat in the legislature and in 
the constitutional convention being held at 
Wheeling. To hold a circuit court in this 
circuit was a dangerous undertaking, while at 
Wheeling he was protected by the military 
forces of the U. S., but in holding circuit 
courts, the military forces about, sometimes 
wore the grey, instead of the blue, and then 
he had to adjourn his court, sine die, and get 
into different quarters. 

At a court held in Mason county, they did 
not give him very ample notice and his leaving 
there was under fire. At a court in Cabell, he 
received a little more notice and he reached 
Guyandotte in time to secure transportation 
on a steamboat that was held up, waiting for 
him, by the Federal forces, and brought him 
again within the Federal lines. It was well 
known that to capture any officer of the Wheel- 
ing government was the special duty of all 
Confederate soldiers. 

The new state of West Virginia was formed 
in June, 1863, and new officers had to be se- 
lected and Judge Brown was elected as one of 
the Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, 
for eight years ; and he served his term on that 
Court, which of course vacated his judgeship 
on the old circuit court of Kanawha under the 
old state. 

By the time that his term on the Supreme 
Bench expired, the party that had elected him, 
renominated him, but this party by that time 
had lost its power in the new state, and he re- 
tired and again began the practice of the law, 
with his sons in partnership with him. He was 



always respected and honored as an able, up- 
right and conscientious judge. 

He was in his ante-bellum days an old time 
Democrat, and when the war came on, he had 
come to a parting of the ways ; he was no be- 
liever in secession, and parties now were di- 
vided into Union and Secessionist, and he be- 
longed to the Union party. This party after 
the war almost unanimously became Republi- 
cans and he was no exception ; he had made 
the choice for the Union and he stood by that 
selection. No doubt he often had a bitter pill 
to swallow, but he took his medicine. He was 
nominated on the Republican ticket for the 
Legislature and on the Democratic ticket his 
son, James F. Brown, was a candidate for the 
same office, and both were elected. 

He was of the Presbyterian faith, and his 
church divided and here he stood by his colors, 
and remained with the General Assembly of the 
U. S. and let go the synod of Greenbrier which 
had gone further South. He died in October, 
1900, aged 82 and a suitable monument marks 
his resting place in the cemetery of Charles- 
ton. He was a man that everyone respected, 
whether they agreed with his views or not. 

In Memoriam 
Hon. James H. Brown, - 
A former judge of the 
Supreme Court of Appeals 

of 

West Virginia 

At a special term of the Supreme Court of 
Appeals of West Virginia, continued and held 
in Charleston, county of Kanawha, on the 30th 
day of March, 1901, Wesley Mollohan, on be- 
half of the Bar of Kanawha county presented 
to the court the resolutions of the Kanawha 
County Bar, respecting the late Judge James 
H. Brown, as follows : 

"Resolved, That by the death of the Hon. 
James H. Brown, the Bar of the Kanawha has 
lost its oldest and most learned member, and 
the state and county one of our most useful and 
honored citizens. 

"He was not only learned and distinguished 
in his profession but was an able and upright 
judge. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



99 



"In personal and public affairs he was a man 
of sterling honesty and intrepid courage and 
very vigilant in promoting by every fair and 
honorable means the best interest of his com- 
munity, his country and his state. His life 
and profesional career furnished an example of 
probity, energy and success well worthy of the 
highest emulation. 

"Though ever courteous and generous to his 
brethren of the Bar, yet he was ever faithful 
to and tenacious of every right of his clients. 

"It is difficult to adequately express our ap- 
preciation of his many virtues and noble quali- 
ties, but we desire to here place upon record 
humble though insufficient tribute to his mem- 
ory as a man, a citizen, and a lawyer." 

W. MOLLOHAN. 

G. E. Price. 
Malcolm J. Jackson. 

H. C. McWhorter. 
E. W. Wilson. 
Thomas L. Broun. 

"And said Mollohan addressed the Court 
touching the life and career of Judge Brown as 
a lawyer and a member of this Court, and it is 
ordered that the resolutions so presented be 
spread on the records of this Court and the ad- 
dress of Mr. Mollohan be filed and published in 
the reports of this court." 

(A true copy, attest) 

JAMES A. HOLLEY, Clerk. 

Remarks of W. Mollohan on presenta- 
tion of resolutions of Kanawha Bar on the 
death of Judge James H. Brown: 

"Some time ago Judge James PL Brown 
departed this life at his home in this city. 
After his death there was held a meeting 
of the Kanawha Bar at which meeting cer- 
tain resolutions were adopted and I was ap- 
pointed to present the resolutions to this 
honorable Court, which I now do, and in 
connection therewith I deem it my duty, as 
well as honored privilege, to say some- 
thing by the way of elaboration to what is set 
forth in the resolutions as to the career of 
this distinguished man. 

"Judge Brown was born in Cabell county, 
Virginia, (now West Virginia) December 
the 25th, 1818, a son of Dr. Benj. Brown, 



who removed to the banks of the Ohio 
where Huntington now stands in 1805, 
from Prince William county, Virginia, 
where the family had lived since 1636, de- 
cendants of William Brown, who emigrated 
from England at about this date. He had 
attended Marietta College but, owing to ill 
health, left college and spent some time in 
travel and afterwards completed his college 
course and graduated at Augusta College, 
Kentucky; read law with the late John 
Laidley, Sr., of Cabell county; was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1842, practicing on the 
circuit in Cabell, Wayne, Mason, Jackson, 
and Kanawha, and in the Federal and Ap- 
pellate Courts. In 1848 he removed to 
Kanawha county and ever after made 
Charleston his home. From 1848 until 
1852 he was in partnership in the practice 
with the late J. M. Laidley, Esq., and later, 
with the late W. S. Summers, the latter as- 
sociation continuing until the war, when 
Mr. Summers went South in the Confeder- 
ate army. 

"Shortly after his admission to the bar, he 
entered politics, taking an active interest in 
public affairs; he was an old time Demo- 
crat and as such took an active part in the 
campaign of 1844 and in the advocacy of 
the then paramount issue, the annexation 
of Texas. In 1854 he was delegate from 
Kanawha to the State convention as- 
sembled at the White Sulphur Springs to 
consider the subject of internal improve- 
ments ; was chosen one of the vice-presi- 
dents, and pressed on the convention the 
importance of the early completion of the 
Covington & Ohio railroad, nOw Chesa- 
peake. In the winter of 1854-5, he was a 
delegate to the Democratic State conven- 
tion at Staunton, which nominated Henry 
A. Wise for Governor; in 1855, was candi- 
date for State Senate from the Kanawha 
district, but was defeated by the Whig 
candidate. 

"In the winter of 1856, he was dele- 
gated to the convention at Parkersburg, 
which nominated A. G. Jenkins for Con- 
gress. In the spring of 1861 he was dele- 
gate to the Congressional convention at 



100 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Parkersburg which nominated J. S. Carlile. 
At the outbreak of the war, he opposed the 
dismemberment of the Union, and made 
a vigirous campaign against the Ordinance 
of Secession. He was a member of the 
Wheeling convention of 1861 which sub- 
mitted the question of a new State, and 
was an earnest advocate of all that that 
implied. At the same time he was a mem- 
ber of the Legislature, taking active part 
in both bodies. In all these matters he 
was a man, earnest and untiring in labors, 
conservative in views, but prompt in ac- 
tion, and content with no half-way meas- 
ures. 

"In winter of 1861-2 he was elected and 
commissioned judge of the Eighteenth 
Judicial Circuit of Virginia, succeeding 
the Hon. David McComas. January 14, 
1862, he resigned his membership in the 
Legislature, and on February 14, 1862, his 
seat in the convention and qualified as 
judge the following day; entered at 
once upon the duties of that office, and 
held, mid many perils and all manner of 
difficulties incident to the then condition 
every term of court in every county of his 
circuit until his promotion to the Supreme 
bench. 

"February 3, 1863, he was re-elected from 
Kanawha county to the Constitutional 
convention, to fill the vacancy occasioned 
by his own resignation, and took his seat 
upon the reassembling of that body to 
consider the amendment to the Constitu- 
tion proposed by Congress. 

"While opposed to the arbitrary action 
on the part of Congress he urged the ac- 
ceptance of its demands as the lesser of 
the two evils, and advocated the adoption 
the Constitution, both in the convention 
and at the polls. 

"He was chairman of the committee on 
the judiciary, and as such, had much hand 
in shaping important provisions of the 
Constitution of 1863. 

"He continued on the bench as circuit 
judge until 1863, when he resigned, having 
been elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals. 
No appeal was ever taken from any decision 
rendered by him while circuit judge. May 



28, 1863, he was elected to the Supreme 
bench and commissioned in June follow- 
ing; served eight years; was re-elected by 
his party but suffered defeat along with 
the rest of the ticket, and returned to the 
practice ; was again nominated for the same 
office in 1876, and again went down with 
his party. In 1875 he was the caucus 
nominee of his party for the United States 
Senate, and in 1883, and again in 1886, its 
nominee for Congress from the Third Con- 
gressional district. He was elected in 1882 
to the Legislature, and was the acknowl- 
edged leader of his party on the floor of the 
House . 

"In 1 881, he was a delegate from the 
West Virginia State convention to the In- 
ternational Sunday School convention at 
Toronto, Canada. In 1883, a commissioner 
from the Presbytery of West Virginia to 
the Presbyterian General Assembly, at 
Saratoga. 

"In 1888, a delegate from West Virginia 
State Bar Association to the National con- 
vention at Washington, D. C, which 
formed the National Bar Association, and 
w r as chairman of his State delegation. In 
July. 1888. he attended the National con- 
vention of the National Education at San 
Francisco. California, and. in 1891. was 
delegate to the National Mining Congress, 
held at Denver, Colorado, and a member 
of the executive committee. 

"Though he retired from active practice 
in 1885, his interest in public affairs and 
matters affecting the community in no 
wise abated. He devoted himself to lit- 
erary pursuits, reading and traveling, and 
up to the time of his death, kept abreast 
of the times with the best. He retained 
his physical vigor up to his last brief ill- 
ness, and his mental vigor unimpaired until 
the Grim Reaper stood in his presence, at 
the ripe age of nearly ninety-two. 

"He was twice married, first to Louisa 
M. Beurhing, daughter of Hon. F. G. L. 
Beuhring, of Cabell, who died in 1872; 
afterwards to Sallie S.. daughter of the late 
W. D. Shrewsbury, Esq., who survives 
him. 

"He was a man eminently just in his 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



101 



home, leaving that impress upon all, but 
with it combined in a rare degree those 
qualities which drew the members of his 
family very near him^ and while thev hon- 
ored his life and character in those aspects 
with which the world was acquainted, they 
loved the side that showed itself at home. 

"He was a man who calmly formed his 
opinions and then dared ever to maintain 
them. He never 'counted the cost' when 
conceived a principle involved. There 
never was a man of more striking instances 
of unswerving moral courage. He never in 
a single instance shrunk or flinched when 
put to test ; policy, interest or influence 
counted for naught in determining his 
views and shaping his action, and yet. with 
all this, he had ever for his opponent a 
courteous consideration that stamped him 
among the first gentlemen of the old 
school. "While always of strong convic- 
tions, openly expressed, he was broad and 
liberal in his views political and religious, 
and in all matters affecting the public and 
private interest, generous and Iberal, but 
always in an unostentatious way, mindful 
of the injunction not to let the right hand 
know what the left hand was doing, care- 
less of popular approval or praise, ever un- 
obtrusive save where he thought duty 
called for speech or action. 

"He was a scholarly man, a great reader 
and student, nor confined his reading to 
the line of his profession. His inclination 
and training led him into the wide fields of 
history, literature, science and the classics, 
and with all this, he kept in constant touch 
and abreast with current events : his broad 
knowledge, always up to date, super-added 
to his general unassuming manner, made 
of him an ever charming companion for his 
friends and those admitted to the inner 
circle. 

"His nature was intensely loyal ; 
whether it be to friends or to his country, 
his State, his county, or his town, his ser- 
vices and his best were to command. He 
loved West Virginia: born on her soil, yet 
present and assisting at her birth in the 
throes of mortal agony, mid which she was 



brought forth. He loved the country of 
his adoption and sought at first with suc- 
cess, to christen the new State 'Kanawha' 
in its honor. He was foremost in all ef- 
forts to develop her resources and advance 
her interests. He loved his town and left 
no stone unturned to make it what it is, 
and. in the Constitutional convention 
which formed the State, inaugurated the 
movement that ultimately gave to it the 
capitol of the State. I knew him well from 
my boyhood days, and appreciated during 
that long period, his sterling and manly 
qualities. In the evening of his life he 
stood among us as stands the giant trees 
of the forest — the growth of former gener- 
ations, and with his death there passed 
away the last of a remarkable class of men 
who lived in this section of the state and 
whose reputation for strong intellectual 
qualities, learning and ability in their pro- 
fession and distinction in public affars, 
were known not only among the people of 
our present State but through the old com- 
monwealth and beyond." 

THE LATE JUDGE JOSEPH SMITH' 

A Biographical Sketch of an Interesting Life. 

Ravenswood, W. Va., Nov. 30, 1887. The 
announcement last week of the death, on 
Thursday, Nov. 24th, of Judge Joseph Smith, 
at Ripley, W. Va., was read with feelings of 
sadness by a wide circle of friends of the de- 
ceased. Enemies he had none, for his kindly 
nature void of malice toward any human being, 
dispelled all enmity. Meek and humble under 
all circumstances he did not seem to be elated 
by wordly honors, nor cast down by losses or 
disappointments : and but few men have en- 
joyed or suffered more of both of these experi- 
ences. 

I beg pardon for troubling you with the pass- 
ing tribute of a few words in memory of my 
dear old friend. 

Judge Smith was descended from early set- 
tlers in the Ohio Valley. His father, \\ llliam 
Smith, Esq., and his mother, whose maiden 
name was Bane, were of the best and most 
wealthy families among the rich and cultivated 



102 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



people where they were raised. He was born 
in 1816 on Indian Short creek, near the Ohio 
river, in Jefferson county, Ohio. His boyhood 
was devoted to hard work at his father's mill 
and farm ; he attended the common school in 
winter near his home until he was 18 years 
old, when he was sent first to Salem Academy, 
Pa., and then to New Athens College, Ohio. 
He read law in Steubenville, Ohio, with Hon. 
Edward M. Stanton under the same preceptor 
and for a short time had a law office in Wheel- 
ing, but was induced by the late Hon. Andrew 
Wilson, who then lived at Cottageville Mills, 
to open a law office at Ripley, Jackson county, 
in 1 841. Here he married Minerva, daughter 
of the late Robert Lowther, Esq., a practicing 
attorney at Ripley and a descendant of Col. 
William Lowther , of Harrison, one of the 
earliest and most prominent pioneers west of 
the mountains. In 1846 he moved to Wells- 
burg, Brooke county, where he practiced law 
two years and then returned to Jackson. Up 
to that time, in Virginia, the right of suffrage 
was restricted to the white freeholders, or to 
such as paid state taxes, and even they could 
only elect members of the Lower House of 
Congress and of the State Legislature. The 
Legislature elected the governors and judges 
and the county officers were appointed by the 
courts. 

The people of Western Virginia had from 
an early day demanded a change in the organic 
law and when after a long struggle, a consti- 
tutional convention was called, they aimed to 
elect to it their ablest and best men in order to 
compete with the leading statesmen of old Vir- 
ginia, who were to be in that body. By the act 
calling the convention this district, composed of 
the counties of Jackson, Wirt, Gilmer, Lewis, 
Upshur, Randolph and Barbour, was entitled 
to four members. There were seventeen can- 
didates and Joseph Smith stood second on the 
list of those elected. These were J. S. Car- 
lisle, Joseph Smith, Thomas Bland, and Samuel 
L. Hayes. In the convention which sat in 
Richmond in 185 1 Judge Smith was an influ- 
ential member and his reported speeches com- 
pare favorably with those of the ablest men 
in that body. The result was claimed as a 
triumph for the people of the West, as the right 



of suffrage was extended to all white citizens 
over 21 years of age, and all offices were made 
elective by the people and much also was 
gained by the West in fixing the basis of rep- 
resentation and taxation as between the con- 
flicting interests and sections of the old state. 
At the first general election of officers under 
the new regime in 1852 he was elected prose- 
cuting attorney for Jackson county, and sig- 
nalized his entrance into that office by the dis- 
missal of a large number of indictments for 
petty matters too trivial in his opinion to jus- 
tify the costs of prosecution. By this course 
he secured for himself the approbation of the 
courts and of the people generally. He made 
it a rule never to allow the public tribunals un- 
der his care to be used for persecution by un- 
worthy men to vent private spite, but he dis- 
liked to prosecute anyone, preferring to take 
the side of the defense ; and was not a candi- 
date for re-election when his term of four years 
expired. 

When the Civil War came on in 1861, Judge 
Smith was justly regarded as quite a wealthy 
man, and but for the war would no doubt have 
left a large estate; but the civil strife came on 
so suddenly that when he went unexpectedly 
South, his affairs were left in a bad condition, 
so that during his absence his large property, 
real and personal, was wasted and squandered, 
and on his return after the war he had to be- 
gin the battle of life anew, for the earnings of 
his professional efforts during his absence had 
been paid in a currency that lost its purchasing 
power by the result of the conflict. But with 
characteristic pluck, he began life anew for a 
livelihood for self and family. 

In 1872 he was elected by the public, irre- 
spective of party, over an able and popular 
judge, J. W. Hoge, as judge of this circuit 
for the term of eight years and served out his 
term faithfully and well. He was created on a 
big scale, and of large proportions of body and 
mind; his open and intelligent face beamed 
with benevolence ; his judgment was enlight- 
ened by study and reflection, and by the rare 
natural gift akin to genius, called common 
sense. 

As an advocate, in jury trials, Judge Smith 
had no superior at the bar; his appearance, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



103 



manner, mode of thought, and language were 
peculiar and striking and attracted and held 
the attention. While taking up only the ma- 
terial points of the case in hand, his arguments 
were always plausible and often unanswerable. 
His habits of life were simple, temperate and 
pure. He cared for neither dress nor display, 
and his daily intercourse with the people was 
ever marked with unaffected candor, courtesy 
and kindness to all. A life long student of the 
sacred scriptures, he was deeply versed in the 
oracles of truth and imbued with a spirit of 
respect and reverence for the religion of our 
fathers. Yet in this as in all other matters, 
he was devoid of affectation and hypocrisy, 
while he believed and upheld the divine doc- 
trines revealed to man .in the life and ministry 
of our Saviour. 

In all the changing scenes of his eventful 
career, Judge Smith was aided and comforted 
by the ever kind and faithful wife of his youth, 
who thus proved herself indeed a helpmeet for 
such a husband, and who survives him to mourn 
her irreparable loss. The days of the years 
of his pilgrimage on the earth having exceeded 
the allotted threescore and ten, came on his 
last illness, the result of a painful malady by 
which he had been a sufferer for many years, 
but he remained cheerful and resigned, and at 
God's appointed time, he quietly retired to rest 
"as one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
about him and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

Robert S. Brown. 
Memo, Sept. 19th, 191 1. 

The foregoing was taken from the family 
"scrap book" of the late Judge R. S. Brown 
for Mrs. Fred H. Green, daughter of the late 
Judge Smith of Ravenswood, W. Va., by C. 
L. Brown. 

He died in 1887, at Ripley, W. Va. He was 
a communicant in the Episcopal church, and a 
lay-reader in the church. 

W. S. L. 

JUDGE GEORGE W. SUMMERS 

He was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, 
March 4, 1804, and he died in Kanawha coun- 
ty, West Virginia, Sept. 19, 1868, aged 64 
years. 



He was the youngest child of Col. George 
Summers, who was the son of Francis Sum- 
mers of Fairfax county, near Alexandria, 
Virginia. 

Col. George Summers purchased a tract of 
land on the Kanawha river, of Dr. James Craik 
of Alexandria and others, and he removed 
thereto in spring of 181 4. 

Those desiring to know more of the Sum- 
mers family and of Judge Lewis Summers, 
who was a judge of the Kanawha circuit court 
until 1843, will find a sketch thereof written 
by Mrs. Ann Isabell Ryon, formerly Summers, 
in the West Virginia Historical Magazine, for 
July, 1903, and also in the Southern Histori- 
cal Magazine, Vol. 1, page 49, February, 1892, 
in which is published the Journal of Lewis 
Summers, of a tour from Alexandria, Va., to 
Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1808, which latter maga- 
zine was edited by Virgil A. Lewis. 

George W. Summers first attended the 
schools in Charleston, and attended Washing- 
ton College, Va., and he afterwards graduated 
at the University of Ohio, at Athens, O., in 
1826 where there were many persons from 
this part of Virginia attending school in those 
days. 

After returning home from school he read 
law under the tutorage of his brother Judge 
Lewis Summers, and he was admitted to the 
bar of Kanawha Courts in 1827, and continued 
to practice in the courts of this county, and in 
the U. S. courts, and the Courts of Last Re- 
sort. 

One of the great points of his success as a 
lawyer, was his ability to examine and cross- 
examine witnesses, or as has been said of him, 
he could come as near getting from the wit- 
ness what he wanted and to leave unsaid that 
which he did not want, as any lawyer on 
earth. 

But his strong point was that of an advocate 
before a jury. He could make himself under- 
stood and present the facts so clearly and sat- 
isfactorily, and apply the same to the law of 
the case that he seldom failed to secure a ver- 
dict ; or, as has been said of him, by one of the 
younger lawyers, but an able one, that with 
Judge Summers before a jury, he was almost 
invincible. 



104 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



So, too, was he before the people as a can- 
didate. He was elected to the Legislature of 
Virginia in 1830, and in 183 1, and afterwards 
again in 1834 and 1835. 

He also was sent to Congress in 1841, and 
1843. He was a member of the Virginia Con- 
stitutional convention of 1850, where was con- 
tinued the contest between the East and West- 
ern part of Virginia, that was begun in the 
convention of 1829- 1830, where the question 
of taxation of property according to its value, 
where the basis of representation, and other 
like questions between the two parts of the 
state were discussed until the division of the 
state was threatened, and all these were again 
discussed in 1850. No abler debater ever was 
found for the interest of the West, and Judge 
Summers was credited with being an orator 
that few cared to contend with. 

In both of these Virginia conventions did 
the West endeavor so to conduct the affairs 
of the state that Virginia would need not to 
have gone in debt, or if she did, that she 
should have been able to have discharged her 
liabilities within a short time. 

But the people of Virginia had the control 
within that part of the state east of the Blue 
Ridge and they kept that control there, but little 
good was effected in 1829-30, but the people 
became aroused and those of the West were 
educated to a better understanding of the un- 
fairness of the East, and in 1850, there were 
many changes brought about, but it was not 
until 1 86 1 that the Eastern people would even 
agree to place in the constitution "that all 
property should be taxed according to its 
value." 

In 1852, for the first time, did the people 
have a right to elect very many of the officers, 
before which time they were appointed at 
Richmond. In this year he was nominated for 
Circuit Judge and he was elected. 

He was candidate for governor of his state 
in 185 1, as a Whig and the Democrats of Vir- 
ginia thought they had better run a western 
man, so they brought one — Hon. Joseph John- 
son, of Clarksburg, who was a good strong 
man, but they found that Judge Summers by 
his speeches throughout the state was stirring 
up tilings to such an extent that it was neces- 



sary to do something to counteract his influence 
on the stump. He soon found that he was 
charged with being an "Abolitionist/' and the 
Democratic committee made an unusual call 
on the "Tenth Legion" for them all to turn 
out, and when out, they always voted the same 
way and all they wanted to know was who were 
on the Democratic ticket. 

With being charged in Virginia as an Aboli- 
tionist, and in the Tenth Legion as a Whig, as 
it has been expressed, "he stood no more show 
ner a rabbit." Mr. Johnson was of course 
elected. Perhaps the Judge had more colored 
servants than most of those who became fright- 
ened at the charge that was made against him, 
and perhaps had General Wise known when he 
was in this Valley that President Lincoln had 
contemplated, if not offered the Judge a place 
in his Cabinet or a place on the Supreme bench, 
that he, General Wise, would have executed 
his threat made before he reached here, "that 
he was going to hang Summers." 

Judge Summers was married in February, 
1833, and resided in Charleston. His wife was 
Miss Amacetta Laidley, a daughter of John 
Laidley of Cabell county, and his home was on 
Kanawha street where now resides Mr. W. T. 
Thayer, just above Morris street. There were 
several children but two of whom attained 
their manhood — Lewis and George — in fact 
George while but a boy left home and went 
with some others into the Confederacy, with- 
out consulting their parents. He was not long 
away before he was taken with the measles and 
died in camp. Lewis remained at home and 
continued to live at Glenwood. He married 
Miss Woodbridge of Marietta and they had 
four children, viz : George W. Summers of 
Washington, D. C. ; Mrs. R. G. Ouarrier of 
Charleston; Lewis Summers. Jr., who resides 
on the original Summers Home, "Walnut 
Grove" in Putnam county. They lost one 
daughter, Miss Amacetta Summers. 

From 1852 until 1858 he was neither a can- 
didate nor was he practicing law, but was hold- 
ing the Kanawha Circuit Court, and becoming 
tired of his quiet retired life, he decided that 
he preferred the place at the bar rather than 
that of the bench. One of the last acts as 
judge, was the trial and sentence of Presley 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



105 



S. Turley for the murder of his wife and he 
Was found guilty and was sentenced at the June 
term, 1858, to be hung and it was executed in 
September following. He had determined to 
quit the bench on July 1, 1858, and his resigna- 
tion had been sent in accordingly, which fact 
was known to the Bar. On the Law Record, 
Volume No. 9, pages 421-2 will be found the 
action taken by the attorneys constituting then 
the Bar of said Court as here follows : 

RESOLUTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE BAR, 
JULY 1, 1858. 

David McComas was called to the Chair, Andrew 
Parks was appointed Secretary. Thereupon Benjamin 
H. Smith, James H. Brown, Nicholas Fitzhugh, and 
Thomas L. Brown were appointed a Committee to pre- 
pare and present Resolutions on the occasion of the 
retirement of Judge Summers from the Bench of this 
Circuit. 

Thereupon the following Resolutions were presented 
and were unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, the Honorable George W. Summers has 
this day terminated his services as Judge of this Cir- 
cuit, and the Bar of this County regarding it a suitable 
occasion to express their opinion of his judicial char- 
acter and capacity, do concur in the following Resolu- 
tions : 

First — That we unhesitatingly declare that he has 
faithfully and with distinguished ability discharged the 
onerous duties imposed on him, as Judge of this Circuit : 

Second — That we heartily unite in the expression of 
our admiration of the stern impartiality, which he has 
uniformly exhibited in the administration of the Law, 
the crowning virtue of Judicial character: 

Third — That upon his retirement from the Station 
he has occupied for the last six years, we tender to 
him our sincere esteem and respect : 

Fourth — That Major Andrew Parks, the Prosecut- 
ing Attorney, do present the foregoing Preamble and 
Resolutions, and ask the Court to enter the same of 
record. 

Whereupon the meeting adjourned. 

David McComas, Chairman, 
A. Parks, Secretary. 

In 1861 he was sent to the Peace Con- 
ference at Washington and he attended 
and did all he could to secure peace and 
prevent disunion. While in Washington, 
he and Dr. Spicer Patrick, his neighbor, 
were elected delegates to the Virginia 
Convention, and they both attended and 
remained until after the Convention 
adopted the ordinance of Secession on 
April 17, 1 861, when they came home. It 
was in this convention that he made the 
greatest effort of his life and his whole ef- 



fort was to keep the State from seceding 
from the Union and joining the Confed- 
eracy, and his speeches portrayed the con- 
sequences of such action, as if he had writ- 
ten the same subsequent to the war. His 
speech was very lengthy, and too long to 
be inserted. The Kanawha members went 
to said convention as Union men and thev 
remained as such and came away as such 
and ever after so remained. 

There were other able men in the con- 
vention, both Union and Secessionist, and 
it is a fact that but for the action of the 
President in making a call on Virginia for 
soldiers with which to coerce the seceded 
states of the South, that Virginia would 
never have left the Union; but with the 
South doing all she could to excite and 
cause the Virginians to become excited 
and to become offended, and with this call 
upon Virginia to furnish men to fight 
against the South, it was more than even 
the most of the Union men in the conven- 
tion could stand and it was like "throwing 
the fat in the fire," and it caused the adop- 
tion of the Ordinance. But even with all 
this the Kanawha delegation remained 
firm and resisted the passage thereof. In 
short, the Judge did all in his power to pre- 
vent the war, and when he had exhausted 
his power, he came home and remained 
quiet, because there was nothing more he 
could do. He resigned his seat in the con- 
vention. 

We have been asked to state the differ- 
ence between the two judges Summers — 
brothers, Judge Lewis and Judge George. 
Judge Lewis was a stern, quiet, dignified, 
judicial character, more on the order of 
men that would be expected among the 
ancient order of Virginians in Fairfax. 
Judge George was more of the ancient 
order of Charlestonians. While of suffi- 
cient dignity, he was not so much so but 
that he could afford to see the humor of a 
thing, without giving way to too much lev- 
ity. One was always stern, while the other 
was at times much less so. 

Judge Lewis instructed his servant man, 
Williams, (not Bill) never to sign a paper 



106 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



without first reading it. The fame of Judge 
Lewis rested on his thorough judicial 
knowledge and his strict adhesion to the 
precedent and the common law, while that 
of Judge George was known better among 
the people as the orator and the advocate, 
where humor and pathos were exhibited, 
and the crowd or the jury or both, were 
moved along, taken up and carried, as it 
were. 

On one occasion Judge George W. Sum- 
mers was defending one Mr. Johnson, 
charged with taking a horse that did not 
bel-ong to him. and it was supposed that 
the prospect of conviction was almost cer- 
tain, but the jury said "not guilty"' and 
when he was discharged, the Judge took 
his client to his office to attend to the finan- 
cial part of the case, and after all had been 
duly attended to, he stated to Johnson, that 
the matter was concluded and he was in no 
further danger. Tell me. whether or not 
you did really take the horse ? Johnson 
said, "Judge I always thought I did until I 
heard your speech." 

It was after the war, and a poor unfor- 
tunate unmarried woman was tried on the 
charge of having killed her child, a very 
young one too. and her friends feared the 
result of the trial. Judge Summers was 
secured as her advocate and much time 
was taken in the examination of the wit- 
nesses. When finally it was all through 
and it was known that the Judge would 
speak in her defense in the afternoon, long 
before the hour for the Court to meet, the 
Court House was crowded, and he was lis- 
tended to with the utmost attention, and at 
times he had the audience in tears, and 
again in smiles. The verdict was "not 
guilty." 

The sheriff was greatly interested and 
manifested much concern for the fate of 
the poor woman, and when the case was 
over, his comment was that it was "not 
much of a case no how;" he had been carried 
along with the jury so that he did not see 
how the jury could have done otherwise, 
and really thought the judge's effort was 
overdone and not at all necessary. 



When the Convention met, Judge Sum- 
mers was opposed to establishing a con- 
federacy, if it had been possible, but he 
saw that it was not possible, and the result 
would be disastrous to the South, and espe- 
cially to Virginia. Then when he came 
home he was, by some who imagined that 
he was in their way to some place they 
were seeking, was charged with disloyalty 
to the Federal Government. 

This was done by the editor of the 
"Wheeling Intelligencer" who wanted to be 
a Senator, and fearing that others much 
more prominent than he might be consid- 
ered, he attacked those with the charge of 
disloyalty, and in Wheeling and Western 
Virginia, such a charge was , equal to that 
of being an Abolitionist in Virginia. The 
charge amounted to nothing as to Mr. 
Summers for two reasons, first because he 
was not seeking the place and then he was 
too well known to be affected by anything 
that said paper could say or do, 

After the war, and after almost all the 
people interested in the controversy that 
had brought on the war, had departed this 
life, there was a man in Chicago that had 
been employed on said Wheeling paper, 
who was an Abolitionist aborigine, who had 
retained copies of the said paper and who 
supposed that he could, by making a book 
with all sort of charges against all promi- 
nent men in West Virginia as to their loy- 
altv. create a sensation and 1 make a finan- 
cial success in the sale of his book, but it 
failed and fell flat. He charged Mr. Sum- 
mers with having had it within his power 
to prevent the war and that he did not ex- 
ercise that power, which the bare state- 
ment shows on its face to be ridiculous, 
and untrue. This book contains the elec- 
tion squibs that the said editor had pub- 
lished to prevent Mr. Summers from being 
voted for, and which were intended to be 
used and thought of only with reference to 
the election of the United States Senator, 
and not to be taken seriously. Then in the 
Hfe of President Lincoln, the editors found 
some facts and evidence that arose in some 
spirited controversy between J. M. Botts 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



107 



and J. B. Baldwin, taken by some commit- 
tee of Congress, in relation to what tran- 
spired about the first of April, 1861, be- 
tween Mr. Lincoln and the Union men in 
the Virginia Convention. The editor of 
said book referred to what was found and 
states that the evidence taken was very 
contradictory and he undertakes to estab- 
lish facts by taking a midway course with 
a leaning to Mr. Botts' side, he being a 
friend of the President politically, and 
against Mr. Baldwin, who was a decided 
Union man, until the call for 75,000 troops 
to coerce the south changed his views, 
when he entered the Confederate army 
and resisted coercion. All this grew out of 
the fact that Mr. Lincoln, on April 3, 1861, 
sent a speical messenger to Richmond, ask- 
ing Mr. Summers to come to Washington, 
or else send some good man in his place. 
Both the President and Secretary were ac- 
quainted with Mr. Summers and knew his 
relation and standing in the convention. 
When this message reached Mr. Summers, 
he called several of the leading Union men 
together and laid the same before them, 
and it was decided that Mr. Summers 
should not then leave, that it was very 
important that he should remain in the 
convention daily, and that he was to make 
his speech before the proposition should be 
voted on and no one knew when it might 
be, or what might happen. These Union 
men agreed upon sending, in the place ol 
Mr. Summers, Mr. John B. Baldwin of 
Staunton, Va., and he left immediately and 
went with the messenger to Washington, 
and reported to the President and they had 
a consultation, and as to what Mr. Lincoln 
said was the controversy between Mr. 
Botts and Mr. Baldwin, after the war — 
Mr. Botts said that the President offered 
to withdraw aU troops from the port at 
Charleston, S. C, if Virginia would adjourn 
her convention and send the delegates 
home, while Mr. Baldwin said that no such 
proposition was made to him. 

In 1866 Mr. Baldwin published a pam- 
phlet giving in detail all that transpired in 
relation to the matter, and he also inserted 



the statements of the persons known to the 
same, viz: the messenger sent to Richmond, 
Mr. J. F. Lewis, Judge Thomas, G. W. 
Summers, John Janney, A. H. H. Stewart, 
Governor Samuel Price, Robert Whitehead 
and others, — all of whom concur with Bald- 
win's statements. 

The supposition was that the Union men 
in the convention never presented Mr. Lin- 
coln's offer to the convention, and it was never 
acted on, but the same was suppressed, and 
thus it was all charged to Mr. Summers as 
having had it in his hands to stop the war and 
as having declined to use such power. The ab- 
surdity is on its face. Mr. Lincoln never made 
such a proposition in the first place, and there 
is no evidence of his own that he ever said 
so. Mr. Botts says the President told him that 
he did, but Baldwin denies it and gives the 
facts detailed. As to what took place between 
Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Baldwin — as no one else 
was present— they only know what took place. 
We have Mr. Baldwin's but not Mr. Lincoln's 
testimony. 

Mr. Botts and Mr. Baldwin were not friend- 
ly — and Mr. Baldwin's testimony as to all 
other matters is corroborated, and then what 
earthly purpose would have been served by the 
suppression of the proposition of the Presi- 
dent ? What did the Union men want if it was 
not to save the Union and prevent the war? 

Whatever may have been the facts, there 
was nothing in the case by which Mr. Sum- 
mers could have been blamed and in the state- 
ment of the editor of the Life of President 
Lincoln, they were so far from the truth of the 
case, that nothing therein contained should re- 
ceive the least consideration concerning this 
matter; and the Chicago book was written 
without the facts and only that book on the 
Life of the President and the "Wheeling In- 
telligencer," with an evident disposition to dis- 
close a mare's-nest, bolster up the charge. 

During the war, Judge Summers remained 
at his home, and while General Wise was in 
the Valley, he was placed under arrest but the 
General left rather hurriedly and did not take 
time to execute his threat. While the Federal 
soldiers were in occupancy of the Valley, there 
was no disturbance of any one that went about 



108 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



their business and w ere not caught in any in- 
terference with the business of the military. 

It was .during the time that the Federal of- 
ficers were in control that occasionally a rebel 
soldier or other person was brought in and a 
court martial ordered to try the prisoner. Once 
there was one Absalom Knotts brought and 
placed in the guard-house, and a trial ordered 
on the charge of his being a spy found within 
the Federal lines. The charge was a serious 
one, and the prisoner was regarded as worthy 
of death, from the reputation given to him from 
his own neighborhood and the soldiers did 
not hesitate to declare that he would be hung. 

Judge Summers was employed for the pris- 
oner and he worked hard to save his life and 
to have him treated as a prisoner of war. It 
took some time to go through the testimony and 
the Judge studied the law bearing on the case 
and after the same was submitted, the Court 
held that he was no spy. Knotts gave his note 
for the Judge's fee, but he refused to pay it 
after the war was over, although he was amply 
able so to do, and he was sent to the Legisla- 
ture of West Virginia. 

There were many able men in Kanawha, 
many that ranked high as men, as politicians, 
statesmen, lawyers, but there was no one that 
stood higher in either of these stations than 
did George W. Summers, and if you ask the 
old people who was the ablest man this county 
has ever produced, they will uniformly tell you 
that it was Mr. Summers, the lawyer and ad- 
vocate. 

Not a great while ago, a grandson bearing 
the name of the late George W. Summers, in 
Washington, was called on by Col. Mosby, 
the Confederate cavalryman, and the Colonel, 
learning who the said Mr. Summers was, told 
him what he thought of his grandfather. The 
Colonel said he was in Richmond while 
the convention was in session and while he did 
not then agree with Mr. Summers, that Sum- 
mers, though surrounded with great men, was 
the most brilliant man in the convention of 
1861. That he was a giant among the giants, 
the most brilliant, the most powerful, the most 
eloquent man in the gathering, etc., etc. 

The writer, W. S. Laidley, was the brother 
of Mrs. Summers and he visited them in 1863, 
and begun to read law with the Judge in his 



home office and remained with him until his 
death. That he was the Judge's amanuensis, 
aid was in the office with him and after Decem- 
ber, 1865, was a partner under the firm name 
of Summers and Laidley, and he knew the 
Judge's views on those matters of which he 
expressed any views. 

It was in 1866 that Judge Summers was in 
Mason county attending court, and was taken 
ill, and was brought home by his associate, 
James W. Hoge. Dr. Spicer Patrick and Dr. 
Cotton attended him. 

It was in 1867 that Mrs. Summers was taken 
ill and lived but a short time. She was well 
known in Charleston and was beloved by all 
her associates. She was a gentle, sweet, lovely 
Christian character. 

It was in the fall of 1868, the Judge seemed 
to so improve that he gave promise of recov- 
ery. He went about all the time around the 
house, took an interest in everything and espe- 
cially in Col. Smith's campaign for governor. 
On September 19, 1868, there was a polit- 
ical meeting and barbecue and many people 
called together. In the late afternoon the mem- 
bers of the family that were in town reached 
home and some of them were relating the 
events of the day to the Judge when he was 
suddenly stricken with total paralysis and died 
immediately. Doctor Cotton was present at 
the time. 

The Summers cemetery is at Walnut Grove 
in Putnam county, the orignal home seat of his 
father Col. Summers, and the family were up 
to that date all buried there. 

Judge George W. Summers was a mem- 
ber of St. John's Episcopal church of Charles- 
ton, and he was the owner of a pew in the first 
Episcopal church erected here, and he and his 
family all attended the same, and he was one 
of the vestry of said church and aided in its 
support. He was a Christian gentleman and 
worshipped in spirit and in truth. He was well 
known throughout the county and he loved to 
be with his acquaintances, he was full of humor 
and was kind and gentle to all. 

During the war a tenant lost a child, and in 
their distress, there being no minister conve- 
nient, he attended to the burial and read the 
burial seiwice. 

His whole life testifies to his Christian spirit. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



109 



He was but sixty-four years of age and in the 
very strength of his ability as a lawyer, judge 
or advocate. 

JUDGE MATHEW DUNBAR 

Judge Dunbar was born in Monroe county in 
1781 and came to Kanawha a young man well 
educated, and he read law with James Wilson, 
the prosecuting attorney, and was admitted to 
the bar in 18 18. He was a great slave man 
and paid strict attention to his individual af- 
fairs, and in whatever office he held he gave it 
his strict attention and was a most competent 
and efficient holder. He was sent to the House 
of Delegates with Mr. James Wilson in 1823, 
with Daniel Smith in 1829- 1830. He was 
Judge of the Circuit Court for a while and 
under the Constitution of 1852, he was elected 
the prosecuting attorney for the county. He 
had two daughters and one son: Mrs. Eben- 
ezer Brown and Mrs. James L. McLain and Dr. 
William Dunbar. He was a consistent Pres- 
byterian and died in the faith in 1859, and was 
a lawyer in whom all persons had confidence in 
his integrity. 

John Dunbar Baines, attorney, was a son 
of Ebenezer Baines and a grandson of Judge 
Dunbar. He was born in Charleston, educated 
here and was a well read, scholarly man. He 
was elected mayor of the city, and served as 
councilman many years. He read law and was 
admitted to the bar, but never devoted much 
of his time to the trial of causes. He was an 
exact, conscientious Presbyterian elder, in 
whom all had confidence. His wife was the 
daughter of James M, Laidley and they had 
one daughter. His father, an Eglishman, did 
not become naturalized, and paid no attention 
to politics, but his son was not a Republican, 
and alwavs votes, sometimes for the man, and 
not always for the man or the party. His 
wife was Mrs. Hallie, and his daughter was 
Miss Allie Baines. 

JUDGE JAMES W. HOGE 

He was the oldest child of Rev. P. C. Hoge 
and his wife Sally (Kerr) Hoge, and was born 
in Augusta county, Virginia, near Middle- 
brook, on the 30th day of April, 1830, but he 
grew up near Scottsville in Albemarle, except 



while attending the Shenanah Academy. He 
finished his law course before he was twenty- 
one years old, and he was a good Latin scholar. 
He was licensed to practice by Judge Lucas 
P. Thompson, Briscoe G. Baldwin and Richard 
H. Fields in the year 1850. He first settled 
at Harvardsville, but some one from Putnam 
county persuaded him to come to Winfield, 
Putnam C. H., in 1852. In 1856 he was 
elected prosecuting attorney and again in i860. 
He married in 1857 Miss Sarah C. Wright, 
daughter of John G. Wright of Charleston, 
and they settled in Winfield. 

He was commissioned colonel of the 181st 
Regiment of the 22nd Brigade of the 5th Di- 
vision of the Virginia Militia in 1859, and he 
was elected member of the Virginia Conven- 
tion of 1861, as a Union man, and he re- 
mained such and voted accordingly. He was 
elected prosecuting attorney for Fayette 
county in 1865. He was appointed by Gov- 
ernor Boreman as judge of the 7th Judicial 
Circuit, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the 
resignation of Judge Daniel Paisley in 1867 
and was afterwards elected in 1868. In 1872 
he was given a banquet by the attorneys. He 
died in 1882, leaving his widow and eight 
children. Mrs. Hoge was sister of Mrs. Julia 
Forbes, who was the widow of Mr. Forbes, 
the first clerk of Putnam county, and who was 
another daughter of Mr. John G. Wright of 
the Kanawha House in Charleston. Judge 
Hoge was well known in Kanawha as a law- 
yer and better as a judge. He had all the 
qualifications of a good judge, learned in the 
law, strictly honest and impartial and a Vir- 
ginia gentleman, he easily won the confidence 
and respect of everyone that came in contact 
with him. 

JUDGE FRANCIS A. GUTHRIE 

Judge Francis A. Guthrie, a descendant of a 
prominent Scotch family, was born in Tyler 
county, Virginia, April 12, 1840. His mother 
was Elizabeth Hughes of Nicholas county, Va. 
He attended Allegheny College at Meadville, 
Pa., until his enlistment in the Civil War, volun- 
teering as a private Sept. 10, 186 1. He was 
promoted to sergeant, November 2, 1861, to 
first lieutenant, November, 1862, and to captain 



110 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



of Company E, uith Regiment, Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Infantry on March 30, 1863. 

After the war, he attended college at Ann 
Arbor, Mich., and graduated in law. He mar- 
ried Clara Van Gilder of Cheshire, Ohio, April 
30, 1866, and located at Point Pleasant, W. Va. 
where his only child, Lewis V. Guthrie, was 
born in January, 1868. 

He was elected prosecuting attorney for Ma- 
son county in 1870. In 1880 he was elected 
judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, compris- 
ing the counties of Mason, Putnam, and Ka- 
nawha. He was re-elected in 1888 and for a 
third term in 1897, which position he held con- 
tinuously for nearly 24 years, and at the time 
of his death, August 16, 1904. 

In politics Judge Guthrie was a life-long 
Republican. He was the possessor of a winning 
personality, which made him friends every- 
where he went, was a good story teller and an 
entertainer of rare qualities. 

His knowledge of the fundamental principles 
of the Law was profound, and his insight into 
the essential points of a case was exceptionally 
keen. He was particularly courteous and con- 
siderate of the young practitioner, and was es- 
teemed and respected by the Bar throughout 
the State. 

Judge Guthrie loved the wild flowers, and the 
forest, and was an ardent sportsman. He had 
great faith in the intrinsic value of the vast 
tracts of mountainous land and made several 
profitable investments in the undeveloped parts 
of the State. 

Judge Guthrie, being the son of a Methodist 
preacher (Rev. Francis Guthrie), with twelve 
other children to be provided for, was compelled 
to make his own way in life from about fifteen 
years of age. He taught school in the winter 
and worked in the harvest fields in the summer 
to procure sufficient money to attend college 
and complete his education. 

Judge Guthrie succeeded Judge Joseph 
Smith of Jackson county. He died at Point 
Pleasant from the results of gastro-enteritis, 
and was buried in Lone Oak cemetery near that 
place. 

JUDGE SAMUEL C. BURDETT 

Judge Burdett came to Kanawha from Ohio 



during the Civil war and has ever since made 
his home in Charleston. He came to the front 
as a speaker on temperance and there were few 
speakers that were preferred to him on this 
subject. In later years he began to make 
speeches on political campaigns and has always 
been known as a Republican. He read law 
afterwards and has been practicing law in the 
Courts of Kanawha for several years. He was 
nominated for judge of the Circuit Court, suc- 
ceeding Judge F. A. Guthrie on the same Court. 
He conducts his court with decorum, his man- 
ner is agreeable, and his opinions are generally 
expressed with well chosen words, which state 
his meaning clearly and to the point. 

JUDGES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OF 
VIRGINIA 

The first court of appeals, elected December 
24, 1788, by the legislature, consisted of Ed- 
mond Pendleton, John Blair, Peter Lyons, 
Paul Carrington and Y\ uliam Fleming. 

Edmond Pendleton was a poor boy, and 
Mr. Robinson saw in him the making of a 
man, took him into his office and taught him 
law. Mr. Robinson was speaker of the House 
of Burgesses and Pendleton also became a 
member, and he was also a member of the con- 
vention of 1775, and on the death of Peyton 
Randolph was made president of the conven- 
tion and of the succeeding one which made 
the constitution of Virginia. He became 
judge of the high court of chancery and by 
virtue thereof was the president of the first 
court of appeals, and he was made president 
on the reorganization and held that place until 
his death in 1803. His biographer says his 
poverty made him great,, and his industry gave 
him fame, and says the "spear of necessity" 
must have been driven deep when it made him 
read the English law reports for amusement. 

John Blair was chief justice of the general 
court and also a judge of the high court of 
chancery and a judge of the first court of ap- 
peals, and he was for a few years on the L). 
S. supreme court, which he resigned and died 
in 1800, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. 

Peter Lyons came to Virginia from Ireland 
and studied law and was a friend of the col- 
onies. In 1779 he was made judge of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



118 



general court and thereby became a judge of 
the court of appeals. He was possessed of 
both integrity and urbanity and made an up- 
right and impartial judge. 

Paul Carrington was the son of a wealthy 
gentleman, made, in 1779, a judge of the gen- 
eral court and afterwards a judge of court of 
appeals. He was upright and impartial and 
at the age of seventy-five resigned in 1807. 
He lived to be ninety-three years of age. 

William Fleming was a member of the con- 
vention of 1775, was made a judge of the gen- 
eral court and of the first court of appeals, 
and died while a member of that court. He 
was honest and correct. 

Robert Carter Nicholas was bred to the bar 
and on familiar terms with Lord Botetourt, 
governor of Virginia. Both the governor and 
Mr. Nicholas were popular and both religious 
men. Judge Nicholas died in 1780. 

Bartholomew Dandridge was made a judge 
of the general court in 1788, and hence was 
on the first court of appeals. He was gener- 
ally esteemed as a judge by both bench and 
bar. He died in 1785. 

Benjamin Walker was a lawyer and was 
made clerk of the general court, and was often 
consulted in chambers, and was made judge of 
the Virginia court of admiralty in 1777 and 
hence one of the first court of appeals. He 
would not leave Williamsburg and go to 
Richmond. He was universally respected. 

William Roscoe Wilson Curie was a law- 
yer, judge of the Virginia court of admiralty 
and judge of the first court of appeals. 

Richard Cary was a judge of the Virginia 
court of admiralty and a judge of the first 
court of appeals. He was an educated, schol- 
arly man. 

James Henry, a Scotchman and a Philadel- 
phia lawyer, was judge of Virginia court of 
admiralty and was on first court of appeals. 

John Tyler, the father of President Tyler, 
was on Virginia court of admiralty and on 
the first court of appeals. In 1808 he was 
governor of Virginia, in 181 1 was U. S. cir- 
cuit judge in Virginia. 

James Mercer was on the general court and 
on the court of appeals. He died in Rich- 
mond while attending court. 



Henry Tazewell was on the first court of 
appeals by reason of his being on the general 
court. He married daughter of Judge Waller, 
and was a man of fortune, was U. S. senator, 
etc. 

Richard Parker was born on Northern 
Neck, became a judge of the court of appeals 
in October, 1788, by being a judge of general 
court. He was a learned lawyer and an up- 
right judge, and a friend of the Lee family 
and hated the British. 

Spencer Roane was born in Essex in 1762, 
attended the lectures of Chancellor Wythe, be- 
came member of legislature, married a daugh- 
ter of Patrick Henry, then governor, was 
made judge of the general court in 1789, and 
when Judge Tazewell went to U. S. senate 
he was elected to the supreme bench. He dis- 
liked aristocracy and family pride and played 
the fiddle and died in 1822. 

St. George Tucker was made a judge of 
the supreme court in 1804, was born in Ber- 
muda, settled in Williamsburg. In 1797 he 
married Mrs. Randolph, the widow of John 
Randolph of Matoax ; was colonel of a regi- 
ment at Guilford Court House. His wife 
died in 1788, and she was the mother of the 
celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, and he 
took the place of Edmond Pendleton in 1803 
at the death of Pendleton, which he held till 
he resigned in 181 1. In 1813 he was made 
judge of the U. S. district of Virginia. His 
second wife was a Miss Carter. He favored 
the gradual emancipation of slaves. He died 
in 1827. His son, Henry St. George Tucker, 
became president of the court of appeals. 

Henry St. George Tucker was born near 
Petersburg in 1780, and went to Winchester 
to live in 1802, and married Ann Evelina 
Hunter in 1806, and one of his sons was John 
Randolph Tucker of the Cleveland cabinet 
and president of the American Bar Associa- 
tion. In 1807, Henry St. George Tucker was 
elected to the legislature. He took part in 
the War of 1812, and in 1815 was sent to 
Congress. Then he was in the senate of Vir- 
ginia for four years and in 1824 was elected 
chancellor of the fourth judicial district in 
place of Dabney Carr, promoted to court of 
appeals, and Mr. Tucker founded the W r in- 



114 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Chester Law School, among whose students 
were Green B. Samuels, Geo. H. Lee, William 
Brockenbrough, R. M. T. Hunter, Henry A. 
Wise and others equally distinguished. In 
1830-31 Judge Tucker was elected president 
of the court of appeals over Brookes, Carr and 
Cabell. He resigned in 1841, and was given 
a professorship in the University of Virginia, 
but in 1845 retired, and died in 1848. 

In March, 181 1, Francis T. Brooke ,and 
James Pleasants, Jr., were elected judges of 
the court of appeals, but Mr. Pleasants re- 
tired and William H. Cabell was commis- 
sioned to take his place. Judge Brooke quali- 
fied in 181 1 and remained long and faithful. 
He was born in 1763, near Fredericksburg, 
and his father was with Governor Spottswood 
when he crossed the Blue Ridge in 171 5 and 
held a golden horseshoe set with garnets. 
Robt. Brooke, a brother of the judge, was 
governor of Virginia and was afterwards 
elected attorney-general over Bushrod Wash- 
ington. Francis and John were twin brothers. 
He was quite busy in the War of 1812, and 
as one of the events of his life, while the legis- 
lature was in Staunton (having been driven 
there by the British), he heard Patrick Henry 
and Richard Henry Lee speak. 

He says that after receiving his license to 
practice law, he began in the wilds of Monon- 
galia, at Morgantown, and was appointed the 
attorney for the commonwealth, and there 
met the famous Albert Gallatin. He was mar- 
ried in 1 79 1 to Miss Spottswood, who had 
"luxuriant brown hair." Another great event 
was seeing Washington open a great ball in 
Fredericksburg. 

Judge W. H. Cabell belonged to an old 
English family and rendered distinguished 
service both in war and in peace. He was 
born in 1772 in Cumberland county and was 
a grandson of Col. George Carrington. He 
was licensed to practice law in 1793, was sent 
to the assembly in 1796 from Amherst, he 
supported the famous resolution of 1798, was 
elected governor in 1805 and represented the 
majesty of the state with propriety, dignity 
and grace. The trial of Burr and the firing 
of the frigate "Chesapeake" by the British 
sloop in 1807, both awakened public interest. 



He was elected to general court in 181 1 and 
to court of appeals in x same year. In 185 1 he 
retired, and died in 1853. 

He was on the bench for fully forty years 
and was one of the ablest judges that ever sat 
thereon. 

John Coalter was commissioned by Gov- 
ernor Monroe to fill the vacancy caused by 
resignation of St. Geo. Tucker in 181 1. This 
court of appeals in 1789 consisted of five 
judges. He had been on the general court 
prior thereto. 

John W. Green was appointed to fill the va- 
cancy caused by death of Judge Spencer 
Roane in 1822. He died in 1834, and was 
succeeded by William Brockenbrough, who 
died in 1838, and he was the father of Judge 
John W. Brockenbrough, of the U. S. district 
court. 

Dabney Carr was appointed in 1824 to fill 
a vacancy caused by death of Judge Fleming. 
Dabney Carr, Jr., was the son of Dabney 
Carr, who died in 1773, a rival of Patrick 
Henry and a friend of Thomas Jefferson, 
whose sister he married. Dabney, Jr., was 
born in 1773 and died in 1837. He and Will- 
iam Wirt were young lawyers at Charlottes- 
ville. He was said to be one of the ablest 
judges on the bench. His integrity and purity 
of life commanded universal respect. 

Richard E. Parker in 1837 was appointed 
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dab- 
ney Carr. He was a son of Judge Richard 
Parker of the first court of appeals. Judge 
Richard Parker was of the circuit court, was 
a son of Judge Richard E. Parker, was resid- 
ing in Winchester, who presided at the trial 
of John Brown in 1859. 

Robt. Standard was appointed to fill a va- 
cancy caused by the death of Judge Brocken- 
brough in 1839. Judge Standard was born in 
1781 in Spottsylvania and died while writing 
an opinion in 1846. He was a brilliant and 
talented lawyer. He was in the famous con- 
vention of 1829-30. He relied on common 
sense. He was said to be particularly strong 
before judges. 

John James Allen was appointed to be judge 
of the 17th circuit to fill a vacancy caused by 
death of Judge Allen Taylor in 1836. J. J. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



115 



Allen was not known generally when ap- 
pointed. He was born in Woodstock in 1797, 
read law with his father, Judge Allen, and 
after securing his license he went first to 
Campbell Court House, then to Clarksburg. 
In 1840 Judge R. E. Parker died and J. J. 
Allen was elected to fill said vacancy. 

In 11 and 12 Leigh, 1 and 2 Robinson and 
first sixteen volumes of Grattan, Reports, may 
be seen the character of his work. He lived 
to be seventy-four years of age and was 
buried with his father. He was the associate 
of Cabell, Brooke, Standard and Tucker. He 
retired in 1865. 

Briscoe Gerard Baldwin, a relation of the 
author of "Flush Times of Alabama and Mis- 
sissippi," was the eldest son of Dr. Cornelius 
Baldwin and his wife Mary, who was a 
daughter of Col. Gerald Briscoe of Frederick 
county and was born in Winchester in 1789. 
He entered W. and M. College, and studied 
law with Judge William Daniel, Sr., who was 
grandfather of the U. S. senator Daniel. He 
afterwards settled in Staunton and practiced 
law till 1842, and was then elected to supreme 
court and held this office until his death in 
1852. He was married in 181 1, he repre- 
sented Augusta county in assembly in 18 18, 
and was afterwards elected to second term. 
He was a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1829-30. At the bar he was able, 
eloquent and skillful. The able attorneys of 
the Staunton bar were Chapman Johnson, 
Daniel Sheffy, John H. Payton and Briscoe G. 
Baldwin. In 9 Leigh, 434, the court changed 
its opinion for him. He helped decide 1 Grat. 
169 — 1 Grat. 217, which made the law of ad- 
versary possession. He was the father of Col. 
John B. Baldwin, one of the greatest orators 
of the state, and in the Civil War was no be- 
liever in the doctrine of secession, but went 
with his state because of the love of his people. 
The early death of Judge Baldwin was a great 
loss to the state. 

Judge William Daniel was born in 1806 in 
Cumberland county, was educated at Hamden- 
Siclney, studied law in 1827-28, and was li- 
censed to practice before he was twenty-one, 
and was elected to legislature and served 
while he was a minor. In 1846 he was elected 



a judge of the court of appeals and was re- 
elected after the constitution of 1851, and 
served until 1865. His first wife was Susa 
A. Warrick, daughter of Maj. J. M. Warrick 
of Lynchburg, and she was the mother of 
Senator Daniel, the author of Daniel on Neg. 
Notes. Judge Daniel died in 1873 at Farm- 

ville. He held that to call one a d d liar 

was equivalent to the first blow, and this is 
the established doctrine of the Virginia courts. 
One of the celebrated cases he decided was 16 
Grat. 139, in 1856, which was an act to pre- 
vent escapes of slaves on vessels. 

R. C. L. Moncure came early to the bar, 
was sent to the general assembly in 1849-50, 
and was placed on committee for revision of 
the law, to fill the vacancy caused by Judge 
Brooke's death. He was elected to fill the 
vacancy in 1851. The constitution of 185 1 
vacated all commissions of judges and he was 
re-elected. He continued to hold his place in 
the court till near the close of the war, when 
he retired to private life, but as soon as our 
government was restored, he was again elected 
to said court, and when the Old Dominion 
became a military district, he was compelled 
once more to retire to private life, but after 
the adoption of the constitution he was again 
elected as one of the judges of the court of 
appeals, where he remained until his death 
in 1882. He was elected to the same position 
four times and was on the bench for more 
than thirty years, and his reputation un- 
spotted. 

Green B. Samuels, of Rockingham, was in 
1852 elected a judge of the supreme court by 
the people, and he died in 1859. 

W. J. Robertson of Charlottesville was born 
in Albemarle in 18 17, was educated at the 
university, with his diploma of LL.B. He 
was made commonwealth attorney. He was 
in 1859 elected to the supreme court of ap- 
peals over the distinguished J. B. Baldwin of 
Augusta, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
death of Green B. Samuels. He served until 
April, 1865, then he returned to the bar. He 
was general counsel for Gen. C. Lee in the 
Arlington suit. He was general counsel for 
the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and for the 
N. & W. R. R. He was elected the first 



116 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



president of the Virginia Bar Association, 
and he recommended the abolition of the com- 
mon law forms of pleading. He was married 
twice, first to the daughter of General Gordon 
of Albemarle and next to Mrs. Alice Watts 
Morris, the famous Virginia belle. 

Geo. H. Lee, a native of Winchester, was 
elected while living in Clarksburg. He never 
sat on the court after 1861. 

Lucas P. Thompson was elected to the 
court, but died before he took his seat. 

Alexander Rives was made a judge of su- 
preme court in the year 1866. 

William R. Joynes died in Petersburg in 
1874; he was born in Accomac in 181 7, and 
settled in 1839 in Petersburg. He married a 
daughter of Judge May. He was appointed 
U. S. district attorney and in 1863 was elected 
judge of the first judicial circuit (Confederate 
States). In 1865 he was elected to the legis- 
lature and was then elected to the supreme 
bench. He resigned in 1873 on account of 
ill health. 

Wood Bouldin was born in 181 1 in Char- 
lotte county. He died in 1876. He was con- 
nected with the Tylers. His father, Thomas 
Tyler Bouldin, while in Congress, arose to ad- 
dress the House, began his address by a ref- 
erence to John Randolph, who had lately died, 
and before he finished, he himself dropped 
dead. 

Wood Bouldin attended the academy of 
Rev. Nicholas Cobb, afterwards the bishop of 
Alabama. He then read law under William 
Leigh. After coming to the bar, he went to 
Richmond and became a partner of Robt. 
Stauard. He purchased the estate formerly 
owned by John Randolph. His integrity was 
of the highest order, during the war he was 
sent to the legislature. After the war he re- 
turned to Richmond. He was in the capitol 
when the floor gave way in 1870, but not seri- 
ously injured. In 1872 he was elected to a 
seat on the court of appeals to succeed Judge 
Joynes. The first opinion 22 Grat. Carr vs. 
Carr, a divorce suit, won for him a high posi- 
tion as a judge. In 1876 his health failed him 
and he retired to his farm and died. 

Judge Joseph Christian took his seat on the 
bench of the supreme court and retired in 
1883. 



Walter R. Staples was born in 1826 in Pat- 
rick county, read law with William Ballard 
Preston, secretary of the navy. He was sent 
with W. C. Rives, R. M. T. Hunter and Judge 
Brockenbrough to the provisional congress at 
Montgomery, Alabama, in April, 1861. He 
was re-elected in 1863 and served until the 
close of the war and in 1870 was elected to 
the supreme bench. In 1862 the readjusters 
and associates were not re-elected. 

Francis T. Anderson was chosen in 1870, 
with R. C. L. Moncure, W. T. Joynes, Walter 
R. Staples and Joseph Christian as the court 
of appeals. 

Edward C. Burks succeeded Judge Bouldin 
in 1876. 

R. C. L. Moncure died in 1882, was suc- 
ceeded by Judge L. L. Lewis. 

F. T. Anderson was born in 1808 in Bote- 
tourt, he read law, and in 1830 married Mary 
Ann Alexander, daughter of Andrew Alexan- 
der of Rockbridge, to which county he re- 
moved in 1855. He was an elector of Bell 
and Everett, for whom the vote of Virginia 
was cast — the first time she did not vote for 
a Democrat. He did not believe in coercion 
and went South with his state. In 1870 he 
was chosen one of the judges of the court of 
appeals and on which he served until 1883. 
He died in 1887, in the seventy-ninth year of 
his age. 

Edward C. Burks was born in Bedford in 
1 82 1, he graduated in law at the University 
of Virginia in 1842, and practiced until elected 
in 1876 to the supreme court of appeals, on 
which he served for six years. 

Lunsford L. Lewis was born in Rocking- 
ham in 1846, graduated in law department at 
university, was appointed by President Grant 
district attorney for the eastern district until 
elected to court of appeals to fill the vacancy 
caused by the death of Judge Moncure, said 
to be a man of incorruptible integrity. 

Benjamin W. Lacy, born in 1839, was with 
Lee when he surrendered; had been three 
times wounded ; was elected to court of ap- 
peals in 1880. 

Thomas T. Fauntleroy was born in Win- 
chester in 1823, is a maternal grandson of 
Col. Charles Munn Thurston and a grandson 
of Col. Charles Magill, and son of Thos. T. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



117 



Fauntleroy, who was colonel Maryland Dra- 
goons and resigned. He graduated in law 
class in 1844 in the University of Virginia, 
and practiced in Winchester. He participated 
in capture of John Brown, and was a lieuten- 
ant in the military service of Virginia. In 
1883 was elected to supreme court of appeals, 
has been twice married, has ten children. 

Drury A. Hinton left the university in 1861 
to enter the C. S. A. in 41st Virginia Regi- 
ment as first lieutenant Company G. He was 
elected in 1882 to court of appeals. He dis- 
sented in case of Commonwealth vs. Cleveri- 
ous. 

Robert A. Richardson is from Smythe 
county, is a manly judge and very much liked 
by the bar. 

Lewis, Lacy, Fauntleroy, Hinton, and 
Richardson were elected in 1882 for a term 
of twelve years, which expired January, 1895. 

Thus we have seen the first court of appeals 
of Virginia and then the supreme court of 
appeals of Virginia and the readjusters court 
of appeals, and at no time has there ever been 
a question of the integrity of a single judge. 
There were never seen better judges and they 
were honest and sincere men whose impar- 
tiality and integrity were never questioned. 

THE JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF AP- 
PEALS OF WEST VIRGINIA; ORGANIZATION 
OF THE COURT, JULY 9, 1863, AT 
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA 

William A. Harrison, president for twelve 
years. 

James H. Brown of Kanawha, for eight 
years. 

Ralph L. Berkeshire of Monongalia, for 
four years. 

AVilliam A. Harrison was born in 1795; 
served till September 1, 1868, when he re- 
signed; died in Clarksburg December 1, 1870. 

Ralph L. Berkeshire, born April, 1816, 
served four years till December 31, 1866, and 
again from January, 1869, to December, 1872, 
when filling unexpired term of W. A. Harri- 
son. Died November 8, 1902. 

James H. Broun, of Kanawha, born Decem- 
ber 25. 181 8. served till December 31, 1871. 



Died October 28, 1900, in Charleston. (See 
sketch.) 

Edwin Maxwell of Harrison, born July 16, 
1825, elected for twelve years from January, 
1867, till December 31, 1872, when his term 
was ended by the new constitution. Died 
February 5, 1903. 

Charles Page Thomas Moore of Mason 
county, born in 183 1, elected in 1870 for 
twelve years; term ended December, 1872; 
was re-elected for twelve years and served 
from 1873 to December, 1880, when he re- 
signed. 

John S. Hoffman of Harrison, born in 
1 821; on reorganization of court in 1883 he 
drew a short term of four years, to Decem- 
ver, 1876. Died November 18, 1877. 

James Paull of Ohio, born 181 8, served 
from January, 1873, till May, 1875, when he 
died in office. 

Alpheus F. Haymond of Marion, born 
1823, served from January, 1873, to January 
1, 1877; was re-elected for twelve years till 
1883, when he resigned. Died December 15, 
1893. 

Mathew Edminston of Lewis, born in Po- 
cahontas in 1814, was appointed on the court 
of appeals as successor of Judge Hoffman, 
who resigned in 1876, served till 1877. Died 
at Weston, 1887. 

Thomas C. Green of Jefferson, born in 
1820, was appointed in 1875 as successor of 
Judge Paull; elected in 1876; re-elected in 
1880 for twelve vears; served until his death 
in 1889. 

Okey Johnston of Wood, born in 1834, 
served from January, 1877, till December, 
1888. Died in June, 1903. 

James French Patton of Monroe, born 
1843, was appointed in 1881 to fill a vacancy 
caused by the resignation of Judge Moore, 
served until his death, March 30, 1882. 

Adam C. Snyder of Greenbrier, born in 
1834, was appointed in 1882 to fill vacancy 
caused by death of Judge Patton; served till 
1885; was elected for full term in 1884; 
served till 1890, when he resigned. Died 
July 24, 1896. 

Samuel Woods of Barbour, born in 1822, 
appointed in 1883 to fill vacancy caused by 



118 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



resignation of Judge Haymond, served till 
January, 1889. Died February 17, 1897. 

Henry Brannon of Lewis, born in 1837, 
was elected in 1888, and re-elected for another 
full term from January, 1901. 

John Warth English of Mason, born in 
1 83 1, was elected in 1888 for twelve years. 

Daniel Bedinger Lucas of Jefferson, born in 
1836, was appointed in 1889 to fill unexpired 
term of Judge Green, served from January, 
1890, till December, 1892. 

Homer A. Holt of Greenbrier, born in 
1 83 1, was appointed in 1890 as successor to 
Judge Snyder, served from 1890 to Decem- 
ber, 1895. Died January 7, 1898. 

Marmaduke H. Dent of Taylor, born in 
1849, was elected in 1892 for twelve years 
from 1893 to December, 1904. 

Henry Clay McWhorter of Kanawha, born 
in 1836, was elected for twelve years till De- 
cember, 1908. 

George Puffenbarger of Mason, born in 
1 86 1, was elected for twelve years from Jan- 
uary, 1 90 1. 

Warren Miller of Jackson, born in 1848, 
was appointed in 1903 ; served till December, 
1904; was succeded by Joseph M. Sanders. 

Frank Cox of Monongalia, born in 1862, 
was elected for twelve years from January, 
1905 ; resigned to take effect January, 1907, 
and Judge W. N. Miller was appointed as his 
successor. 

Joseph M. Saunders of Mercer, born in 
1866, was elected for twelve years from Jan- 
uary, 1905 ; resigned October. 1907. 

William N. Miller of Wood, born in 1855, 
appointed January, 1907. to fill vacancy caused 
by resignation of Juclge Cox. Elected in 1908 
for unexpired term. 

Ira E. Robinson of Taylor, born in 1869, 
appointed in 1907 as successor of Judge 
Saunders, elected for unexpired term of eight 
years. 

Luther J. Williams of Greenbrier, born in 
1856, elected in 1908 for twelve years from 
January, 1909. 

CLERKS OF COURT OF APPEALS 

Sylvanus W. Hall of Marion, born in 1838, 



served from July 9, 1863 to August 18, 1871, 
when he resigned. Died March, 1908. 

Odell S. Long of Ohio, born in Westmore- 
land, Pa., in 1836, served from August, 1874, 
to December 26, 1897, the date of his death. 

James A. Holly of Lincoln, born in 1855, 
served from January, 1898, till November 17, 
1902, when he resigned. 

William B. Mathews of Marshall, born in 
1866, served from November, 1902. 

LIBRARIANS 

John L. Cole of Kanawha, from March, 
1871, till June, 1875. 

Edward L. Wood of Kanawha, from June. 
1875, till March, 1877. 

Edward L. Wood of Kanawha, from 
March, 1877, until March, 1881. 

Edward L. Wood of Kanawha, from 
March, 1881, until October, 1882. 

Benjamin H. Oxley of Lincoln, from Feb- 
ruary, 1890, till April, 1 89 1. 

Edward L. Wood of Kanawha, from 
March. 1893, to March. 1897. 

Pleasant S. Shirkey of Kanawha, from 
July, 1898, to March. 1901. 

Samuel W. Starks of Kanawha, from 
March, 1901, to April, 1908. 

John C. Gilmer of Kanawha, from 1908. 

EARLY ATTORNEYS OF THE KANAWHA BAR 

The record does not show that the bar of 
Kanawha court was crowded with attorneys 
for some time after court was organized. The 
Kanawha county court began in October, 
1789, and while there were suits tried, with 
and without juries, and the record states that 
"the parties appeared by their attorneys," it 
had failed to show the name of a single attor- 
ney that had been admitted to practice, until 
August I, 1796, when it appeared that Ed- 
ward Graham produced a license signed by 
Paul Carrington. Edward Winston and S. 
Henry, judges of the superior court, etc., was 
admitted to practice law in this Kanawha 
court and took the oaths prescribed, and he 
was thereupon appointed the attorney for the 
commonwealth for this county. On July 3, 
1797, William H. Cavindish was admitted. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



119 



On August 7, 1797, Augustus Woodward was 
admitted. 

To obtain license to practice law, one had 
to apply to three judges and secure a certifi- 
cate from them of his proficiency. Just where 
the applicants would find the judges to exam- 
ine them would depend much on circum- 
stances. It does not seem that the attorneys 
were crowding to the Kanawha courts to 
practice law in the early Indian days, but the 
court proceeded along without them. After 
the Indians ceased to come, then the attorneys 
began, as did the doctors and ministers. 

In 1799, William Sterrett was admitted 
and in 1800 James Davenport and Gilbert 
Christian were admitted. Afterwards Cap- 
tain Cartmill, James Wilson, Charles Bald- 
win, Joseph Lovell, Mathew Dunbar, Andrew 
Parks and from that on, they were admitted 
without end. 

To explain the judiciary system of Virginia, 
and note its changes and its growth would 
entail more labor than its compensation in 
gratified curiosity would justify. Without 
going too far into details, we might say, that 
in the colonies there was no Court of final 
resort, except to the King and council, and 
this would generally amount to nothing. 
There was the county court, composed of jus- 
tices of the county, and they were appointed 
by the governor. They served without fee or 
reward, except that by rotation, the office of 
sheriff for two years was given to a justice, 
for his service on the county court. These 
county courts, these justices could and did al- 
most any and everything that anybody could 
do, and were a sort of legislature, judicial and 
executive body for their own county. 

The general court was so called because its 
jurisdiction was general over all persons, 
causes, matters or things at common law, 
whether by original process or appeal, or any 
other writ, or other legal way or means, and 
its jurisdiction extended all over the state. 

District courts were established and the 
civil and criminal jurisdiction of the general 
court was given to this district court by ap- 
peal, etc. In 1809 the district courts were 
abolished and the circuit supreme courts of 
law, in each county, were substituted in their 



stead, and in 181 9 there were fifteen circuits, 
and each circuit had about seven counties, 
on an average. There was a supreme court 
of chancery. There was such court in Staun- 
ton, Winchester, Clarksburg and Wythe Court 
House, Richmond and Williamsburg, and the 
places for holding them increased. 

Circuit Court. — The supreme court of ap- 
peals was established in 1778, but was held by 
judges of other courts. In 1788 this court 
was organized by judges to be appointed by 
both houses of the assembly, and it has re- 
mained a separate court ever since, and in 
181 1 there were five judges (see 2d Va. 
Cases). This says that John Coalter was ap- 
pointed on the general court in 1809 and on 
the court of appeals in 181 1. That James 
Allen was appointed to general court in 181 1; 
he must have taken the place of Judge Coal- 
ter. 

Lewis Summers was appointed to the gen- 
eral court in 1819, and served until in 1843, 
and after his death David McComas was 
placed on the general court, and this court 
was abolished in 185 1, and the circuit courts 
of law and chancery substituted. The first 
judge for Kanawha circuit was Judge George 
W. Simmons; he resigned in 1858, and David 
McComas was then selected, and he held until 
the war came on, during which he died, and 
then the organized government placed Judge 
James H. Brown on the Kanawha circuit, and 
he afterwards was elected for the supreme 
court of West Virginia, when Judge Paisley 
succeeded him, until he was elected to Con- 
gress. Then Judge James H. Hoge took this 
bench, and he was succeeded by Joseph Smith, 
who was followed by Judge F. A. Guthrie, 
and he was followed by Judge S. C. Burdett, 
who now presides on the bench of the circuit 
court of Kanawha. 

Judge Lewis Summers' last order was en- 
tered June 20, 1843. Judge Joseph L. Fry 
held the next term. The spring term, 1844, 
was held by Judge David McComas. Octo- 
ber, 1847, term — Judge E. S. Duncan held the 
term. The spring term, 1848, was held by 
Judge Lee and also the fall term. In May, 
1850, Judge Mathew Dunbar was the judge 
of the Kanawha court until .October, 185 1, 



120 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and Judge David McComas held the courts 
thereafter. From July i, 1852, Judge George 
\Y. Summers held the circuit court, being 
elected by the people under the new constitu- 
tion, and Mathew Dunbar was elected the 
prosecuting attorney. 

The- attorneys under this new court were 
Mathew Dunbar, David McComas, C. E. 
Doddridge, J. N. Read, J. M. Laidley, An- 
drew Parks, E. W. McComas, Nicholas Fitz- 
hugh, J. A. Warth, Edward Kenna, T. B. 
Swann, John L. Moseley, Isaac N. Smith, J. 
H. Brown, Charles Hedrick, Col. B. H. Smith 
and others. Judge Geo. W. Summers con- 
tinued as judge until July 1, 1858, when he re- 
signed and was succeeded by David McComas, 
and he continued until the war came on, dur- 
ing which time he died. Judge J. H. Brown 
in May, 1862, succeeded Judge McComas. 
The attorneys present and qualified at this 
time were F. A. Lovell, Andrew Parks, John 
A. Warth, W. E. G. Gillison, J. M. Laidley, 
Col. B. H. Smith and Geo. W. Summers, and 
W. L. Hindman was the prosecuting attorney. 
Judge Daniel Paisley held the first W. Va. 
circuit court in October, 1863, and C. A. 
Sperry, G. W. Summers, Col. B. N. Smith, 
F. A. Lovell and W. L. Hindman were the at- 
torneys qualified. In October, 1866, the last 
court was held by Judge Paisley, and in April, 
1867, Judge Hoge held his first term. Judge 
Smith held his first term in May, 1874, and 
his last in June, 1880. Judge Guthrie began 
in February, 1881, and Judge Burdett in June, 
1905. 

CHARLESTON LAWYERS, ICjl I 

(A) 

Albertson, Ulysses S. ; Alderson, Chas. M. ; 
Alderson, George P. ; Alexander, A. S. ; Alle- 
bach, Leroy; Anderson, H. M. ; Avis, S. B. ; 
Ashby, W. L. ; Atkinson, U. B. 

(B) 

Ballard, Albert M. ; Black, V. L. ; Belcher, 
A. M. ; Bledsoe, T. A.; Bobbitt, Oliver B. ; 
Briggs, Murray; Broun, Thos. L. ; Burdette, 
F. G. ; Byrne, George; Brown, James F. ; Bur- 
lew, Abram; Byrne, W. E. R. ; Broun, C. 
Beverley; Bouchelle, J. F. ; Burdette, E. M. ; 



Barnhart, W. G. ; Bostic, H. B. ; Boiarsky, 
Moses ; Bowen, Samuel E. 

(C) 

Cato, Henry S. ; Chilton, J. E. ; Chilton, W. 
E. ; Chilton, Samuel B. ; Carr, F. N. ; Clark, 
T. S.; Clay, Buckner; Cork, J. F. ; Couch, 
Geo. S. Sr.; Couch, G. S., Jr.; Couch, C. B. ; 
Clayton, Bruce; Campbell, J. Edgar; Carter, 
E. R. ; Chappelle, John W. 

(D) 

• Davis, D. C. T., Sr.; Davis, Staige; Don- 
nally, J. C. ; Dyre, E. B. 

(E) 

Edwards, W. S. ; Ellison, James B. 

(F) 

Fitzgerald, O. P., Jr.; Flournoy, S. L. ; 
Flournoy, P. P. ; Fry, Henry. 

(G) 

Gallaher, D. C. ; Green, S. S. ; Gaines, J. 
H. ; Goldbarth, Irwin S. ; Goshorn, Fred; 
Good, C. W. ; Goettman, Chas. E. 

(H) 

Higginbotham, Upshur; Hardy, Waller C. ; 
Hall, E. C. ; Hays, G. W. ; Hill, F. J. ; Hous- 
ton, H. T.; Hyndly, J. H. ; Harless, Floyd 

H. ; Hunt, J H. ; Hall, Grant P.; Harrison, 
E. C. ; Higginbotham, Marshall. 

(J). 

Jones, John B. ; Jackson, Malcolm ; Jordon, 

I. C. 

(K) 

Kennedy, J. W. ; Knight, E. W. ; Keatley, 
E. M. ; Kenna, J. N. ; Kenna, John; Koontz, 
A. B. ; Kimbrough, C. E. ; Kerse, T. L. 

(L) 

Laidley, W. S. ; Laidley, W. Sydney, Jr.; 
Linn, R. G. ; Littlepage, A. B. ; Littlepage, S. 
D. ; Littlepage, S. Collette; Littlepage, B. 
Kemp ; Loeb, Leo. ; LaFollette, L. M. ; Little- 
page, Chas. F. ; Lively, W. W. ; Lively, Frank ; 
Long, E. L. 

(M) 

Mollohan, Wesley; McClintic, G. W.; 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



121 



McCorkle, W. A.; MacCorkle, A. D. ; 
McCorkle, W. G. ; McDonald, A. W. ; Mena- 
ger, J. B. ; McCabe, R. E. ; McWhorter, H. 
C, Judge; McWhorter, L. E. ; Mathews, 
Daniel; Mathews, W. D. ; Miller, J. B. ; 
Minor, Berkeley, Jr. ; Morgan, Ben S. ; Mur- 
phv, P. H. 

(N) 

Nash, J. H. ; Nash, J. H., Jr. ; Nutter, T. G. 
(O) 

Owen, Morgan. 

(P) 

Payne, J. M. ; Payne, W. D. ; Price, G. E. ; 
Price, J. E. ; Price, R. M. ; Prichard, A. M. ; 
Painter, Graham C. ; Poteet, L. E. 

(Q) 

Quarrier, R. G. 

(R) 

Reedy, E. K. ; Ruffner, Joseph ; Robertson, 
M. M. ; Robertson, E. E. ; Rummel, H. D. 

(S) 

Smith, H. B. ; Spilman, R. S. ; Shrewsbury, 
G. H. ; Stiles, M. F. ; Seaman, Jas. A.; Shir- 
key, D. M. 

(T) 

Thayer, J. A.; Taylor, D. W. 

(V) 

Vickers, Lorenzo. 

(VV) 

Watts, C. C; Waters, J. T. ; Wiley, Carl 
C. ; Webb, B. H. ; White, J. B. ; Webb, S. L. ; 
Wertz, W. W. ; Walker, P. G. 

IN MEMORIAM 

A list of members of the Kanawha bar that 
have, since the Civil War, departed this life. 

(A) 

Adams, W. W. ; Armstead, William. 
(B) 

Brown, Judge James H. ; Brown, Joseph 
M. ; Blair, A. C. ; Boggs, H. L. 

(C) 

Carr, James Lawrence ; Cole, John L. ; 



Couch, James H. ; Cracraft, John W. ; Cotton, 
John. 

(D) 

Doddridge, C. E. ; Dawson, R. F. ; DuBois, 

D. 

(F) 

Ferguson, James H. ; Ferguson, J. D. ; 
Fitzhugh, Nicholas ; Flournoy, S. L. ; Fon- 
taine, Peter. 

(G) 

Gray, James H. 

(H) 

Hoge, James H. ; Hedrick, Charles ; Hoge- 
man, Wm. H. ; Hall, Cyrus; Hall, C. W. ; 
Hindman, W. L. 

(J) 

Johnson, Judge Okey. 

(K) 

Knight, Edward B. ; Kenna, John E. 

(L) 

Lovell, Fayette A. ; Laidley, James M. 
(M) 

Middleton, James E. ; Middleton, Henry 
O. ; Miller, Samuel A.; Morris, William H. 

(N) 

Nash, James H. 

(P) 

Patton, Oliver A.; Patton, Geo. W. ; Pals- 
ley, Judge Daniel. 

(Q) 

Quarrin, William A. 

(R) 

Ruffner, David L. 

(S) 

Smith, Benjamin H. ; Smith, Isaac Noyes; 
Smith, Charles B. ; Summers, Geo. W. ; Sum- 
mers, William S. ; Swann, Thomas B. ; 
Swann, John S. ; Stout, Traverse; Sperry, C. 
A. ; Shrewsbury, Harvy D. 

(T) 

Tebbitts, A. G. 

(W) 

Warth, John A. ; Wilson, E. Willis. 



CHAPTER VII 



INDUSTRIAL HISTORY 

The Salt Industry — Rock Salt and Brines — Salt Boiling by the Indians- — Homemade Salt — 
The First Salt Furnace in Kanawha — Pack-saddle Transportation — David and Joseph 
Ruff iter's Salt Enterprise — The Great Buffalo Lick — Description of a "Gum" — Early 
Discouragements and Ultimate Success — A Revolution in Manufacture Caused by Coal — 
Mechanical Improvements — Burning Springs and Gas Wells — A Professor's Experiment 
and its Results — Col. Levi J. Woodyard — First Gas Well Bored by Capt. James Wilson — 
Patrick's Salt Furnace — Methods of Manufacturing and Shipping — Waste Products — Cost 
of Production — Soda Ash — List of Kanazvha Salt Furnaces — Statistics — Kanawha Salt 
Makers — Cdnnel Coal Oil Manufactures on Kanazvha — Great Kanawha Gas Co. — Vulcan 
Iron Works — Kanawha Brick Co. — Morgan Lumber & Manufacturing Co. — Gill Manu- 
facturing Co. — Banner Window Glass Co. — Tanners' and Dyers' Extract Co. — Kanazvha 
Planing Mill Co. — Standard Brick Co. — Kanawha Woolen Mills — Charleston Woolen 
Mills — Diamond Ice & Coal Co. — Kanawha Mine Car Co. — Ohio Valley Furniture Co. 
■ — Charleston Window Glass Co. — L. Long & Sons — The Kanazvha Land Co. (South 
Charleston) — South Charleston Crusher Co. 



KANAWHA SALT 

From a paper on salt written by J. P. Hale 
Fossil or rock salt has not been found in the 
state; but salt brines of greater or less 
strength, and in greater or less abundance, are 
found by artesian borings, at various depths 
throughout the Appalachian coal field, which 
underlies the greater portion of our state. 

The strength of these brines varies in differ- 
ent localities, and in different wells in the same 
locality; the range may be stated at, say six 
degrees to twelve degrees by the salometer, 
Baume scale (distilled water being zero, satu- 
ration twenty-five degrees), but the average 
strength of the brines from which salt is now 
made is about eight degrees to ten degrees. 
The value of these brines depends, of course, 
upon their location, as regards accessibility, 
and cheap transportation of the products to 
market, as well as the convenient proximity 
of cheap coal for fuel, and timber for barrels. 
Only locations on the navigable rivers, or lines 



of railways at present fulfill these indications ; 
but, as population increases, and new routes of 
travel and traffic are opened up, it is probable 
that new salt manufacturing localities will be 
developed. 

The principal points at which salt has been 
manufactured in the state, are Charleston on 
the Great Kanawha river; from West Colum- 
bia to Hartford City on the Ohio river: at 
Bull-town on the Little Kanawha; at Louisa 
on the Big Sandy ; in Mercer county on New 
river; near Birch of Elk river; (at the mouth 
of Otter creek on Elk), and at a few other 
less important points, on a very small scale 
for local use. At present, owing to the greater 
facility of reaching the markets of the great 
West by cheap water transportation, and the 
advantages of cheap fuel, salt is only manu- 
factured, on a commercial scale near Charles- 
ton on the Great Kanawha, and in Mason 
county on the Ohio. 

The Kanawha salt works were situated in 



122 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



123 



Kanawha county, on the Kanawha river, com- 
mencing about three miles above Charleston 
and extending up the river for several miles, 
on both sides. 

These "licks" as they are called, have not 
only been known and extensively worked 
from the first settlement of the valley by the 
whites, but have been known and used, from 
time immemorial, by the Indian tribes, and 
frequented by swarms of buffalo, elk, deer, 
and other wild animals, before the advent of 
the white man. 

In 1753, when all this region 'was an un- 
broken wilderness, which had never been 
penetrated by the most adventurous white man, 
a party of Shawnees who dwelt upon the 
Scioto, in what is now Ohio, made a raid 
upon the frontier settlements of Virginia, in 
what is now Montgomery county. Having 
taken the settlers unawares, and after killing, 
burning, and capturing prisoners, as was their 
/custom, they retreated, with their captives, 
down the New, Kanawha, and Ohio rivers to 
their homes. One of these captives, Mrs. 
"Mary Ingles, who afterwards made her escape, 
and was returned to her friends, related that 
the party stopped several days at the salt 
spring on the Kanawha river, rested there from 
their weary march, killed plenty of game and 
feasted themselves on the fat of the land; in 
the meantime, boiling salt water and making 
a supply of salt, which was carefully packed 
and taken with them to their western homes. 
This is not only the first account we have of 
salt making on Kanawha, but anywhere else 
west of the Alleghanies. In fact, if there is 
any earlier record of salt-making from brine 
springs, anywhere in the United States, I am 
not aware of it. 

The earliest settlement made by whites, in 
the Kanawha valley, was by Walter Kely and 
family, at the mouth of the creek, which bears 
his name, in the spring of 1774, several months 
before the battle of Point Pleasant, where the 
combined Indian tribes, under the celebrated 
Sachem, Cornstalk, were defeated and driven 
back by the Virginians, under Gen. Lewis. 

Kelley and his family paid the forfeit of 
their lives to their temerity; they were all 
killed by the Indians; but after the battle of 



the Point, whein there was greater security for 
life, the valley was rapidly settled, mostly by 
Virginians, and in great part by the hardy 
soldiers who had followed Lewis to Point 
Pleasant. 

The early pioneer settlers, in a wilderness, 
without communication with other settlements, 
except by foot or bridle paths, depended upon 
the Kanawha licks for their scanty supply of 
salt. In those days of simple economy and 
provident thrift, when everything useful was 
made the most of, the women's wash-kettles 
were put under requisition for a fourfold duty; 
they boiled the daily hog and hominy, and 
other wholesome, frugal fare; once a week they 
boiled their clothes, on wash day; semi-occas- 
ionally they boiled the salt water for a little of 
the precious salt, and every spring they went to 
the sugar camp, to boil the annual supply of 
maple sugar and molasses. 

It is related that at one time, when there was 
on apprehended attack from the Indians, the 
few early settlers were posted at the mouth of 
Coal river, for protection. Being out of salt and 
suffering for the want of it, they sent some of 
their hardy and daring young men in canoes 
up to the salt spring, where they dipped the 
canoes full of salt water; and, getting safely 
back, the water was boiled, and the precious 
salt made under cover of the fort. 

Among the earliest land locations made in 
the valley was one of 502 acres, made in 1785, 
by John Dickinson, from the Valley of Vir- 
ginia, to include the mouth of Campbell's creek, 
the bottom above, and the salt spring. Dickin- 
son did not improve or work the property him- 
self, but meeting with Joseph RufFner, an en- 
terprising fanner from his Shenandoah estates, 
he sold to Ruffner, and in 1795 removed him- 
self and family to Kanawha to look after his 
salt propertv. LTpon arriving here, however, 
his penchant for rich farming lands overcame 
him, and he purchased, from George and Wil- 
liam Clendenen, the large river bottom of 900 
acres extending from the mouth of Elk river up 
Kanawha ; and upon 40 acres of which the vil- 
lage of Charleston had been laid out and started 
the previous year. This last purchase, and the 
subsequent attention to clearing and improving 
the farm diverted Ruffner's attention for a time. 



124 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



from the salt project. The delay was fatal so 
far as he was concerned ; he did not live to ex- 
ecute his pet scheme or realize his cherished 
hopes. Dying in 1803, he willed the property 
to his sons, David and Joseph, enjoining it up- 
on them to carry out, as speedily as practicable, 
his plans of building up extensive salt manufac- 
tories to supply not only the increasing local 
demand, but a larger and still more rapidly 
growing demand, which was now coming 
from the many thrifty settlements through- 
out the Ohio Valley. During the elder Ruff- 
ner's life, however, he had leased to one Elisha 
Brooks, the use of salt water and the right to 
manufacture salt; and in 1797 this Elisha 
Brooks erected the first salt furnace in Kana- 
wha, or in the western country. It consisted 
of two dozen small kettles, set in a double row, 
with a flue beneath, a chimney at one end, and 
a fire bed at the other. 

To obtain a supply of salt water he sank two 
or three "gums" into the mire and quicksand 
of the salt lick, and dipped the brine with buc- 
ket and swape, as it oozed and seeped in 
through the sand below. 

In this crude, rough-and-ready way, Brooks 
managed to make about 150 pounds of salt per 
day, which he sold at the kettles, at 8 to 10 
cents per pound. No means were used to set- 
tle or purify the brines or salt, as the salt wa- 
ter came from the gum, so it was boiled down 
to salt in the kettle, with whatever impurities 
or coloring matter it contained. As it issues 
from the earth it holds some carbonate of iron 
in solution; when it is boiled, this iron becomes 
oxidized, and gives a reddish tinge to the brine 
and salt. 

This Kanawha salt soon acquired a reputa- 
tion for its strong, pungent taste, and its sup- 
ior qualities for curing meat, butter, etc. A 
great many who used it and recognized these 
qualities in connection with its striking red- 
dish color came to associate the two in their 
minds in the relation of cause and effect, and 
orders used to come from far and near for 
some of "that strong red salt from the Kana- 
wha Licks." 

Almost the only mode of transporting salt 
beyond the neighborhood, in those early days, 
was by pack-horses, on the primitive, back- 



woods' pack-saddle. So much of this was 
done, and so familiar did the public mind be- 
come with the term, as used in that sense, 
that even to this day, among a large class of 
people, the verb "to pack" is always used in- 
stead of other synonymous terms, such as 
carry, transport, fetch, bring, take, etc., and 
the "tote" of Old Virginia. 

It was not until 1806, that the brothers, 
David and Joseph Ruffner, set to work to as- 
certain the source of the salt water, to procure, 
if possible, a larger supply and of better quali- 
ty, and to prepare to manufacture salt on a 
scale commensurate with the growing wants of 
the country. 

The Salt Lick, or "The Great Buffalo Lick," 
as it was called, was just at the river's edge, 12 
or 14 rods in extent, on the north side, a few 
hundred yards above the mouth of Campbell's 
creek, and just in front of what is now known 
as the "Thoroughfare Gap," through which 
from the north as well as up and down the 
river, the buffalo, elk, and other ruminating 
animals made their way in vast numbers to the 
lick. I may mention en passant that so great 
was the fame of this lick, and the herds of 
game that frequented it, that the great hunter, 
explorer, and conqueror of the "bloody 
ground" of Kentucky, Daniel Boone, was 
tempted up here, made a log cabin settlement, 
and lived just on the opposite side of the river, 
on what is now known as the Donnally farm 
or splint coal bottom. I have had, from old 
Mr. Paddy Huddlestone who died a few years 
ago, at nearly one hundred years of age, many 
interesting anecdotes of their joint adventures 
in hunting and trapping. Boone still lived 
here in 1789-90, when Kanawha county was 
formed and in 1791 served as one of the dele- 
gates for the county, in the Legislature at 
Richmond. 

But to return to the Licks, and the operat- 
ions of the Ruffner brothers. In order to 
reach, if possible, the bottom of the mire and 
oozy quicksand through which the salt water 
flowed, they provided a straight, well-formed, 
hollow sycamore tree, with 4 feet internal diam- 
eter, sawed off square at each end. This is 
technically called a "gum." This gum was set 
upright on the spot selected for sinking the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



125 



large end down, and held in its perpendicular 
position by props and braces, on the four sides. 
A platform, upon which two men could stand, 
was fixed about the top; then a swape erected, 
having its fulcrum in a forked post set in the 
ground close by. A large bucket, made from 
half of a whiskey barrel, was attached to the 
end of the swape, by a rope and a rope attached 
to the end of the pole to pull down on, to raise 
the bucket. With one man inside the gum 
armed with pick, shovel, and crowbar, two men 
on the platform on top to empty and return 
the bucket, and three or four to work the 
swape, the crew and outfit were complete. 

After mam' unexpected difficulties and de- 
lays, the gum at last reached what seemed to 
be rock bottom at 13 feet; upon cutting it with 
picks and crowbars, however, it proved to be 
but a shale or crust, about 6 inches thick, of 
conglomerated sand, gravel and iron. Upon 
breaking through this crust the water flowed 
up into the gum more freely than ever, but 
with less salt. 

Discouraged at this result, the Ruffner 
brothers determined to abandon this gum, and 
sink a well out in the bottom, about 100 yards 
from the river. This was done, they encount- 
ering, as before, many difficulties and delays. 
When they had gotten through 45 feet of al- 
luvial deposit, they came to the same bed of 
sand and gravel upon which they had started 
at the river. 

To penetrate this, they made a 3^ inch 
tube of a 20 foot oak log, by boring through 
it with a long-shanked augur. This tube, 
sharpened, and shod with iron at the bottom, 
was driven down, pile-driver fashion, through 
the sand to the solid rock. Through this tube 
they then let down a glass vial with a string to 
catch the salt water for testing. They were 
again doomed to disappointment ; the water 
though slightly brackish, was less salt than -that 
at the river. 

They now decided to return to the gum at 
the river, and, if possible, to put it down to the 
bed rock. This they finally succeeded in do- 
ing, finding the rock at 16 to 17 feet from the 
surface. 

As the bottom of the gum was square, and 
the surface of the rock uneven, the rush of out- 



side water into the gum was very troublesome. 
By dint of cutting and trimming from one 
side and the other, however, they were, at 
last, gotten nearly to a joint, after which they 
resorted to thin wedges, which were driven 
here and there as they would "do the most 
good." 

By this means the gum was gotten sufficient- 
ly tight to be so bailed out as to determine 
whether the salt water came up through the 
rock. This turned out to be the case. The 
quantity welling up through the rock was ex- 
tremely small, but the strength was greater 
than any yet gotten, and this was encouraging. 
They were anxious to follow it down, but 
how ? They could not blast a hole down there, 
under water, but this idea occurred to them ; 
they knew that rock blasters drilled their pow- 
der holes two or three feet deep, and they con- 
cluded they could, with a longer and larger 
drill, bore a correspondingly deeper and 
larger hole. 

They fixed a long iron drill, with a 2^4 inch 
chisel bit of steel, and attached the upper end 
to a spring hole, with a rope. 

In this way the boring went on slowly and 
tediously till on the 1st of November, 1807, 
at 17 feet in the rock a cavity or fissure was 
struck, which gave an increased flow of strong- 
er brine. This gave them encouragement to 
bore still farther, and so, by welding increas- 
ing length of shaft to the drill, from time to 
time, the hole was carried down to 28 feet, 
where a still larger and stronger supply of salt 
water was gotten. 

Having now sufficient salt water to justify 
it, they decided, and commenced, to build a 
salt furnace ; but while building, they continued 
the boring, and on the 15th January, 1808, 
at 40 feet in the rock and 58 feet from the top 
of the gum, they were rewarded by an ample 
flow of strong brine for their furnace and 
ceased boring. 

Now was presented another difficultv : how 
to get the stronger brine from the bottom of 
the well, undiluted by the weaker brines and 
fresh water from above. There was no pre- 
cedent here ; they had to invent, contrive, and 
construct anew. A metal tube would naturally 
suggest itself to them ; but there were neither 



126 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



metal tubes, nor sheet metal, nor metal work- 
ers — save a home-made blacksmith — in all this 
region, and to bore a wooden tube 40 feet long, 
and small enough in external diameter to go 
in the 23/2 inch hole, was impracticable. What 
they did do, was to whittle out of two long 
strips of wood two long half tubes of the 
proper size, and fitting the edges carefully to- 
gether wrap the whole from end to end with 
small twine; this, with a bag of wrapping near 
the lower end to fit, as nearly as practicable, 
water tight, in the 2 l / 2 inch hole, was cau- 
tiously pressed down into its place, and found 
to answer the purpose perfectly; the brine 
flowed up freely through the tube into the 
gum, which was now provided with a water 
tight floor or bottom, to hold it; and from 
which it was raised by the simple swape and 
bucket. 

Thus was bored and tubed, rigged and 
worked, the first rock-bored salt well west of 
the Alleghanies, if not in the United States. 
The wonder is not that it required eighteen 
months or more to prepare, bore and complete 
this well for use, but, rather, that it was ac- 
complished at all under the circumstances. In 
these times, when such a work can be accom- 
plished in as many days as it then required 
months, it is difficult to appreciate the difficul- 
ties, doubts, delays, and general troubles that 
beset them. Without preliminary study, prev- 
ious experience or training ; without precedents 
in what they undertook in a newly settled 
country ; without steam power, machine shops, 
skilled mechanics, suitable tools or materials — 
failure rather than success might reasonably 
have been predicted. 

The new furnace, which for some time had 
been under construction, was now complete. 
It was simply a reproduction of the Elisha 
Brooks kettle furnace, on a larger scale. There 
were more kettles, of larger size and better 
arranged. 

On the 8th of February. 1808, the Ruffner 
brothers made their first lifting of salt from 
this furnace, and simultaneously reduced the 
price to the (then) unprecedentedly (ow figure 
of 4 cents per pound. 

From tins time forward, salt making, as 
one of the leading industries of Kanawha, was 



an established fact, and Kanawha salt one of 
the leading commercial articles of the West; 
and wherever it has gone, from the Alle- 
ghanies to the Rocky mountains, from the 
Lakes to the Gulf, its superior qualities have 
been recognized and appreciated. 

The neighboring property owners, who had 
watched the progress and result of the Ruff- 
ner well with such deep interest, now institut- 
ed borings on their own lands, above and be- 
low, and on both sides of the river. Among 
these earlier, enterprising experimenters were 
William Whittaker, Tobias Ruffner, Andrew 
Donally, and others. All were more or less 
successful in getting a supply of brine, at depths 
varying from 50 to 100 feet, and by 18 17 there 
were some 30 furnaces and 15 or 20 wells in 
operation, making in the aggregate 600,000 
to 700,000 bushels of salt. 

In this year an important revolution in the 
manufacture of salt was effected by the dis- 
covery of coal. Although in one of the finest 
coal fields of the world, coal had not, hitherto, 
been found here in workable seams, nor been 
used at all, except for blacksmith's purposes. 
Wood had been the only fuel used in salt mak- 
ing, and for other purposes, and all the bot- 
toms and convenient hill slopes for several 
miles up and down the river had been stripped 
of their timber to supply this demand. 

David Ruffner, true to the spirit of enter- 
prise and pluck which animated him when he 
bored the first well, was the first here to 
use coal as a fuel. This would appear to be 
a very simple matter now ; but was not so then. 
It was only after many months of discourag- 
ing efforts, and failing experiments, that he 
finally succeeded in getting it to work to his 
satisfaction. Its value established, however, 
its use was at once adopted by the other fur- 
naces, and wood ceased to be used as a fuel 
for salt making in Kanawha. 

Other important improvements were grad- 
ually going on in the manner of boring and 
tubing, after Ruffner's compound wood-and- 
wrapping-twine tube, being made by a tinner 
who had located in Charleston to make tin cups 
and coffee pots for the multitude. He made 
tin tubes in convenient lengths, and soldered 
them together as f hey were put down the well. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



127 



The refinement of screw joints had not yet 
come, but followed shortly after, in connection 
with copper pipes, which soon took the place 
of tin, and these are recently giving place to 
iron. 

In the manner of bagging the wells, that is, 
in forming a water-tight joint around the tube 
to shut off the weaker waters above from the 
stronger below, a simple arrangement, called a 
"seed-bag" was fallen upon, which proved very 
effective, which has survived to this day, and 
has been adopted wherever deep boring is done, 
as one of the standard appliances for the pur- 
pose for which it is used. This seed-bag is made 
of buckskin, or soft calf-skin sewed up like the 
sleeve of a coat or leg of a stocking, made 12 
to 15 inches long, about the size of the well- 
hole and open at both ends ; this is slipped over 
the tube and one end securely wrapped over 
knots placed on the tube to prevent slipping. 
Some six or eight inches of the bag is then 
filled with flaxseed, either alone or mixed with 
powdered gum tragacanth ; the other end of the 
bag is then wrapped, like the first, and the tube 
is ready for the well. When to their place — 
and they are put down any depth — to hun- 
dreds of feet — the seed and gum soon swell 
from the water they absorb, till a close fit and 
water-tight joint are made. 

The hydraulic contrivance for raising salt 
water from the gums, consisting of a bucket, 
a swape and a man, was simple, slow and sure ; 
but the spirit of progress was abroad and it 
soon gave place to a more complicated ar- 
rangement, consisting of a pump, lever, crank, 
shaft, and blind horse or mule, that revolved 
in its orbit around the shaft. This was con- 
sidered a wonderful achievement in mechanical 
contrivance, especially by the men who had 
worked the swapes. 

For several years this "horse-mill," as it was 
called, was the only mode of pumping salt 
water on Kanawha but in the fullness of time 
it also went to the rear — in 1828 — and the 
steam engine came to the front, not only for 
pumping but also for boring w T ells and various 
•other uses. 

In 1 83 1 William Morris, or "Billy" Morris, 
as he was familiarly called, a very ingenious, 
successful and practical well borer, invented a 



simple tool, which has done more to render 
deep boring practicable, simple and cheap, than 
anything else since the introduction of steam. 

This tool has always been called here "Slips," 
but in the oil regions they have given it the 
name of "Jars." It is a long double-link, with 
jaws that fit closely, but slide loosely up and 
down. They are made of the best steel, are 
about 30 inches long, and fitted, top and bot- 
tom, with pin and socket joint, respectively. 
For use they are interposed between the heavy 
iron sinker with its cutting chisel-bit below, and 
the line of auger poles or ropes above. Its 
object is to let the heavy sinker and bit have a 
clear, quick, cutting fall, unobstructed and un- 
encumbered by the slower motion of the long 
line of auger poles above. In the case of fast 
auger or other tools in the well, they are also 
used to give heavy jars upward or downward, 
or both, to loosen them. From this use the oil 
well people have given them the name of 
"Jars." 

Billy Morris never patented his invention, 
and never asked for nor made a dollar out of 
it, but as a public benefactor he deserves to 
rank with the inventors of the sewing-machine, 
reaping-machines, planing-machine, printing 
cylinders, cotton gin, etc. 

This tool has been adopted into general use 
wherever deep boring is done, but, outside of 
Kanawha, few have heard of Billy Morris, or 
know where the slips or jars came from. 

The invention of this tool, the adoption of 
the heavy sinker and some other minor im- 
provements in well boring, gave a great im- 
petus to deep boring in Kanawha. W ells were 
put down 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 1,800 feet, 
and one — the deepest in Kanawha — by Charles 
Reynolds, to about 2,000 feet. These borings 
would doubtless have been carried to a much 
greater depth, but that the fact soon got to be 
understood, that the salt-bearing strata had 
been passed, and that no brines were obtained 
at a greater depth than 800 to 1,000 feet. The 
limit of salt-bearing rocks is readily told by the 
character of the borings. Within this limit 
are sandstones, shale, coal, etc., of the coal 
measures lying nearly horizontal, though dip- 
ping slightly to the northwest ; below is the 
carboniferous limestone which underlies the 



128 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



coal measures, and crops out 100 miles to the 
eastward. This limestone, when penetrated, is 
known to the well-borers as the "long- running 
rock," from the fact that a boring bit will run 
a long time in it without being dulled. 

No regular suites of samples of borings from 
the Kanawha wells have ever been kept. This 
is not important, however, as the strata are 
well known, and can be examined along the 
New river canon as they crop out to the east- 
ward. 

The Kanawha borings have educated and 
sent forth a set of skilful well-borers, all over 
the country, who have bored for water for ir- 
rigation on the western plains, for artesian 
wells for city, factory, or private use, for salt 
water at various places, for oil all over the 
country, for geological or mineralogical ex- 
plorations, etc, etc. 

Nearly all the Kanawha salt wells have con- 
tained more or less petroleum oil, and some of 
the deepest wells a considerable flow. Many 
persons now think, trusting to their recollec- 
tions, that some of the wells afforded as much 
as 25 to 50 barrels per day. This was allowed 
to flow over the top of the salt cisterns, 
on to the river, where, from its specific 
gravity, it spread over a large surface, and by 
its beautiful iridescent hues, and not very sav- 
ory odor, could be traced for many miles down 
the stream. It was from this that the river re- 
ceived the familiar nickname of "Old Greasy" 
by which it was for a long time familiarly 
known by Kanawha boatmen and others. 

At that time this oil not only had no value, 
but was considered a great nuisance, and every 
effort was made to tube it out and get rid of 
it. It is now the opinion of some competent 
geologists, as well as of practical oil men, that 
very deep borings, say 2,500 feet, would pene- 
trate rich oil-bearing strata, and possibly in- 
exhaustible supplies of gas. 

In 1775, Gen. Washington visited the Ka- 
nawha Valley in person ( ?) and located some 
very valuable lands for his military services. 
About three miles above the Salt Lick, he set 
apart and deeded to the public, forever, a 
square acre of land near the river, on which 
was a great natural wonder, then little under- 
stood, called a "burning spring." For many, 



many years after, it was visited by every one 
who came to or passed through Kanawha, as 
one of the great curiosities of the region. It 
was simply a hole in the ground, which filled 
with water when it rained, and up through 
which issued a jet of gas, giving the water the 
appearance of boiling, and when lighted burned 
with a bright flame until blown out by high 
wind. 

In 1 84 1 William Tompkins, in boring a salt 
well a short distance above the burning spring, 
struck a large flow of gas, which he turned to 
account by "boiling his furnace," and making 
salt with it, effecting a great saving in fuel 
and economy in the cost of salt. 

In 1843 Messrs. Dickinson and Shrewsbury, 
boring a few rods below, tapped at about 1,000 
feet in depth, nature's great gas reservoir of 
this region. So great was the pressure of this 
bore-hole, that the auger, consisting of a heavy 
iron sinker weighing some 500 pounds, and 
several hundred feet more of auger poles, 
weighing in all, perhaps 1,000 pounds, was 
shot up out of the well like an arrow out of a 
cross-bow. With it came a column of salt 
water, which stood probably 150 feet high. 
The roaring of this gas and water, as they is- 
sued, could be heard under favorable condi- 
tions for several miles. 

It would have been difficult to estimate with 
any approach to accuracy, the quantity of gas 
vented by this well, and no attempt was made 
to measure it. I heard it roughly estimated 
as being enough to light London and Paris, 
with, perhaps, enough left to supply a few such 
villages as New York and Philadelphia. But 
as this is a salt well, as well as gas well, I 
suggest that the gas estimate be taken, "cum 
grano salis." 

While this well was blowing, it was the 
custom of the stage drivers, as they passed 
down by it, to stop and let their passengers take 
a look at the novel and wonderful display. On 
one occasion a professor from Harvard Col- 
lege was one of the stage passengers, and be- 
ing a man of investigating and experimenting 
turn of mind, he went as near the well as he 
could get for the gas and spray of the falling 
water, and lighted a match to see if the gas 
would burn. Instantly the whole atmosphere 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



129 



was ablaze, the Professor's hair and eye-brows 
singed, and his clothes afire. The well-frame 
and engine-house also took fire, and were much 
damaged. The Professor, who had jumped 
into the river to save himself from the fire, 
crawled out and back to the stage as best he 
could, and went on to Charleston, where he 
took to bed, and sent for a doctor to dress his 
burns. 

Col. Dickinson, one of the owners of the 
well, hearing of the burning of his engine- 
house and well-frame, sent for his man of af- 
fairs, Col. Woodyard, and ordered him to fol- 
low the unknown stage passenger to town, get 
a warrant, have him arrested and punished for 
wilfully and wantonly burning his property, 
"unless," concluded Col. Dickinson, as Wood- 
yard was about starting, "unless you find that 
the fellow is a natural d — d fool, and didn't 
know any better." Arriving at Charleston, 
Woodyard went to the room of the burnt pro- 
fessor at the hotel, finding him in bed, his face 
and hands blistered, and in a sorry plight gen- 
erally. He proceeded to state in very plain 
terms, the object of his visit, at which the pro- 
fessor seemed greatly worried, and alarmed, 
not knowing the extent of this additional im- 
pending trouble, which his folly had brought 
upon him. Before he had expressed himself 
in words, however, Woodyard proceeded to 
deliver, verbatim, and with great emphasis the 
codicil to Dickinson's instructions. The pro- 
fessor, notwithstanding his physical pain and 
mental alarm, seemed to take in the ludicrous- 
ness of the whole case, and with an effort to 
smile through his blisters, replied that it seemed 
a pretty hard alternative; but, under the cir- 
cumstances, he felt it his duty to confess under 
the last clause, and escape. "Well," said 
Woodyard, "if this is your decision, my duty 
is ended and I bid you good morning." 

Col. Levi J. Woodyard was born in Fair- 
fax county, Va., February 14. 1800. His 
father came to Wood county when Levi was 
but six years old. Levi was raised on a farm 
and went to school and obtained some little 
education. He came to Kanawha county in 
1825. He became an oarsman on a flat-boat, 
shipping salt to the lower Ohio, and kept up 
this business for several years. He was then 



given the place of manager of a salt furnace by 
Dickinson and Shrewsbury, which place he 
held as long as this firm continued in the salt 
business. He was made the agent for Kana- 
wha salt in the West and held this until the 
war came on, when business suspended; he 
then returned to Charleston and resided there 
until his death. He was a man that attended 
to his own business and let others do likewise. 
He became president of the Kanawha Valley 
bank and his manner was rather rugged for a 
position where a somewhat different style was 
required from that which was appropriate to 
the manager of a salt furnace. He was an 
earnest, sincere, honest and sober man and 
went at his work, whatever it might be, with 
all the vim that was in him, but there was but 
little else than his rugged way. 

The oil and gas from this well were par- 
tially collected, and conveyed through wooden 
pipes, to the nearest furnace, where they were 
used in making salt. 

For many years this natural flow of gas lift- 
ed the salt water 1,000 feet from the bottom 
of the well, forced it a mile or more through 
pipes, to a salt furnace, raised it into a reser- 
voir, boiled it in the furnace, and lighted the 
premises all around at night. About the only 
objection to the arrangement was, that it did 
not lift the salt and pack it in barrels. 

The success of this well induced other salt 
makers to bore deep wells for gas, and several 
were successful. Messrs. Worth & English, 
Tompkins, Welch & Co., William D. Shrews- 
bury, J. H. Fry, and J. S. O. Brooks, got gas 
wells and used the gas either alone, or in con- 
nection with coal, for fuel in salt making. 
Gas was also struck in a few other wells, but 
did not last long, and was not utilized. 

The first flow of gas ever struck in Kana- 
wha, was as far back as 1815, in a well bored 
by Capt. James Wilson, within the present city 
limits of Charleston, near the residence of C. 
C. Lewis, Esq. The Captain had not gotten 
as good salt water as he expected ; but instead 
of being discouraged, he declared in language 
emphatic, that he would have better brine or 
bore the well into — lower regions, with higher 
temperature. Shortly after this the auger 
struck a cavity which gave vent to an immense. 



130 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



flow of gas and salt water. The gas caught 
fire from a grate near at hand, and blazed up 
with great force and brilliancy, much to the 
consternation of the well borers and others. 
Capt. Wilson thought it would be a reckless 
tempting of Providence to go any deeper, and 
ordered the boring stopped. This well is now 
owned by the Charleston Gas Light Company, 
who at some future time contemplate re-open- 
ing it to test the gas for lighting the city. 

Of the many wells in the neighborhood, that 
have furnished gas, some have stopped sud- 
denly, and some by a slow and gradual pro- 
cess. Whether these stoppages have been from 
exhaustion of gas, or sudden, or gradual stop- 
page of the vent-ways, has not been definitely 
determined. It is known, however, that in 
the Dickinson and Shrewsbury well, which 
blew longer than any other, the copper pipes in 
the well, and the wooden pipes leading to the 
furnace, were lined with a mineral deposit, in 
some places nearly closing them. This deposit 
has not been analyzed, but may possibly be sili- 
cate of lime. A system of torpedoing might 
break up these incrustations from the walls of 
the well and rock cavities, and start the gas 
again. From the results of such wells in Penn- 
sylvania, and New York, we have large en- 
couragement to hope for similar results here. 
A few wells intelligently manipulated, might 
give gas enough to boil all the salt manufac- 
tured here, and run all the machinery in the 
neighborhood. 

After the introduction of steam power, and 
the use of coal for fuel, no striking change was 
effected in the process of salt manufacture for 
a number of years. What improvements were 
made, were simply in degree. Wells were 
bored deeper, the holes were bored larger, the 
tubing was better, the pumps and rigging sim- 
pler. The furnaces were larger, better con- 
structed, and more effectively operated, the 
quality of salt improved and the quantity in- 
creased, but still they were kettle furnaces of 
the original type. 

The mammoth of the kettle era was that of 
Joseph Friend & Son, at the mouth of Camp- 
bell's creek, on which they made 100,000 bush- 
els of salt per annum. The usual capacity of 



the other furnaces was 25,000 to 50,000 bushels 
per annum. 

Patrick's furnace 

This was about the condition of the salt 
manufacture here in 1835, when there were 
all told, about 40 furnaces, producing annually 
about 2,000,000 bushels of salt. During this 
year George H. Patrick, Esq., of Onondaga, 
New York, came here, to introduce a patent 
steam furnace. 

The furnace proper, after it was developed 
and improved, consisted of cast iron pans, or 
bottoms, 8 to 10 feet by 3 feet. Eight or ten 
of these pieces were bolted together by iron 
screws, forming one section 24 to 30 feet long, 
by 8 to 10 feet wide. There were' two, three 
or four of these sections according to the size 
of the furnace. Over each of the sections was 
constructed a wooden steam chest, bolted to the 
flanges on the sides of the pans, and otherwise 
held together by wooden clamps and keys, and 
iron bolts and rods, all made steam and water 
tight by calking. These several sections were 
set longitudinally on the furnace walls to form 
one continuous furnace 1 . 

After the furnace comes a series of wooden 
vats or cisterns, a usual size for which, is about 
10 feet wide and 100 feet long. The number 
of these cisterns varies according to the size 
of the furnace. They were constructed of 
poplar plank, 4 to 5 inches thick, dressed -to 
joints, and fitted in a frame of oak by sills 
and clamps. They are tightened by driving 
wooden keys, and then calked to make them 
water tight. This system of clamping and 
keying cisterns was introduced here from a 
model brought by Col. B. H. Smith, from the 
navy yard at Norfolk. It was very simple and 
effective and has been retained to this day, with- 
out improvement or change. 

There are two sets of these cisterns, the first 
in which the brines after boiling in the furnace 
proper are settled, and at the same time 
strengthened up to saturation ; the latter in 
which the salt is graduated from the clear sat- 
urated brines. Thus settling and graining cis- 
terns are very much alike, except that the 
grainers. are but 15 to 18 inches deep, while 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



133 



the settlers may be double that or more. 
Through each and all of these cisterns from end 
to end are three rows of copper pipes, usually 
5 inches in diameter. 

After the salt water is boiled in the furnace 
proper, it runs into these settling cisterns, and 
after being thoroughly settled and saturated, 
is drawn into the grainers, where the salt is 
deposited, and once in 24 hours is lifted out 
by long handled shovels, on to a salt board, 
suspended above the grainer, and from which, 
after proper graining, it is wheeled in wheel- 
barrows to a salt house, where it is packed 
in barrels ready for shipment. 

The steam generated by the boiling in the 
furnace proper is carried from the steam chest, 
by wooden pipes, to the copper pipes and 
through the settlers and grainers. This steam 
giving up its heat in passing through these cis- 
terns, keeps up the temperature of the brines, 
and causes rapid evaporation. The tempera- 
ture of these cisterns varies from 120 to 
190 ; an average would probably be 165 . 

This in short, is a description of the steam 
furnace, after it was improved, and the first 
mistakes and crudities eliminated. In the first 
experiments only very slight heat was imparted 
by the steam to the brines, and only very coarse 
or alum salt made. It was very simple, ac- 
complished all that was expected, and so soon 
as it was fairly tested, improved up to its 
working condition, and its advantages demon- 
strated, the days of kettle furnaces were num- 
bered. 

Andrew Donnally and Isaac Noyes were the 
first to try and adopt the plan. Then followed 
John D. Lewis, Lewis Ruffner, Frederick 
Brooks, and others, till all had made the 
change ; and when the Ohio river furnaces 
were built, the system was fully adopted there. 

It is now about 40 years since George Pat- 
rick introduced the steam furnace, but it still 
holds its position securely, and without rival. 

Minor improvements have been made, and 
the furnaces much enlarged, but the general 
plan has not been changed. From the 2,000 
or 3,000 or 4,000 bushels per month of the 
earlier furnaces, the production has been in- 
creased to 20,000, 30,000 or 40,000 bushels 
per month. The writer's furnace, Snow Hill, 



has made in one year, independent of all stop- 
pages, delays, etc., 420,000 bushels, the largest 
single month's run being 41,000 bushels. This 
furnace has 20,000 square feet of evaporating 
cistern surface, and over 1,300 square feet of 
metal-pan furnace-surface. About 1,200 bush- 
els of coal per day are consumed in the furnace 
proper, and about 300 more for engines, houses, 
and other purposes. 

How far this will be exceeded in the future 
remains to be seen. The same progress has 
occurred in freighting salt, as in the manufac- 
ture. In the days of Elisha Brooks, the neigh- 
bors took the salt from the kettles in their 
pocket handkerchiefs, tin buckets, or pillow 
cases. Later, it was taken in mealbags, and 
on packsaddles. 

The first shipment west, by river, was in 
1808, in tubs, boxes, and hogsheads, floated on 
a raft of logs. Next came small flat-boats, 50 
to 75 feet long and 10 to 18 feet wide, "run" 
by hand, and in which salt was shipped in bar- 
rels. These boats increased in size up to 160 
feet or more long and 24 to 25 feet wide, and 
carried 1,800 to 2,200 barrels of salt. 

These boats were all run by hand, at great 
risk, and although the Kanawha boatmen were 
the best in the world, the boats and cargoes 
were not unfrequently sunk, entailing heavy 
loss upon the owners of the salt. The late Col. 
Andrew Donnally used to ask, when he heard 
of one of his boats sinking, whether any of 
the boatmen were drowned; if not, he con- 
tended it was not a fair sink. But all this is 
now done away with. Salt is now shipped 
eastward by rail, and to the nearer westward 
markets by daily and weekly steamboat pack- 
ets, and to the more distant markets by tow- 
boats and barges. A towboat will now take 
8,000 to 15,000 barrels at one trip, landing 
them at Louisville, Evansville, Nashville, Mem- 
phis, St. Louis, or elsewhere. 

In the matter of packages, no change has oc- 
curred here since the first use of barrels, the 
principle change being a gradual improvement 
in the quality of the cooperage. Our neigh- 
bors in Mason county, ship some salt in bulk, 
and some in bags, but the larger portion ir 
barrels. 

Kanawha uses barrels exclusively. We use 



134 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



two sizes — 280 pounds and 350 pounds net 
salt, respectively. The pork packing trade, 
takes the larger size, and the retail trade the 
smaller chiefly. 

These barrels are made of white oak staves 
and hickory hoops, and it is believed that noth- 
ing cheaper or better can be devised for salt 
packages. They are cheaper than bags, more 
convenient to handle, more convenient to store, 
stand rougher usages, and more exposure to 
the weather. Markets having choice of salt 
in bags or barrels, generally prefer the barrels. 

In the earlier times of salt making here, va- 
rious substances were experimented with for 
the purpose of settling and separating the im- 
purities from the brine. Blood, glue, jelly, 
lime, alum, etc., were used. Something of the 
sort was necessary when the brine was boiled 
down in kettles with all its impurities but they 
are all useless, and worse than useless in the 
present process, and have long been abandoned. 
Plenty of settle-room and plenty of time, are 
all that are needed to have the brines as clear 
as spring water. The bitterns, after the salt 
is granulated, are thrown away, or used for 
other purposes. 

It has long been known that a small portion 
of some greasy or oily substance, on the sur- 
face of the brine helped "to cut the grain," and 
hasten the granulation. Butter, tallow, lard, 
rosin, oils, etc., have been tried. Of these, 
butter is far the best, and next to butter, tal- 
low; lard and some of the others are positive- 
ly detrimental. 

What the action of butter is, whether chem- 
ical or mechanical, or both, I think has never 
been determined, but certain it is, that a very 
small quantity of butter on the surface of 
brine, while it is granulating very much im- 
proves the salt, making the grain finer and 
more uniform. 

Heat, too, is an important condition in mak- 
ing fine salt. The higher the temperature, 
other things being equal, the finer the salt. In 
making the finer grades of table and dairy salt, 
it is necessary to have the brine up to, or near, 
the boiling point. 

On the other hand, the coarser grades of 
salt, preferred for meat packing and other 



purposes, are made at temperatures of from 
100 to 150 F. 

A still coarser grained, or larger crystalled 
salt, known as alum salt or solar salt, and 
made in the open air by solar evaporation, is 
not made here, but there is no reason why it 
should not be to great advantage, as we have 
longer summers and warmer suns, than at 
Onondaga, New York, where it is very largely 
made, and with more profit than other grades 
of salt. 

Some of the waste products from salt mak- 
ing are recently being utilized. Mr. Lerner, 
an enterprising German, is manufacturing bro- 
mine (both here and at the Mason county fur- 
naces) from bitterns, and Mr. Bemmelmans, 
a Belgian chemist, is erecting works to manu- 
facture hydrochloric acid from bitterns, and 
pigments from the impalpable oxide of iron 
which is deposited from salt brines. 

The cost of manufacturing salt on Kana- 
wha varies, of course, from time to time, with 
the varying price of living, labor and supplies. 
It also varies with each particular furnace ac- 
cording to size, and the greater or less advan- 
tages which it possesses. The larger the fur- 
nace, other things being equal, the cheaper it 
will make salt. The general superintendence 
and management of a large furnace costs very- 
little, if any more, than for a small one; and 
a given quantity of coal will make more salt 
on a large furnace than a small one. 

The best furnace will make one hundred 
bushels of salt with eighty to ninety bushels 
of coal. A good average result is a bushel of 
salt for a bushel of coal, and the least econom- 
ical consume about one hundred and twenty- 
five bushels of coal per one hundred bushels of 
salt. 

Some of the furnaces mine their own coal, 
and some buy fine or nut coal from mines that 
are shipping coal. Even the best furnaces do 
not use coal at all economically or to the best 
advantage. There is, in this respect, great 
room for improvement. 

The cost of coal delivered at the furnaces 
ranges from 2^ to 4 cents per bushel. The 
present cost of barrels is 25 to 28 cents for the 
smaller size and 28 to 32 cents for the larger. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



135 



The cost of common day labor is $1.00 to 
$1.25 per day. Coal miners get 2 cents per 
bushel. 

The cost of producing salt at these figures 
may be stated at 8 to 11 cents per bushel in 
bulk, or 13 to 16 cents in barrels, ready for 
shipment. 

The present cost of boring a salt well here, 
say 1,000 feet, after engine, well frame, etc., 
are ready, is $1,200 to $1,500. The time nec- 
essary to bore and ream it complete is 60 to 
90 days. The cost of a salt furnace, complete, 
depends upon size, etc., and varies within wide 
limits. It may be stated roughly at $40,000 
to $100,000. 

The people of the United States consume 
more salt than those of any other country, the 
estimated average consumption being one 
bushel of 50 pounds, per capita, for the entire 
population. The great Western markets, 
where our product goes, consumes even more 
largely than the general average, as this is 
the largest pork-packing region on the globe. 
This portion of the country is rapidly increas- 
ing in population, and as rapidly in its meat 
crop and salt consumption. 

It is well known to chemists that salt is a 
valuable fertilizer on most soils for wheat, 
cotton, grass, potatoes, turnips, and other 
crops; and as an ingredient in compound ma- 
nures it has a wide range of value. It is often 
recommended by the highest authorities, but, 
as yet, very little is so used in this country. 
When agriculture gets to be better understood 
and practiced, and agricultural people under- 
stand their interests better, a large demand 
and consumption will doubtless be developed 
in that direction. 

The most important and, prospectively, 
promising development in the manufacture of 
salt here is its probable use on a large scale in 
the manufacture of alkalies and other chem- 
icals having salt as a basis or important con- 
stituent. 

With a population of forty million and cov- 
ering the greater part of a continent, it is an 
astonishing fact that our last census does not 
report a single soda ash works in operation in 
the United States, while the official returns 



show the importation of these chemicals into 
the country to be enormously large. 

In 1872 the importation of soda ash, caustic 
soda, etc., was over 100,000 tons, in 1873 
118,000 tons, in 1874 140,000 tons. 

These figures, together with the following 
article, cut from the New York Tribune, a 
few years ago, are strikingly suggestive and 
instructive, and present, in a very forcible 
manner, the great and rapidly growing im- 
portance of this manufacture to this country. 

"give us the soda ash manufacture" 

"Soda ash, within ten days, has gone up y 2 
cent a pound. Well, what of that ? Just this : 
For the bread we Americans eat, for the win- 
dow glass that lights our houses, and in fact 
shelters us from the weather, for every pound 
of hard soap that we use, for every sheet of 
our letter cap and printing paper, for the 
bleaching of our cotton cloths, and very many 
other blessings, we are absolutely dependent 
upon Great Britain. Her manufactories of 
soda ash have the monopoly of furnishing the 
United States with that article, indispensably 
necessary in itself, and in its correlative prod- 
ucts, to the supply of the commonest wants of 
our social and domestic life. There is not a 
soda ash manufactory in the United States. 

There are the skeletons of many, killed dead 
under a competition under free trade tariffs, 
or free trade clauses in protective tariffs, which 
represents the difference of wages paid to 
common laborers in the United States and 
Great Britain, 50 cents a day there, and $1.50 
a day here. But there is not a single living, 
kicking soda ash factory in our whole coun- 
try. Let us restate this, our nation's depend- 
ence. If a war should break out between Great 
Britain and the United States we would be 
instantly cut off from the supply of the mate- 
rials to make bread, soap, glass, and paper. 
The manufacturing interests dependent upon 
soda ash and its correlation would forthwith 
be brought to the greatest distress, or to ab- 
solute ruin. So soon as the imported stock on 
hand was exhausted, we should have to depend 
on blockade running to obtain the chemical 
element necessary to enable the nation to wash 



136 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



its clothes and raise its bread and cakes. In 
the event of such a war, soda ash would go up 
to $2.00 per pound; indeed, it could not be 
gotten at any price. Our people would expiate 
with widespread distress their folly in not hav- 
ing encouraged and established this article of 
prime and indispensable necessity, at least to 
the point of independence from foreign supply. 

"But soda ash has gone up y 2 cent a pound. 
It is a new fluctuation, which we simply wish 
to employ in urging the solemn duty to make 
this nation independent of Great Britain, for 
the comfort of its social and domestic life. 
The fluctuation in the price of soda ash in 
1865 was between 3^ cents the pound and 
12^2 cents. During that time, the profit the 
British manufacturers and importers made out 
of us ranged between 200 and 400 per cent. 
Money enough was sent out of this country, 
to pay inordinate profits, to foreigners, to have 
paid for the successful establishment here of 
the soda ash manufacture in at least eight dif- 
ferent states, and to have secured a perma- 
nently low and steady price of the article in 
all the American markets. This rise of T A 
cent a pound, a British tax on every glass, 
soap, paper and cotton manufacturer in this 
country, will not excite a protest. How wise 
it would be for these manufacturers, quitting 
forever their chronic protests against a tariff 
on soda ash, to unite in demanding one that 
should immediately establish the manufacture 
here, and save them forever from those inev- 
itable fluctuations in the price of the foreign 
article, and the extravagant profits from 
which only home competition between estab- 
lished producers saves the consumer." 

All, or nearly all, of our supply of these 
chemicals comes from Great Britain. Official 
reports of 1870, giving the operations of 1869, 
will give an idea of the extent and importance 
of the manufacture in that country. 

In that year the manufactories there con- 
sumed 10,184,000 bushels of salt; 26,908,000 
bushels, or 961,000 tons of coal; 281,000 tons 
of limestone and chalk; 264,000 tons of py- 
rites ; 8.300 tons of nitrate of soda ; and 33,000 
tons of timber for casks. 

The manufacture, I am told, has largely in- 
creased since 1869, but I have not seen official 
reports of a later date. 



Is there any sufficient reason why this man- 
ufacture should be so neglected and ignored 
in this country? On the contrary the advan- 
tages are so great and so palpable that it is 
difficult to understand why capital and enter- 
prise have not been enlisted in it. To illus- 
trate, compare the conditions of manufacture 
at New Castle, on the Tyne, the seat of the 
largest manufacture in England, with what 
they would be on the Kanawha. 

The New Castle manufacturer buys his salt 
in Cheshire and transports it several hundred 
miles by rail. He buys his coal from neighbor- 
ing collieries, paying railway transportation 
on that to his works. His pyrites and man- 
ganese come from Spain and his timber for 
casks from Canada or Norway. 

When the chemicals are made, he sends 
them to Liverpool or Glasgow by rail for 
American shipment, thence by steamers to 
New York, paying ocean freight, insurance, 
and government duty. At New York he pays 
commission, cartage, etc., and thence railroad 
freight to the Western markets, say to Pitts- 
burg, St. Louis, etc. 

Per contra, the Kanawha manufacturer 
would have salt and coal at his doors, at a 
small margin over producer's cost, if he did 
not produce them himself at actual cost. On 
the line of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, 
accessible, cheap and convenient, are inex- 
haustible mines and beds of superior pyrites, 
manganese and limestone, and timber of the 
finest qualities abounds throughout the region, 
and is extremely cheap. 

The product, when ready, could be rolled 
from one door of the factory into boats or 
barges, and in a short time, by cheap water 
transportation, be landed at these same large 
Western consuming markets from Pittsburg 
to St. Louis, inclusive; or from the opposite 
door of the factory, on the cars of the Chesa- 
peake & Ohio Railroad for early delivery into 
any of the Eastern cities. 

It will be readily seen, I think, that the 
advantages are greatly in favor of the Amer- 
ican manufacture, and especially at Kanawha, 
where there are, probably, more advantages 
combined than at any other point in the coun- 
try. 

With cheap salt, cheap coal, cheap sulphur- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



137 



ets, cheap manganese, cheap limestone, cheap 
timber, cheap labor, and cheap transportation, 
there is nothing lacking but capital to make 
the Kanawha the Tyne of America. 

W est Virginia should at least supply soda 
ash, caustic soda, and bleaching powder to the 
great chemical consuming markets of the West, 
so near and cheaply accessible to us, if not, 
indeed, to the whole continent, thus saving to 
the consumers millions of dollars of extra cost 
for the foreign article, and saving the country 
from the risk of the unpleasant contingencies 
described in the foregoing Tribune article. 

The inauguration of this industry here on 
a large scale, it is believed, would promote 
other enterprises depending largely upon these 
products as well as upon cheap coal and cheap 
timber. 

Glass works, soap factories, paper mills, etc., 
might, with advantage, be located here, con- 
venient to salt and chemical supplies. The 
products of these establishments would, of 
course, have the same advantages of cheaply 
reaching the great consuming and rapidly 
growing markets of the West. 

The Great Kanawha coal field, within which 
lies the Kanawha salt basin, is one of the finest 
known coal fields in the world. We have coal 
of the finest qualities, splint, bituminous and 
cannel, hard block coal, suitable for iron mak- 
ing; soft, rich coal for gas; good cooking coal; 
steam coal and grate coal. Our cannel coals 
for parlor use or gas making are unexcelled. 
Iron ores, carbonates of the coal formation, 
are found throughout the region, red and 
brown haematites and specular ores are 
cheaply accessible by rail, and black band of 
superior quality is found here in large abun- 
dance. As a timber region, especially for the 
hard woods, this can hardly be excelled on the 
continent. 

It is not my purpose, however, in this paper 
to describe the coal, iron or timber; they will 
doubtless be written up by others; but I 
wished, simply in a few words, to call attention 
to the conjunction, or convenient proximity 
of these great leading staple, raw materials, 
herein described or mentioned, and all on a 
great line of railroad and a navigable river, 
connecting with all the sixteen thousand miles 



of waterways draining the interior of the con- 
tinent into the "Great Father of Waters," the 
Mississippi, and reaching the teeming millions 
of population who dwell upon his fertile shores 
to their farthest limits. 

It is upon such valuable, staple raw mate- 
rials as I have named, and so favorably lo- 
cated as here, that communities and nations 
found their industries and build their wealth. 

I will not undertake to give any detailed 
description of the geology of this salt basin — 
to do so would be to give the geology of the 
Appalachian coal field. The strata here are 
simply the usual strata of the coal measures, 
lying nearly horizontal, and saturated in an 
unusual degree with valuable brines. 

Pure salt, or chloride of sodium, is the same 
under all circumstances, but no commercial salt 
is entirely pure. Sea water, brines, springs, 
rock salt, and all sources of commercial sup- 
ply contain, associated with common salt, other 
saline ingredients. These are chiefly sulphates 
and chlorides, in greater or less quantity and 
varying proportions. 

Probably the most common, as well as the 
most deleterious of these compounds is sul- 
phate of lime. Our salt has the advantage of 
being absolutely free from lime and other sul- 
phates: our process of manufacture, perhaps 
better than any other, enables us to separate 
the hurtful compounds and purify the brines. 

The salt when carefully made analyzes 98 
to 99 per cent of pure chloride of sodium, the 
remaining fraction being made up of chlorides 
of magnesium and calcium. These absorb a 
little moisture from the atmosphere, relieve 
the salt from a chappy dryness, and impart 
to it that valuable property of penetrating and 
curing meat in any climate or weather, for 
which it has so long enjoyed a high reputa- 
tion. In fact, the distinctive characteristics 
of Kanawha salt may be stated as follows : 

1 st. It has a more lively, pungent and 
pleasant taste as a table salt than any other 
known. 

2nd. It is the only commercial salt that is 
absolutely free from sulphate of lime. 

3rd. It does not, under any conditions of 
climate and weather, cake or crust on the sur- 
face of the meat, but penetrates it and cures 



138 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



it thoroughly to the bone, so that in large pork 
packing establishments in Cincinnati and else- 
where, it is found to save meat in very un- 
favorable weather, where with any other salt 
known or used the meat would have been in- 
jured. 

4th. On account of its pungency and pene^ 
trating qualities a less quantity of it will suffice 
for any of the purposes for which it is used 
— whether table, dairy, grazing or packing. 

Certificates from numerous Western firms 
show that the Mason county salt quotes with 
this ; though at the same price consumers pre- 
fer that from the Kanawha wells. 

There are in this salt district about 120 
salt wells, all told. Some of these being in- 
ferior, have been abandoned, and will probably 
never be used again. Others are good wells, 
the furnaces connected with which have been 
dismantled by "dead rents," or other causes. 
These furnaces may be rebuilt, and restarted. 
The good wells, if all run, would supply brine 
for about 5,000,000 bushels of salt per year. 
Each furnace requires three to five wells. 

There are at present ten furnaces here, of 
which the following is a list, with name of 
furnace, name of owner, and capacity. The 
aggregate capacity is about 2,500,000 bushels 
per year, if all were run full time. Two of 
the furnaces, however, are not in repair, and 
some others that had been idle have only re- 
cently been repaired, so that the product of 
1875 was very small. 

LIST OF KANAWHA SALT FURNACES 

Name of furnace, Daniel Boone; name of 
owner, W. B. Brooks; bushels, 300,000. 

Name of furnace, Crittenden; name of 
owner, W. D. Shrewsbury ; bushels, 280,000. 
Not in repair. 

Name of furnace, Snow Hill; name of 
owner, J. P. Hale; bushels, 420,000. 

Name of furnace, Washington; name of 
Lewis; bushels, 230,000. Not in 



D. 



owner, J. 
repair. 

Name of urnace, Pioneer; name of owner, 
Gen. L. Ruffner; bushels, 180,000. 

Name of furnace, Quincy; name of owner, 
J. 0. Dickinson; bushels, 210,000. 

Name of furnace, Burning Spring; name of 



owner, Mrs. R. Tompkins; bushels, 160,000. 

Name of furnace, Alden; name of owner, 
Mrs. S. Dickinson; bushels, 240,000. 

Name of furnace, Lorena; name of owner, 
Splint Coal Co. ; bushels, 240,000. 

Name of furnace, Kenton; name of owner, 
Splint Coal Co. ; bushels, 240,000. 

STATEMENT SHOWING THE PRODUCTION OF 
SALT IN KANAWHA 

1797 — 150 pounds per day. 

1808 — 25 bushels per day. 

1 8 14 — 600,000 bushels per year. 

1827 — 787,000 bushels per year. 

1828 — 863,542 bushels per year. 

1829 — 989,758 bushels per year. 

1830 — 906,132 bushels per year. 

1831 — 956,814 bushels per year. 

1832 — 1,029,207 bushels per year. 

1833 — 1,288,873 bushels per year. 

1834 — 1,702,956 bushels per year. 

1835 — 1,960,583 bushels per year. 

1836 — 1,762,410 bushels per year. 

1837 — 1,880,415 bushels per year. 

1838 — 1,811,076 bushels per year. 

1839 — 1,593,217 bushels per year. 

1840 — 1,419,205 bushels per year. 

1841 — 1,443,645 bushels per year. 

1842 — 1,919,389 bushels per year. 

1843 — 2,197,887 bushels per year. 

1844 — 1,874,919 bushels per year. 

1845 — 2,578,499 bushels per year. 

1846 — 3,244,786 bushels per year. 

1847 — 2,690,087 bushels per year. 

1848 — 2,876,010 bushels per year. 

1849 — 2,951,491 bushels per year. 

1850 — 3,142,100 bushels per year. 

185 1 — 2,862,676 bushels per year. 

1852 — 2,741,570 bushels per year. 

1853 — 2,729,910 bushels per year. 

1854 — 2,233,863 bushels per year. 

1855 — 1,483,548 bushels per year. 

1856 — 1,264,049 bushels per year. - 

1857 — 1,266,749 bushels per year. 

1858. No record. 

1859. No record. 

1860. No record. 

1 86 1. No record. 

1862. No record. 

1863. No record. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1864 — 1,300,000 bushels per year. 

1865 — 861,973 bushels per year. 

1866 — 1,275,017 bushels per year. 

1867 — 1,321,066 bushels per year. 

1868 — 1,528,282 bushels per year. 

1869 — 1,822,430 bushels per year. 

1870 — 1,721,963 bushels per year. 

1 87 1. No record. 

1872. No record. 

1873. No record. 

1874. No record. 

1875 — 967,465 bushels per year. 

SALT FURNACES, IN THE ORDER IN WHICH 
THEY CAME, GOING UP THE KANAWHA 
RIVER 

On the south side — Joseph Lovell, B. Allen, 
I. Noyes, 2, Lorena, Tunace, Kenton, Jas. 
Brooks, Withrows, Donnallys — 2, Hurt, 
Woods, Chas. Reynolds, Frys, Warth & Eng- 
lish, R. Clendenin, E. Reynolds, Van Don- 
nallys, Dryden Donnallys, Ankrown, John 
Crockett, Wilcox, Nash, Geo. Patrick, Steele, 
Dr. H. Rogers, Sam'l Hanna. 

On the north side of Kanawha — Big Chim- 
ney, on Elk, Wilson, Black Hawk, Brighams, 
Daniel Boone, Patrick, Lovell, Snow Hill, 
White Hawk, McMullens, Wilcox, Scott & 
Milbe, Watt Trimble, Sam Early, John D. 
Lewis, F. Ruffner, Gen. Lewis Ruffner, Cox 
and Hanna, Nat Fuqua, Shrewsbury, Georges 
Creek, Dickinson & Shrewsbury, H. Clay, B. 
Franklin, Burning Springs, Mouth of Hollow, 
Black Rock, Barretts, Crockett Ingles, J. D. 
Lewis, Sam'l Shrewsbury, Joel Shrewsbury, 
Unknown, Orleans. 

KANAWHA SALT MAKERS 

1797, Elisha Brooks: 
1806, David Ruffner. 
1806, Tobias Ruffner. 
181 5, Aaron Stockton. 
1818, William Tompkins. 
1820, William Dickinson. 
1820, Joel Shrewsbury. 
1820, Peter Grant. 
1820, James Hewitt. 
1820, Armstrong. 
1820, John Reynolds. 
1820, Luke Wilcox. 



1820, Lewis Ruffner. 
1820, Dr. John Cabell. 
1822, Isaac Noyes. 
1824, William Whitteker. 

1824, Charles Venable. 

1825, Bradford Noyes. 

1827, Frank Noyes. 

1828, Charles Reynolds. 
1840, John Rogers. 
1840, Stuart Robinson. 
1840, Sam'l Shrewsbury. 
1840, R. C. M. Lovell. 
1840, Henry Chapell. 
1840, Job. E. Thayer. 
1840, John Welch. 
1830, Nat Wilson. 
1830, J. D. Lewis. 
1830, J. B. Davenport. 
1830, J. S. O. Brooks. 
1830, George Warth. 
1830, Job English. 
1830, J. G. Foure. 
1830, Thos. Friend. 
1830, W. A. McMullin. 
1830, Henry H. Wood. 
1830, Ira Hunt. 

1830, Thomas Wells. 
1830, Sam'l Watson. 
1830, Walter Trimble. 
1835, Dr. R. E. Putney. 
1835, Moses Fuqua. 
1835, Sam'l Early. 
1835, W. D. Shrewsbury. 
1838, J. H. Fry. 
1840, Jas. E. McFarland. 
1840, Dr. Spicer Patrick. 
1840, Robt. Clendenin. 
1840, Henry Robinson. 
1840, Dr. Henry Rogers. 
1840, Amos Barrett. 
1840, Brayton Allen. 
1840, W. C. Brooks. 
1840, James Coney. 
1840, Silas Ruffner. 
1840, Jacob Darneal. 
1840, Charles Cox. 
1840, Wm. Gray. 
1840, Mrs. Charles Cox. 
1840, Mrs. W. R. Cox. 
1845, Thomas Scott. 



140 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



1845, Wm. Graham. 

1845, Wm. A. Brigham. 

1845, John Clarkson. 

1845, David Clarkson. 

1845, A. F. Donnally. 

1845, Abe Williams. 

1847, Dr. J. P. Hale. 

1847, Fritz Walker. 

1850, Gus Ouarrier. 

1850, N. O. Brooks. 

1850, Van Donnally. 

1 8 so,. H. W. Goodwin. 

1850, A. B. Ault. 

1850, Dryden Donnally. 

T 853, Jesse Hudson. 

1853, Charles Atkinson. 

I ^53, John Slack and Jas. Ogborn. 

1855, Dr. F. A. A. Cobbs. 

1855, J. M. Laidley. 

1855, A. P. Fry. 

1855, Jas. L. Davis. 

1857, Otey Alexander. 

1857, W. R'. Cox. 

i860, Lewis Ruffner, Jr. 

i860, C. C. Lewis. 

i860, G. W. Morrison. 

1860, J. W. Oakes. 

1 86 1, Wm. Dickinson, Jr. 
1861, F. A. Laidley. 
1861, T. F. Holt. 

1863, A. W. Reynolds. 

1866, L. F. Donnally. 

1866, W. C. Reynolds. 

1866, J. D. and W. P. Shrewsbury. 

1866, John Watson & Bro. 

1866, Henry Clay Dickinson. 

1869, Walter B. Brooks. 

1869, W. H. Tompkins. 

1872, Rev. Tallman. 

1874, Dryden Harris. 

1875, Jas. Corbin. 
l $>75, John Harris. 
1875, J. Q. Dickinson. 

1875, Geo. H. Hiding. 
187^, Isaac Ruffner. 

1876, O. A. Thayer. 
1878, Elizabeth Rooke. 
1878, Moses Norton. 

1 88 1, James Nouman. 

1882, W. D. Lewis. 
1882, D. C. Boyce. 



CANNEL COAL OIL MANUFACTORIES ON 

KANAWHA 

There were at least three of these factories, 
counting the Cannelton Oil Factory, which was 
in Cannelton, either in Kanawha or in Fay- 
ette, it being near the line. The Mill Creek 
Cannel Coal and Oil Company, and the Staun- 
ton Bros. Oil Company were on Mill creek, 
Kanawha county. 

In 1857 Lewis Ruffner conveyed some land 
on Mill creek to Worthington Hale and Long- 
more, and they to Collins and Finnell and also 
to J. G. Staunton, and by that time the war 
came on. In 1867 a suit was brought to en- 
force collection of the purchase money, and 
it was found that the deed by Lewis Ruffner 
was of a tract by definite description when he 
owned but an undivided part, and when a 
partition was made or about to be made, the 
part bought for its cannel coal did not fall to 
the vendor of said land. In other words, the 
said land was land that he could not deilver, 
and 16 W. Va. 208 held in the case of Worth- 
ington vs. Staunton, et al, that such a sale 
could not operate to the prejudice of the other 
tenants in common, in said land. In this suit 
it was averred that it was the coal in the hun- 
dred acres that was of any value to them or 
that afforded them any prospect of recover- 
ing back any part of the $50,000 expended 
in erecting improvements for the purpose of 
making oil from the cannel coal in said land. 

The case is cited to show that there was 
much money invested in the oil works. The 
litigation began in 1867 and the decision of 
the court of appeals was decided in April, 
1880, and somebody lost a lot of money, per- 
haps more on account of the finding of oil in 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the better under- 
standing of how to refine and prepare it, drove 
the manufacturers of oil from coal, out of 
business. 

General J. W. M. Appleton, then Major 
Appleton, resigned from the U. S. Army to 
take carge of the Mill Creek Company, and 
he was sent in 1855 to Kanawha, before 
which time it had been in charge of Theodore 
Maher, chemist, and was making oil and par- 
affine, etc. Their factory was out near Mor- 
gan's cooper shop, on Elk, in Charleston. 



BIBD'S-EYE VIEW OF CHABLESTON, 1854 
(From a Painting) 




WAEWICK, BABEETT & SHIPLEY COMPANY, CHABLESTON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



143 



Maj. Appleton removed the stills, etc., from 
this lot in Charleston to Mill creek, where the 
cannel coal was found. He placed these stills 
on a flat boat and took the boat up Elk river 
to Slack's landing, thence up Mill creek to the 
coal bank, and set up the machinery for mak- 
ing oil, parafhne, etc. The Staunton Bros, 
property adjoined that of Maj. Appleton's, 
and they made a good oil which they sold in 
Philadelphia for seventy cents, and in Charles- 
ton fifty cents for burning oil. This oil was 
hauled to Elk river at Slack's landing, taken 
by flat boats to the mouth of Elk from which 
the steamboats took it. 

The Cannelton works were perhaps more 
extensive, and they shipped to Maysville, Ky., 
where Mr. Barbour, the superintendent, made 
refined oil and parafhne, candles, etc. 

There were, farther up the river, about the 
mouth of Armstrong creek, further prepara- 
tions to make oil from coal, and considerable 
money was spent in developing the same, as 
was also done on Paint creek. There was 
cannel coal found in other places in the county, 
but the making of the oil, etc., therefrom had 
not developed to such an extent that they at- 
tempted to make oil therefrom wherever 
found, and the petroleum business developed 
faster than did the manufacturing business, 
and the latter had to go out of business en- 
tirely. The cannel coal could always find pur- 
chasers in the Eastern cities and it was shipped 
as fuel afterwards, and was also used for mak- 
ing gas, and natural gas has about driven this 
out of business in many places. 

GREAT KANAWHA GAS COMPANY 

The Great Kanawha Gas Company was or- 
ganized on February 3, 1909, and purchased 
the properties of the Capital City Natural Gas 
Company, consisting of about three thousand 
acres in Roane and Kanawha county under 
lease, and the properties of the Coal River Oil 
& Gas Company, comprising about the same 
number of acres in Cabell county. These com- 
panies had about ten productive gas wells, but 
had not begun to market gas. The new com- 
pany at once began active development work 
in both fields, and on September 1, 191 1, had 
twenty-six producing gas wells, with an aggre- 



gate daily production of about eight million 
cubic feet, together with one small oil well. 

It is the intention of the management of the 
company to continue drilling in both fields, 
until the entire territory has been thoroughly 
tested, and it is very probable that a large 
part of this development work will be done 
within the bounds of Kanawha county. The 
officers of this company are as follows : Presi- 
dent, W. C. Sproul, Chester, Pa. ; vice-presi- 
dent, J. E. Chilton, Charleston, W. Va. ; sec- 
retary and treasurer, F. M. Staunton, Charles- 
ton, W. Va. ; auditor, W. T. Moore, Charles- 
ton, W. Va. 

The Vulcan Iron Works of Charleston, W. 
Va., a pioneer concern, was organized in 1900 
with a capital stock of $18,000. The officers 
are Frank Woodman, president and treasurer, 
and N. C. Woodman, secretary. The concern 
is engaged in all kinds of job repair work, 
such as boiler, machine, foundry and forge 
work, besides general repair work. This is 
among the oldest machine works in Charles- 
ton. The plant was first operated by George 
Davis, and later by Luckadoe & Hagen, and 
after that it was known as the Elk Foundry 
& Machine Company. Since igoo it has been 
operated as The Vulcan Iron Works. It is 
located on the corner of Virginia street and 
Columbia avenue, on the west bank of the Elk 
river. Mr. Frank Woodman has been con- 
nected with the concern during the past fifteen 
years. Twenty-five men are employed. 

The Kanawha Brick Co. was organized in 
1889 for the purpose of manufacturing build- 
ing and paving brick and also pressed building 
and paving brick. The capital stock of this 
concern is $35,000. It has a capacity of 50,000 
brick a day. The company has two plants. 
One is located in the city of Charleston on the 
west side of the Elk river, and the other is 
on the Kanawha river above Charleston on 
the south side of the river. Their output is 
about 8.000,000 brick annually. The officers 
are : William D. Isaac, president ; Frank 
Woodman, secretary; and George D. Isaac, 
treasurer. About fifty employees are on the 
payroll. The Kanawha Brick Co. has fur- 
nished the brick for many of the finest and 
most substantial buildings in Charleston. 



144 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing- 
Co., of Charleston, W. Va., is the largest and 
most up-to-date concern of its kind in the 
state of West Virginia. It was organized 
February 26, 19 10, with a capital stock of 
$100,000. The office and yard are located on 
Columbia avenue and the mills are on Penn- 
sylvania avenue, occupying all the space be- 
tween the two streets or avenues. The officers 
are as follows : H. E. Shadle, president and 
general manager; H. L. Huggman, vice-presi- 
dent; Idon E. Hodge, secretary; S. C. Peeler, 
treasurer; and H. P. Henneman, architect. 
The concern is engaged in the manufacture of 
all kinds of specialty work, such as desks, 
stone fronts, stair casing and office furnish- 
ings. The Sterrett Bros, and also the Frank- 
enberger display cases were turned out by the 
Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing Co 
With the exception of four or five machines, 
all are propelled by individual motors. The 
electricity for power and lighting is generated 
in the plant. The space covered is two and a 
half acres, half of which is covered with build- 
ings, including the stock shed. The main 
building is 160x80 feet, which does not in- 
clude the dry kiln, stock sheds and power 
plant. It is a two-story brick building (as are 
also the power plant and stock shed), modern 
in every respect and has a cement floor and 
electric elevator. There is a single-story pine 
shed while the wareroom is three stories. The 
office consists of five rooms, toilet and bath, 
and a large hall constructed of buff brick and 
modern in architecture. 

There are seven salaried men and fifty-five 
laboring men, a large number of whom are 
skilled in their respective lines of work. The 
business, which was founded by J. C. Roy, 
has been under the Morgan name for more 
than thirty years. The Morgan Lumber and 
Manufacturing Company succeeded the Mor- 
gan Lumber Co., who had succeeded the Mor- 
gan Company. Before that the firm was 
known as John and J. S. Morgan, and before 
that the Morgan and Gardner Co., who had 
succeeded John Morgan & Co. 

The business is growing rapidly, the vol- 
ume approximating $200,000 annually. Prep- 
arations are under way for operating two or 



three sawmills in the woods to provide lumber 
for the plant. Formerly the business was of a 
local or retail nature for want of proper ar- 
rangements for shipping, but during the past 
year attention has been given to the wholesale 
trade with much success. The plant is ably 
managed and is a model of its kind and is a 
valuable addition to the industrial growth of 
Charleston. 

The Gill Manufacturing Company was or- 
ganized in 1902 by Charleston capitalists for 
the manufacture of dressers, tables, kitchen 
cabinets and other articles of household fur- 
niture. The capital stock of this concern is 
$15,000. There are twenty-five employees on 
the payroll. The plant is small but can safely 
be placed among the sound and successful in- 
dustries of Charleston. The officers are : 
Frank Woodman, president; and E. C. Daw- 
ley, secretary and treasurer. 

The Banner Window Glass Co. of South 
Charleston is one of the many prosperous 
manufacturing plants of the city of Charles- 
ton. The plant is located in South Charleston 
at the end of the South Charleston electric car 
line. The firm was incorporated in June, 1907, 
with a capital stock of $50,000, and began 
operations December 12, 1907. The plant 
was moved to South Charleston from Shirley, 
Indiana, where it had been operated from 1898 
to 1907. The principal reason for locating in 
Charleston was because of the cheap gas and 
excellent shipping facilities to be had here. It 
is modern and is conducted on the co-operative 
plan, the stock being owned and the plant oper- 
ated by the skilled men in its employ, all of 
whom with one or two exceptions being stock- 
holders. The employees number one hundred 
men. The product of the plant is window 
glass. The concern has been successful from 
the start and has never shut down since it be- 
gan operations, except for repairs. The offi- 
cers of the company are elected annually from 
the employees by the employees themselves, 
who are the stockholders. The present offi- 
cers are: Felix Dandois, president; Gustave 
Dupierreux, vice-president ; Louis Waterloo, 
secretary; and Julius Champagne, treasurer. 

Dunkirk Window Glass Company of South 
Charleston was incorporated under the laws 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



145 



of Indiana April 7, 1896, and operated at Dun- 
kirk, Indiana, to 1906, when the' plant was 
moved to South Charleston, W. Va. The 
concern had been located in St. Louis, Mo., 
and was moved from there in 1894. In St. 
Louis the business was owned and operated 
by two brothers, George Schlossstein and Dr. 
Adolph Schlossstein, parents of the present 
owners. The plant was founded and operated 
prior to 1878 by a party of Frenchmen in the 
city of St. Louis. The capital stock of the 
present company is $50,000. The officers are : 
George Schlossstein, president; Dr. Adolph 
Schlossstein, vice-president; and Edward T. 
Schlossstein, secretary and treasurer. The 
reasons for coming to South Charleston were 
on account of the cheap gas and the excellent 
shipping facilities. The output of the plant 
is 100,000 boxes window glass annually, and 
the product is shipped from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific coast and from Canada to the Gulf 
coast. There are two hundred employees. 
The plant is a large structure erected of 
cement blocks. The officers and men who own 
and operate the Dunkirk Window Glass Com- 
pany are men of many years' experience in 
the manufacture of window glass, having been 
identified with the manufacture of glass prac- 
tically all their lives. The concern has an an- 
nual payroll of about $85,000. The combined 
payroll of the three plants (each of which is 
a separate corporation), when operating to 
capacity, averages seven to eight thousand dol- 
lars a week in money paid out to employees. 

The Tanners' and Dyers' Extract Company 
of Charleston, W. Va., began business as a 
close corporation in 1891. The concern was 
incorporated by persons from Philadelphia and 
Hanover, Pa., for the purpose of manufactur- 
ing refined tanning extracts and other prod- 
ucts manufactured from wood and bark, but 
after a short time the operations were confined 
to the manufacture of a refined chestnut bark 
tanning extract for high grade oak tannages 
made from chestnut, oak and hemlock bark 
and chestnut wood. The product is held to be 
of a superior quality and the output is dis- 
posed of to tanners in this and foreign coun- 
tries. It is manufactured by a process pecul- 
iarly their own. The plant was destroyed by 



fire in 1896, but was immediately rebuilt when 
the Philadelphia people disposed of their in- 
terest to the present owners. 

The capital stock of the corporations is 
$108,000, which has never been increased, al- 
though the plant has been increased from time 
to time as necessity required it, and the prod- 
uct has increased from 100 to 700 barrels a 
week. There are at present improvements be- 
ing made which will cost $50,000. While the 
output has increased as stated, the foreign 
markets have of late of necessity been 
neglected in order to meet the demands of the 
home market. The plant is located on the 
south bank of the Kanawha river. The plant 
was again partially destroyed by fire in 1898. 

The concern employed fifty men the first 
year and now has on its payroll 250 men, in- 
cluding those engaged in getting out the mate- 
rial and those employed at the plant. The 
Tanners' and Dyers' Extract Co. places in 
circulation in Charleston and the immediate 
vicinity about $5,000 a week. The greater 
part of the raw material used in the manufac- 
ture of the extracts would not be merchant- 
able for any other purpose than for that which 
it is used, and may be described as a waste 
product. The labor represents at least three- 
fourths of the cost of production. The plant 
is supplied with modern machinery, coal, gas 
and waste material supplying the fuel. The 
original officers were : H. N. Gitt, president 
and treasurer, Hanover, Pa. ; E. N. W right, 
Jr., secretary, Philadelphia, Pa; W. P. Stine, 
general manager. The present officers are as 
follows: H. N. Gitt, president and treasurer; 
Morris B. Stine, vice-president; G. H. New- 
comer, secretary; W. J. Stine, general man- 
ager; and E. J. Stine, assistant manager. 

The Charleston Lumber Company of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was organized in 1895 an ^ its 
present capital stock is $45,000. The concern 
is engaged in the manufacture of lumber and 
all grades of builders' material. The building 
sheds are of brick. The machinery is all of 
the latest and most improved type. The con- 
cern enjoys a large wholesale and retail trade. 
The volume of business runs from a quarter of 
a million to $300,000 annually, giving regular 
employment to 75 men, which number is in- 



146 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



creased to 100 when the saw-mills are in op- 
eration. The output is 1,000,000 feet per 
month. The plant has been enlarged to keep 
up with the growth of the business. It is lo- 
cated on the corner of Elk and Bullitt streets 
on the east bank of Elk River. The officers of 
the concern are composed of the following : W. 
L. Savage, president; S. C. Savage, vice-pres- 
ident; and A. Baird, secretary and treasurer. 

The Elk Milling Company of Charleston 
was organized in 1907 by James Kay, Geo. E. 
Thomas, Jack Carr, D. F. Hostetler, and Le- 
roy Swinburn, for the milling of feed and meal. 
The mill and ware room are located on Bullitt 
street along the tracks of the K. & M. R. R. 
This concern is engaged in the wholesale flour, 
grain, hay and produce business. The output 
of the mill is 1,000 bags of 100 pounds each 
daily. The following are the officers : James 
Kay, president; George E. Thomas vice-pres- 
ident; D. F. Hostetler, secretary and treas- 
urer; and Leroy Swinburn, manager. The Elk 
Milling Co. has been under the present manage- 
ment from the start. 

The Kanawha Brewing Co. of Charleston, 
W. Va., was organized in 1907 with a capital 
stock of $150,000, since which date the capital 
stock has been increased to $300,000. The 
buildings were started August 1, 1903, by the 
Charleston Brewing Co. The first brew of 
beer was made June 20, 1904. The first sale 
of the product was made August 1, 1904. The 
name was changed in 1907 to the Kanawha 
Brewing Co., under new management. The 
plant has a capacity of 50,000 barrels annually, 
bottling capacity of 150 barrels, daily. The 
plant which is located on the corner of Bullitt 
and Patrick streets on the line of the K. & M. 
Railroad, is new and modern in equipment. 
The new office and bottling house was begun 
Nov. 1, 1910, and first occupied July 1, 191 1. 
The employees number forty. The officers of 
the company are as follows : George Englert. 
president; G. A. Sexauer, secretary and treas- 
uier; and J. Fred Englert, manager. 

The Charleston Manufacturing Company of 
Charleston, W. Va., was established in 1902 by 
the Abney Barnes Company for the manufac- 
ture of working-shirts, overalls and pants. The 
officers are: W. O. Abney, president; E. A. 



Barnes, secretary and treasurer; and A. J. 
Davis, manager. The concern is located at 91- 
93 Charleston St. and employs 125 people and 
occupies three floors. The product is placed on 
the market through the Abney-Barnes Com- 
pany and is sold principally in the southern and 
western markets. The factory is up-to-date. 

The National Veneer Company is located on 
Pennsylvania Ave., Charleston, \Y. Va., and 
has a capital stock of $80,000. The product is 
compounded wood, and employment is given 
to sixty men. The floor space covers 80.000 
sq. feet; the annual sales amount to $150,000. 
The officers of the plant are : G. E. Breece, 
president ; J. O. Dickinson, vice-president ; F. 
M. Staunton, treasurer; and H. B. Smith, sec- 
retary. 

The Kelly Axe Manufacturing Company of 
Charleston, W. Va., bearing the reputation of 
being the largest concern of its kind in the 
world, was incorporated in 1874. The founder 
of the plant was Mr. \V. C. Kelly, the presi- 
dent. The home of the concern for many years 
was Alexandria, Ind., but through the efforts 
of the Chamber of Commerce, represented by 
some of Charleston's leading financiers, the 
owners and managers of this plant were in- 
duced to visit Charleston and consider the 
many advantages presented why Charleston 
should be selected as the future home of this 
great industry. There has never been any cause 
for regrets on the part of those who repre- 
sented the city of Charleston in securing this 
plant nor the owners and managers of the con- 
cern, since much has been added to the mate- 
rial growth of the city as well as to her repu- 
tation as a manufacturing center. The owners 
have been amply rewarded for the loss of time 
and the great expense incurred in change of 
location by results obtained. The Kelly Axe 
Manufacturing Company is not only the largest 
plant in the city of Charleston but is the largest 
concern of its kind in the world. It has added 
much to the already increasing value of real 
estate, especially to the West End of the city. 
Commercial, financial, industrial and all other 
interests have been benefited. The Kelly Axe 
Manufacturing Company is capitalized at 
$2,041,000. There are 1,200 men in all the 
departments. The plant covers about 25 acres 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



147 



and manufactures axes, scythes, hatchets and 
handles. The plant was located in Charleston 
in 1904. The buildings are constructed of 
brick and are of modern architecture. The 
corporation is a member of the National Associ- 
ation of Manufacturers of the U. S. and the 
American Manufacturers. Association. The of- 
ficers are : William C. Kelly, president ; James 
P. Kelly, vice-president; Robert C. Thompson., 
treasurer; Geo. T. Price, secretary, and Wm. 
B. Lockett, assitant secretary. 

The Charles Ward Engineering Works was 
incorporated in 1907. The business was es- 
tablished in 1872 by Mr. Charles Ward, presi- 
dent of the concern, who conducted it under 
his own name until the incorporation of the 
plant in 1907, when the style, The Charles 
Ward Engineering Works, was adopted. The 
plant was first located on the corner of Kana- 
wha and Goshorn streets, where the first 
boiler was made, this being for the steamer 
"Wild Goose," for Dr. J. P. Hale. The plant 
was located at various places in the city before 
the present site, which formerly was the loca- 
tion of the Kanawha Pump Works. For a 
time operations were confined to the construc- 
tion of boilers. The second boiler made was 
for the steamer "Katydid," which ran between 
Charleston and Gallipolis. This steamer 
brought the Cincinnati daily papers to the city 
of Charleston on the day of issue. After the 
development of the manufacture of boilers the 
output of the plant was largely used by New 
York parties for the construction of yachts. 
In 1834 the board of U. S. Naval Engineers 
conducted a series of experiments on the boilers 
at the New York navy yards, which was the 
beginning of the introduction of the boilers by 
the navy department for launches, since which 
time the W T ard boilers or type have been al- 
most exclusively used for that sen-ice. In 1888 
the naval department issued a circular letter 
requesting builders of water-proof boilers to 
submit boilers to a test to be conducted by the 
U. S. Navy Department. In 1890 Mr. Charles 
Ward set up a boiler in his works and offered 
it for a test before this board of engineers. 
While many others agreed to submit, there was 
really only one competitor, viz. : William 
Cowles, of New York. The Ward boiler made 



the best showing and as a result this company 
received the contract for building the boiler 
for the U. S. coast defense vessel Monterey. 
This was the first installation of water-proof 
boilers for war ships in this country. This 
type of boiler was adopted by the U. S. Rev- 
enue Department after which many of the ves- 
sels were furnished or equipped with boilers. 
In 1893 the first light draft tunnel steamer 
built in America was built for the U. S. Engi- 
neering Corps and equipped with Ward boilers 
and machinery. The boat was 61 ft. long, 8 
ft. wide, draft 14 inches, speed, 13 miles per 
hour, a performance never before accomplished 
in this country. The greater part of the work 
turned out is for the U. S. government. Later 
several boats of the same type were built for the 
U. S. government. 

In 1903 this concern designed and built for 
the government the first twin-screw tunnel tow 
boat built in America, which embodied all the 
economical machinery — quadruple expansion, 
condensing engines, etc., attaining the same 
economy as that attained by ocean steam- 
ers. This boat was built with a guarantee that 
it should equal the handling qualities of the 
stern-wheel steamer, with the understanding 
that it was not to be paid for until all require- 
ments were fulfilled. It was accepted and paid 
for in full. The name of this vessel was the 
James Rumsey. 

Following the James Rumsey, Mr. Ward 
built the twin-screw tunnel tow boat, A. M. 
Scott, about double the size and power of the 
Rumsey. The Scott was submitted to a board 
of engineers appointed by the chief engineer of 
the U. S. Army to construct experimental tow 
boats of different types for sendee on the 
Western rivers. 

The Charles Ward Engineering Works was 
incorporated in 1907 with a capital stock of 
$250,000. The officers are: Charles E. Ward, 
president; H. M. Ward,- vice-president; 
Charles Ward, treasurer; and William Keely, 
secretary. The plant employs from forty to 
sixty men. Much time and money have been 
spent in the development of the most advanced 
ideas. The concern manufactured boilers ex- 
clusively for a time but later manufactured 
engines and boats. 



148 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The Kanawha Hotel Company, of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was organized February 27, 1902, 
with a capital stock of $250,000. This 
amount was increased to $300,000 in 1906. 
The officers are: F. M. Staunton, president; 
Benjamin Baer, vice-president; Geo. E. Suther- 
land, secretary ; and L. E. Smith, treasurer and 
manager.. 

The Kanawha Hotel, located on the corner 
of Virginia and Summers streets, fronting 
Postoffice Square, was erected in 1902 and 
opened for business in 1903. The new ad- 
dition was made in 1906. The building is 
modern in architecture and has all the latest 
conveniences to be found in the largest hotels 
in this country. The structure is of pressed 
buff brick, trimmed with stone, and has a 
height of seven stories and basement. There 
are two elevators. The Kanawha is the larg- 
est hotel in the state of West Virginia. It 
owns its own dynamos from which electricity 
for lighting purposes is generated and manu- 
factures its own ice for the large cold storage 
plant. The hotel is conducted on both the 
American and European plans. More than half 
the rooms are supplied with baths and all are 
provided with running hot and cold water. 
There are 200 bedrooms furnished with brass 
beds. The furniture is of oak and mahogany. 
There are public and private dining rooms, 
grill room and ladies' cafe. The rooms are 
well ventilated and elegantly furnished. Of the 
more than three acres of floor space, there is 
more than an acre of tile flooring. The wains- 
coting is of marble and the halls and corridors 
are elegantly lighted. 

The Ruffner Hotel, located on the corner of 
Kanawha and Hale streets, is owned by a 
stock company. The building was erected in 
1885 on the site of the Hale House. The latter 
was erected in the latter part of the seventies by 
Dr. Hale and was the leading hotel of Charles- 
ton until its destruction by fire about 1885. 
M. T. and A. L. Ruffner erected the present 
splendid and modern hostelry, which was a 
five-story structure but to which in 1903 two 
more stories were added, making a seven-story 
building containing 175 bed rooms, large of- 
fice, writing rooms, fine dining room and cafe, 
conducted on both American and European 



plans. The hotel manufactures its own heat 
and has two generators for lighting purposes, 
refrigerators, cold storage plant, etc. The 
present manager is Mr. Bruce Bond. 

The Kanawha Planing Mill Company of 
Charleston, W. Va., was organized under the 
laws of West Virginia in 1901 with a capital 
stock of $25,000, which was later increased to 
$50,000. The officers are: P. W. Burdett, 
president; E. A. Reid, vice-president; and V. 
G. Martin, secretary and treasurer. The plant 
is located on Fourth avenue and Stockton 
street. The greater part of the material (prin- 
cipally yellow poplar) is sold in the Middle 
West. A total of about 6,000,000 feet of 
rough stock is handled annually, the average 
shipments being two cars a day. 

The buildings and offices of the company 
cover about one acre; the yard, including 
buildings, four and a half acres. This plant 
has been in operation for ten years and is 
numbered as one among the many successful 
business enterprises of Charleston. The 
plant is located on the K. & M. R. R., in 
West Charleston. 

The Standard Brick Company, of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was organized April 2, 1906, 
with a capital stock of $100,000. The officers 
are : F. M. Stanton, president ; S. P. Baird, 
vice-president; and George E. Sutherland, 
secretary and treasurer. The company manu- 
factures building, paving and fire-brick. The 
plant is being extended for the manufacture 
of tile. The output is 50,000 brick daily. The 
firm employs forty men and has a payroll of 
$2,500 monthly. Eight thousand dollars' 
worth of gas is used annually. 

The plant and yards of the company are 
located one mile west of the city of Charleston 
on the Kanawha river and the K. & M. R. R. 
Paving brick is shipped to various parts of 
West Virginia, and building brick is shipped 
to points on the C. & O. R. R. in West Vir- 
ginia, Virginia and Kentucky. The com- 
pany's land consists of ten acres at plant and 
io^ x / 2 acres of clay. The clay is transported 
from hills to the yard by means of an air 
tram-road covering a distance of 3,000 feet. 
The firm operates steadily in all months suited 
to outdoor work. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



149 



The Kanawha Woolen Mills, located on the 
corner of Virginia and Clendenin streets, 
should be classed as a pioneer among the man- 
ufacturing plants in Charleston. The present 
concern dates back to 1874, when the Kana- 
wha Woolen Mills were erected. The build- 
ings were erected in June, 1874. The capital 
stock of the concern is $50,000. The em- 
ployees number seventy-five. Yarns, flannels 
and jeans were formerly manufactured, but 
for some time attention has been given ex- 
clusively to the manufacture of blankets, the 
output being shipped to all parts of the coun- 

The officers are : George Minisker, presi- 
dent; Frank Woodman, secretary and treas- 
urer; and H. L. Minisker, superintendent. 
The mills have been under the present man- 
agement for about thirty-six years. Several 
additions have been made since 1874. The 
oldest building was erected by Parsons, Ap- 
pleton & Co. Frank L. Woodman, the sec- 
retary and treasurer, purchased the plant about 
1876. George Minisker, the president, be- 
came identified with the mills first as an em- 
ployee and since 1873 as an official. He suc- 
ceeded his father at the latter's death as super- 
intendent and later became president. Solo- 
mon Minisker, father of George Minisker, was 
the first superintendent and a very skilled man. 
When George Minisker became president he 
was succeeded by a brother of H. L. Minisker. 

The Charleston Woolen Mills. Tt was 
while Major Appleton was in the oil business 
and was residing at Waldingfield, his post 
office on Mill Creek of Elk river, he was aided 
by a relative, Mr. William Parsons, a cousin 
who desired to go into business in Charleston, 
and Mr. Parsons and Major Appleton bought 
an interest in a woolen mill in Charleston that 
was being run on a small scale by Rand, Min- 
isker and Eastwood, and others, and the new 
business was run in the name of Parsons, 
Appleton & Co., and afterwards as the Kana- 
wha Woolen Mills Co., and they built the 
mills on Clendenin street. This company did 
not achieve the success they were striving for, 
and they sold out, and Frank Woodman 
bought the property, and he is yet the owner 
thereof. Mr. Woodman had Mr. George 
Minisker, Sr., for his manager, and no better 



skilled mechanic was known, and he continued 
as long as he lived, when his son, George 
Minisker, Jr., took his place as the second best 
man for the place. It is still progressing and 
it sounds like an awful busy place to anyone 
visiting it. Perhaps Mr. Woodman could tell 
us about the tariff on wool — how it affects 
his enterprise. 

The Diamond Ice and Coal Company, of 
Charleston, W. Va., was organized in 1883. 
The capital stock at the present time is $250,- 
000. The officers of the company are: F. M. 
Stanton, president; and I. N. Smith, secre- 
tary and treasurer. The concern is engaged 
in the manufacture of ice, and conducts a cold 
storage plant, and in addition to this carries 
on a retail coal business. Two ice plants are 
owned by the company. One, with a capacity 
of a hundred tons, is located on Elk river and 
on the K. & M. R. R., and the other, of fifty 
tons capacity, is on Smith' street. The Dia- 
mond Ice and Coal Company is said to be one 
of the oldest, if not the first concern engaged 
in the manufacture of artificial or manufac- 
tured ice in the United States. The daily out- 
put has increased from two tons to 150 tons. 
The cold storage capacity is 150,000 cubic 
feet. The company's office is located at 807 
Kanawha street. 

The Kanawha Mine Car Company was or- 
ganized in 1902 for the manufacture of mine 
cars, lumberman's supplies, all kinds of repair 
work and general machinist and foundry. The 
following are its officers: M. T. Davis, Jr., 
president and general manager; T. C. Boyce, 
vice-president ; E. H. Jones, secretary ; and J. 
T. Parks, treasurer. The plant is located on 
.the K. & M. R. R. at the end of Wilson street. 

The needs and plans of the factory origi- 
nated with Mr. M. T. Davis, Jr. Employment 
is given to fifty-five men. The corporation 
has enjoyed a steady increase in business, its 
volume being now about four times what it 
was the first year of operation. About 95 per 
cent of the wheels used on the mine cars were 
patented by Mr. Davis, and owned by Mr. 
Davis and Mr. Parks. The plant is a valu- 
able addition to the manufacturing interests 
of Charleston. The paid in capital is $50,000 
— authorized capital, $100,000. 

The Ohio Valley Furniture Company, or- 



150 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ganized in 1900 with a capital stock of $500,- 
000, has the following officers: W. B. Shober, 
president; James P. Hays, secretary; and B. 
F. Ford, treasurer. The firm is engaged in 
the manufacture of chamber and dining--room 
furniture. The concern has two plants located 
in Gallipolis, Ohio, which were erected in 1868 
and employ about two hundred employees. 
The Charleston plant, which is located on the 
K. & M. R. R. in West Charleston, was 
erected in 1891 and has on its payroll 150 
employees. The three plants do a volume of 
business amounting to $450,000 annually. 
The value of the product turned out at the 
Charleston factory reaches about $200,000 
annually. The business is inter-state. 

The Charleston Window Glass Co. is lo- 
cated in West Charleston. Its charter was se- 
cured June 28, 19 10, and it has an authorized 
capital of $75,000. The concern located along 
the line of the K. & M. R. R., where it has 
convenient shipping facilities. The plant is 
well equipped for the manufacture of a high 
grade of window glass. One hundred men 
are employed. Charleston was selected as the 
location for this company because of its sup- 
ply_ of natural gas and the reasonable price at 
which it can be obtained. The men who were 
active and instrumental in bringing this im- 
portant factory to the city of Charleston added 
much to an already growing and important 
industry. The product is shipped to all parts 
of the country. The following are the officers : 
Alfred Gilbert, president and general mana- 
ger; Robert D. Andris, vice-president; A. J. 
Lefevre, secretary; and John Hirsoux, treas- 
urer. 

F. Long & Sons, manufacturers of oak 
mouldings and trimmings for buildings, in- 
corporated in January, 1910, with a capital 
stock of $25,000. Their plant is located on 
Fifth avenue on the line of the K. & M. R. R. 
The officers are as follows: Edward Lory, 
president; Fred Lory, vice-president; Albert 
Lory, secretary and treasurer. The greater 
part of the product of the factory is shipped to 
New York City. Eighteen men are employed. 

Charleston Milling & Produce Co. — This 
company manufactures 500 barrels of flour 
daily. They also handle 150 tons of feed daily, 



25 tons of meal and one car of all kinds of 
grain and also two cars of hay. They also 
handle potatoes, cabbage, apples, onions, 
oranges and lemons. This company was in- 
corporated in 1902 with a capital stock of $200- 
000. The present officers are as follows : R. 
G. Hubbard, president; F. W. Abney, vice- 
president; H. R. Hartman, secretary and treas- 
urer; H. W. Sendg, general manager. The 
plant is located on Morris St., adjacent to the 
C. & O. freight yards. The tracks from the 
C. & O. and K. & M. railroads run into the 
mill. The building is four stories high and is 
modern in equipment. The company have their 
own light and heating plants, blacksmith and 
woodworking shops, and manufacture their 
own barrels in their cooper shop. The number 
of men employed as salesmen and inside force 
numbers 60 in all. 

The Yellow Pine Lumber Company, a very 
successful concern, dealing in lumber both re- 
tail and wholesale, was organized in 1903 and 
has an authorized capital stock of $100,000. 
The officers of the company are as follows : 
James H. O'Neill, president; Walter Perkins, 
vice-president; W. O. Daum, secretary and 
treasurer; and A. M. Finney, general manager. 
They handle lumber and building material of 
all grades for interior and exterior work — 
doors, sash, windows, blinds, mantels, tiling, 
grates, etc., everything in the building ma- 
terial, except hardware. The offices and yards 
are located on Wilson Street in the C. & O. 
Railroad yard. About twenty-five men are 
employed. 

SOUTH CHARLESTON 

The Kanawha Land Company, the corpora- 
tion controlling South Charleston, was organ- 
ized by Charleston capitalists in July, 1906. 
They secured title to about two thousand acres 
of hill and bottom lands adjoining Charleston 
on the south side of Kanawha river, and pro- 
ceeded at once to build up South Charleston 
as an industrial suburb of Charleston. 

The management of the company has suc- 
ceeded in locating three large factories. The 
Banner Window Glass Company and the Dun- 
bar Window Glass Company are two of the 
largest and best equipped glass plants in the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



151 



state, while the Kanawha Chemical Fire En- 
gine Manufacturing Company is the only fac- 
tory of its kind in West Virginia. All three 
of these have built large modern plants and 
have contributed largely to the growth of 
South Charleston. 

The officers of the Kanawha Land Com- 
pany have also succeeded in interesting out- 
side capital in building a foot, wagon, railroad 
and street-car bridge connecting Charleston 
with South Charleston. Upon the completion 
of this undertaking, the bridge was purchased 
by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company, 
and is used by them for the transfer of freight, 
and by the Charleston Interurban Railroad 
Company as an entrance to South Charleston. 
Regular street-car schedule is now in effect 
between the city of Charleston and South 
Charleston, and the Charleston Interurban 
Railroad Company contemplates the extension 
of their line through South Charleston and 
eventually to St. Albans, or below. 

The Kanawha Land Company has expended 
a large sum of money in improving its prop- 
erty, having laid sidewalks upon all the prin- 
cipal streets and invested largely in house 
building for the accommodation of factory 
workers. This company is making every 
effort to obtain other factories, and holds itself 



in readiness at all times to do everything pos- 
sible to induce industries to locate at South 
Charleston. 

The officers of the Kanawha Land Co. are 
as follows: President, W. A. McCorkle, 
Charleston, W. Va. ; vice-president, W. C. 
Sproul, Chester, Pa. ; secretary and treasurer, 
F. M. Staunton, Charleston, W. Va. ; assistant 
treasurer, W. T. Moore, Charleston, W. Va. 

The South Charleston Crusher Company — 
This company was incorporated on June i, 
1907, and purchased a tract of about twenty 
acres of land just below Spring Hill, Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., containing a very valu- 
able deposit of sandstone. The company has 
installed a very modern and up-to-date stone 
crusher, and has an output of about 500 yards 
per day. The product is taken largely by the 
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company, being 
used bv them as ballast on their extensions. 
This company employs local labor and has a 
payroll running from $2,000 to $2,500 per 
month. Its officers are : President, W. A. 
McCorkle, Charleston, W. Va. ; vice-president, 
W. C. Sproul, Chester, Pa. ; secretary and 
treasurer, F. M. Staunton, Charleston, W. 
Va. ; auditor, W. T. Moore, Charleston, W. 
Va. 



CHAPTER VIII 



KANAWHA POLITICS 

Early Elections — Daniel Boone a Delegate — Limited Suffrage — Political Organs in Early Days 
— Politics Confused by the War — The Prevalence of Union Sentiment — Politics after the 
War — State Convention of 1872 — Unclean Politics — The Necessity of Reform — Practical 
Suggestions — Kanawha Delegates since i/pi — The Legislature — State and County Of- 
ficials — Congressmen and U. S. Senators — Governors from Kanawha County. 



EARLY POLITICS. 

We have been told that in early days, this 
county was of the Jeffersonian democracy. Dr. 
Hale is the authority that at the first election 
held in Kanawha, the polls were kept open for 
three days and there were thirteen votes cast at 
the courthouse and that was the only precinct in 
the county; it would seem then that a question 
of politics had but little to do with it. Daniel 
Boone was elected to the House of Delegates, 
and I've a doubt whether he ever troubled 
himself with questions concerning the policy 
of the administration, unless it was with rela- 
tion to Indians. The right of suffrage was 
limited to a very few, and there were fewer al- 
lowed to vote than were expected to fight when 
it came to a question of Indians or other pub- 
lic enemies. 

Until the salt making business became pretty 
large, there was not much question of politics, 
and democracy had the lead in Kanawha ; but 
the salt makers began to think their special 
interests needed protection and that it required 
a Whig to attend to them, and they began to 
elect Whigs. It has been said that Joseph 
Lovell and Henry Clay were responsible for 
this change, which may have been true, or it 
may have been that among the emigrants from 
Virginia there happened to be more Whigs 
than Democrats and the majority naturally 
selected their own men. 

It so continued for many years, when the 



Democrats began to claim that the salt interest 
was not the only one to be considered. The 
contest began to wax warm, while Kanawha 
could elect Whigs to the House, the Senators 
were always Democrats ; but this was not al- 
ways. The Whig party was represented by the 
"Kanawha Republican," edited by Mr. Newton, 
and the Democrats published the "Kanawha 
Valley Star," edited by Mr. Rundle. Both of 
these papers were assisted by the attorneys as 
far as the political editorials were concerned. 

UNION SENTIMENT. 

When the war came on in i860 and 1861, 
the politics began to get confused and the lines 
of division were Union and Secession, and then 
the parties were different from what they had 
been before. Generally the Democrats were fa- 
vorable to secession, but as stated, the county 
was largely favorable to the Union. 

We heard of one locality where the people 
were warmly opposed to all disunion senti- 
ments and gave it out that no man should 
vote for secession there without having to take 
a ducking in Coal river to cool him down, 
while farther up the said river, it was stated 
that if any one there voted against secession 
they would give to him a ducking in the river, 
and one man had to take water. 

Politics after the war was all one way, and 
one's loyalty was doubled if it was known that 
he did not vote the Republican ticket. This, 
however, did not last long; for the laws made 



152 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



153 



to keep the Republican party in power began to 
do more harm than good and in 1872, there 
was held a State convention, which was not 
altogether Republican but undid much that was 
regarded as unfair towards the Democrats and 
then the State began to elect Democrats. 

UNCLEAN POLITICS. 

The desire of each party to select their can- 
didates has lately become so strong, and the 
contention so warm, and politics in Kanawha 
have become so bad that her name has suf- 
fered. Even in primary elections within each 
party, or in conventions, the unfairness and 
injustice was so apparent that this county be- 
came a by-word for infamy. Kanawha politics, 
without reference to either party, became so 
bad that it was feared that elections could not 
be held, and it has been said that the noxious 
odors arising therefrom would drive a polecat 
into bankruptcy, and it has been understood 
that to be a good party man, a man must go to 
each election, with his ticket in one hand and 
his nose in the other, and vote at least once, 
for one ticket, no matter how offensive it 
might be. 

It is hoped, however, that all this has passed 
away, and that the people without regard to 
party, are asserting their own notions, and 
that when it is known that an election or con- 
vention is unfairly held the voters are not ex- 
pected to be bound thereby. 

Once the politicians find that the people will, 
not be bound, it will be dangerous to attempt 
to cheat or defraud. It is hoped that a pri- 
mary election law will be so guarded and the 
law conducting elections so rigid, that it will 
not pay the persons expected to do villainy to 
risk it. 

In theory our government is to be run by 
the people, and in some other places the gov- 
ernment runs the people. There may be ad- 
vantages in each way, but it must be true that 
without honesty, there is no good in either 
way and the people suffer. Whether the people 
have sufficient intelligence and integrity to gov- 
ern themselves has not yet been fully decided. 

The people are at fault, and too many are 
willing for a dollar or two to vote as they 
are paid. This destroys the government and 



makes money the boss, and gives control to 
tyrants. It is giving up a good government 
for gold, principle for paltry politics. It has 
been said that with plenty of money and 
fraud and corruption, Kanawha can be carried 
for anything, but this is a slander. If this con- 
dition ever existed, it is now passed by ; the 
people will not stand for it longer. 

Each party should nominate their best men 
and then the people should select the best and 
elect them, and this being done, the officials 
will be the best to be had, the parties will be 
purified, and the county saved, and the people 
happy. On the other hand, let fraud and de- 
ception, bribery and corruption control, and a 
decent man cannot afford to be a candidate and 
cannot be elected ; the people are on the right 
road to the devil, and the county is unfit to be 
the home of a respectable man. Then let us 
vote down every candidate that is not known 
to be honest; if his nomination is a fraud, he 
will be one also. If he is nominated for a pur- 
pose, vote him down. If money can nominate 
him, cash will control him after he is elected. 
Never support a candidate that makes promises 
of what he will do for you, which generally is 
something wrong, and it is intended as a 
bribe, and there is no telling how many such 
promises have been made to others, — vote him 
down ; for he is not honest. Restore Kanawha 
to the people's control, and they will reduce 
taxation, for villainy is expensive and the 
people have to pay the bills. Let the good 
people stand together and we are safe. 

LIST OF KANAWHA DELEGATES TO VIRGINIA. 

This list appears to be authoritatively given, 
and the first time we find this county mentioned 
was the year 1790. 

1790 — George Clendenin and Andrew Don- 
nally. 

1 79 1 — George Clendenin and Daniel Boone. 

1792 — Henry Banks and William Morris. 

1793 — George Clendenin and William Mor- ; 
ris." 

1794— William Morris and George Clen- 
denin. 

. 1795— Thomas Lewis and George Clendenin. 
Our senator, John Preston. 



154 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



1796 - William Clendenin and William Mor- 
ris, Jr. Our senator, John Preston. 

1797 - Edmond Graham and William Mor- 
ris, Jr. Our senator, John Preston. 

1798 - Thomas Lewis and Joseph Ruffner. 
Our senator, John Preston. 

1799 - Thomas Lewis and David Ruffner. 

1800 - William Morris. Our senator, John 
Preston. 

1 801 - 2 — William Clendenin and David Ruff- 
ner. Our senator, John Preston. 

1802- 3 — Robt. McKee and David Ruffner. 

1803- 4 — William Clendenin and Andrew 
Donnally. 

1804- 5 — David Ruffner and Carroll Morris. 
Our senator, Dan C. Sheffey. 

1805- 6 — W T illiam Morris and L. Wood. Our 
senator, Dan C. Sheffey. 

1806- 7 — John Reynolds and Edmond Mor- 
ris. 

1807- 8 — William Morris and John Rey- 
nolds. 

1808- 9 — John Reynolds and Edmond Mor- 
ris. Our senator, Alex Smith. 

1809- 10 

1810- 11 — John Reynolds and Claudius Bus- 
ter. Our senator, Francis Smith. 

1811- 12 — John Hansford and David Ruff- 
ner. Our senator, Francis Smith. 

1812- 13 — David Cartmill and John Hans- 
ford. Our senator, Francis Smith. 

1813- 14 — John Hansford and John Wilson. 
Our senator, Henry Chapman. 

1 814- 1 5 — John Wilson and John Hansford. 
Our senator, Henry Chapman. 

181 5- 16 — John Wilson and John Hansford. 
Our senator, Henry Chapman. 

1816- 17 — Thos. L. Buster and John Buster. 
Our senator, Gen. Francis Preston. 

1 81 7- 1 8 — Lewis Summers and John Hans- 
ford. 

181 8- 19 — John Hansford and P. R. Thomp- 
son. 

1819- 20 — Claudius Buster and Joseph Lov- 

ell. 

1820- 21 — Nat Thompson and Joseph Lovell. 

1821- 22 — Joseph Lovell and Lewis Ruffner. 
Senator, E. S. Duncan. 

1822- 23 — Mathew Dunbar and James Wil- 
son. Senator, E. S. Duncan. 



1823- 24 — Jas. Wilson and Van B. Reynolds. 
Senator, E. S. Duncan. 

1824- 25 — Joseph Lovell and John Welch. 
Senator, Jo. L. Fry. 

1825- 26 — Lewis Ruffner and Van B. Rey- 
nolds. Senator, Jo. L. Fry. 

1826- 27 — Jas. H. Fry and Lewis Ruffner. 
Senator, Jo. L. Fry. 

1827- 28 — Jas. C. McFarland and Daniel 
Smith. Senator, Jo. L. Fry. 

1828- 29 — Daniel Smith and Mathew Dun- 
bar. Senator, J. J. Allen. 

1829- 30 — Mathew Dunbar and Daniel Smith. 
Senator, J. J. Allen. 

1830- 31 — George W. Summers. Senator, 
Wm. McComas. 

1831- 32 — George W. Summers. Senator, 
Wm. McComas. 

1832- 33 — James H. Fry. Senator, Wm. 
McComas. 

1833- 34 — James H. Fry. Senator, Benj. H. 
Smith. 

1834- 35 — George W. Summers. Senator, 
B. H. Smith. 

^3 5-36 — George W. Summers. Senator, 
B. H. Smith. 

1836-37 — Andrew Donnally. Senator, B. 
H. Smith. 

1838 — Daniel Smith. Senator, B. H. Smith. 

1839 — Henry Farley. Senator, B. H. 
Smith. 

1840 — Van B. Reynolds. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1 84 1 — Andrew Donnally. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1842 — Daniel Smith. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1843 — Andrew Parks. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1844 — John Lewis. Senator, R. A. Thomp- 
son. 

1845 — Daniel Smith. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1846 — Spicer Patrick. Senator, R. A. 
Thompson. 

1847 — Spicer Patrick. Senator, Jas. H. 
Fry. 

1848 — Andrew Parks. Senator, Jas. H. Fry. 

1849 — James M. Laidley. Senator, Jas. H. 
Fry. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



155 



1850 — Spicer Patrick. Senator, Jas. H. Fry. 

1 85 1 — Spicer Patrick. Senator, E. Ward. 

1852 — Spicer Patrick and Andrew P. Fry. 
Senator, E. Ward. 

1853 — Spicer Patrick and Andrew P. Fry. 
Senator, E. Ward. 

1854 — Spicer Patrick and Daniel Smith. 
Senator, E. Ward. 

1855— 6 — B. H. Smith and Charles Ruffner. 
Senator, Andrew Parks. 

1857-8 — Charles Ruffner and Nicholas Fitz- 
hugh. Senator, J. A. Waith. 

1859-60 — Isaac N. Smith and J. A. Welch. 
Senator, W. D. Pate. 

1862— Senator, W. D. Pate. 

1864 — Welch and V. Hendrich. Senator, 
James M. Lawson. 

LEGISLATURE OF WEST VIRGINIA. 

1863 — Spicer Patrick and Lewis Ruffner. 
Senator, G. Slack. 

1864 — E. W. Newton and Lewis Ruffner. 
Senator, G. Slack. 

1865 — Spicer Patrick and William Morris. 
Senator, G. Slack. 

1866— William Morris and H. C. McWhor- 
ter. Senator, G. Slack. 

1867— John W. Cracraft and H. C. Mc- 
Whorter. Senator, G. Slack. 

1868— John L. Cole and H. C. McWhorter. 
Senator, G. Slack. 

1869 — L. A. Martin and C. W. Smith. 
Senator, G. Slack. 

1870 — Benj. H. Smith and A. E. Summers. 
Senator, Spicer Patrick. 

1 87 1 — L. A. Martin and B. F. Wyatt. Sen- 
ator, Spicer Patrick. 

1872 — John D. Lewis and A. E. Summers. 
1872-3 — W. S. Laidley, T. E. Rogers and 

W. H. Hudson. Senator, A. E. Summers. 

•1875— H. Agee, S. Chapman and S. A. Mill- 
er. Senator, W. T. Burdett. 

1877 — J. H. Ferguson, W. A. Ouarrin and 
E. W. Wilson. Senator, W. T. Burdett. 

1 879 — A. A. Rock, Martin Hill, J. C. 
Montgomery. Senator, A. E. Summers. 

1 88 1 — W. A. Quarrier, J. H. Ferguson, E. 
W. Wilson. Senator, A. E. Summers. 

1883— J. H. Brown, J. F. Brown, J. M. 
Collins. Senator, B. W. Byrne. 



1885— J. B. Fleming, H. C. McWhorter, 
A. A. Rock. Senator, B. W. Byrne. 

1887— H. C. McWhorter, W. H. Toler, L. 
H. Oakes. Senator, R. S. Carr. 

1889— A. E. Autiz, D. Mayer, W. Parrish. 
Senator, R. S. Carr. 

1 89 1 — E. B. Dyer, J. H. Ferguson, T. E. 
Kendall. Senator, C. C. Watts. 

1893— W. S. Edwards, J. B. Floyd, W. W. 
Riley. H. J. Wills. Senator, C. C. Watts. 

1895— W. H. Toler, L. A. Martin, P. F. 
Jones, W. S. Edwards. Senator, G. W. Pat- 
ton. 

1897— XV. H. Toler, J. H. Hunt, R. E. 
Hughs, P. F. Jones. Senator, G. W. Patton. 

1 90 1 — C. C. Colerd, M. Jackson, S. John- 
son, L. A. Martin. Senator, W. L. A. 

1903 — C. N. Edgington, M. P. Shawkey, O. 
E. Rudesill, Shelton Johnston, G. E. Wermer. 
Senator, E. C. Colcord. 

1905 — F. P. Grosscup, T. S. McDonald, L. 
E. McWhorter, B. E. Carney, George Walker. 
Senator, E. C. Colcord. 

1907 — F. M. Staunton, John Nugent, M. T. 
Roach, R. D. Sheppard, L. C. Massey. Sena- 
tor, A. B. Littlepage. 

STATE OFFICIALS, I9II. 

Governor — W. E. Glasscock. 
Secretary of State — S. F. Reed. 
Auditor — J. S. Daret. 
Treasurer — E. L. Long. 
Commissioner of Banking — S. V. Mathews. 
Superintendent of Free Schools — M. P. 
Shawkey. 

Attorney General — W. G. Conley ; Assistant, 
Frank Linty. 

Private Secretary to Governor — H. P. 
Brightwell. 

Adjutant General — C. D. Elliott. 

Commissioner of Labor — I. V. Barton. 

State Tax Commissioner — Fred A. Blue. 

Archivist — Virgil A. Lewis. 

State Law Librarian — T. C. Gilmer. 

State Commissioner Public Roads — C. P. 
Light. 

State Board of Control — J. S. Larkins, E. P. 
Stephenson, J. A. Sheppard. 

Chief of Department of Mines — John Laing. 



156 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

Judges — Ira E. Robinson, Henry Brannon, 
George Poppenbarger, W. N. Miller, L. J. 
Williams. 

Clerk— W. B. Mathews. 

UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT 

. Judge — B. F. Keller. 

KANAWHA COUNTY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. 

County Commissioners — D. A. Brawley, A. 
R. Shepperd, Dr. M. P. Malcolm. 

County Clerk — L. C. Massey. 

Sheriff — J. Preston Smith. 
- Clerk of Circuit Court— Ira H. Mottes- 
heard. 

Prospecting Attorney — S. B. Avis. 
Judge Criminal Court — H. K. Black. 
County Surveyor — Frank D. Barron. 
Circuit Court of Kanawha County — S. C. 
Burdett, Judge. 

THE STATE SENATE, I9II 

Democrats — 15. 
Republicans — 15. 

District 

1 Henry Zilliken, Dem., Wellsburg. 
Julian G. Hearne, Rep., Wheeling. 

2 W. C. Grimes, Rep., Cameron. 

Geo. B. Slemaker, Dem., Sistersville. 

3 .CP. Craig, Rep., St. Marys. 

W. G. Peterkin, Dem., Parkersburg. 

4 J. O. Shinn, Rep., Ripley. 
Ben A. Smith, Rep., Walton. 

5 D. B. Smith, Rep., Huntington. 
R. A. Salmon, Dem., Winfield. 

6 H. D. Hatfield, Rep., Eckman. 
M. Z. White, Rep., Williamson. 

7 Joe L. Smith, Dem., Beckley. 
D. E. French, Dem., Bluefield. 

8 E. T. England, Rep., Logan. 

W. A. McCorkle, Dem., Charleston. 

9 W. S. Johnson, Rep., Hill Top. 
Jno. A. Preston, Dem., Lewisburg. 

10 Jake Fisher, Dem., Sutton. 
R. F. Kidd, Dem., Glenville. 

1 1 W. S. Meredith, Rep., Fairmount. 
Hood Phillips, Dem., Grafton. 



12 Chas. G. Coffman, Rep., Clarksburg. 
Geo. W. Bland, Dem., West Union. 

13 Howard Sutherland, Rep., Elkins. 
Sam'l V. Woods, Dem., Philippi. 

14 J. W. Flynn, Rep., Kingwood. 
O. A. Hood, Rep., Keyser. 

15 A. C. Mclntire, Dem., Berkeley Spgs. 
Gray Silver, Dem., Martinsburg. 

HOUSE OF DELEGATES 

Democrats — 63, Republicans — 23. Total 86. 

The figure preceding the name of the county 
indicates the number of delegates to which the 
county is entitled. 

1 Barbour, Thos. W. Ice, Dem., Philippi. 

2 Berkeley, C. M. Siebert, Dem., Martins- 

burg. 

Berkeley, John W. Sperow, Dem., Mar- 
tinsburg. 

1 Boone, B^ M. Hager, Dem., Hewitt. 

2 Braxton, Frank Kidd, Dem., Burnsville. 
Braxton, Lafe Shock, Dem., Falls Mills. 

1 Brooke, D. F. Henry, Rep., Wellsburg. 

3 Cabell, C. W. Campbell, Dem., Hunting- 

ton. 

Cabell, P. C. Buffington, Dem., Hunting- 
ton. 

Cabell, S. J. Jane, Dem., Milton. 
1 Calhoun, G. W. Hays, Dem., Arnolds- 
burg. 

1 Clay, A. J. Pugh, Dem., Warfield. 
1 Doddridge, Jos. L. Walton, Dem., New 
Milton. 

3 Fayette, H. C. Skaggs, Rep., Kay Moor. 
Fayette, John Nuttall, Rep., Nuttallburg. 
Fayette, Richmond Morton, Rep., Sun. 

1 Gilmer, C. W. Marsh, Dem., Glenville. 

2 Greenbrier, John C. Dice, Dem., Lewis- 

burg. 

Greenbrier, E. D. Smoot, Dem., Smoot. 
1 Grant, Geo. S. Van Meter, Rep., Corner. 
1 Hampshire, H, B. Gilkeson, Dem., Rom- 
ney . 

1 Hancock, John Porter, Rep., Congo. 

1 Hardy, G. W. McConley, Dem., Moore- 

field. 

2 Harrison, Jas. W. Robinson, Dem., 

Clarksburg. , 
1 Harrison, Jesse D. Kennedy, Dem., Lost 
Creek. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



157 



2 Jackson, Warren Miller, Rep., Ripley. 
Jackson, H. W. Huey, Rep., Ravens- 
wood. 

i Jefferson, C. M. Wetzel, Dem., Millville. 
5 Kanawha, R. M. Hudnall, Dem., Cedar 
Grove. 

Kanawha, A. M. Belcher, Dem., Charles- 
ton. 

Kanawha, Peter Carroll, Dem., Charles- 
ton. 

Kanawha, F. N. Carr, Dem., Charleston. 
Kanawha, H. D. Currie, Dem., Charles- 
ton. 

i Lewis, E. A. Brannon, Dem., Weston, 
i Lincoln, M. D. Good, Dem., Griffittisville. 

1 Logan, R. E. Vickers, Dem., Chapmans- 

ville. 

3 Marion, C. L. Shaver, Dem., Fairmont. 
Marion, W. B. Ice, Jr.. Dem., Barracks- 

ville. 

Marion, J. Robert Burt, Dem., Manning- 
ton. 

2 Marshall, C. A. Barlow, Rep., Benwood. 
Marshall, E. F. Moore, Rep., Mounds- 

ville. 

2 Mason, A. A. Parsons, Dem., Leon. 
2 Mason, Chas. S. Edwards, Dem., Mason 
City. 

2 Mercer, F. M. Steele, Rep., Elgood. 
Mercer, B. W. Pendleton, Dem., Prince- 
ton. 

i Mineral, Jas. C. Liller, Rep., Keyser. 

1 Mingo, Wells Goodykoontz, Rep., Will- 

iamson. 

2 Monangalia, S. L. Wildman, Rep., Mor- 

gantown. 

Monangalia, D. H. Courtney, Rep., Mor- 
gantown. 

i Monroe, Clarence Syneres, Dem., Peters- 
town. 

1 Morgan, V. E. Johnson, Rep., Berkeley 

Spgs. 

2 McDowell, G. T. Enling, Rep., Key- 

. stone. 

McDowell, Jas. A. Strother, Rep., Welch, 
i Nicholas, F. N. Alderson, Dem., Rich- 
wood. 

4 Ohio, Nelson C. Hubbard, Dem., Wheel- 

ing. 



Ohio, Dr. Harry Hubbard, Dem., Wheel- 
ing. 

Ohio, C. G. Whitham, Dem., Wheeling. 
Ohio, Thos. L. Padden, Dem., Wheeling, 
i Pendleton, J. D. Keister, Dem., Brandy- 
wine. 

i Pleasants, R. L. Pemberton, Dem., St. 
Marys. 

1 Pocahontas, Jno. A. McLaughlin, Dem., 

Marlinton. 

2 Preston, S. C. Felton, Rep., Whetsell. 
Preston, S. L. Cobun, Rep., Masontown. 

i Putnam, Ben Morris, Dem,. Winfield. 
i Raleigh, Geo. W. William, Dem., Beck- 
ley. 

1 Randolph, Jno. T. Davis, Dem., Elkins. 

2 Ritchie, J. C. Lacy, Dem., Ellenboro. 
Ritchie, Newton Law, Rep., Cairo. 

2 Roane, W. W. Ogden, Dem., Newton. 

Roane, H. D. Wells, Dem., Spencer, 
i Summers, A. P. Pence, Dem., Pence 
Spgs. 

I Taylor, T. P. Kenny, Dem., Grafton. 

1 Tucker, R. J. Clifford, Dem., Hambleton. 

2 Tyler, Riley Mclntire, Dem., Alvy. 
Tyler, A. A. Meredith, Dem., Sisters- 

ville. 

i Upshur, H. F. Ours, Rep., Buckhannon. 

1 Webster, W. S. Wysong, Dem., Webster 

Spgs. 

2 Wayne, Frank W. Terill, Dem., Wayne. 
Wayne, W. W. Marcum, Dem., Ceredo. 

2 Wetzel, Septimus Hall, Dem., New Mar- 

tinsville. 

Wetzel, J. F. Throckmorton, Dem., Lit- 
tleton. 

i Wirt, W. T. Owens, Dem:, Elizabeth. 

3 Wood, A. G. Patton, Dem., Parkersburg. 
Wood, L. H. Jeffers, Dem., Mineray 

Wells. 

Wood, J. K. Jolly, Rep., Parkusby. 
i Wyoming, H. W. Sanders, Dem., Oceana. 

STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

West Virginia Governors : — Arthur I. Bore- 
man, Republican; William E. Stevenson, Re- 
publican; John J. Jacob, Independent; Henry 
Mason Mathews, Democrat ; Jacob B. Jackson, 
Democrat; E. Willis Wilson, Democrat; A. 
Brooks Fleming, Democrat ; W. A. MacCorkle, 



158 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Democrat; G. W. Atkinson, Republican; A. B. 
White, Republican; W. M. O. Dawson, Repub- 
lican; and W. E. Glasscock, Republican. 

West Virginia Congressmen, including Ka- 
awha District: — Kellian V. Whaley, Daniel 
Paisley, John S. Witcher, Frank Hereford, 
John E. Kenna, C. P. Snyder, J. D. Alderson, 
I. H. Huling, C. P. Dorr, D. E. Johnson, Joe 
H. Gaines, A. B. Littlepage. 

U. S. Senators, West Virginia: — Waitman 
T. Willey, P. G. Van Winkle, A. I. Boreman, 
H. G. Gaines, A. T. Caperton, Samuel Price, 



Frank Hereford, J. N. Camden, J. E. Kenna, 
C. J. Faulkner, S. B. Elkins, N. B. Scott, C. 
W. Watson and W. E. Chilton. 

Kanawha County in the state government — 
Governors, E. W. Wilson, W. A. MacCorkle 
and G. W. Atkinson. 

Secretaries of State — Charles Hedrick, H. I. 
Walker, W. E. Chilton. 

Attorney General — C. C. Watts. 

Treasurer — Peter Silman. 

State Librarians — John L. Cole, E. L. Wood, 
P. S. Shirkey, S. W. Starke and J. C. Gilmer. 



CHAPTER IX 



CHARLESTON— THE COUNTY SEAT 

Col. Bullitt's Survey — Lewisburg Established — Construction of Fort — The Beginning of Growth 
— Growth of Population — Early Designations of Charleston — Legal Tender — First White 
Child Born — Charleston Legally Established — Its Condition in 1794 — The Only Good In- 
dian—Tragedy of White Man's Fork — Thomas Teays Saved by an Indian — Murder of the 
Morris Girls — Charleston's First of Things — Legislation Relative to Charleston — West 
Virginia Decisions — Charleston in 1836-1838 — Court House — Charleston as the State Cap- 
ital — Chamber of Commerce — Water and Electric Light Plant — City Officials — Population. 



THE BULLITT SURVEY 

It seems that in dealing with this locality we 
should begin with Col. Thomas Bullitt, who 
was the first one to see that its location was a 
good one. He was born in 1730, in Prince 
William County. In July, 1754, he was a 
Captain with Washington at the Great Mead- 
ows, (but not making hay). In 1756 he was 
at Winchester, on May 1st, and on Jackson's 
river in July and in November back at the 
Fort Cumberland, and in 1758 he was a cap- 
tain in Major Andrew Lewis's command, and 
when they captured Fort du Quesne, he was 
called the "bold and ardent bullitt." In 1759 
he was at Winchester, guarding ammunition 
provisions and wagons with a very few men, 
when he was attacked, defeated and lost heav- 

iiy- 

In 1760 he was made a surveyor and as- 
signed to work on the Ohio. In 1773 he was 
on the Kanawha and there were with him others 
going to Kentucky: to wit: James Douglas, 
James Harrod, John Fitzpatrick, James San- 
dusky, Isaac Hite, Abraham Haptonstack, 
Abram Senous and John Cowan, and this year 
he made surveys for Frankfort and Louisville. 
He made a survey on Kanawha of 1,030 acres 
above Elks mouth and 1,240 acres below the 
mouth of Elk. He also owned a square of 
land of 2,618 acres opposite St. Albans. His 



will was probated in Faquier in 1778, and the 
patent for the 1,030 was given to Cuthbert Bul- 
litt in 1779, and Cuthbert's will was recorded 
in Prince William in 1781, and he gave the 
1,240 to his four daughters. The 1,030 acres 
Cuthbert conveyed by deed dated Dec. 28, 1 787 
to George Clendenin, a copy of which is found 
in 10 W. Va. Reports 404. 

In the patent it says the survey was made in 
May, 1775 and the grant in 1779; and while 
on the subject of title, we might add, that Clen- 
denin conveyed to Joseph Ruffner and he to 
his sons, and much of it is yet in the Ruffner 
family. 

There were with Geo. Clendenin, also his 
father Charles, and his brother William, Rob- 
ert, Alexander Clendenin and also Josiah Har- 
rison, Francis Watkins, Shadrack Harriman. 
Chas. McClung, John Edwards, Lewis Tack- 
ett, John Young, James Hale and others con- 
tinued to come. 

It was in 1788 that George Clendenin began 
to construct the fort on the 1,030 acres and it 
was the 1,030 acres covered with elm, syca- 
more, beech and such like trees that had to be 
removed, and some of them used to build the 
fort, to be thick enough to stop a bullet and 
there was no saw mill. 

GROWTH OF CHARLESTON 

Charleston was said to have begun to grow 



159 



160 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



May i, 1788. It was located on the east bank The growth in population of Charleston has 



of the Kanawha river, immediately above the been about as follows : 

mouth of Elk River, which empties into the From 1778 to 1790 35 

Kanawha. There has always been a little ir- From 1790 to 1800 60 

regularity as to the points of the compass at From 1805 to 1810 100 

this point. We speak of North Charleston and From 1810 to 1820 500 

if you proceed in same direction across Elk, From 1820 to 1830 750 

there it is called West Charleston or the West From 1830 to 1840 1,200 

End, and if you go across the Kanawha, they From 1840 to 1850 1,500 

call it South Charleston; so that, in fact, the From 1850 to i860 1,800 

compass seems to have nothing to do with the From i860 to 1870 4,000 

naming of names. Charleston was started be- From 1870 to 1880 4,500 

fore the county was organized, that is the town From 1880 to 1890 8,000 

began to grow, while the county was made From 1890 to 1900 11,099 

Oct. 5, 1789. From 1900 to 1910 23,000 



It is said that there were seven houses made There were two streets laid off, running up 
in 1790, and probably this is all that were then from Elk, to where Capitol street now is, and 




The Bullitt Surveys. 



Thomas Bullitt made two surveys at the Mouth of Elk on the 
Kanawha — one above and one below Elk, both of which are 
covered by the city of Charleston (Surveys were Steps to be 
Taken Preparatory to obtaining). 



needed. The fort could hold all that came, but 
the houses were more comfortable. 

Charleston is in line of 38^° north latitude 
which is the same as San Francisco, St. Louis, 
Washington, D. C. yet we are a little south of 
the center of the state. There is no prospec- 
tive rival in any other city, unless it is Kanawha 
City and that will be absorbed or Kanawha 
City will absorb Charleston, and they will make 
one good large city. So far as town room is 
concerned, we are surrounded by an "embar- 
rassment of riches." All of Kanawha City on 
the south, all creation on the north and west, 
so that there is no lack of room. 



there were cross streets on the lots between. 
This map was made by the surveyor of Green- 
brier County, a Mr. Welch. There was sub- 
sequently another map found in William Clen- 
denin's possession with the streets somewhat 
extended, but practically the same. The houses 
at first located were about as this, to wit : 

One on the upper corner of Kanawha and 
Truslow; one at the upper corner of Kanawha 
and Court; one between Alderson and Sum- 
mers on Kanawha; one at N. W. corner of 
Kanawha and Summers; one at N. W. corner 
of Kanawha and Capitol; one at N. E. corner 
of Kanawha and Hale. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



161 



In 1789 when the county was organized, 
there were seven houses. In 1798 there were 
about twelve, from 1803 to 1810, about twenty. 
The town had no name specially. It was called 
"The Town at the Mouth of Elk," and was 
sometimes known as "Clendemn Settlement" 
or his Fort. The pound, shilling and pence, 
English money, was used in Kanawha until the 
dollar and cents were used in 1799. But there 
was not sufficient money in Virginia to answer 
the purpose of trade and business, and tobacco 
was made a legal tender and thus used. The 
assessor's books show the use of English money 
for some years after the county was organized 
and the calculation is not now easy, nor was 
the payment of taxes with tobacco, nor with 
money. 

General Lewis Ruffner was the first white 
child born in Charleston and he was born Oc- 
tober 1, 1797. Joseph Ruffner came from the 
valley of Virginia and started from his farm 
with a view of investing in iron lands in the 
Alleghanies. He met Col. John Dickinson and 
learned of the great salt springs at the mouth 
of Campbell's Creek on the Kanawha and also 
learned that said salt was on Col. Dickinson's 
502 acres, and Ruffner purchased the same in 
the year 1793. He then went on and when he 
saw the Clendenin 1,030-acre tract, with the 
county and town started, he purchased that 
also. This was the beginning of the Kanawha 
Ruffners, and there has never been any end. 

Charleston was established by Act of Assem- 
bly Dec. 19, 1794. "It was enacted that forty 
acres of land, the property of George Clendenin, 
at the mouth of Elk River, in the County of 
Kanawha, the same as laid 'off into lots and 
streets, shall be established as a town by the 
name of "Charles Town," and Reuben Slaugh- 
ter, Andrew Donnally, Sr., William Clendenin, 
John Morris, Sr., Leonard Morris, Geo. Alder- 
son, Abram Baker, John Young and William 
Morris, gentlemen, are appointed trustees." 

Says John P. Hale: "On the 19th of Decem- 
ber, 1794, the legislature of Virginia for- 
mally established the town, and fixed its name 
as 'Charlestown.' It is a curious fact that, 
although the legislature had officially estab- 
lished the county, in 1789, as 'Kanhawa,' and 
now the town, in 1794, as 'Charlestown,' both 



names by common consent, became changed — 
one to 'Kanawha' and the other to 'Charleston.' 
How, why or when, nobody knows. Some 
years ago there was much trouble and annoy- 
ance about our mail matter, growing out of 
the confusion of the post-office names of our 
Charleston, and Charlestown, Jefferson county. 
With a view to remedy this, a public meeting 
was called here to discuss the propriety of 
changing the name of our town from Charles- 
ton to 'Kanawha City.' It was warmly dis- 
cussed, but defeated, mainly on the sentimen- 
tal ground that it would be sacrilege to abol- 
ish the name of the dear old pioneer who had 
shed his blood and risked his life here, "in an 
early day," among the Indians; had founded 
the town, given it his own name, and built a 
fort to protect and defend his neighbors as 
well as himself, etc. Sentiment prevailed, and 
the name remained unchanged; but the writer 
took some pains to look up the early history 
of the settling and naming of the town. It 
was soon discovered that the founder's name 
was George, not Charles. 

This somewhat staggered the sentimental- 
ists, but they recovered, saying that George was 
a very modest gentleman, and, instead of tak- 
ing it himself, he had conceded the honor of 
the name to his brother, whose name was 
Charles; and they clinched this by quoting 
Howe, who, in his History of Virginia, so 
states; and other historians all follow Howe. 
But a further investigation of the family rec- 
ords showed that George had no brother 
Charles ; then it was conjectured that the name 
was probably given in honor of his son Charles, 
but a still further investigation of the family 
genealogies proved that he had no son. After 
much search of records, and tracing of tradi- 
tions among the old timers, the writer has but 
recently arrived at the facts of this case 
through Mr. C. C. Miller, of Mason county, a 
descendant of the Clendenins. He says the 
town was named by George Clendenin, the 
founder, in honor of his father, whose name 
was Charles. He was an elderly gentleman, 
who came here with his sons, died in the Clen- 
denin block house, and was buried near the up- 
per end of the garden. 



162 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



CHARLESTON IN 1 794. 

There was a court, a court house, a jail and 
other like conveniences and accommodations for 
civilized man, there was a fort, stockade and 
block-house for the benefit of Indians and other 
uncivilized men. There was plenty of water 
and wood, a very little salt, no coal (visible), 
and in the upper end of the county there were 
farms with everything thereon that a farm 
ought to have, there were fishes in the river, 
and bears in the woods with other animals 
which hunters like to find; and this year we 
hear the good news that in the wars between 
the white and red soldiers the Indians are glad 
to make peace and that the heretofore eternal, 
skulking, scalping Indian will bother the peo- 
ple no more. 

We cannot avoid thinking that an Indian is 
a very poor citizen. Bears, wolves, wild cats, 
snakes and objectionable "varmints" are bad 
enough but they are no meaner than, or by no 
means so bad to have around as, an Indian, 
and whoever it was that said that there was but 
one good Indian, was about right when he 
made it perfectly plain that the good one was 
the dead one. 

It may have been intended that the people 
of the earth were to live together on the face 
of the planet, and it can be done, but the In- 
dians were an exception. It was the delight of 
the Indian to find unprotected white people, 
people that had no gun. They had their own, 
and it was useless to preach peace — you'd got 
to die. Cruelty was the Indian's most agree- 
able pastime. 

We must not omit the case of the "White 
Man's Fork." About 1780 some Indians made 
their way into Greenbrier and there were among 
others killed, John Pryor, Hugh Mclver, Henry 
Baker and the Bridges brothers, one of their 
wives, and some other women, and some chil- 
dren taken prisoners. 

A short time thereafter, William Griffith, 
and his family were killed and there was one 
lad, his son, that was made a prisoner by them. 
There were two came down the river with the 
boy and they made their way up Elk river, 
when it was discovered and made known. 
There was John Young, Ben Morris, William 



Arbuckle and Robert Aaron, who took their 
guns and followed up some creek, out to the 
west of Elk — some unknown and unnamed 
stream, they came up to the camp of the In- 
dians, they fired on them and killed one and 
the other made his escape, and young Griffith 
was secured and taken back with the white men. 
The man that was killed, although disguised 
as an Indian was a white man — a dead one, 
too. This creek was ever known as the "White 
Man's Fork" and it was the fork of Aaron 
Fork of Littly Sandy. Long live the names 
of the men that killed that scoundrel white man 
that was willing to take unto himself the nature 
of an Indian. 

Just one more, about Thomas Teays, who 
was captured by Indians in 1782. It was pro- 
posed to take him to Sandusky to be burned 
with William Crawford, but there was one In- 
dian in the meeting that recognized Teays, to 
whom Teays had shown some favor, and his in- 
fluence in Teays' behalf secured his release. 
Just one lone Indian, who had manifested some 
gratitude ! We would not take one grain of 
good from any one — glad to credit one Indian 
with a spark of mercyMo one who had showed 
it to him. We would like to record another, 
but we can but recall the two girls of Henry 
Morris, who went out to drive in the cows and 
both were killed; which deed so roused in 
Henry Morris eternal hatred to all Indians 
that he never again let one live; he treated 
them as the man did in the show, when he saw 
the snakes. "He always killed them whenever 
he saw 'em." 

Charleston's "first of things" 
"They were suich men, take them for all in all, 
We shall not look upon their like again." 

This is what Dr. Hale said of the people 
of Charleston and Kanawha county, when he 
wrote his "Trans-Allegheny Pioneers." 

I refer to his book for the following state- 
ments : 

The first pottery factory for milk crocks, 
whiskey jugs, etc., was by Stephen Shepperd, 
about 181 8. 

Mr. Gabriel Garrau was the first to carry on 
the hatters trade; he began about 1816 and we 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



163 



should guess he was also the last, but he was 
not. James Truslow was the first tailor, about 
1815. The first shoemaker was George 
Mitchell, about 181 5. The first cart and wagon 
makers began among the salt furnaces. There 
were no mosquitoes, nor mosquito bars until 
1840. Volney visited Charleston in 1776 and 
by Audubon, in 1812. Albert Gallatin and De 
Witt Clinton located lands in this county "in 
early days." "Old Greasy" was the name 



sale liquor house was by S. Strauss & Co. in 
1876. The first wholesale shoe house was by 
Jelenko and Loeb, in 1877. The first hearse 
and dray was by Noah Colley soon after 1830, 
previous to this, transportation was by oxen, 
and pack-horses. The first public school build- 
ing was erected in 1870 on State Street. The 
first wharf-boat was established by H. W. Good- 
win in 1865. The first machine barrel fac- 
tory was started by Morgan and Hale in 1872. 




Plat of Charleston, as Laid Down by the Clendenins, Showing the Streets and Lots. 



given to Kanawha river, on account of the oil, 
petroleum, seen on the surface of the river. 

Charleston and Cincinnati were settled in the 
same year. 1788. the former in May and the 
latter in December. 

Near Kanawha & Goshorn streets there was 
an ancient cemetery of some primitive race. 
This was exposed by the caving in of the river 
bank. The first wholesale grocery was by 
Ruby and Hale in 1872. The first wholesale 
dry goods house was by Jelenko Bros, in 1874. 
The first wholesale hardware house was by W. 
F. & J. H. Goshorn, in 1875. The first whole- 



The first foundry and machine shops erected 
in 1 87 1. The first woolen-mill by Rand and 
Minsker, in 1866. The temporary capitol was 
erected in 1871, the permanent capitol in 1885. 
The first steam brick machine was introduced 
in 1870. The first natural gas well in town, 
was bored in 181 5 by Capt. Jas. Wilson and 
was the first in America, as far as heard from. 
The Charleston Extension Co. bought the Cox 
farm, and sold it in lots in 1862. J. B. Walker 
purchased the land below Elk in 1871 and laid 
it off in lots. The Glen Elk Co. purchased and 
sold, up Elk in 1881 on the west side of Elk. 



164 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The Brooks property, on which was the Clen- 
denin block-house, was sold in lots in 1859. 
The first dry-docks were established by J. J. 
Thaxton & Co. in 1873 at the mouth of Elk. 
The first Opera House was built in 1873, and 
called the "Cotton Opera House." The first 
mayor of Charleston was Jacob Goshorn in 
1 86 1. The first ice factory was by Lieut. 
Staunton, erected in 1885. The water-works, 
by Col. E. L. Davenport was begun in 1885. 
Ward's patent tube boiler was established by 
Chas. Ward in 1883. The Kanawha Military 
School was established by Major Thomas Sny- 
der in 1880. The U. S. Post Office building 
was completed in 1884. The Ohio Central 
Railroad was completed in 1884. In 1875 
Judge Lynch held his first court here, and Es- 
tep, Dawson and Hines on December 24th, 
at night, (by about 300 men), were taken to 
Campbell's Creek and hung. Kanawha river 
improvement was begun by the United States 
in 1873. Brick pavement on Summers street 
was laid in 1873. Chesapeake & Ohio Rail- 
road opened for travel in 1873. The Hale 
House was opened in January, 1872 and de- 
stroyed by fire in 1885. In May, 1871, Charles- 
ton was lighted by gas. Spring Hill Cemetery 
was established in 1871. The first steam ferry 
was established in 1871. The streets of the 
city were given new names and recorded in 
1 87 1. The highest water known in the Kana- 
wha river, was in 1861, and the next highest 
in 1878. The most violent hurricane was in 
1844; its mark was left from central Kentucky 
to central Pennsylvania. Cholera visited 
Charleston in 1832 and again in 1849. High 
water was around the Court House in 1822. 
The Elk Log Boom was constructed in 1869 
by Hiding Brokerhoff & Co. The Keystone 
Bridge was built in 1873, destroyed by ice 
gorges in 1879, and rebuilt in 1882. The Sus- 
pension Bridge across Elk was built in 1852. 
Ferries across Kanawha were established in 
1820. The first ferry was by Geo. Clendenin in 
1794, across Elk and Kanawha river; John and 
Langston Ward in 1809 lived on the South 
Side and ran a ferry, from Ferry Branch to 
mouth Elk, on either side. The Bank of Vir- 
ginia established a branch in 1832. The first 



Brass Band was established in 1858 by Prof. 
Carl Fine. The first newspaper was in 1819. 
The first Post Office was April 1801, the first 
post master was Edward Graham. The next 
was Francis A. Du Bois, Jan. 1, 1803, then 
William Whittaker, Oct. 1, 1808 and was for 
years managed by James A. Lewis. The of- 
ficial name of the postoffice was "Kanawha 
Court House" until Sept. 30, 1879. The first 
blacksmith was John Greenlee, and Jack Neal 
the second. The first school teachers were : H. 
P. Gaines, next Levi Welch, then Jacob Rand, 
followed by James A. Lewis, Lewis Ruffner 
and Ezra Walker. Mercer Academy was built 
in 18 1 8. The first Drug Store was by Dr. 
Rogers, father of Dr. J. H. Rogers in 1825. 
The first Undertaker was S. A. Skees in 1869. 
The first tan-yard was by William Blaine, be- 
low Elk "in early days." The first fruit trees 
were brought by Fleming Cobb. Anne Bailey 
brought the first pair of geese from Lewisburg. 
The first watch and clock-maker was in 1808, 
Thomas Mathews, Sr. He said the first set- 
tlers were all healthy, peaceable, moral and 
happy, until the doctors, lawyers and preachers 
came; then they began to get sick, to quarrel 
and law, and developed all sorts of meanness. 
The mail came from Lewisburg every two 
weeks, until 18 10 on horse-back. The price 
of whiskey and peach brandy, per gallon $2.00 
in 1820. The first resident physician was Dr. 
Eoff, in 181 1, then Dr. W. W. Thompson and 
Dr. Spicer Patrick, came in 1816. The first 
taverns were the Boston tavern and the Griffith 
tavern both on Kanawha Street. Dr. Henry 
Ruffner was the first Presbyterian preacher in 
18 1 6. Rev. Asa Skinn was the first regular 
Methodist preacher for the circuit. The Bibby 
Flooring Mill was operated by Joseph Bibby in 
1837. The first Saw Mills were on Two-Mile 
of Elk between 181 5-1820. 

It is claimed that John Welch was a hatter 
and his shop was a log house, on the corner of 
Kanawha and Truslow street. 

That Buster's Tavern was on the upper cor- 
ner of Kanawha and Court. The proprietor's 
name was Thos. Buster and his house was the 
most noted house between Richmond and the 
Ohio river ; and now it appears that Ellis Brown 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



165 



kept a hatter shop where Dr. Roger's Drug 
Store has been so long. And John Hart also 
was a hatter. 

Griffith's Tavern was where Frankenberger's 
store now is. 

Norris Whitteker was born where Dr. Hale's 
residence was, and Mr. Atkinson says, he was 
the first white child born in Charleston, al- 
though the date of Genl. Lewis Ruffner came 
earlier than Whitteker by four years. Dr. 
Patrick took down the log house and erected a 
brick, which is owned by the Kanawha Pres- 
byterian church, known as the "Manse." The 
Central House was burned in 1874, just below 
Alderson street on the Kanawha Street. 
Charleston was incorporated December 19, 
1794, named for the brother of George Clen- 
denin, says Mr. Alderson, while Hale says he 
had no such brother. Maps of Charleston are 
of record in the County Clerk's office, in the 
Circuit Court Clerk's office in land cases rec- 
ords and in the West Virginia Historical Mag- 
azine. 

LEGISLATION RELATIVE TO CHARLESTON, 
KANAWHA. 

Act of Dec. 19, 1794, established the town 
of Charleston at the mouth of Elk, on the Kana- 
wha, on forty acres of land, the property of 
George Clendenin, and appointed the following 
trustees, viz : Reuben Slaughter, Andrew Don- 
nally, Sr., William Clendenin, John Morris, 
Leonard Morris, George Alderson, Abraham 
Baker, John Young and William Morris. 

Act of Jan. 29, 1805, appointed John Rey- 
nolds, William C. Williams, Joseph Ruffner, 
Andrew Donnally, Jr., David Ruffner, gentle- 
men, trustees of the town of Charleston, in the 
county of Kanawha in the room of those for- 
merly appointed and in case of death or resig- 
nation, the remaining ones were authorized to 
supply the vancancy. 

Act of Jan. 19, 1818, incorporating the town 
of Charleston. — "Be it enacted," etc., "that the 
town of Charleston, in the county of Kanawha, 
including the same as laid out, including the 
shores and bank between Front street and 
Kanawha river, is hereby erected into a town 
corporate, to be known by the name of Charles- 
ton" and provision was made to elect by bal- 
lot its president, recorder and trustees, etc. 



Act of Jan. 21, 1821. — "Be it enacted," etc., 
"that the land adjoining the town of Charles- 
ton in the following bounds, * * * be- 
ginning at upper corner of said town on the 
river bank at low water mark then 40 poles to 
a stake," * * * "and Samuel Shrewsbury, 
Charles Morris, Philip R. Thompson, Jesse 
Hudson and Andrew Parks, gentlemen, are ap- 
pointed to lay out and make the survey and 
plats and deliver one to the commissioners and 
the other to be recorded," etc. 

Act of Feb. 4, 1825, amended Act of Jan. 19, 
1 818, giving to the president, recorder and trus- 
tees power to assess and collect taxes on the 
property in said town, and extending the lim- 
its, etc., beginning at the upper back corner of 
the town lot of Philip G. Todd; then by cross 
street toward the hills 25 poles; then by line 
parallel with back street to Elk river, to be 
laid of into lots, etc. 

Act of Feb. 19, 1833. — Be it enacted, etc., 
that James C. McFarland, Samuel Chilton, 
John P. Turner, Aaron Whittaker, Spicer 
Patrick, George Goshorn, James Y. Quarrier 
and Henry Rogers are appointed commissioners 
to raise by lottery money not exceeding $10,- 
000 to be applied to paving the streets in the 
town of Charleston in Kanawha county. This 
in an act for improving the ways of the peo- 
ple of the town, by way of a chance, as a lot- 
tery is a game of chance, and this act makes it 
legal to improve said ways. 

Act of March 5, 1846, to extend the limits 
of the town of Charleston which is to include 
Lovell's Addition, and the brick house of James 
Downard, Thomas Whittaker, W. R. Cox, etc. 

Act of Feb. 15, 1849, amending act incorpo- 
rating the town of Charleston, etc. 

As the town grew the limits were changed, 
and as there would be no end to such acts, we 
have concluded that for the purposes of history 
the above are sufficient. 

WEST VIRGINIA DECISIONS RELATING TO 
CHARLESTON. 

16 West Virginia, 282 — Gillison, Trustee, 
vs. Charleston. Surface water. 

17 West Virginia, 628 — Fisher vs. Charles- 
ton. Mandamus. 

27 West Virginia, 681 — City vs. Reed. 
Fire Ordinance. 



166 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



41 'West Virginia, 658 — Ch. & S. Bridge 
Co. vs. Kan. Co. Erro. Acct. of Bridge 

43 West Virginia, 62 — Blair vs. Charles- 
ton. Change of grade. 

45 West Virginia, 44 — Charleston vs. Bel- 
ler. City non-liability for costs. 

46 West Virginia, 88 — Arthur vs. Charles- 
ton. Streets — negligence. 

57 West Virginia, 433 — Shaw vs. Charles- 
ton. Prison damages. 

62 AVest Virginia, 654 — Cavender vs. 
Charleston. Liability for bridges. 

62 West Virginia, 665 — Fellows vs. 
Charleston. Ordinance Injunction. Hagar 
vs. City. Injunction. Street assets or assess- 
ments. 

CHARLESTON IN 1838-4O. 

Author, Dr. Caruthers. 
Builders, John Mays, Norris Whittaker, 
John True John, Thos. R. Fife. 
Butcher, John G. M. Spriggle. 
Blacksmith, John Hill, John Hall. 
Boatman, James Mays. 

Bakers, Justin White, John and Charles Al- 
len. 

Bank Officers, J. C. McFarland, Samuel 
Hanna, John M. Doddridge. 

Brick Makers, Norris S. Whittaker. 

Brick Mason, Andrew Cunningham. 

Cabinet Maker, James G. Taylor. 

Crockery Maker, Stephen Taylor. 

County and Circuit Clerk, Alex. W. Quar- 
rier, W m. Hatcher, Dpy. 

Coal-haulers, Dock and Gabe. 

Constable, William Hutt. 

Carpenters, Charles Neal, Silas Cobb, John 
Wilson, John Truejohn, Thos. R. Fife, John 
Starke, Thomas C. Thomas. 

Drayman, Noah Colley. 

Editor, Mason Campbell. 

Ferrymen, Charles Brown, Geo. Goshorn, 
Lewis D. Wilson. 

Farmers, Bradford Noyes, W. R. Cox.. 
Charles Brown. 

Hatter, Gabriel Garrou. 

Hotel-keeper, H. B. Sanders, Geo. Goshorn, 
John Mays, Aaron Whittaker, Capt. Jas. Wil- 
son, L. D. Wilson. 

Jailors, W. A. Kelly, William Hatcher. 



Lawyers, M. Dunbar, G. W. Summers, B. H. 
Smith, J. M. Laidley, C. E. Doddridge, J. L. 
Carr, Jas. Hedrick, Joseph Lovell. 

Merchants, Joseph Caldwell, Crockett Ingles, 
Thomas Whitteker, Gilbert Adams, Mason 
Campbell, Joseph Friend, W. T. Rand, James 

A. Lewis, Franklin Noyes, Joel Shrewsbury, 
Jr., J. F. Foure, N. B. Coleman. 

Miller, Joseph Bibby. 

Magistrate, William Gillison. 

Preachers, John Snyder, Jas. M. Brown, 
James Craik. 

Physicians, Spicer Patrick, Thompson C. 
Watkins, Harry Rogers, Dr. Caruthers, Noah 
Cushman. 

Post-master, James A. Lewis. 

Salt-makers, Crockett Ingles, Joseph Friend, 
Isaac Noyes, F. Brooks, W. T. Rand, J. H. 
Fry, Franklin Noyes, W. R. Cox, Joel Shrews- 
bury, Jr., T. F. Foure, Joseph Lovell, N. B. 
Coleman. 

Salt Inspector, Franklin Reynolds. 

Saw-mill-man, Thomas Whitteker. 

Silver Smith and Watchmaker, Wm. Honey- 
man. 

Supt. River Improvement, Ezra Walker. 
Sheriff, Jas. H. Fry, Deputy Jas. Y. Ouar- 
rier. 

Shoemaker, Andrew Beach. 

School Teachers, Mrs. Alethia Brigham, W. 
J. Rand, Jacob Rand. 

Toll Collector on River, W. Whitteker, Sr. 

Tailors, Garrett Kelly, John A. Truslow, 
James Truslow. 

Saddle and Harness Maker, W. W. Kelly. 

Steamboat Captains, Snelling C. Farley, N. 

B. Coleman. 

Stage-runner, H. B. Saunders. 

Widows, Mrs. S. Cook, Mrs. Chilton, Mrs. 
Todd, Mrs. Snyder. 

Washer-women, Judy Grinnam, Nancy 
Gibson. 

LIST OF MAYORS OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, 
WEST VIRGINIA 

(From 1861) 

1. Jacob Goshorn. 

2. John A. Truslow. 

3. John Williams. 

4. George Ritter. 




COURT HOUSE, CHARLESTON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



169 



5. J. W. Wingfield. 

6. H. Clay Dickinson. 

7. John P. Hale. 

8. C. P. Snyder. 

9. John D. White. 

10. John C. Ruby. 

11. C. J. Botkin. 

12. R. R. Delaney. 

13. John D. Baines. 

14. J. H. Hiding. 

15. Joseph L. Fry. 

16. J. B. Pemberton. 

17. E. W. Staunton. 

18. J. A. deGruyter. 

19. W. Herman Smith. 

20. John B. Floyd. 

21. George S. Morgan. 

22. C. E. Rudesill. 

23. John A. Jarrett. 

24. James A. Holley. 

COURT HOUSE OF KANAWHA. 

There has always been more or less mystery 
concerning the location of the lot in Charleston 
for the court house of the county. In so far 
as is deemed sufficient, we give the proceedings 
of the court in relation thereto; we imagine 
that there was never any deed made or there 
would never have been any mystery about it. 

On the first day of the County Court of said 
County of Kanawha, which was the 5th day of 
October, 1789, after the said Court had been 
organized, amongst many other things we find 
the following: 

"October 5th, 1789, — Ordered, that the pub- 
lic buildings for said county be erected on the 
lands of George Clendenin, and until so erected, 
to hold the said Court at the mansion House 
of the said George Clendenin. 

"May 2nd, 1790, — Ordered, that George Al- 
derson do recover back his lot which the Court 
had purchased and George agrees to return 
his one hundred dollars. 

"Aug. 2nd, 1796, — Ordered that George 
Alderson be allowed $100.00 for his lot, for 
erecting balance of the building on for the 
County, Ed Graham and John Reynolds are 
appointed commissioners to let the contract for 
the Court House. 

The bond by Goodrich Slaughter for com- 



pleting the house of Charles Donnally for the 
Court House, be given up to him as the con- 
tract has been cancelled. 

"Aug. 7, 1797, — Wm. Morris, Joseph Ruff- 
ner and John Reynolds do report a plan of 
prison. 

"George Alderson, Sheriff, protests against 
the sufficiency of the present jail. 

"Nov. 7, 1797, George Alderson protests 
against the sufficiency of the jail. 

"April 18, 1798.- — On settlement with Will- 
iam Clendenin, late sheriff, there is a balance 
in favor of the county for nineteen pounds, 
three shillings and three pence, less the sum of 
three pounds, seven shillings and six pence 
paid Goodrich Slaughter for building the 
Court House. 

"June 16, 1798, George Alderson came into 
Court and acknowledged a sale of one acre 
lot, to the magistrates and their successors ; it 
being the lot on which the Court House now 
stands and a conveyance is to- be made at next 
Court, and a credit to be given George Aider- 
son for one hundred dollars, the purchase money 
on his account with the Court. 

An allowance made for one lot, $100.00. 
Ordered that George Alderson do appear at 
next September Court, to adjust his account 
with the Court respecting the County and Par- 
ish levies for the year 1797. 

CHARLESTON AS THE STATE CAPITAL. 

For the following account of the removal of 
the capital from Charleston to Wheeling, and 
the subsequent action of the people, our readers 
in Kanawha county are indebted to Hon. 
Charles Hedrick, at that time secretary of 
state, by appointment of Governor Jacob, who 
knows whereof he speaks, as the citizens of 
Kanawha county do not need to be told. Says 
Mr. Hedrick : "I was appointed Secretary of 
State by Governor John J. Jacob, March 4, 
1873, and the appointment was confirmed by 
the senate. This was while the State capital 
was at Charleston, whither it had been removed 
from AVheeling in 1870, and where the law 
declared it should be located permanently. But 
by another act of the legislature, passed Feb- 
ruary 20, 1875, to take effect ninety days there- 
after, it was^directed to be again removed to 



170 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Wheeling, until otherwise provided by law. 
An injunction was sued out by some of the 
citizens of Charleston, restraining the removal 
of the records, papers and property pertaining 
to the capital. The Governor and other exec- 
utive officers started on the day appointed by 
law, May 20th, but took no records or other 
public property with them. 

"The suit was carried to the Supreme Court 
of the State, and after very able legal argu- 
ments on both sides, the injunction was dis- 
solved, whereupon the archives, property, etc., 
of the State were removed to Wheeling, and an 
old building called Lindley's Institute, was oc- 
cupied as a capitol. This is the same build- 
ing formerly used by the State government as 
the capitol before the removal from Wheeling 
to Charleston under an act passed February 
20, 1869, which took effect April 1, 1870. 

"It remained as the capitol until a new one, 
built by the city of Wheeling, was completed 
in 1876. 

"The people of W r est Virginia never intended 
that Wheeling should remain the permanent 
seat of government, so the legislature passed 
an act February 21, 1877, authorizing the sub- 
mission of the question of the permanent loca-~ 
tion of the capital to a vote of the people, the 
vote to be cast for Clarksburg in Harrison 
county, Martinsburg in Berkeley county, and 
Charleston in Kanawha county, and for no other 
place. After an earnest and excited canvass 
Charleston was chosen by a large majority. 

"The act provided that the place receiving 
the largest number of votes should be the per- 
manent seat of government of the State, from 
and after the first clay of May, 1885. And 
further, that it should never again be removed 
except by a vote of a majority of the qualified 
voters of the State, cast at an election held for 
the purpose in pursuance of an act of the legis- 
lature, the adoption of a new constitution, or 
an amendment of the present one. That the 
act should be deemed to be a contract between 
the State and the persons who might donate 
real estate or money, or both, as provided by 
the act ; that the seat of government should not 
be removed except as therein provided ; and that 
the circuit court of the county in which it should 
be located, should have jurisdiction and power 



upon a bill filed by any such donor (or his heirs 
etc.), or any one or more of the taxpayers of 
the county, to perpetually enjoin the removal 
if attempted in any other way than the act pro- 
vided. 

"A fine and commodious building is now be- 
ing erected by the State, on the site of the 
former capitol, which was donated to the State 
by certain citizens of Charleston and accepted 
by the State. It will be a handsome building, 
and finished by the time the seat of government 
is to be removed. Thus it is shrewdly sug- 
gested that the location at Charleston will be 
doubly permanent." 

In his own behalf Mr. Hedrick adds : 'T was 
violently opposed to the removal of the capital 
from Charleston. It was my home. Nor 
would I have gone with the other officers, but 
would have resigned, had not Governor Jacob, 
who had kindly given me the office when it 
was desirable, urged me to remain with him. 
So, like my somewhat remote ancestors, Adam 
and Eve, when they were removed from the 
first seat of government of which we have any 
account, "with wandering steps and slow," I 
took my weary way to Wheeling, remaining 
in the office during Governor Jacob's guberna- 
torial term." 

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 

Some apt turner of phrases has denominated 
the Chamber of Commerce a "city's power 
house." The Charleston Chamber of Com- 
merce has been no exception to this character- 
ization during the last five years of its existence 
and it justifies the appellation today. Origi- 
nally incorporated a little more than ten years 
ago as a close corporation of the city's leading 
business men, smacking more of the club than 
of the commercial organization as it is under- 
stood and developed today, this policy was 
changed six years ago when Charleston en- 
tered upon an era of industrial growth and the 
idea has been broadened and strengthened ever 
since. 

The Charleston Chamber of Commerce was 
incorporated as a stock corporation in 1901, 
application for charter being made October 
26, 1900, and the following citizens signed 
the original charter: Charles Capito, Charles 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



171 



Loeb, Kanawha Valley Bank, E. A. Barnes, 
Jack Carr, C. C. Lewis, Jr., C. K. Payne, P. 
H. Noyes, Geo. F. Coyle, Ben Baer, I. Schwabe, 
Lewis Loewenstein, H. P. Cannon, W. B. Don- 
nally, W. F. Goshorn, Philip Frankenberger, 
N. S. Burlew, F. J. Daniels, Frank Woodman, 
Kanawha National Bank and W. S. Lewis. 

The purposes of the Chamber were indicated 
as follows : "For the purposes of collection and 
preservation of statistical information connected 
with the commercial and manufacturing inter- 
ests of Charleston; promoting just and equit- 
able principles in trade; establishing uniformity 
in the commercial usages of said city; settling 
differences speedily and without litigation and 
promoting the general progress and prosperity 
of the community." The corporation was orig- 
inally empowered to hold, lease, sell and con- 
vey real property to the value of $2,500 and 
this provision was later amended to cover 
$100,000 of real and $25,000 of personal prop- 
erty. The first officers of the Chamber were 
as follows : Charles Capito, president ; Charles 
K. Payne, vice-president; Charles Loeb, sec- 
retary; J. L. Dickinson, treasurer, and W. S. 
Lewis, F. M. Staunton, R. G. Hubbard, E. A. 
Barnes and Philip Frankenberger, with the of- 
ficers as directors. President Capito, Secre- 
tary Loeb, Treasurer Dickinson and Directors 
Staunton, Hubbard and Barnes held their of- 
fices for more than ten years or until the reor- 
ganization of the Chamber on June 1, 191 1, 
with the employment of S. P. Puffer as a sal- 
aried secretary to succeed Mr. Loeb and the 
creation of an Industrial and Traffic depart- 
ment with R. P. De Van as secretary and man- 
ager. 

The early work of the Chamber of Com- 
merce was marked by the closest interest of the 
body in civic affairs, especially in co-operation 
with the city political and administrative bodies 
in the adjustment of taxation and the develop- 
ment of improvements, more particularly those 
relating to sewage and street paving. Some fac- 
tories were located, the first being the National 
Veneer Company, and much attention was paid 
to the development of the city's transportation 
facilities, and water, gas, electric and insurance 
rates with marked beneficent results. 

In 1903 the preparatory work leading to 



the campaign for the location of industries was 
begun with the visit of Charles Capito and D. 
C. Boyce to the Indiana oil and gas fields where 
investigations were made which later lead to 
the acquisition of the Kelly Axe Manufactur- 
ing Co., the largest concern of its kind in the 
world. The acquisition of this plant stimulated 
interest in the work of the Chamber, largely 
increased its membership and influence and lead 
to the later development of South Charleston 
as an industrial suburb where several important 
industries were located in the years 1904, 1905 
and 1906. 

In August, 1903, the Chamber secured its 
present permanent quarters in the Kanawha 
Banking & Trust Co. building. In 1910 there 
was much activity on the part of the Chamber 
in the discussion of a public market project, in 
the investigation of proposed industries and in 
the preparation of a water works franchise. 

With the reorganization of the Chamber in 
June, 191 1, and the employment of salaried sec- 
retaries, the Chamber entered upon a new era. 
Its affairs have been put upon a business basis 
and regular office hours are maintained. The 
work of the newly organized industrial and 
traffic bureau has been recognized as produc- 
tive of results. A membership campaign, pend- 
ing at the time of the publication of this book, 
bids fair to increase the membership of the 
Chamber to satisfactory proportions and to 
cover all elements and interests of the city while 
several important industries are now seeking lo- 
cation in Charleston and may be secured before 
this publication leaves the presses. 

The Chamber of Commerce owns a lot on 
Ouarrier street where some day it may erect a 
permanent office building and home. 

THE WATER AND ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT. 

The Kanawha Water & Light Company sup- 
plies water and electric light to the city of 
Charleston. It is a corporation chartered 
under the laws of the state of West Virginia. 

These utilities have during their existence 
been under many different ownerships, and the 
evolution of them is somewhat interesting. 
During these times of rapid progress in busi- 
ness we are led to overlook the many incon- 
veniences we have heretofore labored under. 



172 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Up to the early eighties the city of Charleston 
had no waterworks system, either for domestic 
purposes or fire protection. The city depended 
upon their water supply by securing it from 
the Kanawha river, or wells. Parties at that 
time being in the business of delivering water 
in barrels. In November, 1884, the city 
granted to one E. R. Davenport a franchise 
for the erection if a waterworks system, and 
soon after the granting of the franchise, work 
progressed on the erecting of the plant. The 
corporate limits of the city at that time being 
very limited — close to what is now the center 
of town, only eight miles of small size pipe, 
eight and ten inches being the largest size 
which was to be laid, and only a few fire hy- 
drants were ordered installed. The contract 
with the city at that time was that the water 
company install pumping machinery capable of 
pumping one million gallons of water in twen- 
ty-four hours. The plant was installed on 
Slack street and the water supply taken from 
Elk river. At a later date a small reservoir of 
about 800,000 gallons capacity was erected. 
Col. Davenport interested Judge J. H. Brown, 
C. C. Lewis and Col. W. H. Hogeman, who 
began to prepare for the organization of the 
company. Col. Hogeman's death destroyed 
the enterprise insofar as the organization was 
concerned and Col. Davenport had his fran- 
chise, and a limited time in which to construct 
the works, but without money or a company. 

He failed for some time to interest any par- 
ties when he satisfied W. D. Laidley that his 
plan was a feasible one, and by certain negotia- 
tions, a quantity of pipe was ordered and 
when it came, was placed in the ground. 

After a while the National Tube Works 
came on, by its officers, to see about the pipe 
that had been sent, and they found no com- 
pany, no money, with the pipe under ground, 
and Davenport satisfied them that the enter- 
prise was an excellent one and all they had to 
do was to put it through ; and it looked that 
this was the only thing to do, and they did it. 

They were required to throw water over 
the top of the flagstaff on the capitol and it 
was done, and they continued to do all that 
was required of them. Mr. Frank Woodman 
and others became interested after the Tube 



Works men got the waterworks built. To 
Col. Davenport is the town indebted for the 
waterworks. 

In its earlier history many Charleston people 
were interested in its management, among 
whom were Mr. Frank Woodman, Mr. J. A. 
DeGruyter, Mr. James Brown, Mr. E. W. 
Knight, Mr. W. S. Laidley. 

In 1 87 1 an artificial gas plant was started 
by Charles Ward, and in 1880 it was reorgan- 
ized by E. B. Knight and others. The Kana- 
wha Electric Company was organized in 1887 
by Philip Frankenberger and O. H. Michael- 
son for the purpose of supplying electric light. 

In 1 89 1 the Charleston Gas and Electric 
Company was organized and merged with it 
the Artificial Gas Plant and the Kanawha Elec- 
tric Company. The gas plant being operated 
on Virginia street between Truslow and Gos- 
horn streets, and the electric light plant on 
Alderson street between Virginia and Kanawha 
streets. This company had at that time some 
dynamos which were modern in those days. 
Officers of this company were Frank Wood- 
man, president; W. S. Laidley, secretary; J. 
A. DeGruyter, treasurer, and J. A. Hatcher, 
superintendent; O. H. Michaelson, manager. 

In 1902 the Kanawha Water & Light Com- 
pany was organized by the different parties 
named, and merged with it the Charleston 
Water Works, the Artificial Gas Plant, and the 
Charleston Gas & Electric Company, and the 
necessary electrical equipment was installed 
with the water plant, after which the Alderson 
street electric plant was shut down. Then the 
local owners continued the management for a 
time, after which the company was sold to 
Wheeling capitalists headed by Mr. Howard 
and associates, who operated the property until 
March 1, 1906; at which time the property 
was sold to the present owners. 

Up to this date the capacity, and efficiency 
of these properties were taxed by reason of the 
fact that Charleston had experienced an ex- 
tensive growth, both as to population and ter- 
ritory, and as the machinery and equipment 
through its years of constant usage were not 
able to cope with the situation, lines which were 
at one time large enough to deliver the neces- 
sary water to the small territory were found 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



173 



to be too small. Pumps at the plant were be- 
coming obsolete and not capable of furnishing 
the required volume and pressure. 

The following are the claims of the present 
company : The present owners, while being 
in possession of the property but a short time, 
began in 1907 to install and equip a modern 
and up-to-date water and electric light plant. 
Two (2) new Allis-Chalmers high duty pumps 
were installed with a capacity of ten million 
gallons in twenty-four hours. A modern me- 
chanical filter plant was installed with a daily 
capacity of eight million gallons of filtered 
water. Instead of depending upon a ten-inch 
line from the pump house to the center of the 
city, there was installed a new 20-inch line. 
In the power plant all the old electrical equip- 
ment was disbanded, and modern machinery 
installed. New steam lines were installed, in 
fact everything installed is practically in dupli- 
cate for the purpose of furnishing a continuity 
of service. The new equipment represents an 
expenditure of over $400,000. The installing 
of the new electrical equipment has enabled the 
company to furnish first-class service both for 
lighting and power. 

The officers of the company are : President, 
W. O. Johnson, Chicago, 111. ; Secretary, Wal- 
ter M. Johnson, Chicago, 111. ; Treasurer, W. 
C. Davisson, Charleston, W. Va. 

The Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph 
Co. The head office of this company is lo- 
cated in Atlanta, Georgia. The company op- 
erates in seven states, this territory being di- 
vided into six divisions. Operations in 
Charleston, W. Va. were begun in 1888 or 
1889, at which time the company has in all less 
than one hundred telephones. The long dis- 
tance lines of the American Telephone & Tele- 
graph Co., with which the Southern Bell Tele- 
phone & Telegraph Co. connects, were brought 
into Charleston in October, 1897. Following 
the general development in Charleston, the tele- 
phone system also grew, and by 1901 700 tele- 
phones belonged to the Charleston exchange be- 
sides fifty miles of toll lines from Charleston. 

In 1 90 1 Mr. Williams, who is now commer- 
cial and traffic superintendent of the Charles- 
ton Division of the Southern Bell Telephone 
and Telegraph Co. began his duties as man- 



ager of the Charleston Exchange and has been 
promoted successively until he has reached his 
present position. Under Mr. Williams the 
Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. has 
increased from 700 to 3,550 telephones in the 
city of Charles and 1,000 miles of toll lines 
into Charleston and connections with long dis- 
tance lines of the American Telephone & Tele- 
graph Co., with which the Bell Telephone & 
Telegraph Co. coming into Charleston con- 
nects and controls. The Southern Bell Tele- 
phone & Telegraph Co. has been under the 
present management since 1901. There are 
twenty-five exchanges in the Charleston Divi- 
sion giving regular employment to 265 people 
in this one division and at times many more in 
the extension of lines and improvements. The 
physical condition of the lines is good which 
adds materially to the business. Of these em- 
ployees, consisting of the office force and those 
engaged in outside work, about 100 are in 
Charleston. Mr. Williams was the first and 
only commercial traffic superintendent of the 
Charleston Division since the creation of the 
same. Charleston is not only the district but 
division headquarters. Charleston is supplied 
with the most up-to-date equipment in use 
anywhere in the country. The first home of 
the Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co. 
was in what is now the barber shop of the 
Ru finer Hotel, sharing the office with the 
Western Union Telegraph Company and the 
city ticket office of the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroad until 1896. In 1896 the Southern 
Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company moved 
into the building where the Western Union 
Telegraph Company is now located, both oc- 
cupying the same building. The Southern 
Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company was on 
the floor above the Western Union Telegraph 
Co. In 1906 and 1907 the Southern Bell Tele- 
graph & Telephone Company erected its splen- 
did office building at 210 Hale St. and moved 
into it in 1907. 

The local officers are Mr. Williams, first su- 
perintendent division offices at Charleston ; C. 
M. Boren, district and commercial manager; 
W. G. Rauch, division plant superintendent ; D. 
J. Collins, district plant chief ; J. S. Kirk, dis- 
trict traffic chief. 



171 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The Charleston I Ionic; Telephone Company 
began business in Charleston in 1895 and in 
1 90 1 rebuilt and installed a new plant. This 
concern was absorbed by the Southern Bell 
Telephone & Telegraph Company during the 
summer of 191 1 (Aug. 27, 19 1 1 ). The South- 
ern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company has 
four large office buildings in Atlanta, Georgia. 

CITY CEMETERY 

The deed to the first cemetery tract of land 
made to the town of Charleston was for one 
acre on the road above the city and was made 
by Daniel Ruffner in [831. Just what dis- 
position was made of the dead previous to 
that time we are not advised. There was an- 
other .graveyard on said road nearer the town, 
but ii was not conveyed to the town but be- 
longed to Lewis D. Wilson. 

About 1K59 a company was formed — the 
Kanawha Cemetery Company — which pur- 
1 ha eel about 20 acres on the hill just back of 
the town and a good road was built up to it, 
just at the beginning of the Civil War, being 
finished perhaps in i860 or 1861. This road 
was made by Henry Chappell, but there were 
but one or two burials made when from the 
( Inited Stales hospitals and the ranks of the 
Federal Army in the valley a few soldiers were 
buried in the new cemetery, called the "Spring 
Mill Cemetery," which name was given be- 
cause of the spring at the foot of the hill on 
which the cemetery was located. This tract 
contained some twenty acres and since, this 
purchase by this company, it was bought by 
the city, and oilier lots or parcels of land have 
been added to the cemetery. One, for in- 
stance, by purchase from E. A. Bennett of 
thirteen acres, and others of smaller dimen- 
sions — all of which will be found of record in 
the office of the clerk of the County Court of 
Kanawha County. 

We refer to deed book H, page 3 for deed 
from Daniel k'nlfner to the town, to deed book 
No. 37, page 270, where information will be 
found in reference to the original purchase by 
the company. See also the exchange of deeds 
with Richard W alls, p. 272 and also exchange 
deeds with the Hebrew Ed. Society in 99, p. 
532, and in deed book No. 47, p. 26 and 28. 



In the vicinity of the original tract were 
lands laid off in lots by G. L. Jeffries, some of 
which have been purchased. A map thereof 
is found in map book No. I, page 72 and lots 
5, if, 14 and 15 were conveyed by Mr. Ben- 
nett in 47 p. 26 and by others since. 

There was purchased a tract adjoining that 
held by the city in the rear, where the Roman 
Catholic Church buried its dead. The Hebrews 
have a lot adjoining the City Cemetery, which 
they use. 

A company has erected a cement building 
near the city cemetery called a "mausoleum," 
where persons are entombed above the ground. 

Spring Hill Cemetery has been laid off into 
lots and roads and has been kept in fairly good 
condition, and there have been erected therein 
many monuments, some imposing, some beau- 
tiful, some handsome, and all good. 

CHARLESTON CITY OFFICIALS IN I9II. 

While there are a large number of council 
men, the business of the city is done by the 
Board of Affairs, and this board is made of 
four persons, two Democrats and two Republi- 
cans, and one of the four becomes the Mayor 
for a certain time, which is what is called a 
nonpartisan arrangement, and is a late thing 
in municipal government. For the year 191 1, 
the officials were : 

Mayor — James A. Holley. 

Recorder — J. Shirley Ross. 

City Sergeant — Chas. I. Hubbard. 

Treasurer — J. F. Bedell. 

City Solicitor — Upshur Higginbotham. 

Auditor — H. L. Flournoy. 

City Engineer — William A. Hogue. 

Police Judge — A. D. McCorkle. 

Chief of Police— A. T. Guill. 

Chief of Fire Dept.— C. C. Rand. 

Lock-up Keeper — M. P. Spradling. 

Health Commissioner — O. L. Aultz. 

Street Commissioner — William F. Kain. 

Building Inspector — James H. Cain. 

BOARD OF AFFAIRS. 

J. A. Holley, J. B. White, H. B. Buster, 
and L. L. Price. During the year there was an 
election — White and Buster retired and J. F. 
Bedell and O. A. Petty were elected and Bedell 



AND RKRRKSKNTATIVK CITIZKNS 



175 



became Mayor. Upshur Higginbotham, so- 
licitor, died in September. 

Charleston, Kanawha C. H., \\ . Va., popu- 
lation in [900, [1,099; population in [910, 
23,000. From Charleston it is 63 miles to 
Wheeling; 23 miles to the head of navigation. 

Charleston is on the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroad, the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad, 



the Coal & Coke Railroad, and the Kanawha 
and West Virginia Railroad, and the Virginia 
Railroad comes to the Kanawha river at deep 
water, and has its trains come to Charleston 
on the C. & O. tracks. 

The Coal River Railroad makes connection 
with the Chesapeake & Ohio at St. Albans. 



CHAPTER X 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 

The Charleston Public Library—Sheltering Arms Hospital — Charleston General Hospital and 
Training School — Charleston Day Nursery — Young Men's Christian Association. 



THE CHARLESTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

By Miss Mabel Delle Jones, Librarian. 

The Charleston Public Library was founded 
June 3, 1909, by the Woman's Kanawha Liter- 
ary Club, theactive committee being Mrs. 
George Lounsbery, Mrs. Fred Paul Grosscup, 
Mrs. M. P. Ruffner, Mrs. John E. Norvell, 
Mrs. Benjamin Caruthers, Mrs. M. M. Will- 
iamson and Miss Sue Staunton. The commit- 
tee interested the public through personal ap- 
peal and public mass meetings, and since its 
organization has been in charge of Miss Mabel 
Delle Jones, a graduate librarian of the Western 
Reserve University of Cleveland, O. It has 
been maintained by popular subscription and 
public entertainments. At a recent session of 
the state legislature a law relative to founding 
and maintaining a city library was passed. 
This is a free public library to which every 
white citizen of Charleston is welcome. The 
methods of conducting it are modern and ex- 
pansive, so that the library may not be called 
upon to change the system as it develops. The 
two library rooms are given free of rent by 
the local Y. M. C. A. and were furnished by 
the Library Association. At the opening of the 
library there were 800 books on the shelves, 
all of which had been donated. After two 
years of existence there are 3,300 books, 2,200 
borrowers, a daily circulation of eighty books 
and more than 100 daily visitors to its read- 
ing and reference rooms. The library board 
is made up as follows : George S. Laidley, 
president; Mrs. Benjamin Caruthers, secretary; 
Miss Sue Staunton, treasurer; and C. M. 



Alderson, Mrs. George Lounsbery, William 
Burdette Mathews, Mrs. William E. Glass- 
cock, Mrs. Frank Woodman, A. J. Hum- 
phreys, W. E. Connell and Rabbi Leon Vol- 
mer. The future prospects are bright for the 
permanency and extension of the library, the 
Chamber of Commerce having recently recom- 
mended the purchase of a lot and the providing 
of a fund for the maintenance of the public 
library, a Carnegie library being among the 
possibilities. 

SHELTERING ARMS HOSPITAL. 

This admirable institution had its origin in 
January, 1886, and was organized and has 
been maintained for the purpose of healing 
the sick and injured of the Kanawha and 
New river districts, special reference being 
had to the mining population and to the men 
employed on the railroad. For this purpose 
suitable property was secured at Paint Creek 
(now Hansford), on the C. & O. Railway, 
in the heart of the mining region, and about 
twenty miles east of Charleston. This prop- 
erty, which was purchased at a cost of $2,500, 
included about thirteen acres of land and sev- 
eral small buildings. 

By the efforts of Bishop Peterkin, Archdea- 
con Spurr, and others, further funds were se- 
cured and in 1888 additional buildings were 
erected, costing about $2,000, and the hospital 
was opened in the fall of that year, having a 
capacity of about twenty patients. During the 
summer and fall of 1891 about $3,000 were 
raised and spent in further additions and im- 
provements and the capacity of the institution 



176 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



177 



was increased to about thirty patients. For 
these first years — 1889, 1890, 1891 — the cost 
of maintenance was about $2,000 annually. 

The people were at first somewhat slow to 
appreciate or avail themselves of the privileges 
offered, but soon about 600 names were en- 
rolled on the list at the nominal rate of ten 
cents a month, a rate increased in 1907 to fif- 
teen cents a month. Up to the summer of 1890 
the hospital has about 27 patients, a number 
that had increased to 116 by the year 1893-94. 
In 1907-08 the hospital cared for nearly 800. 
During these years additions were made to the 
building and heating and electric light plants 
installed at a cost of about $10,000. A neat 
chapel and a home (costing about $4,500) to 
serve as the headquarters of a missionary, 
etc., were also erected on the grounds, and up 
to the summer of 1907 the whole property 
had increased in value to somewhere near 
$25,000. 

In the meanwhile a kind friend in New Jer- 
sey, the late Mrs. Chas. S. Olden, of Prince- 
ton, left a legacy amounting to $17,160. The 
institution also benefited by $1,000 from the 
estate of Mrs. Waters, of Charleston, and by 
an anonymous gift of $5,000 from someone in 
Virginia. The increase from these legacies with 
the Thanksgiving-Day offerings of the church 
throughout the diocese, ranging from $500 to 
$1,000, supplemented by boxes of supplies 
from branches of the Woman's Auxiliary and 
other friends ; all these added to the regular 
income from the dues of the miners, which 
range from $10,000 to $12,000, enabled the 
management to carry on the work successfully, 
the income from pay patients being compara- 
tively small. To the .original institution a 
Training School for Nurses was now added, 
from which several are graudated each year. 

The present neat and commodious building 
was opened July 15, 1908, at which time 
Bishop Peterkin delivered an interesting ad- 
dress, among other speakers being President 
Stevens and Archdeacon Spurr. The oc- 
casion was a notable one and many distin- 
guished guests were present. The hospital 
now has accommodations for more than 100 
patients, with an average of sixty patients a 
day, and twelve hundred patients a year are 
treated. 



The hospital received patients with acute, 
curable, and non-contagious diseases, without 
distinction of creed, nationality or color. Pa- 
tients not able to pay receive free treatment. 
There are a limited number of beds in wards 
for pay patients, and also a department for 
pay patients in private rooms. Visitors are 
admitted daily between 2 and 5 p. m. 

The following are the officers and directors 
of this institution, as given in its twenty-first 
annual report. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

Rt. Rev. Geo. W. Peterkin, D. D., L.L. D., 
president, Parkersburg. 

Rt. Rev. W. L. Gravatt, D. D., Charles 
Town. 

Capt. W. R. Johnson, vice-president, Cres- 
cent. 

Rev. R. D. Roller, D. D., chaplain and sec- 
retary, Charleston. 

D. T. Evans, Powellton. 
C. A. Cabell, Carbon. 

Archdeacon B. M. Spurr, Moundsville.- 
C. C. Beury, Claremont. 

E. W. Grice, Hinton. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

Rev. R. D. Roller, D. D., Charleston. 

C. A. Cabell, Carbon. 

D. T. Evans, Powellton. 

TREASURER. 

C. A. Cabell, Carbon. 

BUSINESS MANAGER. 

Ben R. Roller, Hansford. 

STAFF. 

Superintendent — J. Ross Hunter, M. D. 
Resident Physician — S. H. Yokeley, M. D. 

Superintendent of Nurses — Miss Mary J. 
Parry, R. N. 

Head Nurse — Miss Amy C. Dunlap, R. N. 

CHARLESTON GENERAL HOSPITAL AND 
TRAINING SCHOOL. 

The Charleston General Hospital and Train- 
ing School, a brick construction located on 
Richmond Drive, was erected by the city of 
Charleston in 1896 at a cost of approximately 



178 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



$30,000. The institution is modern in both 
architecture and equipment. The contract for 
grading and building was let on April 10, 
1896, to Minnotti and Summers, the contract 
price being $24,311.50. However, owing to 
changes in the specifications not called for in 
the original contract the building when turned 
over to the trustees cost several thousand dol- 
lars more than the contract price. For illus- 
tration — the grading for the foundation called 
for the removal of dirt, but instead there was 
found a large amount of stone which had to. 
be removed by blasting, and this had not been 
contemplated in the original contract. The 
site on which the hospital is located was owned 
by the city of Charleston a number of years 
before the institution was erected. The hos- 
pital was conducted by the city until March 
4, 1904, and after that date Dr. F. S. Thomas 
was for a time in charge. 

Since March, 1906, a body of prominent 
physicians formed a corporation to take over 
the institution, the personnel of which is com- 
posed of the following physicians, viz. : John 
W. Moore, M. D., president; G..C. School- 
field, M. D.; H. FI. Young, M. D. ; R. T. 
Davis, M. D. ; Eugene Davis, M. D. ; and J. 
E: Cannaday, M. D. 

The city in turning the hospital over to the 
new management and paying a stipulated 
amount and providing the public service con- 
veniences, has made appropriate arrangements 
for the care of all city patients. It is con- 
ducted as a general hospital and is open to all 
physicians of good standing. There are two 
general wards — male and female — besides 
twenty rooms for private patients. There are 
fifteen nurses under training for a period of 
three years. The hospital has accommodations 
for fifty patients and from eight hundred to a 
thousand patients are received and treated an- 
nually. 

The present is the first and only board of 
trustees and is composed of the following: 
J. Q. Dickinson, president; George Minisker, 
secretary; J. F. Brown, J. R. Seal, Charles 
Capito, Charles Loeb and Peter Silman. 

The Kanawha County Infirmary is located 
abouf eight miles below Charleston in Union 
District on the right bank of the Kanawha 



River and on the line of the K. & M. R. R. 
The county purchased the farm, consisting of 
200 acres of land in 1882, paying $1,319.76 
therefor. The first buildings were small cot- 
tages, but by 1890 these had become practi- 
cally unfit for use, when the county court de- 
cided that it would be more practical as well 
as economical in the end to put up a suitable 
building. John S. McDonald and W. S. Laid- 
ley were members of the county court or com- 
mission. The work was done by the county at 
a cost of about $20,000. The building is a 
large plain brick structure, cut off into rooms, 
being two stories high over the cellar. The 
water is pumped from a pure stream for some 
distance in the rear of the building. The build- 
ing is heated through with steam. In addi- 
tion to the main building there is a separate 
house for the superintendent. The products 
grown on the farm are all consumed on the 
premises. The infirmary during 1910 cost Ka- 
nawha County $7,080.53. The entire poor 
fund raised and paid out in 19 10 amount in 
round numbers to $14,000. This includes the 
cost of the infirmary and the amount used in 
the districts in helping those in need. The 
total cost in 1907 for maintaining the infirmary 
and the county poor reached $19,000. 

THE BARBER SANATORIUM AND HOSPITAL, 
CHARLESTON. 

This institution was founded by T. L. Bar- 
ber, M. D., which at first consisted of a few 
rooms for electric and orthopaedic treatment. 
The hospital was opened April 1, 1905, as an 
orthopaedic institution but later was made a 
general hospital under Dr. John Cassaday 
after the failure of the health of Dr. Barber. 
The present building, a brick structure, was 
erected by Dr. T. L. Barber in 1907 and has 
nine private rooms for the care of patients 
and contains two wards, one for niale and the 
other for female patients. The institution 
furnishes accommodations for the treatment of 
fifteen patients. Dr. Barber, the founder, died 
in February, 19 10, but the hospital has been 
in charge and under the management of Dr. 
Hugh C. Nicholson since the fall of 1908. 
It is located at 1012 and 1014 Virginia street. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



181 



THE DAVIS CHILD'S SHELTER 

The Davis Child's Shelter, located at Xo. 
1118 Washington Street, Charleston, W. Va., 
was named in honor of Hon. Henry G. Davis, 
ex-U. S. senator, who donated the Home for 
charitable purposes in May, 1896. The insti- 
tution is state-wide in its operation and is 
maintained by charities chartered under the 
laws of West Virginia. Mr. Davis purchased 
the property at a cost of $13,500 and subse- 
quently built an addition to it at his own ex- 
pense, its present value being in the neighbor- 
hood of $30,000. 

The institution receives all children sound 
in mind and body from twelve months to 
twelve years of age, and also infants under 
twelve months, provided the mother of the 
children is dead. At the present time from 15 
to 20 are received monthly, the highest num- 
ber in any one month being 22. As soon as 
possible the children are placed in good homes, 
preference being given to such persons as may 
desire to legally adopt them. The character 
of every person seeking to adopt a child is care- 
fully investigated before the latter is turned 
over to them, the qualifications chiefly required 
being financial responsibility and moral fitness. 
There are now forty-seven children in the home 
in preparation for placement. 

Since it was founded up to the present time 
(October, 191 1) the Home has cared for 625 
children. Its capacity is 50 inmates, though a 
few more can be accommodated by crowding. 
There are at present 47 inmates, and the larg- 
est number at any one time has been 49. The 
Home is well furnished and presents a neat 
and attractive appearance.- Mr. Davis contrib- 
utes $100 per month to the institution, which 
is the only permanent fund it has, "the rest of 
the funds needed being raised by annual sub- 
scriptions all over the state. The work has 
grown to the point where it requires to meet 
the field expenses of the transportation of the 
children to and from the institution, $800 per 
month. 

The Home is under control of an Executive 
Committee chosen by the State Board of Di- 
rectors, and at present consisting of the fol- 
lowing individuals : Hon. G. W. Atkinson. LL. 
D., Rev. R. D. Roller, D. D., Rev. T. C. John- 



son, D. D., Hon. Geo. E. Price, Hon. H. G. 
Davis and Hon. H. C. McAYhorter. 

We append a summary of the report of the 
Home for the year ending May 31, 191 1 — 



RECEIPTS DURING THE YEAR 

Children carried from last year 41 

Children committed during the year 52 

Returns for placements 45 

Total to be accounted for 138 

CHILDREN DISPOSED OF DURING THE YEAR 

By first time placements 44 

By placements oftener than first time 58 

Total placements 102 

Returned to parents, or relatives 6 

Died during the year 3 

Committed to other institutions 2 

On hand at the close of the year 25 

Total accounted for 138 

It will be seen by the above report that 93 
different children have been cared for, and the 
45 returns will give the equivalent of 138 



children cared for without a cent of cost to the 
State. 

This is our Child Rescue Campaign for the 
last 12 months. 

Our 15 years of Child Rescue Campaign em- 
braces 579 different children cared for at 
Davis Child's Shelter, which number furnished 
about 220 returns for replacements in homes, 
making an equivalent of 747 different children 
cared for, without a cent of cost to the State. 

There are 32 counties from which we have 
the average of 10 children, taking some out 
of the County Infirmaries, and saving others 
from going there. Allowing $100 for the care 
of a child for a year, and it will appear that 
we are saving these counties the great sum of 
$32,000 annually, so long as they would have 
cared for these children. And while we are 
saving this money for these counties, we are 
making their dependent little ones into good 
citizens. Are we not worthy of help and en- 
couragement ? 

Without hesitation, we answer the above 
query in the affirmative. 

There is published at the Home a monthy 
paper, entitled "The Children's Home Friend," 



182 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



edited by Rev. N. O. Sowers, state superin- 
tendent of the Children's Home Society of 
West Virginia, which gives much detailed in- 
formation in regard to the institution and its 
work, and which contains interesting pictures 
of some of its inmates. 

CHARLESTON DAY NURSERY. 

The Charleston Day Nursery was organized 
about 1903 by Mrs. T. M. Jones. The object 
of the institution is to aid mothers to take care 
of their children and not to give them up. 
About $60 per month are received from sub- 
scriptions, the mother, or other parent paying 
one dollar a week for the board of the child. 
The ladies interested in the institution also 
raise some additional funds. The nursery is 
well patronized, there being usually from 30 
to 37 children accommodated, which is about 
its full capacity. It is located at the corner 
of Morris street and Piedmont road. Mrs. 
E. W. Bowyer is superintendent and the board 
of management or control is composed as fol- 
lows : Mrs. Malcolm Jackson, Mrs. D. W. 
Patterson, Mrs. Harrison Smith, Mrs. J. R. 
Thomas, Mrs. William Tilton, Mrs. E. W. 
Knight, Mrs. J. D. Lewis, Rev. R. D. Roller, 
D. D.. and W. C. D. Moore. 

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

Charleston is a loyal Y. M. C. A. city. As 
far back as 1871, Charleston sent A. F. Gib- 
bens to the first state Y. M. C. A. convention. 
The Association here at that time was an or- 
ganization in name only. 

In the early nineties there was an Associa- 
tion organized which had rooms over Ruby 
Bros, grocery store, and which in 1891 had a 
membership of 250 although the population of 
the town at that time was only 6,742. 

The Board of Directors consisted of J. D. 
Baines, president; F. W. Schwabe, vice-presi- 
dent; Wm. Keely, recording secretary; Neil 
Robinson, treasurer; Geo. S. Laidley, J. C. 
Roy, Bradford Noyes, H. C. McWhorter, H. 
B. Smith, G. F. Coyle, A. F. Wallen, Dr. T. 
L. Barber, David Dick, and J. R. Shanklin. 
Of the above, Prof. Laidley is the only mem- 
ber of the present board. 

In the last few years of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, the Association occupied a dwelling re- 



modeled for the work, and located on the 
present Davis Square. C. Hely Molony was 
general secretary for a number of years, but 
the work was suspended for lack of facilities 
and funds, and the property sold to pay the 
incumbrances on it. 

It remained for the permanent work to be 
reorganized in this new century. The four 
heroic canvasses for funds are all well remem- 
bered by our generous citizens. W. F. Daum 
was the first general secretary. He was suc- 
ceeded by W. C. Florain who continued until 
the present year until after the final campaign 
for funds to complete and furnish the building, 
when he was succeeded by L. E. Hamlet. 

The new building of the Association, the 
dedication services of which were held Oc- 
tober 9-15, 191 1, is "the most complete and 
beautiful Association building yet erected in 
the state of West Virginia," and is thoroughly 
fireproof. The architecture is in the Italian 
renaissance style. The valuable lot was do- 
nated by Hon. Henry G. Davis. In general 
the plans give the basement to the Social, 
Physical, and Boys' Work Department; this 
floor containing eight shower baths, swimming 
pool, two bowling alleys, locker and pool 
rooms, and two large rooms for the exclusive 
use of the Boys' Department. 

The most striking feature is the main re- 
ception hall, or lobby, on the first floor. Ad- 
joining this are located the general office, gym- 
nasium and Stephenson Auditorium. The 
decorations of this hall are very pleasing. 

The second floor consists of the educational 
department, which is to be known as "Ed- 
wards' Institute," dining-room, kitchen, con- 
ference room, etc. There are thirty-five well 
equipped sleeping rooms on the third floor. 
The total valuation of the property is $150,- 
000. The present membership is three hun- 
dred. 

The present board of directors are Judge G. 
W. Atkinson, president; Peter Silman, vice- 
president; W. B. Mathews, treasurer; F. M. 
Longanecker, recording secretary; C. C. Ward, 
Geo. S. Laidley, John Davidson, Claud A. 
Sullivan, W. B. Brooks, Geo. E. Price, Grant 
P. Hall. G. A. Bolden, A. S. Alexander, W. 
A. Abbitt, Judge L. Judson Williams. 



CHAPTER XI 



BANKS AXD BANKING 

Utility of Banks — State Banks — Mutual Dependence of Banks and Industrial Enterprises — - 
Banks of Charleston — Their Wealth and Influence in Sustaining Local Enterprises — Their 
Policy — Sketches of the Leading Banks — Kanawha Valley Bank — Charleston National — 
Citizen's National — Kanawha National — Kanawha Banking and Trust Co. — Elk Banking 
Co. — National City Bank — Capital City Bank — Glenwood Bank — Peoples Exchange 
Banks, etc. 



There are but few cities in the United 
States that can make favorable comparison 
with the city of Charleston in the number of 
banks and in the amount of capital employed 
by these institutions; especially is this true of 
cities of 25,000 population or thereabouts. 
Charleston, the thriving metropolis of the Ka- 
nawha valley has ten banks of a combined 
capital of $2,000,000, with a surplus of more 
than $1,500,000 and deposits of about $7,000,- 
000. The above statement is a satisfactory 
answer and a sufficient reason to offer why 
Charleston is one of the best and most pro- 
gressive cities of 25,000 population in the 
United States. We may add that the men who 
created these institutions and are responsible 
for them are identified in many ways with the 
industrial growth of Charleston and West Vir- 
ginia. Their aggregate wealth totals many 
millions of dollars. Their names are associ- 
ated with nearly every important business en- 
terprise or industry in the southern half of 
West Virginia, and many of these men have 
interests in other sections of the country than 
AYest Virginia, but the greater part of then- 
time and wealth has been used for the devel- 
opment of Charleston and that section of the 
state within a radius of fifty miles of Charles- 
ton. The officers and directors of these insti- 
tutions pursue a liberal policy toward all 
worthv enterprises, but are never swerved by 
12 



rash promises from conservative business 
principles. 

Banks are the arteries of commerce, and 
there is no more certain way to determine the 
health and prosperity of trade than to ascer- 
tain the condition of these' avenues through 
which flow the large volume of business. A 
season of disaster to banks is always one in 
which the tradesmen and people complain of 
financial distress. With the rise of important 
business projects in the Kanawha valley can 
be dated the appearance of banks, and as the 
commercial interests of this valley have grown, 
so have banking institutions increased and 
prospered. 

The first institution of this kind in this por- 
tion of the state was established in 1832. 
That was when nearly all the states had what 
was known as the state bank. Soon after that 
date was inaugurated the system of wildcat 
banking, which was attended with such dire- 
ful consequences in many portions of the land, 
but more particularly in the states lying farther 
to the west. In the year just named the State 
Bank of Virginia established at Charleston, 
a branch, of which J. C. McFarland was made 
president, Samuel Hannah, cashier, and J. M. 
Doddridge, teller. 

At that time salt manufacturing was devel- 
oping into such proportions as to render ex- 
change and banking facilities almost necessary. 



183 



184 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Upon the decline of that industry the coal and 
lumbering interests grew into such magnitude 
as to require additional accommodation from 
local banks. Under that old and sometimes 
disputed commercial adage, "the demand reg- 
ulates the supply," new organizations of ample 
capital were instituted at various periods. 

BANKS OF KANAWHA 

It is said that when the salt business called 
for more than the ordinary amount of money, 
the mercantile establishments at first attempted 
to furnish it ; but this became onerous in time. 
The demand made plain the fact that there was 
need for a bank, and the first one was estab- 
lished in Maiden. This institution had no par- 
ticular name, or, if it had, it is not now known, 
but it might have been named very appro- 
priately the Salt-Maker's Bank. There was a 
bank started before 1832 and doing business 
in Maiden, but it was in that year that the first 
purely financial institution was organized in 
Charleston by the Bank of Virginia starting a 
branch, with James C. McFarland, president; 
Daniel Hanna, cashier, and J. M. Doddridge, 
teller. The building stood on Kanawha (or 
Front) street, and the present location of the 
Kanawha Valley Bank was the original loca- 
tion of the Branch Bank of Virginia. It had 
large pillars in front and made a massive, im- 
posing appearance. It was not only a popular 
institution, it made money. 

This bank conducted business until the war 
came on, when the assets were withdrawn to 
the East and it closed its doors. In Septem- 
ber, 1862, General Loring drove the United 
States forces under Colonel Lightburn back 
down the Valley, and the Colonel, to keep his 
stores and commissary from falling into the 
hands of the rebel general, set fire to several 
stores, from which the flames spread to the 
bank, the hotel and several other buildings. 
This closed up the Bank of Virginia in Ka- 
nawha. 

The Bank at Maiden was removed to 
Charleston and was called the Bank of Charles- 
ton, with Henry Fitzhugh as president and 
Spencer Nye, cashier. Some of its notes are 
yet in existence. When the war cloud came, 
Mr. Fitzhugh picked up his cash box and went 
East. 



On one occasion, after the two banks were 
doing business in Charleston, there was an old 
man who wanted some cash accomodation 
which was not convenient for the houses in 
Maiden to furnish, so he came to Charleston 
and was accomodated to all he wanted to the 
tune of ten per cent. When the paper matured 
the old man had forgotten all about it and it 
was thereupon duly protested. The endorser 
sent for the maker and proceeded to give him a 
lecture on the financial conduct of banks. The 
old man was perfectly solvent and good and his 
only explanation was that he "did not know 
that it made any difference, nor that this place 
was any more than any other store." 

There was an easy going set of people in 
Kanawha for business and its reputation for 
payment was not always the best, but that a 
man could not always be prompt, was never 
considered a sufficient excuse for him to com- 
mit suicide, or even to "tear his shirt." Most 
of them would pay if they were able; some of 
them would if it were convenient; many would 
make a noble effort so to do, while the rest 
were just sure to do so. But to a great many, 
going to protest was not going to the devil. 
The people generally were hospitable, gener- 
ous, kind, whole souled, good people. 

BANKS AFTER THE WAR 

W. J. Rand and John Claypool, while the 
war was progressing, took one of the rooms 
in the "Virgin Row" and started a little dis- 
counting business, which subsequently devel- 
oped into the Bank of the West, occupying the 
late residence of Col. Benjamin Smith on the 
lot now occupied by the Hotel Ruffner. For 
some reason the Bank of the West was changed 
into the First National Bank of Charleston, 
and was brought down to the corner of Capi- 
tol and Kanawha, on the upper side, with I. 
N. Smith as president and John Claypool, W. 
E. Truslow and Albert Doyle, cashiers, etc. 
In after years it was made into a state bank 
and named the State Bank of West Virginia, 
and was moved down next to Rogers' drug 
store ; subsequently it was placed into the hands 
of a receiver. 

The Banking House of J. M. Laidley & Co. 
began about 1867, in a room setting back on 
the lot now occupied by Frankenberger, just 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



185 



below Summers street, on Kanawha. Subse- 
quently it was made into the Merchants' Bank 
of Charleston, with J. M. Laidley, president, 
and W. S. Wheatley, cashier. They built a 
place next to Rogers' drug store, on the upper 
side. Mr. George L. Jeffries was placed in 
charge and after his death, Napoleon B. Ca- 
bell became president and J. M. Doddridge 
cashier, but the panic of 1873 caused this in- 
stitution to wind up. 

THE KANAWHA VALLEY BANK 

About the same time or a little later, the 
Kanawha Valley Bank started, and perhaps 
for a while did business on the Frankenberger 
lot where J. M. Laidley & Co. began, but Col. 
William Dickinson rebuilt the Bank of Vir- 
ginia building and took possession with the 
Kanawha Valley Bank and Col. Levi J. Wood- 
yard. This withstood the panic of 1873 and 
went on gaining strength until both of said 
colonels passed away. Since then John Quincy 
Dickinson has been president, and the cashiers' 
have been Dabney Reynolds, Charles C. Lewis, 
Robert T. Oney, and now John Lewis Dick- 
inson, with a half dozen assistants. The build- 
ing has been added to until it is one of the 
largest and best buildings in town and prepared 
especially in which to do business. Perhaps it 
now leads any bank in the state, outside of 
Wheeling, in the matter of surplus and deposits. 

THE KANAWHA VALLEY BANK. 

Its officers and directors are as follows : 

Officers — John Q. Dickinson, president; 
James F. Brown, vice president ; John L. Dick- 
inson, cashier; John C. Malone, and J. W. 
Crider, assistant cashiers. 

Directors — John Q. Dickinson, James W. 
D. Payne, E. W. Knight, R. G. Hubbard, 
James F. Brown, A. S. Thomas, C. C. Dick- 
inson and John L. Dickinson. The following 
is a condensed statement of condition at the 
close of business September 1, 191 1. 

RESOURCES. 

Loans and discounts $2,696,062.55 

Bonds 17,000.00 

Real estate 131,279.66 



Cash in our vaults and banks. . 594,476.54 
Total $3,438,818.75 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital stock $ 400,000.00 

Surplus and profits (earned) . . 558,067.42 

Dividends (unpaid) 288.00 

Deposits 2,480,463.33 

Total $3,438,818.75 



THE CHARLESTON NATIONAL BANK. 

The Charleston National Bank, of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was organized in 1884 with a 
capital stock of $50,000. In 1886 the capital 
stock was increased to $75,000, and again in 
1890, to $100,000. In 1895 the amount was 
raised to $300,000 and in 1903 another in- 
crease made the capital stock $500,000, the 
present amount. The bank was first opened 
for business on Virginia street, and later it 
was moved on Capitol street, south of the post- 
office. Its first president was George S. Couch 
and the first cashier was C. P. Mead, who 
later became president. Dr. Lewis Prichard 
became president in 1888 and has filled that 
office to the present time. The first cashier 
was C. P. Mead who was succeeded by W. B. 
Seaton. He was succeeded by E. A. Reid 
and he in turn by H. L. Prichard, the present 
cashier. The present home of the bank was 
erected in 1906 and is located on the west side 
of Capitol street at the intersection of Quar- 
rier street, adjoining Postoffice Square. The 
lower floor of the building is occupied by the 
bank and a shoe store. The building is con- 
structed of pressed brick, is seven stories high, 
fireproof, and was erected at a cost of over 
$100,000. The interior finish is of marble and 
it is numbered among Charleston's finest build- 
ings. It is equipped with two elevators. There 
are fine vaults and officers' and directors' 
rooms and the bank employs eleven men, in- 
cluding officers. The upper floors of the build- 
are used for modern offices, many of which are 
equipped with vaults. The bank's statement 
at the close of business September 6, 191 1, was 
as follows: 



186 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



RESOURCES. 

Loans and discounts $2,026,224.06 

Overdrafts 8,529.89 

U. S. bonds 501,000.00 

Other bonds 44,800.00 

Banking house 102,869.52 

Cash and due from banks 237,726.00 

Redemption fund with U. S. 

treasurer 25,000.00 



Total $2,946,149.47 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital stock $ 500,000.00 

Surplus and undivided profits. . . 554,876.87 

Circulation 500,000.00 

Dividends unpaid 80.00 

Deposits 1,391,192.60 



Total, $2,946,149.47 



THE CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK. 

The Citizens National Bank of Charleston 
W. Va., was organized as a national bank, 
in August 1890, it having been conducted as a 
state bank for a short time previously. The 
bank was organized with a capital stock of 
$125,000 paid in. The surplus and undivided 
profits are $150,000 earned. This places the 
Citizens National Bank on the honor roll. 
Of the 6,000 national banks in the United 
States there are 1200 in that class. Since it 
opened for business in 1890, the bank has 
pursued a conservative course but at all times 
it has endeavored to accommodate its patrons 
where such a course could be followed on 
conservative business lines. This institution has 
earned and paid in cash dividends to July 1, 
191 1, $186,250. For the year closing June 
30, 191 1 the net earnings were over twenty- 
five per cent. The bank has been designated as 
It is the only bank in the Southern Judicial 
a general depository of the United States. 
District of West Virginia for the accounts of 
general disbursing officers. The first home of 
the bank was on Capitol street, corner of Vir- 
ginia street, where the Capital City National 
Bank is now located. The present home of the 
Citizens National Bank was completed in 1898. 
It is located on the southeast corner of Capi- 



tol and Quarrier streets, on one of the most 
valuable corners in the city of Charleston. It 
is the first modern fire-proof office building 
erected in Charleston. The building is five 
stories exclusive of basement and is con- 
structed of stone, steel and tile and with iron 
stairways. Further changes and improve- 
ments are contemplated in order to increase 
space or to provide more room for the office 
force. The first president of the bank, since its 
organization into a national bank was Neil 
Robinson, who was succeeded by W. Mol- 
lohan, who fills the office at the present time. 
M. M. Williamson, the present vice-president, 
succeeded J. A. McGreffin in 1907. Mr. 
Williamson had served from February 1, 1893 
to that time as cashier, and J. N. Carnes who 
had been assistant cashier, then became cash- 
ier, which position he fills at present. The 
Citizens National Bank publishes monthly a 
general letter on trade conditions and a busi- 
ness forecast for the benefit of the patrons of 
the bank. Their statement at the close of busi- 
ness June 7, 191 1 was as follows: 



RESOURCES. 

Loans and Investments $ 734,751.06 

United States Bonds 275,000.00 

Banking-House and fixtures .... 77,000.00 
Cash and due from banks 

$186,942.82 

Five per cent fund 6,250.00 193,192.82 

$1,279,943.88 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital Stock paid in $ 125,000.00 

Surplus fund earned 125,000.00 

Undivided Profits 22,960.96 

Circulation 125,000.00 

Deposits 881,982.92 



$1,279,943-88 

THE KANAWHA NATIONAL BANK. 

The Kanawha National Bank of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was organized November 26, 
1891 with a capital stock of $100,000, which 
was increased in 1905 to $250,000. The sur- 
plus and undivided profits are $155,000. The 
first president was George S. Couch, the first 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



189 



vice-president, J. D. Baines (now deceased), 
and the first cashier, E. A. Reid. Charles 
Capito, the present president, succeeded Mr. 
Baines as vice-president and in September, 19 10 
became president. The present vice-president 
succeeded Mr. Capito when the latter became 
president. Mr. E. A. Reid, the present cash- 
ier, has held that office since the organization 
of the bank. W. A. Cracraft is assistant cash- 
ier. The bank began business on Virginia 
street, and the building now occupied, on the 
northeast corner of Capitol and Virginia streets, 
has been its home since 1893. The Kanawha 
National Bank is recognized as one of the sev- 
eral financial institutions that have contributed 
much toward the development of the city. The 
building has been remodeled into an attractive 
home for the bank. Ten men constitute the 
officers and office force. A condensed report 
of condition at close of business June 7, 191 1 
was as follows : 



Time and Demand Loans $ 983,104.23 

Overdrafts 7-957-88 

U. S. Bonds to Secure Circulation 250,000.00 

Premium on U. S. Bonds 5,000.00 

Bonds, Stocks and Securities... 21,000.00 
Banking House, Furniture and 

Fixtures 42,000.00 

Other Real Estate Owned 14,527.26 

Cash $ 77.23448 

Due from Banks. . . . 100,366.54 
Due from U. S. 

Treasurer 12,500.00 190,101.02 



Total $1,513,690.39 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital Stock $ 250,000.00 

Surplus and Undivided Profits. . 152,965.54 

Circulation 250,000.00 

Individual Deposits . $780,1 58.33 

Due to Banks 40,566.52 820,724.85 

Bills Payable 40,000.00 

Total $i,5 I 3>69°-39 

THE KANAWHA BANKING & TRUST CO. 

The Kanawha Banking and Trust Company, 
of Charleston, W. Va., was organized in Oc- 



tober, 190 1 with a capital stock of $200,000 
and a paid in surplus of $50,000. Two years 
after its incorporation the capital stock was in- 
creased to $250,000 and the surplus to $200,- 
000. The undivided profits are $25,000. The 
deposits run from $900,000 to $1,000,000. 
The first officers were as follows : Charles C. 
Lewis, president; F. M. Staunton, vice-presi- 
dent; and H. B. Lewis, cashier. Mr. Charles 
C. Lewis retired from the presidency in 1905 
at which time Mr. F. M. Staunton succeeded 
him. The office of vice-president thus made 
vacant was filled by Mr. Geo. E. Price. The 
present officers are F. M. Staunton, president; 
George E. Price, vice-president; H. B. Lewis, 
cashier; and George E. Sutherland, assistant 
cashier. The present board of directors con- 
sists of Peter Carroll, Ex-Gov. William M. O. 
Dawson, Howard S. Johnson, Harrison B. 
Smith, George E. Price, F. M. Staunton and 
Henry B. Lewis. 

The bank opened for business at No. 13 
Capitol St., where it remained until the fall of 
1903. when it moved into its present quarters 
on the northeast corner of Capitol and Quar- 
rier streets. The building having been pur- 
chased, was remodeled and fitted up for a model 
up-to-date bank building. It is four stories in 
height, the second, third and fourth floors be- 
ing occupied by offices. The bank is one of 
the strong financial institutions of the city of 
Charleston. It has always been liberal in the 
treatment of its patrons in so far as has been 
consistent with good business principles. 

THE ELK BANKING CO. 

The Elk Banking Company is located on the 
corner of Charleston St. and Tennessee Ave. 
It was chartered in 1903 and opened for busi- 
ness November 16, 1903. It has a capital 
stock of $50,000; surplus, $8,000; undivided 
profits, $1,000; deposits, including savings, 
$160,000; total resources, $242,000; loans and 
discounts, $175,000; the banking house, includ- 
ing real estate account and furniture $43,- 
000. The first home of the bank was on 
Charleston St. near the present location. The 
present building was erected in 1905-06. 
The dividends paid to stockholders run as 
high as six per cent. The building is a 



190 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



fine three-story building, the first floor of which 
is used for the bank and store room. The sec- 
ond floor is used for offices and the third for a 
lodge room. The building is modern in every 
particular. The interior of the bank is of ma- 
hogany and marble finish and there is steam 
heat and electric light throughout the entire 
building. 

The following are the present officers of the 
bank: Harrison B. Smith, president; A. J. 
Humphreys, vice-president (who have filled 
their offices since the organization of the bank) ; 
and Wilbur Stump, cashier. ,The first cashier 
was Frank Field, who was succeeded in 1905 
by the present incumbent. The directors of 
the bank are F. W. Abney, H. B. Smith, A. J. 
Humphreys, C. Summers, C. Pickens, H. M. 
Carson, W. M. Mottisheard and J. L. Stump, 
M. D. 

THE NATIONAL CITY BANK. 

The National City Bank of Charleston, W. 
Va., was opened for business March 1, 1907 
near the site of the present handsome home 
of the bank. The first place of business was 
on Kanawha St. The bank was promoted 
and organized through the efforts of its cash- 
ier, Mr. J. S. Hill. The capital stock is $125,- 
000. The bank purchased the property on the 
northeast corner of Capitol and Kanawha 
streets at a price that appeared at the time of 
its purchase a very reasonable figure and since 
has proven to be a bargain. On this site was 
erected a modern bank and office building, eight 
stories high besides basement. The structure 
is of a fine grade of pressed brick with interior 
finish of white marble. The first floor is oc- 
cupied by the bank and the second, third and 
fourth floors are devoted to offices. The fifth, 
sixth, seventh and eighth floors are used as the 
general offices of the K. & M. Railroad. The 
property is valued at $100,000. The building 
is fire-proof and modern in all respects. The 
site was purchased in 1908, work was started 
on the building in the spring of 1909 and com- 
pleted in the spring of 19 10. While the Na- 
tional City Bank is a new institution it has had 
very rapid growth. Its capital stock is $125,- 
000. Its surplus and undivided profits total 
$18,899.23. The deposits were $578,257.91 



on September 1, 191 1. The officers are: Jo- 
seph E. Robins, president; Andrew C. Calder- 
wood, vice-president; John L. Thornhill, vice- 
president; Joseph S. Hill, cashier; J. Russell 
Blake, assistant cashier. The bank's statement 
for Sept. 1, 191 1, was as follows: 



RESOURCES. 

Loans and Discounts $502,435.57 

Overdrafts 7 2 9-77 

U. S. and Other Bonds 130,500.00 

Banking House 107,500.00 

Cash on hand, with Banks and U. 

S. Treasurer 106,741.80 



$847,907.14 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital Stock $125,000.00 

Surplus and Undivided Profits... 18,899.23 

Reserved for Taxes 75O-00 

Circulation 125,000.00 

Deposits 578,257.91 



$847,907.14 

THE CAPITAL CITY BANK. 

The Capital City Bank of Charleston, W. 
Va., was organized March 20, 1907 with a 
capital stock of $250,000. It is located on the 
corner of Capitol and Virginia streets. The 
officers were Enoch Smith, president; J. C. 
Morrison, vice-president ; L. M. Lafollette, 
vice-president ; and J. D. .Foster, cashier. The 
present officers of the bank are : J. C. Morrison, 
president ; George S. Laidley, vice-president ; 
L. M. Lafollette, vice-president; Edward W. 
Bradford, cashier ; and George D. Cochran, as- 
sistant cashier. The bank was moved to its 
present quarters on the northwest corner of 
Capitol and Virginia streets in October, 19 10. 
The bank has a long lease on the building which 
it has remodeled and has offices, rooms, etc., 
for the officers and directors. Statement for 
September 1, 191 1 : 

RESOURCES. 

Loans and discounts $396,228.30 

Overdrafts, secured and unsecured 104.69 
Stocks and securities, including 
premiums ' 3,000.00 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



191 



Banking house, furniture and fix- 
tures 9,29377 

Due from banks 75,116.98 

Checks and other cash items 5,161.57 

Lawful money reserve in bank. . . 10,313.99 

Expense 1,000.66 

Due from U. S. Treasurer 500.00 

Total $500,719.96 

LIABILITIES. 

Capital stock paid in $207,300.00 

Surplus fund 6,219.00 

Undivided profit 6,131.88 

Due to banks 7,618.19 

Subject to check $214,092.59 

Demand certificates... 8,175.05 

Savings deposits 51,072.00 273,339.64 

Certified checks 1 11.25 

Total $500,719.96 

THE GLENWOOD BANK 

The Glenwood Bank of Charleston which is 
located in West Charleston, was organized un- 
der the laws of West Virginia and has a cap- 
ital stock of $50,000. It is a state depository. 
The bank was opened for business May 2, 1908. 
It has a fine home, the building in which it is 
located being three stories high. The first floor 
is used for banking purposes and for several 



fine store rooms and the second and third floors 
are used for flats and offices. The bank has 
had a gradual but steady growth since its or- 
ganization. The present officers and directors 
are among Charleston's most able and repre- 
sentative business men. They are as follows : 
Peter Silman, president; J. J. Melton, vice- 
president ; Emmet Silman, cashier. Directors : 
J. J. Melton, R. N. Moulton, Grant P. Hall, 
R. G. Quarrier, Peter Silman, F. H. Staats, S. 
A. Gregg, Ira H. Mottesheard, O. J. Cox. 

THE PEOPLES EXCHANGE BANK. 

The Peoples Exchange Bank, of Charles- 
ton, W. Va. This bank, a state institution, 
was organized November 12, 1909 with a cap- 
ital, stock of $30,000. Its resources and lia- 
bilities amount to $89,514.80. As an institu- 
tion the bank is comparatively young, but it 
has enjoyed a healthy growth since its organi- 
zation. It is located on Summers Street oppo- 
site the post office. The officers are : H. Lewis 
Wehrle, president; Herbert Frankenberger, 
vice-president; A. S. Guthrie, vice-president; 
and C. A. Young, cashier. The directors are: 
D. M. Young, A. S. Guthrie, Herbert Frank- 
enberger, E. M. Burdette, John A. Thayer, 
Grover Kauffman and Joseph Schwabb. This 
bank is a state depository. 

Mention of banks outside of Charleston may 
be found in the chapter on Districts ond Towns. 



CHAPTER XII 



TRANSPORTATION 

Water Transportation — The Indian's Canoe — The Flat Boat — Salt Boats — Conveniences of 
Early River Boats — The First Steamboats and Steamboat Inventors — The Pittsburg & 
Cincinnati Packet Line — The Wheeling & Louisville Line — Decline of the Boat Business on 
the Upper Ohio — Steamboat Disasters — Barges and Rafts — Disappearance of Trees along 
the Ohio — Description of the Kanawha — The Kanawha Boatmen — Salt Boat Pilots — 
Steam Navigation — Some Famous Steamboats — Kanazvha River Improvement — Locks and 
Dams — Advantages of Slack Water — Gen. William P. Craighill — Coal River Railroad — 
Col. Michael P. O'Hern — Kanawha & Michigan Railway Co. — Coal & Coke Railroad — 
Charleston Traction Co. 



WATER "TRANSPORTATION." 

The Indian had a very light bark canoe, so 
that when he came to an obstruction, he could 
pick up his boat and carry it around and then 
resume his way. 

The white man was not satisfied with this 
frail Indian craft, so he cuts down a poplar 
tree, takes off the bark, digs out the inside, 
leaving only a shell, and he calls that a canoe. 
When the tree was large and long, and made a 
correspondingly long boat, he called it a pirogue, 
and this was made for large loads, for it would 
carry a great deal and ride waves that the 
small ones might founder in. When the white 
man came to the Kanawha Valley, from the 
Falls down, this canoe was greatly in need. 
Above the falls, on either the Gauley or New 
river, was no place for water craft; but below, 
as there were no roads, and no bridges across 
the small streams, it was no place for wagons, 
so the choice for the pioneer was a canoe or a 
horse. The canoe, though not large, would 
carry all that he had to ship and it would beat 
walking, especially going down stream. But the 
traveller going to Kentucky or the West, with 
his family or his party, needed something bet- 
ter than a canoe or a pirogue ; he wanted a flat 
boat, with a roof, and with more inside room. 



He did not intend to go up stream with his 
boat and all he asked was that it would float, 
keep dry and furnish plenty of room, and this 
was the boat that he called for. This boat 
building began at the mouth of Kelly's Creek 
but was not confined absolutely to Kelly's 
Creek, for at the mouth of Paint Creek, at Maj. 
John Hands ford's, boats were built as well, and 
later at other places, for after the salt business 
was enlarged, the transportation of salt to the 
lower Ohio towns, was done principally by salt 
boats. These boats were from 60 to 100 feet 
long, more or less, and 15 to 25 feet wide, the 
sides 5 to 7 feet high, built on gunwales with 
heavy stout plank for the bottom and sides, and 
with a roof and oars. This aquatic convey- 
ance, could be made with rooms, and be made 
very comfortable, while the cabin for salt boats 
was decidedly limited. 

After the steamboats began to run, passen- 
gers abandoned flat boat transportation, but the 
salt boat was used as long as the salt makers 
made salt, in any quantity. 

In 1793, in a Cincinnati newspaper, called 
the "Centinel of the Northwest Territory," 
there was an advertisement to this effect : 
"That there will run regularly two boats from 
Cincinnati to Pittsburg and they will make the 
trip in four weeks," and it also announced that 



192 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



193 



shortly there would be two other boats to enter 
the same trade and one would leave Cincinnati 
every Saturday morning ; that the boats would 
have the accommodations as agreeable as they 
could be made, and that no danger need be ap- 
prehended from the enemy, as every one on 
board, would be under cover, made proof 
againts rifle or musket ball; that everything 
would be made convenient for firing out of the 
port holes, and each boat would be armed with 
six pieces, each carrying a pound ball, and a 
number of muskets, with a supply of ammuni- 
tion manned with good choice hands and a 
master. 

There would be "a separate cabin for ladies, 
well supplied with provisions and liquors of all 
kinds, of the first quality and at the most rea- 
sonable rates possible." 

These boats were not steamboats, for the first 
steamboat on the Ohio was the one built by 
Fulton, at Pittsburg in 1811; which was called 
the "New Orleans," and which went to that 
city but never returned. "The Comet" was the 
next, built in 1812-13; the "Enterprise" was 
built at Brownsville in 18 14 and she was the 1 
first that ever returned, which she did in 181 5 
and made the trip from New Orleans to Pitts- 
burg in 35 days. Then there was the General 
Washington, the General Pike, The Ohio. 
These steamboats all had brick chimneys, until 
about 1820, when the change was made. The 
Robert Thompson, it is said, was built in 1819, 
and in that year, the first steam vessel crossed 
the ocean. 

James Rumsey, of Berkley County, Virginia, 
on the Potomac, at Shepperdstown, was the in- 
ventor of the steamboat, — Fitch got his ideas 
from Rumsey, but these. men died before they 
perfected their boats. Fulton became ac- 
quainted with Rumsey in London and after 
Rumsey 's death, brought the invention into 
practical operation on the Hudson and on the 
Ohio. 

Washington saw Rumsey's steam-boat on the 
Potomac and pronounced it a success, but it 
was evidently not satisfactory to Rumsey him- 
self. The sketch of Jas. Rumsey and his in- 
vention is discussed in July, 1903, West Vir- 
ginia Historical Magazine. 

W e have stated on the authority of Dr. Hale 



that the "Robert Thompson" was built in 1819, 
but evidently it was in 182 1. We are in- 
formed that she was built at or near Steuben- 
ville, and that her first trip was to Pittsburg 
March 17, 1821, that she was 65 feet keel, 17 
feet beam, three feet hold with side wheels, that 
she was built for the Cincinnati and Louisville 
trade and with her, steam navigation began to 
be a practical thing. 

Before the Civil War, steamboats on the 
Ohio and Mississippi had grown to immense 
proportions, yet the railroad competition had 
done much to lessen it. Between 1857 and 
1875 there was built on the upper Ohio and 
Monongahela, 649 steamboats with an aggre- 
gate value of $22,000,000. "The Great Re- 
public" built in 1867 cost $375,000 was said 
to be the best and finest steamboat that ever 
left the wharf at Pittsburg. She was 300 feet 
long, 30 feet wide and 18 feet high. 

There were two lines of packets, one from 
Pittsburg to Cincinnati, and one from Wheel- 
ing to Louisville, which furnished two large 
fine boats up and two down each day. not count- 
ing the local packets, the St. Louis boats and 
tow-boats, etc. In fact they kept the Ohio 
river in commotion all the time. A steamboat 
race on the Mississippi river became a national 
affair and they have not yet been forgotten. 

The Pittsburg and Cincinnati packets were, 
the Crystal Palace, Cincinnati, Buckeye State, 
Hibernia, Allegheny, Pittsburg and Messen- 
ger. The Buckeye State was regarded the fast- 
est of this line. The Wheeling & Louisville 
packets were : Alvin Adams, David White, City 
of Wheeling, Baltimore, Thomas Swann, For- 
est City and Virginia. 

Charles Dickens traveled on the "Messen- 
ger" from Pittsburg to Cincinnati in 1842. He 
said it seemed strange that a vessel should 
have no mast, cordage, tackle, rigging, etc. — 
but turn to his "American Notes" and read for 
yourself. The same steamboat "Messenger" 
had for a passenger from Cincinnati to Pitts- 
burg, in later years, the great singer, "Jenny 
Lind." 

The boat business on the upper Ohio in later 
years declined so that there was no more of 
these fine boats ; they were transferred to the 
lower Mississippi river. Later there were 



194 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



smaller boats and stern-wheel boats took the 
place of the former boats, to wit : the Stock- 
dale, Buckeye, Hudson, Granite State, Scotia, 
Andes, and the side wheeler, St. Lawrence." 

In all these years there were, at times, some 
serious disasters and sometimes they were 
brought about by negligence, in consequence 
of races between the boats, but the rules of the 
U. S. government have done much for the pro- 
tection of passengers. In 1910 the Pittsburg 
packet, "Virginia," was going down the Ohio 
river, just below Ravenswood; the river was 
high, and the wind was blowing and she under- 
took to make a landing on the West Virginia 
side, and it was said that the water was run- 
ning over the bank into a field, and the wind 
blowing in the same direction and the boat 
by the current and the wind was sent into this 
cornfield, where she stuck on a sand bank and 
before she could be straightened up, and 
brought out, the wind ceased and the current 
was left to go on down the river, so that there 
was not water left enough to float the steamer 
out, and she stuck fast in the cornfield. It 
was an odd sight to see her there, and there she 
remained some time, but she was afterwards 
replaced in the river and went into business 
without being much injured. Towboats with 
barges became able to transport larger quanti- 
ties of coal than that which required a train of 
cars two and one-half miles in length. These 
figures we shall not verify. 

On the Ohio at one time, a pine raft trans- 
ported an immense amount of pine lumber and 
shingles, without the aid of any steamboat or 
other craft. These pine rafts covered acres in 
area, with cabins erected thereon. There was 
no danger of sinking, nor of any explosion, 
and with oars, they managed to keep them in 
the river, and off the bars and banks. The boats 
had to take care of themselves, if they could 
find room to pass. 

When there was plenty of water and no ice, 
the amount of transportation thus made was 
almost without limit, especially as it was to be 
made down stream. The Ohio river was orig- 
inally called the "beautiful river" and perhaps 
it was before it lost its trees on the banks, but 
that it is such yet. depends upon one's ideas 
of beauty. Whether the destruction of the 



river banks was caused by the waves of the 
boats or not we know not but trees grew along 
the banks until the steamboats came and they 
did not last long afterwards. 

But when we come to the consideration of 
the Kanawha river we must be more consider- 
ate, and not so general. 

This river from the Falls of the Kanawha to 
the Ohio river is about one hundred miles and 
not all of this, as yet, has sufficient water at 
all times to maintain a steamboat. It has been 
said that there have been times when a boat 
was able to go above the Falls and did so. 

One man (or woman) was heard to bewail 
the fate of the Confederacy, because he or she, 
said "that never before was a boat known to do 
such a thing and here a large government boat 
had been able to do so with ease and bringing 
stores, etc., above the falls, which fact was re- 
garded as sufficient proof that 'the God of 
Battles' was on the Yankee side." 

This river could always be called a beautiful 
stream and the banks yet maintain their trees 
and hence their beauty. It was never noted 
for its quantity of water, but the flood would 
some times come and when the New, the Gau- 
ley and the Elk, would all at the same time, 
get on a "high" together, then watch out below, 
especially if the Ohio was up. But the Kana- 
wha does its duty generally in short order, it 
comes up in a hurry and goes down quicker. 
Then again it used to have a way of going al- 
most dry in the summer and old Capt. Farley 
had "to jack up the bow of his boat and jump 
her over the bars;" but this could hardly be 
called water transportation. 

The white man had not been long in this 
valley when boats were found convenient and 
a plat of Charleston made by a surveyor, dis- 
closed that there were boats on the stream at 
the very earliest days known. When Gen. 
Lewis's Army went down this river in 1774, 
they made use of boats after reaching the Elk, 
perhaps they were not large ones — but were 
used to transport commissary stores. 

It was said that a good light canoe could go 
up Elk, on a heavy dew, but there were some 
who had doubts, and took a horse and saddle. 
This Kanawha river is unlike any other; for 
instance a rise in the Ohio at Pittsburg of four 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



195 



feet would not afford more than two and a half 
feet at Point Pleasant, while a rise at Hinton 
of two feet would amount to ten times as much 
at Charleston. It runs down the hill so fast 
from Hinton, that it cannot get out of the way 
below the Falls, and so it has to pile up and 
makes a large stream. 

There is another peculiarity of the Kanawha, 
for the boatmen have said, and they know, and 
what they know and told was bound to be cor- 
rect, that if the wind blew down the river, thus 
coming from the South, the river would rise, 
whether it rained never a drop, or did rain all 
the time, at Charleston. 

KANAWHA BOATMEN 

These same boatmen were a noted set of men, 
and became a class such as never were known 
elsewhere. A boat was ladened with salt in 
barrels, the pilot was the Captain, and he se- 
lected his crew and was given control and his 
only instructions were to take his boat to a cer- 
tain town on the lower river, and deliver it to 
a certain person. He did the rest, if it could 
be done. Sometimes he lost the whole boat 
and load, but he never lost his credit and he was 
given another boat, all the same, because it was 
known that all was done that mortal man could 
have done. And this confidence was never 
misplaced. These Kanawha Salt boatmen were 
reliable : they knew their business, and were 
careful; and this was all that could be expected 
from any one. 

There was one good thing about the Kana- 
wha — these pilots could go in the summer and 
make a personal examination of the river and 
know all about it — both where the water was. 
and where the bars, rocks and snags were ; and 
so they learned it, from the Licks to the Ohio, 
and they never forgot it. 

The pilots on the steamboats had to know 
even more, for the pilot of the salt boat did not 
land till he reached his port, while the steam- 
boat pilot was landing his boat every half 
mile, and the location of the river bed and 
banks had to be known all the way, on both 
sides. Going down on the "Kanawha Belle," 
there was a hail received from the shore and as 
the location seemed a bad one to make a landing, 
the boat was stopped and held up while the 



mate was sent in her yawl to investigate 
whether it could be safely made, and his re- 
port was "Yes, but you must run in like hell 
and back out equally as quick." Which, being 
interpreted, meant, you could get in, but if al- 
lowed to float down stream, the boat would be- 
come involved among some snags, hence there 
must be no time lost. Everybody on the shore 
knew everybody on the boats, no matter how 
many boats there may be and every farmer had 
his own landing, and no one failed to hail his 
boat for any purpose he might desire. "That's 
what she was for." There was more accom- 
modation on the Kanawha River than else- 
where, it was a sort of a private little river 
owned by the people along its banks. There 
was a lawyer, who was also a farmer, living 
between Mason and Putnam Court Houses, 
and he went to each by steamer and whenever 
he went aboard, he went to the pilot house and 
took the wheel and guided the boat until his 
journey was ended; this was James H. Couch, 
Esq. 

KANAWHA SALT BOAT PILOTS. 

There was a lot of men that should ever be re- 
membered by the people of Kanawha because of 
their ever reliable and skilled work, and they 
were the pilots of the salt boats. Salt was placed 
in barrels, and then in the flat boats, and then 
handed over to a pilot, who selected his men, 
and the directions were given to this pilot to 
take this boat, or sometimes two boats lashed 
together, to a certain salt agent at a certain 
town on the Ohio river, most anywhere between 
home and the mouth of the Ohio river. If 
there was not plenty of water, it was a single 
boat, with an oar at each side and at each end 
of the boat, and a cook, making five men to the 
boat and if there was plenty of water, there 
were nine men — eight at the oars and one cook. 

This pilot had control of the boat and men 
and he decided all questions that might arise. 
When they reached the Falls at Louisville, they 
secured a Falls pilot to put them below the 
Falls. If they went below Cairo, they took a 
Mississippi river pilot. 

As soon as they delivered the salt to the 
agent they started back home and reported as 
soon as they reached home. If a boat was lost. 



196 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



it was so reported, but there was no losing of 
places, for it was known that all had been done 
that could have been done, and another boat 
was given to the same pilot, hoping for better 
luck next time. 

We have been furnished with a list of pilots 
but not all of them. There were Peter Simp- 
son, Job Stanley. Herod Huffman, Ben Lowen, 
Morris Gillaspie, Billy Patchell, John Roberts, 
Garner Stinson, Annias Means, Brad Acres, 
Ben Horger, Jim McMullin, Bluford Burks 
and Jack Hardin and others. Their occupation 
has gone, and so have they — all gone. 

STEAM NAVIGATION ON THE KANAWHA. 

The complete success attending the experi- 
ments in steam navigation on the Hudson and 
adjacent waters, previous to the year 1809, 
turned the attention of the principal projectors 
to the idea of its application on the western 
waters. In the month of April of that year, 
Mr. Rosevelt, a distinguished civil engineer 
of Xew York, pursuant to an agreement with 
Chancellor Livingston and Robert Fulton, vis- 
ited those rivers for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing whether they admitted of steam navigation. 
At this time but two steamboats were afloat, 
viz : the "North River" and the "Clermont," 
both running on the Hudson. Mr. Rosevelt 
surveyed the river from Pittsburg to New Or- 
leans, and reported to his employers the feasi- 
bility of the project. It was therefore decided 
to build a boat at the former town. This was 
done under the supervision of Mr. Rosevelt, 
and in the year 181 1, the first steamboat was 
launched upon the waters of the Ohio. It was 
called the "New Orleans," and in October, left 
Pittsburg on an experimental voyage. Late 
at night on the fourth day after leaving Pitts- 
burg, she rounded in at Louisville, having been 
but seventy hours descending upwards of seven 
hundred miles. The novel appearance of the 
vessel, and the fearful rapidity with which it 
made its passage over the broad reaches of the 
river, excited a mixture of surprise and ter- 
ror among many of the settlers on the bank, 
whom the rumor of such an invention had never 
reached. It is related that on the unexpected 
arrival of the vessel before Louisville, in the 
course of a fine still moonlight night the extra- 



ordinary sound which filled the air as the pent- 
up steam escaped from the valves on sounding 
in, produced a general alarm, and multitudes 
arose from their beds to ascertain the cause. 
The problem was solved ; steam navigation on 
the western rivers was demonstrated; theory 
reduced to practice and steamboat building rap- 
idly developed into one of the most active in- 
dustries of the age. But in order to make those 
rivers the theatre of the most extensive in- 
land commerce in the world, it became neces- 
sary to make many improvements upon the 
rivers themselves, and this at once engaged the 
attention of the general government, and of the 
State legislatures also. In the year 1819, a 
steamboat called the "Robert Thomson" as- 
cended the Kanawha river for the purpose of 
ascertaining whether it was navigable to 
Charleston. She ascended to Red House, 
where she spent two days in trying to get 
through the shoals, but failing to do so, she re- 
turned to the Ohio. The officers reported the 
result of the voyage to the legislature of Vir- 
ginia, and that body passed in the year 1820 
a bill providing for the improvement of the 
Great Kanawha river. The contract was let 
out to one John Bosser, and the work was im- 
mediately commenced at the mouth of Elk, 
Johnsons, Gylers and Red House shoals, and 
continued for two years, when the funds were 
exhausted and nothing more was done for 
four years. The legislature then made another 
appropriation, and the completion of the work 
was undertaken by a number of Pittsburg gen- 
tlemen who completed the contract in 1828. 

The second steamboat on the Kanawha was 
the Eliza, which succeeded in reaching Charles- 
ton in 1823. She was built at Wheeling for 
Messrs. Andrew Donnally and Isaac Noyes, at 
a cost of $35,000. She was built expressly for 
the Kanawha and Wheeling trade and took in 
a cargo of salt at the Salines for the latter 
place, but upon returning to the mouth of the 
Kanawha it was found that she could not stem 
the current in the Ohio, and Captain White, 
who had brought her out from Wheeling, de- 
termined to discharge her cargo in the then em- 
bryo Queen City of the West. She arrived 
safe in Cincinnati where she was remodeled 
and named the Virginia. She never afterwards 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



197 



returned to the Kanawha. It will be remem- 
bered that at the time the Eliza reached 
Charleston there were neither coal nor wood- 
yards upon the river, and she depended upon 
purchasing dry fence rails from the farmers 
along the river for fuel. 

The first Charleston and Cincinnati packet 
was the Fairy Queen, which was built at Cin- 
cinnati for Messrs. Andrew Donnally and A. 
M. Henderson. She entered the trade in 1824 
and continued to ply therein for several years. 

The second boat in the same trade was the 
Paul Pry, built and owned by Messrs. Joel 
Shrewsbury and Captain John Rodgers. She 
entered the trade in the year 1826, and contin- 
ued to make regular trips for two years, when 
she exploded her boilers at Guyandotte, at 
which time the engineer, Thomas Phillips, of 
the Kanawha Salines, and Lewis Handley, of 
Teays valley, were killed. 

In the year 1830 the Enterprise, the first 
towboat on the river, reached Charleston. She 
was built at Pittsburg and commanded by Cap- 
tain James A. Payne, then quite a young man, 
but one whose name was afterward to become 
familiar not only along the Kanawha river, but 
to the utmost boundaries and most distant 
parts of western and southern inland naviga- 
tion — one, whose active industry and enter- 
prise have perhaps done more to develop this 
most important industry of our country than 
any other whose name appears in the early an- 
nals of western navigation. 

The "Enterprise" continued to transport salt 
to the western and southern markets for sev- 
eral years, when the machinery was removed 
from her and placed upon a new boat called the 
Hope, which was built at Point Pleasant by 
Captain Payne and John Hall, Esq. An ex- 
perienced commander was placed upon the roof 
and Captain Payne repaired to Red House 
shoals where he built and launched another 
steamer which he christened the Lelia. She 
was the first boat that broke the solitude of the 
hills and mountains of the Kanawha Valley 
with the shrill scream of the steam whistle ; and 
the writer is informed by the oldest boatman 
on the river that she was the first steamer that 
ever reached the Falls of Kanawha. Captain 
Payne sold her to Messrs. Jesse Walton and 



Alexander McMullin, who continued to run her 
in the Cincinnati and Charleston trade, and he 
built another boat at the Red House shoals, 
which he named the Jim, upon which the ma- 
chinery taken from the "Hope" was placed. 
She went to Cincinnati, and from there Captain 
Alfred Brown ran her to Mobile, where he ex- 
changed her for another boat called the "Ca- 
tawba," a side-wheel steamer. She made one 
trip up the Kanawha as far as Red House 
shoals, where she was sold and taken to the 
Tennessee river. 

In the year 1837, a company, composed of 
Cincinnati gentlemen, built a large passenger 
steamer for the Kanawha river trade. When 
she was ready to come out, a gentleman resid- 
ing in the eastern part of Virginia wrote the 
company that he would give them fifty dollars 
for the privilege of naming the boat, which 
was destined to navigate the waters of his na- 
tive State. The offer was accepted, the money 
and the name forwarded, and the new steamer 
Tuckahoe, left Cincinnati for the Kanawha 
river in the autumn of that year. 

In the spring of the year 1838 Dr. Putney, 
William Atkeson, and Samuel Summers built 
a steamer at Buffalo, which they named the 
Osceola. She was taken to the Missouri river, 
where she ran for several years. Her com- 
mander, Captain William Atkeson, died in St. 
Louis, in 1846. He seems to have had a pre- 
sentiment of his approaching death, for before 
leaving Lexington, where he resided, on his 
last trip, he accompanied the sexton to the cem- 
etery and showed him the spot where he wished 
to be interred. 

About the year 1832 a large steamer was 
built at the mouth of Elk by Captain Andrew 
Ruffner, and received the romantic name of 
Tisilwaugh, which is the Wyandotte name for 
Elk river. It signifies "plenty of big elk." 
Captain Ruffner ran her in the Kanawha and 
Cincinnati trade for some time, when she was 
sold and taken to the western river, whence 
she never returned. 

Captain Payne, after having sold the Lelia, 
as before mentioned, went to Cincinnati and 
bought a new steamer called the Lawrence, 
built by Captain James Thomas, at the mouth 
of Big Sandy river, which he put in the Kana- 



198 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



wha river trade, where she continued to run 
for nearly two years, when she sank in a col- 
lision with the steamer Linden, at Concord, 
near the mouth of Bush creek, in the year 1842. 

The machinery was taken from the wreck 
and placed upon a new boat, which Captain 
Payne had built to fill the place of the lost 
steamer. She was called the Laurel, and came 
out in 1845. She ran in the trade about a 
year, when she was sold to parties in Vicks- 
burg, Mississippi, and placed in the Yazoo 
trade, when she was freighted with supplies for 
the American army in Mexico, and sent to Rio 
Grande, where she sank in 1848. 

In the year 1837, the Summers brothers built 
a boat at the mouth of Big Buffalo creek, which 
they christened the Texas. After running 
about a year she collapsed a flue at Red House 
shoals, and was taken to Gallipolis, where she 
was repaired and renamed the Salines. She 
then went to the Arkansas river, from which 
she never returned. 

In .the year 1839, James M. Laidley, of 
Charleston, built a steamer at that place, which 
he named the Elk. She entered the Kanawha 
river trade and in 1840 she and the Hope were 
chartered to make an excursion to Pomeroy, 
Ohio, at which place General William H. Har- 
rison was to make a speech. The two boats 
were lashed together and carried a large house, 
built of Buckeye logs, representing Ohio, the 
Buckeye State. Mr. Laidley sold her to Clay- 
burn A. W right and John Dickenson, who con- 
tinued to run her until she was condemned. 

In the year 1843, Captain Payne built an- 
other boat at Red House which he called the 
Ark. Her machinery was taken from a Pitts- 
burg steamer called the "Julia Graciot," which 
was brought to the Kanawha by Captain James 
Timms. When the new boat was launched 
Captain Payne placed Captain I. B. Parker — 
who had been his engineer for many years — 
on the roof. She was a heavy draught boat, 
and we are informed that she carried the heav- 
iest cargo of salt from the Salines ever taken 
out of the Kanawha river; but her name be- 
came a synonym for all that was slow. We 
have heard it related that on a certain occa- 
sion when she was ascending the Ohio, a num- 
ber of boys ran down along the beach and threw 



stones at her, and that Captain Parker, hav- 
ing despaired of escaping from the bombard- 
ment, ordered the pilot to put on all available 
steam, and evade the deadly missiles by steer- 
ing in all haste to the opposite side of the river. 

Another character now appeared upon the 
scene in the person of Captain B. J. Caffrey, 
who built and launched the new steamer Tri- 
umph, in the year 1846; but shortly after she 
came out, her captain sold her to a transporta- 
tion company in Vicksburg, who placed her in 
the Yazoo trade, where she continued to run 
until she was condemned. At this time Captain 
Payne had almost absolute control of the Kana- 
wha river trade, having at one time no less 
than five steamboats plying upon it and contig- 
uous waters. 

In the year 1846, Messrs. Warth and Eng- 
lish built a large boat at Cincinnati, designed 
to run between that city and Charleston, which 
they launched and named the Blue Ridge. 
Captain Payne having an eye to business, sent 
an agent to Cincinnati, who, when she was 
ready to come out, purchased her and put her 
in the trade for which she had been built, with 
Captain William Summers in command She 
continued to make regular trips for two years, 
when she exploded her boilers at a point on the 
Ohio, four miles below Gallipolis. Many per- 
sons yet residing along the river remember the 
sad disaster by which fourteen persons lost 
their lives. Among the killed were Joseph Mil- 
ler, of Point Pleasant; John Carr, of Buffalo; 
William Whitteker, a merchant of Charleston; 
Francis Sanns, of Gallipolis; Albert Chapman, 
P. Carpenter and a Mrs. Mayse. The names 
of the other victims the writer has been unable 
to learn. 

In the year 1830, Armstrong, Grant & Co. 
bought and placed in the Kanawha trade a 
large steamer which was called the Oliver H. 
Perry. She was commanded by Captain Wil- 
liam Rand, of Charleston, and V. B. Donnally 
presided in the office. She collapsed a flue at 
Red House shoals, and was taken to Gallipolis, 
where she was repaired, and under the name of 
the "Daniel Webster" entered the Ohio river 
trade. 

In 1847, Captain Payne repaired to Buffalo, 
where he built a steamer which he named the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



199 



Herman. She was built for the Kanawha and 
Cincinnati trade, but soon after she was 
launched, she was chartered by the government 
and sent to Mexico with a cargo of supplies for 
the American army, then concentrating on the 
banks of the Rio Grande. She never returned 
to the Kanawha river. 

In the year 1832 a steamer was built at John 
Mayes Landing, by Captain William Keys, who 
took her to the Galena Lead Mines, where she 
was loaded with lead ore for the Mobile market, 
and upon her arrival in that distant port was 
sold to merchants of that city. 

About this time Captain J. B. Parker re- 
signed his commission as captain of the "Ark" 
and repaired to Vintroux Landing, and, asso- 
ciating himself with Mr. L. E. Vintroux, they 
began the construction of a boat which they 
called the Olevia. She entered the trade in the 
year 1847, with the following complement of 
officers : Captain, I. B. Parker ; first clerk, John 
W. Wyatt and Riley Finney, pilot. Captain 
Shipley, later commanding the steamer "City 
of Alton," of the Mississippi Anchor Line, was 
her second clerk. Shortly after she came out 
she collapsed a flue at Tinkersville, in the Kana- 
wha Salines, which caused the death of Charles 
H. Parker, the captain's brother. Soon after- 
ward she was sold to Jerry H. Baldwin, of St. 
Louis, and by him taken to the LJpper Missis- 
sippi. 

Having now noticed the most important 
steamers on the river prior to the year 1850, it 
will be unnecessary to mention those since that 
date, for the reason that almost every one is 
familiar with the navigation of the river since 
that time; and, furthermore, a bare mention of 
the many steamers on the river in recent years 
would weary the reader by its similarity. The 
boats of the first half century were crude and 
illy-built compared with our palatial steamers of 
to-day. Many of them had the cabin and cook- 
house both on deck, and the writer is informed 
that the first steamer that ascended the river was 
nothing more than a barge with an engine 
placed upon it. It is worthy of remark that 
this boat made its ascent of the river in the 
same year (1819) that the first steamship 
crossed the Atlantic; and if the appearance of 
the "Thomson" on the Kanawha river was a 



surprise to the settlers residing upon its banks, 
how much greater must the surprise have been 
when the "Savannah" steamed into the ports of 
Western Europe ! 

The earliest settlers of the valley were hardy 
pioneers, who "came to conquer." They were 
endowed with the spirit of progress which has 
ever characterized the Anglo-Saxon race, thus 
distinguishing it from the other races of the 
world. Their first object was to expel the ruth- 
less savage from the beautiful valley which they 
had chosen for their future home. This ac- 
complished, they set about felling the gigantic 
forests which, in their primeval grandeur, cov- 
ered the hills and vales of the entire valley. 
The next step was to develop the mineral re- 
sources, which were hid away in inexhaustible 
supplies, which ages of most active industry 
could not consume. This begun, they must have 
communication with the outside world, and the 
improvement and navigation of their beautiful 
river next engaged their attention; and here, 
again, they exhibited that indomitable energy 
and enterprise which gave the Kanawha river 
boatmen notoriety wherever inland navigation 
extended ; and whenever they came in contact 
or conflict with the boatmen of other rivers, 
they invariably came off conquerors, as in the 
following instance: 

About the 1837, a number of Kanawha boat- 
men from the Salines, were at the mouth of the 
Cumberland river, and being desirous of return- 
ing home, they chartered a small boat called the 
Dove, to convey them to their destination. The 
boat brought them to Louisville, when the 
captain found that he could do a more lucra- 
tive business than to make a trip to the Kana- 
wha river, and accordingly he refused to pro- 
ceed further. Whereupon, the boatmen quietly 
arrested the captain and entire crew and 
placed them in close confinement, then proceeded 
to elect a complement of officers from their own 
number, who ran the boat to Charleston, where 
they released the crew, and permitted the boat 
to return. Thus, they were noted not only for 
discharging their own obligations, but also for 
compelling others to do likewise. 

They were also famous for throwing stones. 
As long since as the writer can remember, he 
has heard the boulders lying along the Ohio 



200 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



river called the Kanawha boatman's "confi- 
dence," and the boatmen themselves called 
"limestone artillerymen." How the art of 
throwing stones, which has distinguished dif- 
ferent nations and tribes from the days of Go- 
liath down to the present time, became asso- 
ciated with the Kanawha boatmen, we do not 
know, but, nevertheless, they gained a national 
reputation for the accuracy with which they 
threw them. 

When the bill providing for the removal of 
the Cherokees, Seminoles and Choctaws beyond 
the Mississippi was before the Senate, Thomas 
H. Benton, then United States senator from 
Missouri, opposed the appropriation asked for 
by the committee to defray the expense of re- 
moval, and in a speech at that time, said that 
if the government would furnish him with a 
train to haul stones, he would pass down the 
Kanawha river, collect the boatmen, and drive 
every Indian from the southern States within 
three months. Another characteristic of these 
men was the manner in which they sustained 
losses in business. If one lost a steamer by col- 
lision or otherwise, he immediately set about 
building another. 

As an instance of almost reckless daring we 
note the following: In the year 1841, Captain 
Payne contracted to remove all salt from the 
yards of Thomas Friend, a prominent salt man- 
ufacturer of the Salines. The water was so low 
during the summer that he was compelled to 
transport it in flatboats to the mouth of the 
Kanawha. Upon one occasion, when one of 
these boats was descending the Kanawha, it 
reached Johnsons Shoals just at dark, and the 
pilot refused to run through the chute until the 
next morning, whereupon Captain Payne, who 
was himself aboard, declared that the boat 
should go through that night and that he would 
run it through. Accordingly the boat was 
pushed off and when about half way through, 
struck a rock, and in a few minutes was torn to 
pieces. Captain Payne seized hold of a piece 
of gunwale, and with his boat a total wreck, and 
2,000 barrels of salt in the bottom of the river, 
remarked, with the utmost sangfroid, that if 
he could get the gunwale home it would make a 
good bee stand. 



KANAWHA RIVER IMPROVEMENT. 

The first record of navigation of the Kana- 
wha was in 1774, when General Andrew Lewis 
had canoes constructed at the mouth of Elk, in 
which he transported a part of his supplies and 
ammunition which had been brought thus far 
on pack horses ; and on such road, it was a 
great relief to ship by boat. 

In 1788, Fleming Cobb made the trip in a 
canoe to Fort Randolph and return, for ammu- 
nition, and he made it safely, but at great risk, 
being pursued by Indians. The inmates of Fort 
Tacket being in want of salt in 1788, sent a 
canoe to Campbell's creek, filled it with salt 
water and took it back to the Fort, and boiled 
it down to salt. John Young navigated the 
said river from Coal's mouth to Elk's mouth 
by canoe with his wife and baby, with the In- 
dians after him, through storm and rain and 
dark. 

Salt was shipped after the quantity increased 
and this was done in 1808 by logs fastened to- 
gether by hickory poles and the salt placed in 
barrels on the raft floated it down to the new 
settlements. In the removal of families to 
the West, they had boats built at Hughes' 
creek, Kelly's creek and Paint creek, with 
which the transportation was made comfortably. 

Salt boats built at these points were made 
to carry 2,000 barrels, and were sold when the 
salt was disposed of. For up stream transpor- 
tation of family supplies, the boat was made 
with more care and were called batteaux and 
keels. Steamboats began in 1819-1820. This 
necessitated some improvement by removal of 
sunken logs, projecting trees, etc., and the 
legislature of Virginia, in 1820-21, passed an 
order directing the "James River and Kanawha 
Company," to cause improvements to be made 
in the river so there would be at least three 
feet of water all the year from the Falls to 
the mouth of the Kanawha. This was easier 
said than done and they had no appreciation 
of the magnitude of the work that they were 
ordering. In 1825, it was attempted by chutes 
and wing-dams. Messrs. Moore and Briggs. 
contractors, did much work, they cut the old 
chute through the rock at the Red House, re- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



201 



paired the chutes at Tyler, at Debby, Eighteen, 
Knob Shoals, Tacket, Johnston, etc., so well 
remembered by the salt flat-boatmen. 

In 1838 there was a survey of the entire 
river made by E. H. Gill, engineer under Col. 
Charles Ellett, Jr., chief of engineers. In 1855 
large shipments of cannel coal were made from 
Cannelton, Elk, splint coal from Field's creek, 
Paint creek, Armstrong's creek, also shipments 
of oil manufactured from cannel coal from said 
places. With the coal production, oil, salt, etc., 
an improvement in the river was urgently 
called for. Another survey of the river was 
made by John A. Byers, engineer under Col. 
John A. Fisk. Two systems were discussed 
and advocated respectively and a report made 
to the director of the James River and Kana- 
wha Company in 1858, all of which were con- 
sidered by the engineers of the county. The 
reservior system was an untried experiment, 
which might prove a dangerous experiment, so 
they continued to improve by wing-dams and 
sluices, and Barton and Robinson had a con- 
tract for such work when the Civil War inter- 
fered. 

In 1863, West Virginia took charge of the 
said river, created a board to carry on the 
improvement, yet it was manifestly inadequate, 
and it was determined to make application to 
the government of the United States to take 
control of the same. There was a general inter- 
est in the matter of water-ways throughout the 
West by said government, and a commission 
appointed to gather information for Congress 
and President Grant, and this led to the inves- 
tigation by United States engineers, whose re- 
port was voluminous and favorable. 

IMPROVEMENT OF KANAWHA RIVER BY 
U. S. GOVERNMENT 

In 1873-4 Congress made two small appro- 
priations of $25,000 each and in June, 1873, 
the work commenced on the river under Col. 
W. E. Merrell, of U. S. engineer corps, and 
Mr. Addison M. Scott, as resident engineer. 
The first work was to do on a large scale 
what the Kanawha board had been doing on a 
small scale, that is dredging, sluicing, wing- 
dams, to assist current navigation, but it was 
considered that nothing short of slack water 



by locks and dams would give satisfactory 
navigation. 

In 1874 the work was placed under Col. W. 
P. Craighill, of the U. S. engineer corps. That 
fall a survey for slack water was made by 
Resident Engineer A. M. Scott, assisted by 
Civil Engineers C. K. McDermott and John S. 
Hogue, and a preliminary location of locks 
and dams made from Loup creek to the mouth 
of the river, and under date of January 29, 
1875, Mr. Scott submitted a report with esti- 
mates of cost, to Col. Craighill on three differ- 
ent systems of improvements, viz : 

(1) For lock and dam improvement from 
the falls to foot of Paint creek and for sluice 
navigation in the remainder of the river, as- 
sisted by a reservoir or Meadow river. 

(2) For a lock and dam improvement, by 
fixed dams, throughout. 

(3) For fixed dams in the upper and mov- 
able dams in the lower part of the river. 

In this report (Report of Chief of Engineers 
U. S. A. for 1877), Mr. Scott decidedly recom- 
mended a lock and dam improvement instead of 
the old reservoir and sluice plan. In March 
following congress appropriated $300,000 with 
which to commence the permanent improve- 
ment of the river. Soon after a board of 
U. S. engineers, consisting of General H. G. 
Wright, Col. W. P. Craighill, General O. M. 
Poe, recommended the adoption of the lock 
and dam slack water improvement, with the use 
of permanent dams at and above Paint creek 
and movable or adjustable dams below that 
point. These recommendations were adopted 
and approved by the authorities at Washington 
in the fall of 1875, and locks No. 4 and 5 
were placed under contract. It was first con- 
templated to have twelve locks and dams from 
the Falls to the mouth of the river. There 
were to have been three fixed or permanent 
dams and nine movable ones. The estimated 
cost of the whole was $4,071,216. No. 1 was 
to have been a fixed dam and located at the 
foot of Loup Creek Shoal, was considered of 
less urgent necessity than the others and has 
not been constructed. 

In the progress of the work it was found, 
by careful measurements and engineering calcu- 
lations that one of the nine movable dams 



202 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



could be dispensed with by dividing the lift 
between the others which was clone thus re- 
ducing the whole number in the series to ten 
instead of eleven or twelve. 

No. of lock and clam, 2. Location, 1 mile be- 
low Montgomery. Distance from mouth of 
river, 84^ miles. Style of dam, fixed. Height 
of upper pool above sea level, 597.75 feet. 
Maximum lift, 10.33 feet. Length of dam, 
524.0 feet. Lock dimensions : clear width, 
50 feet ; length between quoins, 308 feet. Fin- 
ished in 1887. 

No. of lock and dam, 3. Location, 1 mile 
below Dego. Distance from mouth of river, 
ygy 2 miles. Style of dam, fixed. Height of 
upper pool above sea level, 587.42 feet. Maxi- 
mum lift of 13.67 feet. Length of dam, 564.5 
feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 50 feet; 
length between quoins, 312 feet. Finished in 
1882. 

No. of lock and dam, 4. Location, 1^2 
miles below Coalburg. Distance from mouth 
of river, 73^ miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 573.75 
feet. Maximum lift, 7.50 feet. Length of 
dam : navigation pass, 248.0 feet ; center pier 
(width), 10.0 feet; weir, 210.0 feet; total 
468.0 feet. Lock dimensions : clear width, 50 
feet; length between quoins, 300 feet. Finished 
in 1880. 

No. of lock and dam, 5. Location, g% 
miles above Charleston. Distance from mouth 
of river, 67^4 miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 566.50 
feet. Maximum lift, 7.50 feet. Location of 
dam: navigation pass, 250.0 feet; center pier 
(width), 13.5 feet; weir, 265.5 ^ eet ' total, 
529.0 feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 50 
feet ; length between quoins, 300 feet. Finished 
in 1880. 

No. of lock and dam, 6. Location, 4 miles 
above Charleston. Distance from mouth of 
river, 54 miles. Style of dam, movable. Height 
of upper pool above sea level, 559.0 feet. Max- 
imum lift, 8.50 feet. Length of clam: naviga- 
tion pass, 248.0 feet; center pier (width), 10. o 
feet; weir, 3ro.o feet; total 568.0 feet. Lock 
dimensions: clear width, 55 feet; length be- 
tween quoins, 342 feet. Finished in 1886. 

No. of lock and dam, 7. Location, 134 



miles below St. Albans. Distance from mouth 
of river, 44 miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 550.50 
feet. Maximum lift, 8.25 feet. Length of dam : 
navigation pass, 248.0 feet; center pier (width) 
10.0 feet; weir, 316.0 feet; total, 574.0 feet. 
Lock dimensions: clear width, 55 feet; length 
between quoins, 342 feet. Finished in 1893. 

No. of lock and dam, 8. Location, 2 l / 2 
miles below Raymond City. Distance from 
mouth of river, 36 miles. Style of dam, mov- 
able. Height of upper pool above sea level, 
542.25 feet. Maximum lift, 8.00 feet. Length 
of dam : navigation pass, 248.0 feet ; center 
pier (width), 10. o feet; weir, 292.0 feet; to- 
tal, 550.0 feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 
55 feet; length between quoins, 342 feet. Fin- 
ished in 1893. 

No. of lock and dam, 9. Location, 3^ 
miles above Buffalo. Distance from mouth of 
river, 25*4 miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 534.25 
feet. Maximum lift, 6.25 feet. Length of 
dam: navigation, pass, 248.0 feet; center pier 
(width), 1 0.0 feet; weir, 284.0 feet; total, 
542.0 feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 55 
feet ; length between quoins, 342 feet. Fin- 
ished in 1898. 

No. of lock and dam, 10. Location, 2.y 2 
miles below Buffalo. Distance from mouth of 
river, 19 miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 528.00 
feet. Maximum lift, 7.00 feet. Length of 
dam: navigation pass, 248.0 feet; center pier 
(width), 10.0 feet; weir, 284.0 feet; total, 
542.0 feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 55 
feet ; length between quoins, 342 feet. Finished 
in 1898. 

No. of lock and clam, 11. Location, foot 
Three Mile Bar. Distance from mouth of 
river, i}i miles. Style of dam, movable. 
Height of upper pool above sea level, 521.00 
feet. Maximum lift, 11.20 feet. Length of 
dam : navigation pass, 304.0 feet ; center pier 
(width), 10.0 feet; weir, 364.0 feet; total, 
678.0 feet. Lock dimensions: clear width, 55 
feet ; length between quoins, 342 feet. Finished 
in 1898. 

Low water in Ohio river at mouth of Great 
Kanawha river, 509.80 feet. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



205 



The lucid detail description of the locks and 
dams furnished by Mr. A. M. Scott might be 
exceedingly interesting to engineers, for which 
those interested would prefer headquarters 
therefor, and all others would find it more 
lucid without detail. 

It is well to note that the locks and dams are 
of cement mortared masonry built on solid rock. 
The gates are 22 feet high, 32 feet 8 inches 
long and two feet thick, weighing about 38 
tons. The pool formed by lock and dam No. 
6 is nearly 14 miles long. It raises the water 
at Charleston 4 feet 8 inches above low water 
mark and makes good 7 feet 6 inches depth for 
tows at the old slacking place at the foot of 
Elk Shoal. Pool No. 6 is no doubt destined 
to be one of the largest and most important 
coal harbors in the world. 

MOVABLE DAMS 

The experience with movable dams on this 
river has been very satisfactory. They are 
easily and rapidly maneuvered, and the expense 
attending their operation is but little more than 
the fixed dams and they are highly satisfactory 
to the river interests. These dams are kept up 
when there is not water enough for coal boat 
navigation and down at other times, with fixed 
dams, everything must pass through the locks, 
and navigation is suspended when the river is 
near or about the lock walls, -while with mov- 
able dams the locks are only used when the dis- 
charge of the river is so small as to make them 
essential. 

This advantage has long since been recog- 
nized in Europe. In 1878 there were 124 mov- 
able dams in operation in France alone, and 
the Kanawha river has the honor of possessing 
the first movable dams in America. During the 
summer season five men are employed regularly 
at each movable dam, and there are provided 
comfortable houses for the said employees and 
each is provided with a garden spot. 

The average time to raise one of these dams, 
by four or five men, is about nine hours, and 
it is lowered by the same force in about two 
hours. The office of the resident engineer is 
in the city of Charleston, and a telephone line 
from the falls of the Kanawha to lock No. 11, 
passes through the said office and the same is 



always in direct communication with each lock 
at all times, and also connected with each other. 
There are gauge reports received at the Charles- 
ton office daily from the falls and from Hinton 
and Radford on the upper New river, all of 
which is necessary for the same operation of 
the locks and dams and the regulation of the 
pools. The force keeps a small tow-boat to 
transport supplies, material and labor from one 
point to another, to tow dredges, crane boats, 
dump scows; to remove obstructions, snags, 
trees, wrecks, etc., left in the channel by high 
water, and a light draught steam launch is used 
by the engineers for trips of inspection and to 
carry light articles. 

The original estimate of the cost of the work 
was $4,071,216, and the whole amount appro- 
priated to date is $4,208,200, through the years 
from March 3, 1873 t0 J une 4> l &97- The cost 
of the work was really less than the estimates, 
although there were some modifications of plans 
made. 

The Kanawha river at its mouth, is 510 feet 
above tide and at Loup creek, the head of the 
upper pool, 596 feet, giving a fall of 86 feet, 
in that distance in the natural river, or an ag- 
gregate lift of 86 feet by the several dams. 
The river was lowest ever known in 1838, then 
in 1 88 1 it was measured and estimated to dis- 
charge, below Elk river, 1,183.5 cubic feet 
per second. In 1878 measurements were made 
while there were 34)4 feet above low water 
mark and the discharge was 188,347 cubic feet 
per second, and Elk furnished of this 32,950 
cubic feet. A 6-foot, open river, would dis- 
charge about 10.000 cubic feet per second and 
at a 7-foot stage, about 13,500 feet. 

CHEAP TRANSPORTATION 

The coal barges cost from $1,400 to $1,800 
each and last about ten years. They generally 
are about 130 feet long, 25 feet wide and jy 2 
feet deep, and a barge carries from 10,000 to 
15,000 bushels or from 400 to 600 tons; 520 
tons or 13,000 bushels per barge is a fair av- 
erage, equal to a train of 26 cars of 20 tons 
each. 

A small tow of four barges, easily handled 
by a small tug, will have near or quite 50,000 
bushels, or enough to fill 100 freight cars, and 



206 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



a good tow-boat handles from 4 to 14 barges, 
and from Point Pleasant down, a fleet of 30 
barges or a train about 7 miles long. The 
tow-boat "Andrews" took out 28 barges or 
420,000 bushels, which would fill 840 cars, 
which would require a track about 8 miles 
long. 

The average rate on coal handled by the C. 
& O. R. R. in 1899, was 2.74 mills per ton 
mile, which is considered among the lowest 
rates of railroads in the U. S., but for water 
transportation, the rate is about one-half of 
that, to Louisville 1.2 1 mills per ton per mile, 
and to New Orleans about one-fourteenth of a 
cent per ton per mile, and as low as these rates 
are. there is coal shipped at still cheaper rates. 

ADVANTAGES OF SLACK WATER. 

This more than doubles the time during 
which coal can be shipped and greatly reduces 
the cost and risks of transportation. Before 
the locks and dams were built, there was on 
the average but 136 days per annum when coal 
could be shipped. Now there is 6 feet, or 
more, nearly all the year round in Kanawha. 
The average shipping time for coal in the Ohio 
from Point Pleasant down is 250 days, which 
will be greatly bettered and increased in the 
course of a few years by the completion of the 
locks and dams now under way in that river. 

In this connection, reference should be made 
to the "flooding out" of coal barges from the 
mouth of the Kanawha by supplementing small 
risers in the Ohio with water drawn from the 
pools of the movable dams. This was inaugu- 
rated by Engineer A. M. Scott soon after the 
completion of the dams; in the fall of 1899, 
4,000,000 bushels of Kanawha coal were 
shipped to market in that way. This plan 
afterwards met with opposition from the de- 
partment, or the engineering officer in charge, 
but under the present able and progressive 
management — that of Capt. Alstatter and his 
resident assistant, Mr. Thomas E. Jeffries, this 
novel and important feature of the movable 
clams is now successfully followed. The com- 
pletion of this work gives safer, cheaper, 
quicker and more continuous navigation and 
makes an era of improvement in the Kanawha 
valley, and cannot be overestimated. 



In 1875 there were shipped from the Great 
Kanawha river 4,048,300 bushels or 161,932 
tons, while in 1900 it was 31,017,000 bushels 
or 1,240,680 tons, and the increase seems to be 
steady. 

Not only coal, but timber, staves, bark, wood, 
poles, lath, railroad ties, shingles, brick, salt, 
merchandise and produce, making in the year 
1900 a tonnage of other things than coal, of 
W5.93 tons- 
Owing to the fact that the Kanawha mov- 
able dams were the first built in America, and 
to the marked success of the Kanawha im- 
provement, both from an engineering and a 
commercial standpoint, much — volumes it may 
be said, has been written about it. Much of 
this information is found published in official 
government reports and in technical journals; 
for a more detailed account than can be given 
here of the construction and operation of this 
important work, and of the personnel of the 
engineering and inspection force identified with 
it, the lay reader is referred to the B. & F. His- 
tory of the Kanawha Valley (1891), and to 
the West Virginia Historical Magazine of 
April, 1 90 1. 

GENERAL WILLIAM PRICE CRAIGHILL 

By Addison M. Scott. 

No history of the Great Kanawha river im- 
provement would be complete without promi- 
nent reference to the late General William P. 
Craighill, under whose supervision the slack- 
water system was begun and nearly completed. 
This distinguished engineer officer was born in 
Charleston, Jefferson county (then Virginia), 
in 1833. He graduated at West Point, second 
in his class, in 1853, served first as second 
lieutenant of engineers and was advanced suc- 
cessively to the different grades in his corps to 
the highest, being made brigadier general and 
chief of engineers in May, 1895. 

He gave up charge of the Baltimore district 
of fortifications and river and harbor improve- 
ments, the latter including the works from the 
Susquehanna to Cape Fear, and as far west 
as the Great Kanawha river (a post he had 
filled since 1865) when appointed chief of en- 
gineers thirty years later. This district em- 
braced some important works both in the line of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



207 



fortification and river and harbor improve- 
ments. The deep dredged channel in the Balti- 
more harbor constructed under him, bears his 
name. The closing of one of the mouths of 
the Cape Fear river by use, in part, of log and 
brush mattresses, afterwards extensively used 
along the coast, was a notable engineering suc- 
cess and a work of much importance. 

In a memoir of General Craighill, published 
in "Transactions" (Dec. 1909) of the Ameri- 
can Society of Civil Engineers, a review of the 
various important works executed in the Balti- 
more district under him concludes as follows : 

"Perhaps the most notable and successful of 
the works was the canalization of the Great 
Kanawha river, in which the Chanoine system 
of movable dams is used * * * the first 
Chanoine dam actually constructed and placed 
in service in the United States was in the Great 
Kanawha river under Colonel Craighill." 

To recur to his early manhood; at the out- 
break of the Civil War Lieutenant Craighill, 
though decidedly a "Union man," thought seri- 
ously of resigning from the army and following 
the fortunes of his native state, rather than 
take up arms against the South; he was per- 
suaded, it is said, by General Winfield Scott, 
not to resign on condition that he be kept in the 
engineer corps. His record as an engineer of- 
ficer during the war — a highly creditable one, 
can be but briefly referred to here. On March 
3, 1865, he was made brevet lieutenant colonel 
"for faithful and meritorious services during 
the war, arid particularly for services rendered 
in defense of Cumberland Gap and the ulterior 
operations of General Morgan's forces." He 
also received the brevet of colonel "for gallant 
and meritorious services during the rebellion," 
but this he declined. 

After graduating in 1853, Lieutenant Craig- 
hill was on duty several years at important 
points on fortifications and improvements along 
the coast — at Savannah, Dry Tortugas, 
Charleston Harbor, etc. In 1856, he went to 
Washington as assistant to the chief of engi- 
neers, and both before and after the war served 
for considerable time as assistant professor of 
engineering at West Point. 

His services after November, 1865, the date 
of his taking charge of the Baltimore district 



of fortifications and river and harbor work 
have been briefly referred to. In addition to 
his regular duties he served on many boards 
formed for the consideration of projected im- 
provements, embracing many of the principal 
rivers and harbors throughout the United 
States. He made five trips to the Pacific coast 
on this duty. 

From 1884 until 1895, Colonel Craighill, 
while retaining charge of the Baltimore dis- 
trict, was division engineer of the southeast di- 
vision which included several other districts of 
the river and harbor work. In this connection, 
the following additional extract from the me- 
moir before referred to is interesting, particu- 
larly as showing his general method of looking 
after his numerous works. 

"The division engineer's visits were always 
welcome, and he took a keen interest in the 
work of the younger men, approving their 
methods whenever practicable; for he said T 
have found that generally there are 'several 
ways of accomplishing a given result and that 
it is best to follow the plan of the man who 
is to do the work, provided that plan is sensible.' 
A truth not always appreciated by superiors. 
At another time he said to a young officer who 

was reporting to him for duty — 'Mr. , I 

propose to be the laziest man in this district and 
do not propose to do anything that can be done 
by my assistants.' It is needless to say that 
under such a man, the assistants always did 
their best." In this connection, it is natural to 
refer to another peculiarity or principle of the 
man (a somewhat rare one too, it must be 
said) , still better calculated to make men under 
him do their best — that of giving them due 
credit for their work. His sense of justice was 
too great, and he was too big a man to do 
otherwise, and his assistants knew that their 
chief not only appreciated good work and faith- 
ful service, but would take pleasure in acknowl- 
edging it. He was a close observer and a 
good judge of men. If he trusted a man, he 
was inclined to trust him fully. On the other 
hand, it used to be said, and I think with much 
truth, that if a man once fell under his distrust 
he never escaped from it. 

Though as an army officer he properly took 
no part in politics, he was active and promi- 



208 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



nent in many lines of civic duty. The Episco- 
pal church, of which he was a lifelong mem- 
ber, made him its deputy from the diocese of 
'West Virginia to ten successive general con- 
ventions, and also a delegate to the Pan-Angel- 
ican conference in London, in 1908. He was 
a member of the Malta Lodge of Masons, 
Charlestown, West Virginia, from 1855, to his 
death. He was a member of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, 
and the sole honorary member of the Historical 
Society of Maryland. In 1897, the Washing- 
ton and Lee University conferred on him the 
degree of LL. D. 

The following offices were offered to him at 
various times and declined, viz : Commandant 
of Cadets at Virginia Military Institute; charge 
of the water department of Baltimore ; superin- 
tendent of West Point Academy; president of 
the University of West Virginia; superin- 
tendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and 
membership in the Isthmian Canal Commission. 

He became a member of the American So- 
ciety of Civil Engineers in 1885, seiwed on the 
board of direction two years, and was elected 
president in 1894. As president, he made an 
enviable record ; something of an understand- 
ing of this and of his unusually fine social quali- 
ties will be gained from the following extract 
from the memoir before quoted from, found in 
the Transactions of the Society. "As a presid- 
ing officer, he was exceedingly efficient, com- 
bining in a rare degree seldom equalled, affa- 
bility, tolerance, tact, dignity, retentiveness of 
memory and a swift comprehension of a contro- 
verted point. A decision never appeared to be 
made too quickly nor was there any uncertainty 
when rendered. 

"It is believed that no officer of the society 
made, in so few years, so many friends among 
the younger members of the society ; for to the 
young engineer, his courteous and kindly at- 
tention were equally a delight to the recipient 
and to the observer. 

"He was in all respects well rounded — a man 
of many parts. * * * He undoubtedly 
possessed the attributes essential to success in 
any walk of life, wherein he would as surely 
have made his mark, as he did in that of the 
engineering profession which he adorned so 
conspicuously." 



General Craighill was twice married, first 
in 1856, to Mary A. Morsell, daughter of 
Judge Morsell of Washington, D. C, and in 
1874, several years after his first wife's death, 
to Rebecca C. Jones, daughter of Rev. Alex- 
ander Jones of Richmond, Virginia. He had 
three sons and three daughters. Two of his 
sons are civil engineers, one in military and 
the other in civil life. The one in the army, 
William E., graduated second in his class at 
West Point in 1885. and is now major of en- 
gineers. The other son, Dr. James M. Craig- 
hill, resides in Baltimore. 

General Craighill died at his home and 
birthplace in Charlestown, West Virginia, June 
18, 1909, and is buried there. 

This brief and inadequate sketch leaves un- 
noticed many of the fine attainments and noble 
characteristics of an able, accomplished, up- 
right and warm hearted man — one who filled 
well his part in life and of whom his native 
state has just cause to be proud. 

RAILROADS IN KANAWHA 

Kanawha and Charleston have numerous 
railroads, which may be mentioned as the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the Kanawha 
and Michigan Railroad, the Virginian Railroad, 
The Coal and Coke Railroad, the Kanawha and 
West Virginia Railroad and the Coal River 
Railroad. The branches of these various rail- 
roads, extending up the various streams to 
bring out the coal, timber and other products 
— short lines and feeders — are too numerous 
to mention. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The 
Legislature of Virginia, in 1836, chartered a 
railroad with a capital of $300,000, to build a 
road through the county of Louisa, from the 
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Rail- 
road. This was known as the Louisa Rail- 
road. It was completed from Hanover Junc- 
tion to Louisa Court House, thirty-six miles, 
and was operated for some time by the Rich- 
mond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Co. It 
was subsequently extended in short sections, 
first fourteen miles to Gordonsville, thence 
twenty-one miles to Charlottesville, thence 
thirty-nine miles to Staunton, thence forty 
miles to Millsboro, and thence twenty miles to 
Jackson's river. The war came on and it re- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



209 



mained stationary until 1867, when it was com- 
pleted to Covington, a distance of ten miles. 
It was known as the Virginia Central, now the 
Chesapeake and Ohio. 

It required an extraordinary effort to get 
rid of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Poto- 
mac Company in its control of the new road. 
The want of means, rival interests and other 
matters, made it difficult to construct the same, 
and it will be seen that it progressed but slowly. 
In 1848, it placed a contract for an independent 
route from Richmond to where the junction 
was with the R. F. & P. Co., twenty-seven 
miles. In 1850, the name was changed to Vir- 
ginia Central, and Virginia guaranteed its 
bonds for $100,000, the policy of the General 
Assembly being to carry the road to the Wa- 
ters of the Ohio River. The construction of 
the road from Staunton to Covington was one 
of great difficulty. While waiting for the com- 
pletion of the tunnel through the Blue Ridge, 
they hauled the rails across the ridge at Rock 
Fish Gap and laid the road from- Waynesboro 
to Staunton. They found this too expensive. 
Instead they built a track over the top of the 
mountain, with grades of 300 feet to the mile, 
and worked it until the tunnel was completed. 
It contemplated having a terminus at Big 
Sandy, also at Point Pleasant, and never ceased 
until it aimed to have a line from Norfolk to 
San Francisco, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
E. Fontaine was the first president and served 
up to 1868. , 

See Act incorporating Louisa Railroad (Va. 
Legislature), Feb. 18, 1836. 

Act extending the Louisa R. R. to Blue 
Ridge, March 8, 1847. 

Act for extension to the dock in Richmond, 
March 27, 1848. 

Act incorporating Blue Ridge Road, March 
5> l8 49- . 

Extension from Staunton to Covington, Jan- 
uary 30, 1850. 

Changing name to Virginia Central, Febru- 
ary 2, 1850. 

Increasing capital stock of the Central R. R., 
December 15, 1852. 

Incorporating the Covington and Ohio, Feb- 
ruary 26, 1866. 

Same by West Va. Legislature, March 1. 
1866. 



Commissioners on the part of Virginia, ap- 
pointed by last act, were John B. Baldwin, 
George W. Boiling, T. S. Flournoy, R. H. 
Maury and W. J. Robertson. On the part of 
West Virginia: George W. Summers, James 
Burley, Barton Daspard, Joel McPherson and 
James O. Watson. 

Act for completion of line from Chesapeake 
to the Ohio River, March 1, 1867. 

Same in West Virginia, February 26, 1867. 
Act amending charter of West Va. Central, 
February 26, 1867. 

Act amending charter of West Va. Central. 
March 3, 1868, 

After the appointment of the commissioners 
above named, they went to New York to see 
what could be done and these consultations 
were continued from time to time. The first 
commissioners died and others were substituted 
until C. P. Huntington obtained the line of 
road, the franchise and benefits, and proceeded 
with the work. About 1872 the work was 
completed and the road was running through 
to the Ohio River in 1873. It continued mov- 
ing along westward to Cincinnati, and from 
Ashland through Kentucky to Louisville. 
There was a road made down the James River, 
along the canal from Lynchburg, and extended 
up to Clifton Forge, this becoming a part of 
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. 

During the time that Mr. Huntington was 
building the line to the Ohio, it passed through 
several gradations and sales, under several 
names, but kept along westward and toward 
its completion until it has become one of the 
main lines of the country. It has its extension 
to the Pacific, even from Newport News on the 
Atlantic. The subject has become too large to 
treat of in detail in one book. 

HISTORY OF THE COAL RIVER RAILROAD. 

The "Coal River Basin" is a territory lying 
southeast of the city of St. Albans about seven- 
teen miles, and comprises about 800,000 or 
1,000,000 acres of land, under which are de- 
posited some of the finest bituminous coal veins 
in the world ; considering the width of the veins 
and the richness of the same, as well as their 
great variety, it may be said with safety that 
they are unequaled in richness in the United 
States. 



210 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



This great basin lies enclosed within the wa- 
ters of the "Big Coal River" and its principal 
branch, the Little Coal River, which when 
united flow into the Kanawha at St. Albans. 

Obviously this rich coal basin many years ago 
attracted the attention of investors and coal 
operators. As early as 1852 large tracts of 
lands were purchased by Major Peyton and as- 
sociates on the waters of Big Coal River, and 
an extensive opening and operation was made 
by them on Drawdy Creek in a very rich vein 
of cannel coal. This operation was known as 
the "Peytona Cannel Coal Co." and in order 
to get their coal to market, the "Big Coal 
River" was navigated by a series of locks and 
dams, operated by an auxiliary company known 
as the "Coal River Navigation Company." 
This improvement extended from Peytona to 
the City of St. Albans, where the barges were 
floated out into the Great Kanawha River, and 
from thence to the Ohio River, and down the 
Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, where 
the product was marketed. 

This enterprise was successfully prosecuted, 
but owing to the great expense of maintaining 
the locks and dams, which were constructed of 
timber, the costs of maintenence seriously re- 
duced the profits. 

This continued up to the time of the Civil 
War, when the locks and dams fell into decay 
and were dismantled. After the close of the 
war, the Cannel Coal Company resumed oper- 
ations, repaired the navigation system, and con- 
ducted the business successfully until about 
1876. In the meantime the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroad Company had constructed its lines 
through St. Albans, and a branch line of that 
road was constructed to the first lock of the 
navigation system,' and the coal was from thence 
trans-shipped from the barge to the car and 
distributed into Washington, Baltimore and 
New York. Finally, however, the navigation 
system became dilapidated and out of repair, 
and the mining company at Peytona became in- 
volved in serious litigation, and thus in about 
the year 1880, the workings of the company 
were suspended. 

After that, various attempts were made to 
construct a railroad into this important coal 
field; capitalists were tempted by the long dis- 



tance by the river's course to make short cuts 
into the basin by constructing railroads up the 
creeks that flow from the Northern rim of the 
basin into the Kanawha. Short lines were 
constructed up Davis Creek, Lens Creek, Fields 
Creek, and Cabin Creek, but all of these efforts 
were unsucessful owing to the heavy grades and 
the impossibility, without great expense, of tun- 
neling the mountain range that forms the North- 
ern boundary of the "basin." 

Various charters were taken out to construct 
the railroad up the Coal River route, but noth- 
ing was done with them until the appearance of 
a gentleman in St. Albans by the name of Col- 
onel Michael Patrick O'Hern, who was in- 
timately connected with this enterprise, and 
was a gentleman of such remarkable character 
that we desire to give a brief sketch of the 
man and his career. 

COL. MICHAEL P. O'HERN 

As indicated by his name, he was born in 
Ireland — in the city of Limerick — and at an 
early date emigrated to the United States; he 
learned the bookbinder's trade in New York, 
and became one of the largest blank book man- 
ufacturers in the United States, at that period. 
He rapidly rose in wealth and distinction, until 
about 1849 an d 1850, when the gold excitement 
broke out in California. He then promoted a 
syndicate which purchased and equipped a large 
fleet of clipper packet ships, and established a 
freight and passenger line between New York 
and San Francisco. Apprehending the con- 
struction of the Panama railroad, he sold out 
his interest in this fleet for a very large sum of 
money, and at an enormous profit, and engaged 
in railway construction. He constructed various 
lines of railroad in the United States, among 
which was the "Belt Line," around the City of 
Baltimore. 

Seeing the rapid demand for bituminous coal, 
in the sixties, he purchased and opened the 
celebrated Georges Creek field in Maryland, 
and at one time was one of the largest bitumin- 
ous coal operators in the United States. Un- 
fortunate investments and speculations carried 
him down in the panic of 1873. Some years 
after that his attention was attracted, together 
with another wealthy coal operator, Burr Wake- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



211 



man, to the Coal River coal basin, and he spent 
the balance of his life in the endeavor to push 
a railroad into that great field. He also con- 
ceived the real truth as a railroad constructor, 
that the only way to gain entry into the "Coal 
River Basin," was by constructing a railroad 
along the banks of Coal River; as he used to 
say frequently, "railroads will run where rivers 
run." 

This gentleman organized the St. Albans & 
Coal River Railroad Co. in 1886, or 1887, se- 
cured rights of way by purchase through the 
narrows of Coal River, and spent the balance of 
his life in endeavoring to secure the capital to 
construct it. However, he became advanced in 
years, his sight was impared, and having little 
money of his own, he was unable to secure the 
confidence of capitalists in his ability to handle 
the enterprise, although no question was made 
as to his integrity, character, or honesty of pur- 
pose. He was a gentleman with the most pleas- 
ing and gentle manners, kind and generous, and 
in every way loveable to all those friends who 
knew him well. He died in 1897. 

During the latter part of his life, his legal 
counsel was Judge J. B. C. Drew of Charles- 
ton, and after his death, his only daughter and 
heir, Miss Sally O'Hern, advised Judge Drew 
that she neither had the inclination or the means 
to prosecute the railway enterprise, but re- 
quested him to make arrangements whereby her 
father's indebtedness, and the indebtedness of 
the railroad company could be paid out of the 
property; whereupon Judge Drew organized a 
syndicate of himself and associates, paid the 
judgment liens and other debts against Mr. 
O'Hern's estate, and reorganized the company 
under the statutes of West Virginia under the 
name of the St. Albans & Boone Railroad Com- 
pany. The syndicate purchased a terminal at 
St. Albans Of about 500 acres, and various tracts 
of land in the Coal River Basin, and endeav- 
ored to secure capital for the construction of 
the railroad, but owing to the quiet opposition 
of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, 
who desired to exploit this great coal basin at 
their own time, and by extending their own rail- 
road there, but little progress was made until 
some years later, when General C. C. Watts and 
associates conceived and actively prosecuted the 
enterprise. 



Seeing that there was not room for two rail- 
roads, the two enterprises were practicaly con- 
solidated, and General Watts and Judge Drew 
united their efforts to build the railroad, but 
were unsuccessful up to 1901, when General 
Watts opened negotiations with John V. R. 
Skinner and E. E. Fox of Massillon, Ohio, who 
organized a syndicate composed of themselves 
and others from Cleveland, Canton, and Coshoc- 
ton, Ohio, prominent among whom were Con- 
gressman J. W. Cassingham, and Judge Wm. 
A. Lynch. This organization owned large and 
important tracts of coal land in the Coal River 
basin. A "memorandum plan" was adopted 
whereby a portion of the railway stock was sold 
to the Ohio syndicate, and an agreement was 
made for the issuance of bonds of the railroad 
company, which were subscribed and purchased 
by the Ohio syndicate, and out of the funds 
thus furnished, the first actual construction of 
the Coal River Railroad was begun in August, 
1902. The work was under the supervision of 
Mr. Skinner, and was completed to the mouth 
of Fork Creek on Big Coal River, a distance of 
17 miles, in 1904. 

The road was equipped, and operated for a 
period of about eighteen months, when the 
shareholders of the railroad company made sat- 
isfactory arrangements with the Chesapeake & 
Ohio Railway Co. for the shipment of the coals 
from the lands owned by them ; the General 
Watts Syndicate and the "Ohio syndicate" then 
sold their shares to Senator W. A. Sproul of 
Pennsylvania, who subsequently sold the same 
to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. who 
are operating the road at this time, having ex- 
tended the system up both Big and Little Coal 
rivers, embracing a mileage of about eighty- 
five miles. 

Marvelous developments have attended the 
building and extension of this railroad, until 
it has become the principal freight and passen- 
ger feeder of the main line of the Chesapeake 
& Ohio Railway west of Richmond. 

In 1899 Judge Drew and associates had pur- 
chased of the late D. W. Emmons of Hunting- 
ton, a tract of land on Brier Creek, of the 
waters of Big Coal River, of about 6,000 acres 
in extent, underlaid with the celebrated "Black- 
Band coal ;" they opened mines on the same, and 
constructed a line of railroad into the interior 



212 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



of the tract about four miles in length, connect- 
ing with the main line of the Coal River Rail- 
road. 

THE KANAWHA & MICHIGAN RAILWAY 
COMPANY 

The present company was twenty-one years 
old on April 25th, 191 1, having been incorpo- 
rated in 1890, but before that date the railway 
itself had appeared under many different names, 
the first being the Guyandotte and Ohio River 
Railroad and Mineral Company, chartered by 
an act of Legislature, February 28, 1872, to 
build a railroad, but which was unable to carry 
out its intention. Possibly the name was too 
much of a handicap for on April 26, 1881 it 
was changed to the Atlantic and Northwestern 
Railroad Company. 

The Richmond, Toledo and Chicago Railroad 
Company on February 21, 1881, was incorpo- 
rated to build from some point on the Ohio 
River in Mason County through the Counties 
of Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Fayette, Raleigh, 
Summers, Monroe and Mercer to the state line 
and on June 27, 1881 this company sold its 
oroperty, rights and franchises to the Atlantic 
and Northwestern Railroad Company. 

North of the Ohio River the Atlantic and 
Lake Erie Railway Company was incorporated 
June 12, 1869, to build from Pomeroy on the 
Ohio River in Meigs County, northward 
through central Ohio to Toledo. This company 
likewise found it desirable to change its name 
April 29, 1876 to the Ohio Central Railway 
Company, which succeeded in building 28 miles 
of line between Bremen and Central City, 
Ohio, before passing into the hands of a re- 
ceiver, July 9. 1877. March 26, 1878 the Co- 
lumbus and Sunday Creek Valley Railroad 
Company purchased the middle portion of the 
unfinished line, namely between Central City 
and Athens, and on the same day the Ohio 
Central Railroad Company purchased the north 
end of the line between Central City and Toledo 
and the south end between Athens and the Ohio 
River. December 20, 1879 these companies 
were consolidated as the Ohio Central Railroad 
Company, by January 1, 1880, the line had been 
completed from Thurston to Corning, and June 
30,1882 the line having been constructed from 
Corning to the Ohio River, was consolidated 



with the Atlantic & Northwestern Railroad 
Company under the name of the Ohio Central 
Railroad Company, this company went into 
the hands of receivers Oct. 31, 1883, in the 
meantime however, the bridge over the Ohio 
river had been constructed and the line extended 
from Pt. Pleasant to Charleston. On October 
22, 1885 the railroad in Ohio was sold to the 
Ohio and Kanawha Railway Company, the 
portion in West Virginia to the Kanawha and 
Ohio Railway Company, on June 25, 1886, the 
bridge was sold to the Pt. Pleasant Bridge 
Company. The two ends of the railroad were 
again consolidated April 20, 1886 as the Kana- 
wha and Ohio Railway Company, which how- 
ever passed into the hands of a receiver Feb- 
ruary 19, 1889. The present company, the 
Kanawha and Michigan Railway Company, was 
incorporated April 25th, 1890 and on July 1, 
1890, purchased the Charleston and Gauley 
Railway from Charleston to Dickinson which 
was then extended to a connection with the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Gauley Bridge 
and opened for operation August 21, 1893. 

For the first ten years of its existence the 
present company was controlled by The Toledo 
& Ohio Central Railway Company and made 
little, if any, advancement; for the next ten 
years it was controlled by the Hocking Valley 
Railway Company and during this period its 
first real development took place. Through the 
financial aid and co-operation of the Hocking 
Valley Railway Company it was enabled to se- 
cure the equipment necessary to secure traffic 
and its earnings were used to bring the line up 
to the requirements of modern transportation. 

In March, 1910 the control of the company 
again changed hands and is now owned jointly 
by The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company 
and The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
Railway Company, each of which owns more 
than four-ninths of its capital stock. The con- 
trol of the property by these two great cor- 
porations, which are vigorous competitors for 
business at all points, augurs well for the future 
of the property and assures its continuous de- 
velopment. 

COAL AND COKE RAILROAD 

This line of transportation extends from 
Charleston on the Kanawha up Elk River to 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



213 



Elkins in Randolph county, where it unites with 
other roads, going eastward to the coast at Bal- 
timore and other cities. This road began as 
a small affair, and was known as the Black- 
Jack-Railroad. But little had been done there- 
on when it went into the hands of the Charles- 
ton-Clendenin and Sutton Railroad Company 
in 1 890- 1 904, when it became the Coal and 
Coke Railroad. Henry G. Davis is the presi- 
dent thereof. 

While in the control of the Charleston-Clen- 
denin and Sutton it was built to Clay Court 
House — about sixty miles — and by the C. & C. 
Ry. Co. to "Roaring Creek," near Elkins — 183 
miles. Senator Elkins was greatly interested 
in the Coal & Coke Railroad and was doing 
much to make it pay. 

We find in the Superior Court of Appeals 
the record of the suit in which is involved the 
question whether the two-cent railroad fare 
was or was not legal in the case of this road, 
owing to the fact that the country through 
which it runs is a sparsely settled one with but 
little development, etc. 

Like all railroads, the C. & C. Ry. Co. has 
had complaints made of it. to the effect that it 
was running to help its own concerns and in- 
dustries and that when there was waiting to 
be done, it was the other fellows that had to 
wait. 

This road passes through territory filled with 
coal, timber, oil and gas. that may make a good 
farming country some day. It has the pros- 
pects for great wealth in its future development 
and in the hands of Mr. Davis, its president, it 
should grow in favor of all men. 

VIRGINIAN RAILROAD 

The Virginian Railroad.— This railroad runs 
its cars from Charleston to the South and East, 
through the great Pocahontas coal field, 
through Blue Stone, Bluefield, Radford and 
Roanoke to Norfolk. It is a different road 
from all other roads; it is well built and well 
managed and. while it may not make as much 
noise as some, it keeps going and hauls as much 
coal or more and does as much business as any 
road. 

KANAWHA AND W. VA. R. R. 

The Kanawha and West Virginia Railroad 



This is a short line running up Elk, on the 
north side of Elk River, until it reaches the 
mouth of Blue Creek, and then it crosses Elk 
River and the Coal and Coke Railroad and 
proceeds up the creek known as Blue Creek to- 
ward the Gauley River. It is passing through 
coal, oil, gas, timber, farming land and a good 
country, and is developing all of these products. 
Lately an oil well has been found at the mouth 
of Blue Creek which promises a new oil field. 

C. C. & S. R. R. 

The Charleston, Clendenin & Sutton R. R. 
Co. was built from Charleston 64 miles up Elk 
river ; 28 miles was added and crossed Elk and 
from Elkins to Charleston is 175.6 miles; with 
its branches, C. & C. is 199.8 miles. It con- 
nects at Charleston with the Kanawha & Mich- 
igan Railroad and over the K. & M. tracks with 
the Chesapeake & Ohio. The Coal and Coke 
trains arrive and depart from the depot in 
Charleston from the station of the Kanawha & 
Michigan Railroad. They have thirty loco- 
motives, twenty-four passenger cars, and 2,186 
freight cars, etc. ; and cost of this equipment is 
$1,885,956.30. From Elkins via Western 
Maryland R. R. you pass through Parsons, 
Hendricks, Thomas to Piedmont on the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad. 

DAVIS CREEK R. R. 

The Davis Creek Railroad has been in a 
crippled condition, owing to the overflow of 
said creek and the washing-out of many of its 
bridges and culverts about the time of a change 
in the management of the coal property along 
its line. This property must >jme to the 
front as a coal property and it must have this 
railroad repaired. 

B. & O. R. R. 

There is the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
with its main line through the north end of the 
state, from 'Wheeling and from Parkersburg 
to Grafton and eastward to Washington and 
Baltimore ; also from Pittsburg down the Ohio 
river through Ravenswood, Millwood. Point 
Pleasant, Huntington and Kenova. and from 
the Ohio to Spencer in Roane County and to 



214 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Ripley in Jackson; and other lines directing 
their ways to Kanawha on all sides. 

The Norfolk and Western Railroad is al- 
most the only road that has not made an at- 
tempt to reach Kanawha County. We know 
that it runs from Hagerstown, Md., .south 
through Virginia to Barie and to Roanoke. 
W r e know that' it runs from the Ohio river at 
Kenova up Dandy river, through Wayne, Lo- 
gan, Mingo, through the towns of Welch, 
Bluefield, Radford and Roanoke, and from 
Roanoke to Norfolk. 

With the railroads and the rivers, it must 
be said that the Kanawha country is blessed 
with the facilities to go almost anywhere with- 
out doing much walking, which was not the 
case when Daniel Boone represented this 
county in the legislature, for, it will be remem- 
bered, he walked all the way to the Capitol and 
back home again, carrying his baggage. 

KANAWHA AND PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 

This may be called a short line, or a begin- 
ning of a line that may be made a very im- 
portant one to Charleston. It runs on the 
lower side of Elk river, opposite to that occu- 
pied by the Coal and Coke R. R., and when it 
reaches the Blue Creek vicinity, it crosses Elk 
River and goes up Blue Creek into the coal-oil- 
gas country, heading its way into the Gauley 
river country. It finds plenty of coal and tim- 
ber to haul, and like the C. & C. R. R., can 
hitch on to the Kanawha and Michigan Rail- 
road and ship almost anywhere north, or it 
may utilize the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad or 
the "Virginian" and ship east or south. 

CHARLESTON TRACTION CO. 

In 1898 the Charleston Traction Company 
was bought at sheriff's sale by W. W. Hazard. 



At that time the Company had its lines on Vir- 
ginia Street, Capitol, Washington, and Brad- 
ford Streets, Tennessee and Bigley Avenues. 
The cars, six in number, were of the single 
truck type, with only one man, the motorman, 
in charge of each car. In 1900 it was bought by 
T. J. Carmack, and its name changed to the 
Kanawha Valley Traction Company ; and under 
this management several new cars were placed 
in service. He, in turn, sold to the United 
States Natural Gas Company, in 1904, and the 
next year the road was bought by W. C. 
Sproul and associates, among whom was Hon. 
W. E. Chilton. The road remained in the 
hands of this company for five years, during 
which time it developed into a modern and up- 
to-date traction line. Track was laid on Up- 
per Virginia and Washington Streets, Dryden 
and Patrick Streets, and the line was extended 
to the Kelly Axe Plant in West Charleston and 
to Edgewood Park. The company bought 
eighteen new cars and otherwise increased the 
efficiency of the service. 

At the beginning of 19 10 the Charleston In- 
terurban Railroad Company was formed, with 
Hon. W. E. Chilton as president, Hon. W. A. 
MacCorkle, vice-president and F. M. Staunton, 
secretary and treasurer. This company leased 
the present lines of the Kanawha Valley Trac- 
tion Company, with the intention of extending 
the road to St. Albans in one direction and to 
Montgomery in the other. The line was im- 
mediately extended as far down the river as 
South Charleston and will be, as soon as is 
practicable, further extended. The company 
employ about 75 men and operate 11 cars reg- 
ularly. The large power plant and car barns 
are located on Virginia Street near Tennessee 
Avenue. 



CHAPTER XIII 



DISTRICTS AND TOWNS 

Township Act of i86j — Commissioners for Kanawha County — The County Divided into Ten 
Townships — The Word "Township" Changed to "District" — Sketches of Poca, Union, Jef- 
ferson, Washington, Loudon, Cabin Creek, Maiden, Elk, Big Sandy and Charleston Dis- 
tricts and of Brownstown {or Mar met), St. Albans, Maiden, and Other Tozvns. 



The State of West Virginia was formed by 
setting apart certain counties in the western 
part of Virginia to constitute said state. After 
the state was made, the said Counties remained 
the same, and then the Constitution of 1863 
provided that each county should be divided into 
townships, not less than three, nor more than 
ten. 

This division was a new thing in name and 
it was borrowed from the northern states — 
each Township should elect its own officers — 
the Supervisors, elected by each Township, 
should constitute a Board, known as the Super- 
visors of the county, the governing body of the 
county. 

An Act (ch. 27, 1863) provided for the ap- 
pointment of commissioners to divide each 
county into townships — for Kanawha, the Com- 
missioners were ; George Belcher, John T. Rey- 
nolds, John Atkinson, Hiram Holston, Andrew 
Cunningham, David Shirkey and John L. Coke. 

The Townships for Kanawha were ten in 
number, and the names given were ; Big Sandy, 
Elk, Poca, Union, Jefferson, Washington, Lou- 
don, Cabin Creek, Maiden and Charleston; 
they met and made, laid out and bounded, each 
township, which is made of record. 

The Constitution of 1872, provided that each 
county should be laid off into Districts, not less 
than three, nor more than ten, and that the 
"present subdivision of the counties by town- 
ships shall constitute such districts," etc. This 
abolished townships and supervisors and substi- 



tuted districts and the County Court, in the 
place thereof. 

BIG SANDY DISTRICT 

Big Sandy District. This lies on both sides 
of Elk River, next to Roane and Clay Counties 
and includes the territory watered by Big Sandy 
River, and part by Little Sandy, on the North 
side of Elk; and on the South side, by Morris 
Creek, Leather Wood and Falling Rock Creeks. 
The district is noted for its coal, oil and es- 
pecially its natural gas. It has many good 
farms and good substantial people, plenty of 
timber, bark and whoop-poles, and it has one 
town Clendenin, on Elk, at the mouth of Big 
Sandy, which has saw-mills, a national bank, 
two bridges and stores, shops and things that a 
town generally has, and a good place to locate 
factories, where cheap fuel is desired, and good 
people are appreciated. They have no saloons, 
but do have churches and schoolhouses. 

Big Sandy is the most eastern of all the dis- 
tricts into which Kanawha is divided. Roane 
county forms its northern boundary, Clay 
county lies to the east and Elk district to the 
west. Elk river flows in a southwestern direc- 
tion and divides it into two nearly equal parts. 
Falling Rock creek, Leather Wood creek and 
Morris creek rise in the southern part, have 
a northwest course, and empty into Elk river. 
Big Sandy creek drains the southwestern part 
of Roane county and finds its way in a south- 
west direction through this district and dis- 



215 



216 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



charges its waters into Elk, four miles below 
Queen Shoals. 

John Young, the first white settler in the dis- 
trict, located on what is now known as the old 
"Norman Young plantation," about the year 
1790. William Naylor came in 1795 and set- 
tled at the mouth of Jordan's creek, seventeen 
miles above Charleston. When he came he 
found John Slack living just above the mouth of 
Mill creek, John Young, as before mentioned 
nearly opposite Falling Rock creek, Edmund 
Price nearly opposite the mouth of Blue creek 
and William Cobb, M. D. — the first physician 
on Elk river — residing one mile up Big Sandy, 
not far from the present site of Osborn's Mills. 
These were the only settlers in this part of the 
Elk valley in 1795; but soon thereafter John 
Stricklin, John Hayse, George Osborne, John 
Snyder, James Hill and Henry Hill found 
homes on the banks of Elk river. 

Frontier life as it really appeared to these 
early settlers, was well described by Stephen 
Naylor — a son of William — who when a boy 
played amid the wild scenery of this then wild 
country. Mr. Naylor said: "My first school 
teacher was John Slack ; the second was Robert 
Mitchell. We had two ways of getting bread 
— the hominy-block and hand-mill; for a sieve 
we stretched a piece of deer skin over a hoop 
and then perforated it by burning holes with 
an ordinary table fork. After several years my 
father built a mill on Jordan's creek — the first 
in the Elk river country — after which we fared 
better. Our clothing was made from flax and 
cotton which we raised and manufactured with 
our own hands. The supply of meat came from 
the forest; we killed bear, deer and turkeys, 
and got our salt from salt-springs on Kanawha." 

. THE LAST ELK 

Mr. Naylor farther said: "I remember the 
killing of the last elk killed on Elk river. It 
was on Two-Mile creek. It seemed to be a 
stray one that the wolves or hunters had sep- 
arated from the herd, and driven eastward from 
the wilderness then lying between the Elk and 
Ohio rivers. Its tracks had been discovered on 
the headwaters of Pocatalico river and Big 
Sandy creek, and several hunters were in pur- 
suit of it. One of the name of Burgess shot 



at it while it was swimming Elk river, but 
missed it. Once south of the river it crossed 
the Elk road at the east end of the Cabell farm 
where then stood a large walnut tree. Old 
"Billy" Young saw it from his house and pur- 
sued it to Two-Mile creek, where he shot it 
while standing in a hole of water. He sent 
my father some of the meat, and kept the horns 
for many years. They were so large that when 
standing upon their points a man of ordinary 
height could walk between them without stoop- 
ing. This elk was killed in the year 1818, and 
was the last ever killed in this part of Vir- 
ginia." 

The first minister who visited this section ap- 
pears to have been 'the Rev. John Bowers, of 
the Methodist Church, in the year 1800. The 
first society organized was that of the M. E. 
Church at Falling Rock creek in 1837. The 
meeting was held in a log cabin and the mem- 
bership at the time of the formation numbered 
40; they continued to worship here until 1857, 
when the place of meeting was removed to Jor- 
dan's creek. 

The Village of Chilton is situated on the 
north bank of Elk river at the mouth of Big 
Sandy creek, twenty-one miles from Charles- 
ton. It was laid out in the year 1877 by William 
E. Chilton, the former proprietor of the lands 
on which it stands. Its present population is 
small. 

CLENDENIN 

The town of Clendenin was incorporated 
May 20, 1904. This municipality is located 
on the east bank of Elk river in Big Sandy 
district of Kanawha county, at the mouth of 
Big Sandy river on the Coal & Coke Railroad, 
twenty miles from Charleston. There are by 
the census of 1910 a population of 815 persons 
therein — and this is the first time that it has 
been numbered. 

It is the outgrowth of the Coal & Coke 
road and the Charleston, Clendenin & Sut- 
ton Railroad, the C. & C. succeeding the C. C. 
& S. R. R. Previous to said railroad running- 
there, a town was on the opposite side of Elk, 
and was sometimes designated as "Mouth of 
Big Sandy" and sometimes known as "Chil- 
ton" after Squire Chilton, who for several 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



217 



years resided therein, and represented said 
district on the old county court. 

The municipal part of the business is now- 
done on the east side of Elk near the depot, 
and the station is known as "Clendenin." Be 
sides the railroad, there are several county 
roads leading into the town, coming down Elk 
on both sides and other roads coming from 
other parts of the county — if we may be par- 
doned for speaking of the ways as roads, for of 
all ways that either teams or horses or people 
ever had to pass over, some of these are the 
worst, and few r , if any, could be worse than 
the streets. All this is made so by the un- 
usual amount of hauling with heavily-laden 
wagons, which is in consequence of the oil and 
gas pipes taken from Clendenin. 

Navigation on Elk and Big Sandy rivers 
is about the same as it has ever been, but the 
encroachment on the roads is somewhat im- 
proved of late and the road packets generally 
come in on schedule time or next week. 

The town is not very old but it is very lively. 
The depot indicates much business and the 
bank indicates that it is being transacted. The 
hotels seem to be pretty well filled and so do 
the churches. There is no end to the stores 
and shops and the weekly newspaper gives us 
the latest local news. The merchants have 
abundant stock and a large trade with the 
people and almost everybody has a gas or an 
oil lease to rely on, and the town is growing. 

James Jarrett a few- years ago had a fairly 
good cornfield, which has been spoiled with 
streets, alleys, lots and horses. There is 
plenty of good Elk river water to drink, gas 
to burn, but they have voted out the saloon 
and have no use for policemen. This locality 
used to have a few politicians and many Re- 
publicans but they have become too busy to 
waste time in a struggle for petty offices and 
they are now looking for their best men to 
attend to their business. We used to boast 
of Squire Swaar, of James Kelly, of Curt 
Young, Squire Lynch and Squire Young. 
Now we find Mr. James Jarrett. L. L. Kounts, 
Mr. Osborne, Mr. Wiley, Henry B. Campbell, 
Squire Stump and a host of others too 
numerous to mention. 

Among the early families about the mouth 



of Sandy were the Cobbs, including Dr. Cobb, 
who was said to have located there about 
1 808-1810; the Prices, Jarretts, Youngs, 
Stricklins, Hays, Mr. Woods, Mr. Davis and 
others. Arch Price killed the last buffalo on 
Elk. In the vicinity there are some queer 
names: "Falling Rock," "Blue Creek,'' "In- 
dian Creek," "Pinch" and "Potato" creek. 
Clendenin was named for the first settler at 
the mouth of Elk, who was really the founder 
of Charleston in 1788. 

We find, besides, the commercial part of 
the town, the mills, the gas wells and the fac- 
tories therefrom and many lumber enterprises. 
The descendants of Lieutenant John Young 
and Bob Aaron still reside on Elk. Once there 
was a log boom on Elk and small packets 
ran also. There are two bridges at mouth of 
Sandy — one across Big Sandy and the other 
across Elk near by. This town only wants a 
railroad up the Sandy to bring away the coal 
and timber and take the necessities for oil and 
gas wells and the pipes therefor, the grain 
and such like products — this line across to 
Spencer would be a wonderful advantage. 

There are four oil and gas companies ope- 
rating: United Fuel Gas Company, and Hope 
Gas Company, branches of the Standard Oil 
Company, which have been operating here for 
six or seven years; Koontz Oil and Gas Com- 
pany, organized in 1907 and the Clendenin 
Oil & Gas Company, organized in 19 10. 

The First National Bank of Clendenin was 
organized in 1902 with a capital stock of 
$25,000. The deposits amount to $150,000. 
The officers are L. V. Koontz, president ; J. 
A. Osborne, vice-president ; and C. F. Os- 
borne, cashier. 

Among the business enterprises of the town 
we find the following: Robertson & Parris 
Company, general store ; Clendenin Bargain 
Store, dry goods and notions ; C. M. Morri- 
son, general store ; Roush, Robertson Com- 
pany, general store ; P. D. Matheny & Joshua 
Parsons, grocers; J. B. Cook, grocer; King 
Hardware Company. J. W. Parris Lum- 
ber Company ; a flouring mill operated by 
David Pettigrew and F. Crowell. The phy- 
sicians of the place are : Dr. Grover C. Rob- 
ertson, Dr. A. L. Morris. Dr. A. C. Wan- 



218 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dine, Dr. Charles Stump and Dr. Fox. The 
dentists are : Dr. Milton and Dr. Games. 
The present postmaster is Mr. Riley. 

There is a Southern M. E. church in Clen- 
denin, the pastor of which is A. H. Perkins. 
They held services for some time before 
erecting their church building. 

The Baptist church has been organized since 
the town was laid out. Rev. Jonathan Smith 
is the pastor and he is one of the oldest pas- 
tors in the state. There is also a Northern 
M. E. church, whose pastor is Rev. Fallen. 

The first mayor of Clendenin was L. V. 
Koontz and the last, E. R. Oglevee. 

In 1910 the town installed a system of 
waterworks and in the same year a ladder hose 
company was formed, there having been a 
bucket fire department for four or five years. 
In 1905 and 1908 the town was visited by 
fire. There is a very good high school build- 
ing. The public school and high school build- 
ing combined was built in 191 1. 

Fraternally there is the Clendenin Lodge 
No. 26, A. F. & A.M., a lodge of the I. O. O. 
F. and one of the Improved Order of Red 
Men. 

POCA DISTRICT 

Poca District lies on the northwest side of 
the county adjoining Jackson county, and is on 
the stream known as Pocatalico river, which 
flows into the Kanawha river about fifteen miles 
below Charleston. It is rather sparsely settled, 
but has some good farms, plenty of timber and 
coal, oil and gas, and is a good district in which 
to live a quiet life and behave yourself. The 
people generally vote the republican ticket. 
They have one town Sissonville, named for an 
old resident, who is almost forgotten, and it 
has not made any special effort to enlarge its 
borders or crowd its boundaries. There are 
some good people in this district, and it adjoins 
Jackson and Roane Counties, which are over- 
flowing with oil and gas, and there are coal 
works on the waters of Poca. 

Kelly's creek, Frogg's creek, and Derrick's 
creek, named respectively from the first settlers 
upon their banks, all flow south and empty into 
Pocatalico. Tupper's creek, named from an 



early trapper, runs northeast and falls into Poca- 
talico. First and Second creeks, named in their 
order from Fisher's settlement at the mouth of 
Tupper's creek, are likewise tributaries of Po- 
catalico. 

The surface of Poca for the most part is 
broken and hilly. Limestone is found in con- 
siderable quantities on Pocatalico near the 
mouth of Kelly's creek. Iron ore also abounds ; 
by analysis it is shown to contain sixty per cent 
of iron. The soil consists chiefly of a red clay, 
and ranks among the best wheat lands in the 
^county. The principal varieties of timber are 
hickory, poplar, beech and oak. 

The first settler in the district was a man of 
the name of Johnson, who, about the year 1802, 
erected a cabin near the mouth of Tupper's 
creek. He was not long permitted to enjoy the 
solitude of his mountain home, for other set- 
tlers soon moved in; and among his earliest 
neighbors were Joseph Hines, Jonathan Der- 
rick, who came in 18 10, John Fisher, James 
Sisson, John Dawson, Robin Atkinson, George 
Boggess, and David Shirkey. 

The first grist mill was built by Johnson, the 
first settler; it was located on Tupper's creek 
on lands now owned by Robert Ransom. It 
was but a shed covered with clapboards, under 
which were one run of stone twenty inches in 
diameter-— water was the propelling power. 
The first saw-mill was built by John Parsons, 
on the site where Sissonville now stands ; it was 
constructed after the old "sash saw" pattern, a 
"flutter" wheel being used as the driving 
power. It was built at an early day, but the 
exact date is not known. 

The first schoolhouse was built at the mouth 
of Schoolhouse branch, now called Second 
creek. It was a common, round, log cabin, one 
end of which was entirely taken up by a huge 
fireplace. Of the present schoolhouses in the 
district the most are for white, but several for 
colored pupils; and there is a good general at- 
tendance. 

The oldest church edifice was the Mount 
Zion Methodist Episcopal church, which for- 
merly stood in the "Low Gap," one-fourth of 
a mile south of Sissonville. It was a hewed log 
building erected by Henry Sisson, John Sisson, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



219 



James Sisson, David Shirkey, and John Fisher. 
Castello H. Bates did the carpenter work. It 
was pulled down in 1873. 

SISSONVILLE 

Sissonville is the only town; it is located on 
the north side of Pocatalico river, in the central 
part of the district. The land on which it 
stands formerly belonged to John Sisson, and 
was laid out by him, he disposing of the lots. 
The first merchant was a man of the name of 
Reynolds, while William Lynch was the first 
"Son of Vulcan'' who wielded the sledge and 
blew the bellows. It has at present a population 
of about 150 or more, with good stores and 
up-to-date people. 

Its nearest railroad shipping point is 
Charleston, sixteen miles distant. Humphreys' 
Flouring Mill, roller process, steam and 
water power, flour and feed exchange, is lo- 
cated there. It is five stories including base- 
ment, and has a capacity of 100 barrels of 
flour daily. The present mill was built about 
10 years ago. The old mill, which was 
erected at a very early date — perhaps 75 years 
ago — was destroyed by fire. 

Among the merchants of Sissonville there 
are the following: F. H. Staats, general mer- 
chant and undertaker, who is also postmaster 
of the place ; Charles Newhouse, general mer- 
chant ; J. D. Thaxton & Son, general merchan- 
dise ; and E. M. Derick, general merchant. 

The Southern M. E. church of Sissonville, 
was erected about 40 years ago. It is a frame 
building and is used for services by all de- 
nominations. 

Dr. W. J. Glass and Dr. Caldwell are phy- 
sicians located in Sissonville. There is a 
lodge of Odd Fellows, which owns a hall and 
has a good membership of about 75. There is 
another church two miles south of the town 
at Tupper's creek known as Tupper's Creek 
Bridge Chapel, a northern M. E. church. 

Well known, old families of Sissonville are 
the Sisson, Newhouse, Shirkey, Bean, Fisher 
and Milams families. 

The two hotels of the place are Matthews 
House, Mr. Matthews, proprietor; and Gib- 
son House, Mr. Gibson, proprietor. 



UNION DISTRICT 

Union District lies on the Kanawha river, 
west of Charleston, and on the north side of 
the river, adjoining Poca, Elk and Charleston 
districts, and has therein a part of Poca river, 
Tyler creek, Two-mile creek and other branches 
and creeks. It has good farms and farmers, 
and is a little more democratic than Poca. On 
the river, it has Lock 6 at the upper end and 
Lock 7 at the lower end. It has the County 
Infirmary, and at Sattes, opposite St. Albans, 
there is almost a town, made up of saw-mills, 
etc. 

Union district lies south of Poca, and may be 
called the central one of the western tier. Po- 
catalico river flows through the northwest cor- 
ner, and forms what is known as the Horse 
Shoe bend. It is here that the first settlement 
was made in the district. In 1798 Adam Aults, 
a German, and Elijah Towler arrived here and 
erected their cabins. They were actual set- 
tlers; both purchased land and lived here until 
removed by death. The next settlers were 
James McCown, afterwards a soldier in the 
War of 1812, and John Casey, and a year later 
came Moses and Aaron Kelley. Other early 
settlers were John Young, Andrew Hannis, 
James Anderson, John Martin, Daniel Hill, 
John Dawson, James Roberts, Greenbury Sam- 
uels, and Alexander Wallace, all of whom were 
actual settlers. 

The first election held in the district was in 
the year 1863, at which time the commissioners 
were James High, J. C. Burford and J. Gilispie. 
The following were among the voters : H. Gil- 
ispie, J. O. Shoemaker, W. T. Johnson, W. A. 
Howell, W. D. McCown, Robert Johnson and 
James McCown. 

John Martin erected the first grist mill about 
the year 1808. It was a water-mill, and had a 
capacity of cracking twelve bushels of corn per 
day. The patience of the pioneer was not 
thought to have been sufficiently tested unless 
he had "waited his turn at Martin's mill." 

Two-Mile Spring. Situated in this district, 
two miles west of Charleston,, is a never-fail- 
ing spring, whose history may be traced back- 
ward through more than a hundred years. Dur- 
ing the late Civil war, in the year 1861. Gen- 



220 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



eral Wise, with a large force of the Confed- 
erate army, encamped on the Two-Mile creek 
upon the lands of Dr. Spicer Patrick and A. 
B. Littlepage, and during their stay he and his 
forces relied upon this spring for supplies of 
fresh water, and when General J. D. Cox, of 
the Federal army, compelled the Confeder- 
ates to retreat from the valley, thousands of 
his dust covered and weary, worn soldiers 
quenched their thirst from the bubbling waters 
of this fountain. During the marches and 
counter-marches, soldiers of both armies gladly 
welcomed the site of the Two-Mile spring. 

In 1 817, Benjamin Rust built the first saw- 
mill, but soon after its completion, a rise in 
Pocatalico river swept away the dam, and 
otherwise injured the mill to such an extent 
that it was never used. 

The first school taught in the district was by 
James Rust, in the year 181 7, in a cabin on 
Pocatalico river, eleven miles from its mouth. 
There were but five pupils in attendance, and 
these Mr. Rust taught gratuitously. The dis- 
trict is now well supplied with good school- 
houses. 

Among the early church organizations was 
that of the Hopewell Baptist, formed on the 
31st day of March, 1834, in what is known as 
the flat woods of Pocatalico, by Elders John 
Ellison and William Martin. Since then the 
Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Second Ad- 
vent or Millerite denominations have estab- 
lished each one or more churches. 

ELK DISTRICT. 

Elk District lies on both sides of Elk river, 
between Charleston and Big Sandy districts. 
It almost encircles Big Sandy district, and ex- 
tends from Roane, around by Charleston, to 
Clay county. On the west side of Elk are Lit- 
tle Sandy and its branches and Cooper's creek. 
On the east side there are Mill, Indian, Pinch 
and Blue creeks. 

It has a railroad from Charleston, on the 
west side, up to Blue creek, where it crosses 
Elk and goes up Blue creek. On the east side 
of Elk, it has a railroad from Charleston, on 
through the entire district, and county, to El- 
kins, etc. 



It has no town, but has many beautiful 
foundations and prospects of towns, to be 
named by the parties developing the same. It 
was in this district that the Indian fighters cap- 
tured the boy prisoner, killed the white man 
that was playing Indian and gave the name 
"White Man's Fork" of Aaron's Fork of Lit- 
tle Sandy. Everybody claims to have coal, oil 
and gas, in every hill. 

At "Big Chimney" are the remains of a van- 
quished industry, where stood a salt furnace — 
on Mill creek, where they once made oil from 
Cannel coal. Now they are pumping it from 
the rocks, and gas is being wasted in many 
places. 

The surface of the district for the most part 
is rough, the hills high, and, in most instances, 
rising abruptly from the narrow valleys at 
their base. Coal exists in abundance, and the 
Peacock variety, which is found near what is 
known as the "Big Chimney," is said to be the 
best in the State. 

The first settlers were Michael Newhouse, 
Martin Hamock and Allen Baxter, all three 
coming in 1783. Newhouse settled on the west 
side of Elk river, five miles below Jarrett's 
ford; Hamock one mile above the mouth of 
Little Sandy, and one-half mile below Jarrett's 
ford, and Baxter at Baxter's shoals on Elk, 
four miles from Charleston. The next set- 
tler was John Young, who chose as the site of 
his future home a spot four miles above Jar- 
rett's ford and sixteen from Charleston. He 
was a noted scout and Indian fighter, and for 
many years did he wander, rifle in hand, over 
the hills and valleys lying between the Alle- 
ghenies and the Ohio, and his practiced eye 
enabled him to usually be among the first to 
discover the presence of the ruthless foe. 
Other early settlers were Henry Newhouse, 
who located near the mouth of the branch 
which still bears his name, William Porter, 
who reared his cabin on the north bank of Elk, 
and Edward Burgess, who built his near what 
is now known as Moore's dam, three and one- 
half miles above Charleston. 

The first salt ever produced on Elk river was 
made within the present limits of Elk district 
by a Frenchman named Jinott, in the year 1817. 
In more recent years it was produced in con- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



221 



siderable quantities, at what is now called the 
"Big Chimney," nine miles above Charleston. 

The first grist mill was built in 1817 by a 
man of the name of Edmund Price. It has 
a water-mill, situated on Elk Two-Mile, two 
and one-half miles from Charleston. John Mc- 
Collister was drowned in the dam at this mill, 
in the year 1826; the body was afterward re- 
covered, and buried at the foot of a large beech 
tree upon the bank. Nothing, not even a rude 
stone, now marks the spot to show the passer- 
by the location of the grave. The first saw- 
mill was erected in 1831 by a man of the name 
of Joseph ( Moore ; it was located three and one- 
half miles from Charleston. 

When the first school was taught we cannot 
now learn, but among the pioneer teachers were 
John Slack, Sr., James S. Riley, Eli Chamber- 
lain, Joseph Blackeny, Andrew Newhouse, 
Robert Malcome, Mrs. Fannie Thayer, James 
Eddy and Rev. "William Gilbert. Such are the 
names of those who trained a generation now 
grown old, and as such they have now gone to 
meet earth's greatest teacher — He that taught 
in Jerusalem nineteen centuries ago. But they 
left an impress upon the age which succeeded 
them; their work was not in vain, and who can 
tell what the end shall be? 

Among those who nearly a century ago 
called men to repentance were the Revs. Asa 
Shin, Jacob Truman, Samuel Brown, John 
Cord, Samuel Dement, William Picket, Henry 
B. Bascom, Thomas A. Morris, Thomas Low- 
ry, Burwell and Stephen Spurlock, Francis 
Wilson, Garland A. Burgess, Bishop Cavenau, 
William Martin and Dr. William Gilbert. All 
have gone to their reward but their work has 
been like bread cast upon the waters, and to- 
day there are within the district hundreds of 
members of the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyter- 
ian and other churches. 

JEFFERSON DISTRICT. 

Jefferson District extends along on the south 
side of the Kanawha river, from Davis Creek, 
near to Lock No. 7, just above Scary Creek. 
It includes Gallaton's branch. Coal river and 
Tacket's creek and branches. Two and Three- 
quarter Mile creek. Watton's Creek, Spring 
Hill Station and St. Albans. Then there are 



Fall Creek of Coal River, Brown Creek, with 
Amandaville and Lewis Station. 

It is noted for having the most crooked 
stream in the world. A man can place his corn 
on his back, then go to his boat and float down 
to the mill and get his meal, put it on his back, 
and float on down the stream and get back to 
his house. 

At Tornado, there are the upper falls of 
Coal River, but there is no telling where the 
lower falls are. The Coal River railroad forms 
a junction at St. Albans, and coal, timber, and 
almost everything can be brought down on this 
road. 

Coal (formerly Cole) River divides this dis- 
trict into two unequal parts. This stream has 
its source in the counties of Boone and Fay- 
ette, and flows in a northwest direction until 
it discharges its waters into the Kanawha, 
twelve miles below Charleston, and forty-eight 
above Point Pleasant. It is a beautiful moun- 
tain stream, and was named in honor of Lewis 
Cole, who was a soldier in the Big Sandy ex- 
pedition under General Lewis, in 1756. To 
prevent starvation, the army disbanded or 
broke up into small companies, that they might 
be the more successful in hunting; the party 
to which Mr. Cole belonged came over upon 
the waters of this stream, and were thus its 
first discoverers, and in honor of the leader of 
the party, it was named Cole river. Since 
the discovery of vast deposits of bituminous 
coal along its entire course, it has been spelled 
C-o-a-1, but upon the early maps of Virginia 
and by early writers,, as well, it is spelled 
C-o-l-e. 

The first settler upon its banks, or in the dis- 
trict, was Lewis Tackett. He first located 
some distance up the river, but soon removed to 
the mouth, where he built Tackett's fort, at 
the time (with the exception of Fort Randolph 
at Point Pleasant) the most western outpost in 
Virginia. It was destroyed in the year 1788 
by a powerful band of Shawanese Indians. 
Soon after its destruction other pioneers came 
to assist in rebuilding it. Among them were 
Joseph Thomas, James Thomas, Richard 
Teays, a Mr. Roberts and Samuel Turley. All 
were actual settlers, and all became prominent 
in the early history of the Kanawha valley. 



222 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



The first marriage in this district was that 
of Levi Jones and Mary Thomas. 

The first grist-mill, not only in the district, 
but the first worthy of the name in Kanawha 
county, was built at the upper falls Coal river, 
by Joseph Thomas, in 1801 or 1802. Our 
informant says that "it accommodated the 
county for fifty miles around." The first post- 
office established was at Colesmouth. 

Among the earliest ministers were the Revs. 
Lee and George, Baptist ministers, and Francis 
Guthrie and Burwell Spurlock, of the Metho- 
dist Church. By a reference to the old rec- 
ords of the Greenbrier Association (Baptist) 
it will be seen that the Coal River Church was 
admitted into that body in 1803, and this was 
doubtless the first society formed in this sec- 
tion of country. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church (South) 
was organized by the Rev. Amos, in 1857, with 
the following membership : Stephen Capehart, 
John Overshiner, Jerry Searhol, Anderson 
Rock, George Overshiner, Wyatt Creasy, Mat- 
tie Wilson, Parthena J. Wilson, Parthena Wil- 
son, Mrs. Lasley, Ann Willimson, Branche 
and Wilkinson. At the same time there was 
organized a Sabbath school in connection with 
the church. Stephen Capehart was the first 
superintendent. With the exception of a short 
time during the Civil war, it has never sus- 
pended. 

ST. ALBANS 

St. Albans is a growing, booming town. It 
has mills, natural gas, coal water and railroad 
transportation, the Bank of St. Albans, every- 
thing that a manufacturing company wants, 
and plenty of good people, with churches, 
schools, and water to drink. 

The town of St. Albans was incorporated 
in 1868 by an act of the Legislature under the 
name of Kanawha City and a short time after- 
ward the name was changed to St. Albans, the 
exact date of change of name not being re- 
corded on the town records. The name of St. 
Albans was given by an Englishman who at 
that time was associated with C. P. Hunting- 
ton in the construction of the C. & O. R. R. 
The place was named for St. Albans, England, 
though there are some who think it was called 



St. Albans after St. Albans, Vt. At the first 
town election there were eighteen votes. At 
the second election there were two candidates 
for mayor, eighteen votes being cast and each 
candidate receiving nine, making a tie vote. If 
the voters had increased from the first to the 
second election, the returns did not show it. 
The officers were elected annually. The first 
mayor of St. Albans was John P. Turner. In 
1 910 there were 282 registered voters and about 
250 votes polled at the election. 

The first town hall was located almost on 
the identical spot of the present one. The first 
was the school building and was used as the 
town or city building until the present building 
was erected. The latter is a two-story struc- 
ture, built of buff brick, with large council 
room and recorder's office on the second floor 
and fire department on the first floor. In 1908 
there was a $5,000 bond issue to raise the 
money for the new town hall. In 1906 $17,- 
000 worth of bonds were issued to pay for 
the sewerage system and to lay the concrete 
sidewalks. The water and electric light plant 
was put in about May, 1907 by William E. 
and Thomas Mohler. The water is of a fine 
quality, the supply coming from Coal river. 
The power plant is at the end of B street on 
the Coal River road as is also the pumping 
station. The service is excellent. There is a 
natural water pressure of 100 pounds on Main 
Street. W. E. Mohler is president and Thomas 
Mohler, treasurer of the Electric Light and 
Water plant. 

The St. Albans Fire department is com- 
posed of volunteer firemen, organized by a few 
persons under the name of the St. Albans Sal- 
vage Corps in 1907. After getting together 
considerable equipment the same was turned 
over to the town and has since been supported 
by the municipality. It has four hand reels, 
one ladder, one extinguisher cart, and 1,000 
feet of hose in use. 

The necessity of a good fire department was 
keenly felt after the two very disastrous fires 
of 1906, which occurred a little less than two 
weeks apart. The first occurred Jan. 31, 
1906 and the town was visited by the second 
fire February 12, 1906. The first fire de- 
stroyed all Main Street, on both sides between 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



223 



Second and B streets. The second fire de- 
stroyed between A street and an alley east; 
practically all the business section was wiped 
out, also the Baptist Church and Mrs. S. L. 
Cato's house, the oldest residence in St. Al- 
bans. The oldest residence still standing is the 
old Turner residence, a log house, but it is in 
such a dilapitated state that it is no longer 
used for a residence. The oldest house in the 
business section is a two-story frame structure 
on the A. M. Smith Estate. Mr. A. M. Smith 
conducted a mercantile business for a number 
of years and after his death his son-in-law, 
Mr. A. A. Rock, carried on business in this 
building. One feature of this building is that 
the name of Mr. A. M. Smith has been painted 
over several times but it still shows to this 
day to the observer, which speaks well for both 
the paint and painters in those days. Among 
the oldest residences, though both are located 
beyond the corporate limits of St. Albans, are 
the James Teays residence west of the town 
and the residence of Judge John A. Warth, 
east. 

There are two land companies in St. Albans 
— the St. Albans Land Company, adjoining the 
corporate limits and the Virginia Land Com- 
pany, organized principally to deal in oil lands. 

The Atkinson foundry and car shops were 
located in St. Albans in 1908. 

The McGregor Manufacturing Company op- 
erated a plant for a time, turning out wood 
work, columns, etc., but it has not been in 
operation for several years. 

The greatest industry in St. Albans is her 
lumber interests. There are several large con- 
cerns with plants, yards and mills. The vol- 
ume of business runs annually into millions. 
The Mohlers with yards and office are on the 
opposite side of the Kanawha River from St. 
Albans. Then there are the American Col- 
umn & Lumber Company, and the Bowman 
Lumber Company 

The American Column & Lumber Company, 
of St. Albans.— In 1899, Mr. W. W. Stark, a 
prominent business man of Mansfield, Ohio, 
became interested as one of the organizers of 
the American Column Company, establishing 
its plant at St. Albans, W. Va., contiguous to 
the timber supply. The need for a larger or- 



ganization, created by the rapid growth of this 
business, gave life in 1905 to the American 
Column & Lumber Company, at which time 
F. B. Squire and Francis Widlar, of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, capitalists, and M. W. and E. M. 
Stark became associated with him. 

The business then organized has since de- 
veloped into the immense lumber enterprise 
of the present day, to which we devote a few 
words of description, scarcely adequate, how- 
ever, from lack of space, to its size and im- 
portance. The company has large timber 
holdings and an up-to-date saw-mill at Ward, 
the latter erected in 1909 and having a daily 
capacity of 50,000 feet (in 10 hours), not 
counting a large daily output of lath and hard- 
wood chair stock; 40,000,000 feet of lumber 
being carried in stock at all times. It has also 
a large plant at Colcord, in Raleigh county, 
with extensive holdings extending eastward 
along the Clear fork of Coal river, a distance 
of nine miles from the town of Colcord. 

The company owns its own timber, and has 
adopted the policy of cutting only that 'which 
virtually is matured. 

The company's holdings, located in the 
southwestern part of Kanawha and the ex- 
treme northeastern part of Raleigh counties, 
West Virginia, comprise about 20,000 acres of 
land, which will cut an average of 6,000 to 
7,000 feet of selected timber per acre, giving 
it an original resource of about 140,000,000 
feet, the largest portion of which is poplar and 
oak. The poplar logs cut by the American 
Column & Lumber Company are splendid spec- 
imens, from which some remarkably fine, wide 
stock is secured. The white oak is of equally 
high order, and is unsurpassed in color, texture 
and figure. 

Of other woods there is a wealth of varie- 
ties, namely : hickory, beech, maple, basswood, 
black walnut, buckeye, black gum. red oak, 
chestnut, ash, cherry and sycamore, all of un- 
usually high quality. 

At St. Albans is located also the company's 
planing mill which has a floor space of about 
one and one-half acres and a capacity of 30,000 
to 40,000 feet a day. The dry kiln capacity 
is 24.000 feet a day. One hundred or more 
skilled workmen are employed continually in 



22-i 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



getting out its various products. The location 
of the planing mill where it has favorable 
freight rates enables the company to purchase 
the output of smaller mills, as well as other 
desirable blocks of stock in poplar and oak, 
which avoids the necessity of sorting its own 
lumber for use in the planing mill. 

The planing mill is equipped with all the 
best machinery for the economical manufacture 
if its product, including planers, matchers, 
molders, band, rip and resaws, cutoff saws 
and a well equipped blacksmith and machine 
shop, all driven by a 24x48 Corliss engine. An 
electric lighting plant of ample capacity makes 
night running practicable during the busier 
seasons. 

In the storage shed, with a capacity of 
1,500,000 feet, is kept a complete assortment 
of the different widths, lengths, and grades of 
standard stock. Under the covered platform 
five cars can be loaded at one time, and pro- 
vision is made for the loading of mixed cars 
with rough and finished lumber at the same 
time. The company has also at St. Albans a 
large distributing yard, where it keeps a com- 
plete stock, consisting of about 4,000,000 feet 
of hardwood lumber in the various grades and 
thicknesses. Here it can load cars containing 
rough and dressed lumber, siding, flooring, 
moldings, dimension stock, lath, ceiling — in 
fact, all the hardwood products, both rough 
and finished. 

The Bowman Lumber Company of St. Al- 
bans, W. Va., was organized in 1886 with a 
capital stock of $100,000. The concern owns 
50,000 acres of timber in Raleigh County, W. 
Va. The capacity of the mill is 50,000 feet 
daily of soft wood and 40,000 all grades of 
hard and soft wood. The mill, which is a 
large modern one, began operations in 1888. 
It and the yards are located on Coal River, 
St. Albans. The officers are: S. C. Rowland, 
of Baltimore, Md., president; J. Roman Way, 
of Williamsport, Pa., secretary and treasurer, 
and Hon. E. C. Colcord, of St. Albans, W. 
Va.. general manager. 

D. J. Lewis erected the St. Albans Flour- 
ing Mill for a bark mill, which was later con- 
verted into a tobacco warehouse and so con- 
tinued for one year during which time $60,000 



were lost. Golden & Jordan then made it a 
flouring mill. It was built just before the panic 
of 1873, and it was four or five years after 
it was built that it was changed to a flouring- 
mill. The owners of the mill after Golden & 
Jordan were: Samuel Jordan, then Calvert & 
Nurnberger; then T. W. Shank, then Nurn- 
berger & Baldwin; Mr. Nurnberger then 
bought Mr. Baldwin's interest. The mill is 
now owned by Joseph Nurnberger. It has a 
capacity of 25 barrels of flour a day, besides 
a car load of meal and feed. The building is 
a large frame structure, facing the C. & O. 
Railroad. 

There is a tobacco warehouse in St. Albans, 
which is leased by the American Tobacco 
Company. In 19 10, 2,000,000 pounds of to- 
bacco were sold in St. Albans. The Atkinson 
Foundry and Car Shops was built in 1908. 
The McGregor Manufacturing Co. built a plant 
for manufacture of columns and balusters. 

The Bank of St. Albans. This bank was 
organized August 14, 1900 and the present 
substantial brick building erected in December, 
1906. Since then it has paid in dividends to 
stockholders $30,000.00. C. D. Hereford is 
president, W. E. Mohler, vice-president, and 
C. A. Zerkle, cashier. The directors are E. C. 
Colcord, G. C. Weimer, J. V. R. Skinner, H. 

B. Smith, W. E. Mohler, C. D. Hereford and 

C. A. Zerkle — all business men of acknowl- 
edged ability and among St. Albans' foremost 
citizens. This bank extends to all every ac- 
commodation consistent with good banking. 
It conducts a savings department, paying three 
per cent, with interest compounded twice a 
year, and deposits may be made in any amount 
and withdrawn without notice. It also has 
safety deposit boxes for those who wish to 
avail themselves of this convenience, the boxes 
being rented at $2.00 per year. The bank is 
conducted on safe and conservative lines but 
follows a liberal policy within proper limits. 
Its statement for March 17, 191 1, was as fol- 
lows : 

RESOURCES 

Loans and Discounts $127,637.31 

Overdrafts 5 2 3-7^> 

Banking House 17,500.00 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



225 



Due from Banks 31,195.18 



$184,385-36 

LIABILITIES 

Capital Stock $ 30,000.00 

Surplus Profit 3,000.00 

Undivided Profits 2,03271 

Due to Banks 3,789-59 



$184,385.36 

George Weimer & Sons of St. Albans, Kana- 
wha County, W. Va., who have operated here 
since 1889, are jobbers and wholesale dealers 
in rough and dressed lumber. They handle 
about 10,000,000 feet of all kinds of lumber 
annually, covering all grades of wood in the 
building line. The firm is composed of George 
Weimer and his sons, George C. Weimer and 
James Weimer. The Weimers moved from 
Buffalo, N. Y. to St. Albans, W. Va. The 
product is shipped to all parts of the country. 
The finished product is sold in nearby counties 
in West Virginia. George Weimer, senior 
member of the firm, entered the lumber busi- 
ness in 1870 in Buffalo, N. Y. They operate 
mills in Fayette County, W. Va., and in Cal- 
houn County, Ga. Their yards and sales of- 
fice are in St. Albans, W. Va. 

The first M. E. Church erected in the vicin- 
ity of St. Albans was the little log church put 
up in 1820 by Mrs. Stephen Teays for the 
Methodists. This church was used by the 
Methodists and by the Episcopalians from 
1845-47 for worship after the Episcopal 
Church had been destroyed by fire. About 
1847 the lo g church of the Methodists, erected 
by Mrs. Stephen Teays, was replaced by the 
present brick structure or house of worship, 
St. Marks, of the Episcopalians. In 1857 on 
the seventh day of September, a deed was made 
by J. Franklin Johnson and Susan Johnson, 
his wife conveying one-tenth of one acre to 
Charles W. Hill, Elijah Rock, Milton Snyder, 
Samuel Gilliland and I. Grobe, trustees for the 
Southern Methodist Church of Coalsmouth 
part of Lot No. 17 in the plat of P. R. Thomp- 
son's Estate, which lies on the lane leading 
from the turnpike to the mouth of Cool 



river. The lot was conveyed to trustees 
in consideration of the payment of $40.00. 
The lot was conveyed to said Johnson by deed 
from the heirs of Birkett D. Thompson, de- 
ceased. The first house of worship erected 
on this site was a brick structure and was used 
as a place of worship until work was begun, 
April 11, 1910, to demolish the building to 
make room for the present structure which is 
a neat brick edifice, Gothic in architecture. The 
first services were held in the new church 
September 3, 191 1. This structure was 
erected at a cost of $7,000. The old church 
was used during the Civil war bv Union sol- 
diers for stabling horses. The court of claims 
allowed the sum of $1,400 for damage to 
property. Deducting commissions, this will 
net over $1,100 to the church, but there has 
never been any appropriation made to cover 
the allowance. Rev. A. A. Hollister, who was 
the pastor, preached the first sermon in the 
new building. The present pastor is Rev. W. 
B. Corder. The trustees are : J. L. Kelly, 
Joseph Nurenberger, I. E. Johnson, Charles 
Cox, and L. W. Swindler. The membership 
numbers about 140. 

The Northern Methodist Church of St. Al- 
bans, W. Va. The lot on which this church 
stands was donated by ex-Gov. G. W. Atkin- 
son and the edifice, which was the old Pres- 
byterian church, was given by Grant Hall, the 
church being moved to its present location. 
The congregation has no regular pastor. 

The Episcopal Church of St. Albans. — 
Morris Hudson had come in 1808 from Penn- 
sylvania and bought up a large tract of land 
on the lower side of Two-and-three-quarter 
mile creek. His family were the first Episco- 
palians in the Kanawha Valley. They were 
joined in 1816 by Col. Philip Root Thomp- 
son, from Culpeper County, Va., whose family 
were also Episcopalians. They occupied a part 
of the Washington Survey, as did also for a 
while the general's nephew, Samuel Washing- 
ton. A delightful community grew up and be- 
came decidedly, if not exclusively, devoted to 
the Episcopal Church. Although the first 
church erected was the log building put up in 
1820 by Mrs. Stephen Teays for the Metho- 
dists. 



226 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



In 1825 Major Morris Hudson built of 
brick the little "Bangor" Episcopal Church, 
near where the pike crossed Two-and three- 
quarter-mile Creek. 

Of this church Rev. James Craik was rec- 
tor, and here his successor, Rev. T. B. Nash, 
of New England, maintained an old field school 
frequented by the Hudsons, Thompsons, 
Turners, Swindlers, Thorntons, Lasleys, Cape- 
harts, Lewises, etc. 

This church was burned in 1845 and the 
Episcopalians worshipped in the Methodist 
Church until they built St. Marks in 1847. 
Not much later the Episcopalians, Col. B. S. 
Thompson and Beverly Tompkins, were on the 
committee which replaced the log house of the 
Methodists with the present brick building, 
but the community remained decidedly Epis- 
copalian. 

During the Civil War the Federal troops 
took charge of the church and did much dam- 
age to the property. Port holes were made in 
the different approaches to the building for 
protection in the event of an attack. The 
court of claims have recently allowed the sum 
of $2,400 to cover the damage by troops to 
the Episcopal Church and $1,800 for the same 
purpose to the Methodist. 

There are at the present time forty-one com- 
municants. Rev. Arthur M. Lewis is rector. 
The rectory stands on the fine plot of ground 
owned by the church. 

The rectors of St. Mark's church, Bangor 
Parish, St. Albans, W. Va.,' since 1822, have 
been: Charles H. Page, Sept. 1822 to 1833; 
John Martin, Sept. 1833 to 1839; James Crark, 
1841 to 1845; Francis S. Nash, March, 1845 

to 1852; Robert T. Brown, to ; — 

Henderson. Jan., 1854 to Dec, 1856; 

Hershaw, 1856 to 1856; Alonzo J. M. Hud- 
son, April 10, 1859 to April, 1861 ; Wm. G. 
Stewart, July, 1867 to April, 1868; Horace E. 
Hayden, July 1, 1862 to Jan. 1, 1871 ; Charles 
B. Mee, Oct. 15, 1871 to Sept. 27, 1872; 
David Barr, June 1, 1873 to May 31, 1874; 
Pendleton Brooke, 1874 to 1875; John W. 
Sea, Oct. T878 to May 15, 1884; J. B. Fitz- 
patrick, 1884 to 1887; Charles M. Campbell, 
1887 to 1892; Peter Wager, 1892 to 1894; 
John R. Joyner, 1894 to 1902; John Warnock, 



1903 to 1906; John M. Hamilton, 1907 to 
Oct. 1, 1908; Arthur M. Lewis, Oct. 1, 1909 

St. Albans Presbyterian Church — It is 
stated that Presbyterianism was first preached 
at Coalsmouth by the Rev. James M. Brown, 
D. D., who was the pastor of the church in 
Charleston for twenty-one years. He went to 
Greenbrier and buried his son, Samuel, and 
his daughter, and there he died, leaving Rev. 
John C. Brown, the only remaining one of the 
family. 

After the war, in 1868, the Rev. Mr. B. B. 
Blair, the Rev. J. C. Brown and the Rev. Mr. 
McClintic, of Kentucky, proceeded to organize 
the church and the first meeting of the ses- 
sion was held in September, 1868, the mem- 
bers numbering seventeen. The presbytery 
was held in 1869 at St. Albans. Rev. Mr. 
Eells was next called. He died in 1897 and 
he left the church with about 113 members. 
In 1873 the trustees were elected but there 
was no church. They used the town hall, but 
the struggle was going on "all the same" and 
with about $1,750 in 1878 they had a small 
church. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. G. F. Hansford and his wife 
set out some trees around the little church and 
named the trees, viz : "Powers, Eells, Hill, 
Taylor, Hansford, Swindler and Mohler." 

In Memoriam — James F. Hansford died 
in 1889; Francis H. Taylor in 1891 ; Col. 
Joseph R. Hill in 1892; John T. Simmes, 
1 901 ; Capt. S. C. Wheeler in 1904; Thomas 

A. Teays and Mrs. W. E. Mohler, 1905. 
After Rev. G. T. Lyle, who served the 

church from 1884 to 1894 came the Rev. M. 

B. Lambdin, 1904-1904, then Charles W. 
Sommerville, 1905-1907; Rev. G. W. Ship- 
lev, 1907-1911. 

Elders— William E. Mohler, T. S. P. 
Bowers, C. A. Zerkle and F. H. Sattes. 
Clerk of session, Elder W. E. Mohler; trus- 
tees, F. H. Sattes, W. S. Oxley and C. A. 
Specht, organist, Mrs. Nathan E. Grogan; 
assistant organist, Miss Edith May Mohler ; 
sexton, C. W. Bullington. 

The New Church — -William E. Mohler says 
the new church was finished in 1910, at a cost 
of $24,000 and was dedicated October 15, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



227 



1910. It has now a membership of 135 with 
five elders and seven deacons and a well- 
equipped Sunday-school. 

The stone church is a splendid piece of 
work, as architecture, and that this congrega- 
tion could erect such a building shows that 
they had many good men, with considerable 
means and a will to give largely to this work. 
May the Lord bless them all. 

Mr. William E. Mohler has been blessed and 
he has been able to devote his time and his 
energy and his means, to the church, and the 
congregation has been blessed in him. The 
thirty-seventh anniversary of the organization 
of the St. Albans Presbyterian Church was 
observed in 1905, and he had then served said 
church as Presiding Elder for twenty years, 
and not only the local church, but the Presby- 
tery, the Synod and the General Assembly — 
all of which deserved recognition, which was 
gracefully tendered him in the publication of 
a commemorative pamphlet. 

This church has done much good for all the 
people of that community and all the country. 
May they all recognize the blessings they have 
enjoyed and may William E. Mohler enjoy 
the blessings of the congregation which he has 
served so faithfully. Col. Hill, Mr. Taylor 
and Mr. Hansford are sure to be remembered 
and now Mr. Mohler is to be added to the 
list of faithful good men. 

There is one hospital in St. Albans owned 
by Dr. W. H. Wilson, and two hotels, the 
Colonial and the Majestic. The Majestic is 
the older. There are about thirty mercantile 
establishments, large and small, four practic- 
ing physicians, two dentists, one funeral di- 
rector and one photographer, two or three in- 
surance offices, two liveries, and telephone 
and telegraph service. The churches in St. 
Albans are the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Bap- 
tist, M. E. Church (north), M. E. Church 
(south), and one Baptist Church (colored) — 
six in all. There are some fine business 
houses which have been erected since the fire 
in 1906. There are also many beautiful res- 
idences. There is much wealth and culture, 
more than is ordinarily found in towns of 
less than 2,000 population. 

A good school is found there with fine brick 



building and large campus. The school build- 
ing was erected in 1900, an addition being 
built to it in 1.909. It contains eight rooms, 
and 250 pupils are enrolled, which are in 
charge of seven teachers. 

There is a board of trade in the town which 
was organized July 16, 1906, to advance the 
claims of St. Albans as a desirable location 
for those seeking manufacturing sites, homes 
or business location. This board of trade has 
sixty members and its officers are : J. V. R. 
Skinner, president; T. H. Mohler, treasurer; 
and William M. Wood, secretary. 

The shipping facilities of St. Albans are ex- 
ceptionally good, as the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroad, and the Coal River Railroad enter 
the place. The latter was built as an inde- 
pendent line but has been purchased by the 
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and operated as 
a part of that system. Just across the Kana- 
wha river from St. Albans is Sattes, named 
for the Sattes family, who owned the prop- 
erty on which the place was laid out, through 
which the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad 
passes, reached by a ferry. St. Albans has 
steam boat service daily. The new iron bridge 
across Coal river at St. Albans was erected in 
1908. 

Coalsmouth High School was incoporated 
in 1872, the site procured and the building be- 
gun. It was an enterprise of the Baptist 
Church, and was expected to develop "into a 
Baptist College. Dr. P. B. Reynolds of Rich- 
mond, was the principal; H. W. Hovery, A. 
M., assistant with primary assistant. The 
school was taught with St. Albans public 
schools for one year '72 and '73, there being 
a large enrollment from many parts of the 
state. In October, 1873, the building was first 
occupied with Dr. Reynolds and Baylus Cade 
as principal instructors. The name was 
changed to Shelton College in 1875 or 1876. 
Geo. Boreman Foster, of Chicago University, 
Congressman Joseph H. Gaines, Senator N. E. 
Chilton, Dr. C. E. Haworth of Marshall Col- 
lege and James H. Stewart of W. Va. Univer- 
sity and many of the leading men of the state 
received their academic training here. Lack of 
endowment and proper financial management 
caused the overthrow of one of the best educa- 



228 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tional institutions of the state. The Baptists 
gave it up in 1884. Rev. Lyle of the Presby- 
terian church conducted a school here for two 
years, and W. G. Miller for several terms. 

A dispensation for the institution of a Ma- 
sonic lodge at St. Albans was issued by the 
Grand Lodge of West Virginia on the first day 
of February, 1873, to be hailed and styled as 
Washington Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; M. L. 
Mayo to act as W. M. ; M. W. Wilber as S. W. ; 
and J. H. McConaha as J. W. The first meet- 
ing was held on the 4th of June following, 
when the following named were present: W. 
L. Mayo, W. M. ; W. F. Claughton, S. W. ; 
John H. McConaha, J. W. ; J. S. Cunningham, 
secretary; Frederick A. Sattis, treasurer; N. L. 
Carpenter, tyler; J. C. Raradan, S. D., and M. 
T. Bridwell, of Kanawha Lodge No. 20. Con- 
siderable work was done in the lodge before the 
granting of the charter, which bore date of No- 
vember 12, 1873. The lodge is now in a flour- 
ishing condition. 

The federal census gives a population of 
1209 to St. Albans, but according to the local 
census there are 1,400 within its corporate 
limits. 

Amandaville, which is located just across the 
river from St. Albans, is not incorporated. It 
has about 1,200 people in about the same radius 
as the corporate limits of St. Albans. 

WASHINGTON DISTRICT 

Washington district extends on the east side 
of Coal river from Jefferson up to Bull creek. 
It has Smith's creek, Alum creek, Little Brier 
and Big Brier creeks. Tornado is its largest 
town, but there will be others. It is noted for 
its excellence and varieties of coal, for its tim- 
ber and 'its transportation facilities. It ex- 
tends eastward to Loudon and has Boone 
county on its south, and Lincoln on its west. 
Possibly there is more room for development in 
Washington than in any other district, and it 
is being developed. It is near the Lincoln oil 
and gas field and has its own coal. 

Coal river washes its entire southwestern 
boundary. Smith creek, named in memory of 
Joseph Smith, the first settler upon its banks. 
Crooked creek, Alum creek, named from an 
alum rock about one mile from its mouth, Bear 



creek, and Brier creek, named from the green 
briers that grow along it, all flow in a south- 
westerly direction and discharge their waters 
into Coal river. 

Joseph Thomas removed to the falls of Coal 
and erected the first cabin within the present 
limits of the district about the year 1800. Soon 
after him came James Thomas, Samuel Beach, 
Leonard Nicholas and Joseph Smith, and a few 
years later they were followed by Randall 
Auler, Thomas Nance, Joseph Brown, Joseph 
Smith, Thomas Maupin, Joseph Midkiff, Rich- 
ard Bryant, John Hill, Jacob Hill, John Tur- 
ley, and Allen M. Smith. All were actual set- 
tlers, and all found what they came to seek — 
homes. 

The first grist-mill was erected by Joseph 
Thomas, at the falls of Coal river about the year 
1812; it was a round log structure, with one 
run of stone, a tub wheel, and ground nothing 
but corn. 

The first saw-mill was erected on Little Coal 
river by Allen M. Smith in 1845, ar >d some 
years later Edward Kenna erected one at the 
upper falls of Coal. It was a good substantial 
frame building, with old-fashioned sash saw. 
The capacity was 3,500 feet per day. 

Tradition says that the first school ever 
taught on Coal river above its mouth was four 
miles above the falls, by a man named Stanley, 
in the year 1816. About fifteen pupils were in 
attendance, receiving instruction under the old 
"Subscription Act." The house was a rude 
cabin with a "dirt" floor and a V-shaped chim- 
ney, which occupied one entire end of the 
building. 

The first church organization perfected was 
the Upper Falls Baptist congregation, in the 
year 18 17. The second was the Baptist 
church at the forks of Coal, a few years later.. 

LOUDON DISTRICT 

Loudon district is on south side of Kanawha 
extending from Spring Hill up above Lens 
creek, running back to Boone county. It has 
Davis creek, and its branches and forks, Job- 
lins branch. Ferry branch, Hale's branch. Lick- 
branch, Rush creek and Lens creek. It has 
Brownstown (called Marmet for short) for a 
town and it has Kanawha City for a city, where 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



231 



une of a hundred thousand people could live 
happily. The upper end of Charleston is oppo- 
site the lower end of Kanawha City, and it ex- 
tends up to Maiden, and from Charleston to 
Maiden is six miles. Davis creek spreads all 
over Loudon. There was discovered the Black 
Rand coal which had iron in it, and they built 
a furnace for the coal and ore to work to- 
gether. They also built a railroad up Davis 
creek to Chilton. 

This district is noted for many things, among 
them its good people, its splendid views, its 
railroad facilities and its many townsites. 

The surface is much broken, and in the south 
is mountainous, and the river bottom ( with the 
exception of the northwestern corner) is nar- 
row, while in many places, as opposite the city 
of Charleston, the hills rise abruptly from the 
river, the base, in some places, being cut away 
in the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railway. Davis creek is the principal stream. 
It flows with and empties into the Kanawha. 

Leonard Morris, whose settlement in the val- 
ley is elsewhere noticed in this work, built the 
first cabin in the district. Other early settlers, 
nearly all of whom came before the beginning 
of present century, were Andrew Donnally, 
Charles Norris. Charles Venable. Charles 
Brooklin, Evan Price, John Lawrence, Benja- 
min Price. Henry Snodgrass, Luke Wilcox, 
John B. Crockett, Samuel Hensley. Robert 
Brown. Robert Berry. James Reynolds, Job 
English, Allicot Reynolds, Isaiah Curry, James 
Curry. Thomas Harris, Samuel L. Smith, 
Thomas Mathews, Fleming Cobb, John 
Young, Guy P. Mathews, Benjamin Eastwood 
and William Blaine. 

The first grist mill was built by a man named 
Estill, on Davis creek. We cannot ascertain 
date, but our informant says "it was built at an 
early day." Another mill was built at Blaine's 
island, by a man of the name of Blaine. The 
date of its erection cannot be ascertained, but 
it is known to have been running in the year 
1823. It was a log building, and the dam ex- 
tended from the south side of the river to the 
island. In 1869 a small water-mill, with one 
run of burrs, was built by a man named Jere- 
miah Authur. The oldest postoffice in the 
district is the Brownstown office. It was es- 



tablished many years ago, under the name of 
Lens creek, but in recent years it has been made 
to correspond with that of the town. 

FIRST FRUIT TREES BROUGHT TO THE KANAWHA 
VALLEY 

The first apple trees brought over the Alle- 
ghenies and transplanted in the Kanawha Val- 
ley, were carried from Virginia by Fleming 
Cobb in a pair of leather bags, in the year 1780, 
and planted on the old Cobb homestead, near 
the mouth of Davis creek. At the same time 
he also brought two pear trees, which were 
planted on the farm known as the Blaine's 
island homestead. 

The first Sabbath school was organized in 
1875, by Luke Wilcox at Brownstown. It is 
in a prosperous condition, having a member- 
ship of ninety-seven. Rufus Workmen is the 
present superintendent. The second organized 
was the Lick Branch Union school by H. C. 
Welty, in 1877. The present attendance is 
sixty-four, with Mrs. Maria Allen superin- 
tendent. Besides these there is a Union school 
on Davis creek, a Baptist school at Piney 
Grove, and another at the same place in charge 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

BROWNSTOWN OR MARMET. 

Brownstown (or Marmet) grew up from a 
long time ago. It was begun and located when 
salt works were in feather, and it was on the 
south side of the Kanawha river just below the 
mouth of Lens creek, up which creek the road 
over to Boone and Logan counties led. On the 
upper side of the creek, near the river, was the 
salt furnace of Luke Wilcox, whose farm re- 
mained in the hands of his family and whose 
daughter, Mrs. Amelia Bradford has lately 
died. Below the creek was the furnace of 
Charles Brown, after whom the town took its 
name. Charles Brown came to Kanawha about 
1804, was a man of means, owned much real 
estate and was a son-in-law of Reuben Slaugh- 
ter, the surveyor in 1808. People and traders 
coming to Charleston from Logan or Boone 
or anywhere in such vicinity, for trade or busi- 
ness, came to the Kanawha river at this place. 
It was just ten miles above Charleston and it 
has always had much business in a small way. 



232 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Luke Wilcox's furnace was run by him until 
1854, and Charles Brown died in 1849. With 
two furnaces near, and the trade and travel 
from the back counties, it was a lively point 
for business. This continued up to and during 
the war, then the opening of the C. & O. R. R. 
and the timber trade and coal trade and the 
branch railroad up Lens creek kept the place 
growing, and the construction of the lock and 
dam thereat, and its being a good healthy place 
to live in, also kept up the growth. Within 
the last few years some one wanted to change 
the name and by some means succeeded in hav- 
ing the postoffice department change the name 
of the office, and call it Marmet, but people 
call it Brownstown yet, except when it becomes 
essential to give its legal name. The Brown 
family departed many years ago and there are 
many that do not know for whom it was 
named. There was never any reason for calling 
it "Marmet" except to gratify some strange 
whim. It was named for Charles Brown, an 
old man that was here from 1808 to 1849. 

In the palmy days of salt making in the val- 
ley some of the largest and most productive 
furnaces were located within the present limits 
of this district, and here were some of the 
deepest borings ever made in the state of Vir- 
ginia. Of the two wells on the Logan prop- 
erty, one was i860 feet in depth and the other 
1500. What was known as the Thompkins 
well was 1350, and that of the Dickinson 1200 
feet. All wells above Maiden are from 1000 
to 1 500 feet deep, while all below that place are 
800 to 1200. The production of salt and gas 
from these wells is elsewhere noticed in this 
work. 

HALES SPRING 

At a point in this district just opposite 
Charleston, is a never failing spring of crystal 
water, the coldness of which is suggestive of 
the icy fountains of the north. For many years 
after the erection of Clendenin's fort it fur- 
nished water for the garrison, and many were 
the risks taken by some members of it in order 
to secure a supply of pure water. 

In the year 1789 — the same in which the 
county was formed — there came to the fort a 
young man named Hale, and Captain Clen- 



denin employed him as a common laborer. 
Soon after his arrival and one day after the 
house servant of Clendenin's had finished 
churning, she prepared to cross the river in 
order to dress the butter at the spring. Hale 
being near by remarked that it was not safe 
for her to go, he had seen several Indians 
prowling over the neighboring hills the day 
previous, and at the same time proposed that 
he and another man whose name cannot now 
be ascertained, would cross the river and bring 
two buckets of the water to the fort. Taking 
their rifles they jumped into the canoe and 
paddled to the opposite side; arrived at which. 
Hale, leaving his companion in the canoe, as- 
cended the bank, filled the pails and started to 
return, but the report of a dozen rifles rang 
upon the air and Hale fell dead. The man in 
the canoe jumped into the river, and by rapid 
swimming and diving reached the fort amid a 
shower of balls. Soldiers from the fort the 
next day crossed the river and buried the 
scalped and otherwise mutilated remains of 
Hale, near the spot where he fell. Xo endur- 
ing marble marks the spot, but he left his name 
attached to the spring where he met his fate — 
and Hale's spring will be known to generations 
yet to come. 

MALDEX DISTRICT. 

Maiden District is next above Charleston 
on the north and east side of the Kanawha. It 
has Campbell's creek, at the mouth of which 
was the famous salt spring that brought the 
Ruffners to Kanawha. It has Maiden as its 
town, which once was larger than Charleston, 
had more business and more money, and was 
headquarters for the salt trust for years. It 
is called a "has-been." but there is more history 
in it than one book will hold. 

The principal streams are Campbell's creek, 
Burning Spring creek, and Simmons' creek, all 
flowing southwest and emptying into the Ka- 
nawha. The surface is rough, and may be said 
to consist of "mountains of coak/" outrivaling 
both in quantity and quality any locality of 
similar extent in the state. 

It is said that the first cabin was erected by 
Abraham Baker in the year 1790. Among the 
earliest settlers were David and Joseph Ruffner, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



233 



John Alderson and Samuel John Shrewsbury. 
The first settlement was made just above the 
mouth of Tinkersville, the oldest town in the 
district. The Ruffners were prominent men in 
developing the mining and salt manufacturing 
interests of this locality, a notice of which has 
already appeared in this history. They built 
the first grist mill ever erected within the lim- 
its of the district, in he year 1803. It was a 
water-mill with one run of stone. An old pio- 
neer says it \yas a model "corn-cracker." 

The first school appears to have been taught 
about the year 1820, by a gentleman named 
Ezra Walker, of Athens, Ohio. His successor 
was George Taylor. The building was a one- 
story frame, erected by Gen. Lewis Ruffner, at 
his own expense. It was the first school build- 
ing in the district, which is now well provided 
with both white and colored schools. 

The old Kanawha Salines postoffice was one 
of the first in the valley. It has recently been 
discontinued, and Maiden is now the only one 
in the district. 

It is not recorded who preached the first ser- 
mon. The Methodists and Baptists appear to 
have held meetings contemporary with the first 
settlement, but no organization appears to have 
been perfected until 18 16, when the Rev. Henry 
Ruffner organized the First Presbyterian 
church of Maiden. 

MALDEN 

The town of Maiden, W. Va., was incorpo-. 
rated in 1883, but in 1885 the charter was al- 
lowed to lapse after the marshal had been shot 
by an intoxicated man. The first mayor of 
Maiden was Mose Norton, the second, William 
Reynolds, and the third, Dr. Potts. The town 
has at different times had different names, they 
being in their order as follows : Terra Sallas, 
Kanawha Salines and Maiden. There are five 
general stores in the town, as follows : L. P. 
Oakes, J. E. White, W. H. Goodwin, W. J. 
Krantz and W. E. Casper. E. Oakes has been 
postmaster since 1903. The only physician is 
Dr. W. F. Shirkey. The town has two hotels, 
and one two-room school which is taught by 
Miss Lorena Canterberry, principal, and Miss 
Florence Shamlin. The former has a class 
enrollment of 21 and the latter of 56. 



Masonic Lodge of Maiden has a membership 
of 130 and has its own lodge room. The lodge 
was organized in 1827, the present charter 
dating from 1865. The worshipful master is 
Lawrence A. Christy ; senior warden, Woodson 
Blake ; junior warden, Lemuel Fauber ; treas- 
urer, Frank D. ( Jones; secretary, J. N. Scott; 
senior deacon, M. Chambers ; junior deacon. 
Preston Snowden; tyler, Squire R. P. Shrews- 
bury. 

Maiden Lodge No. 77, I. O. O. F., was insti- 
tuted September 15, 1875, with five charter 
members, as follows : C. S. Abbott, D. A. Cole, 
F. M. Atkins, J. J. Jacobs and J. J. Krantz. 
All of these are dead except J. J. Jacobs. The 
lodge building and fixtures were burned twice 
and were partly insured each time. There are 
now 99 members and the worth of the lodge is 
about $3,000. 

Sultannas Lodge K. of P. No. 87 was insti- 
tuted Jan. 1, 1894, with 25 charter members. 
At present there are 185 members. 

Maiden Kickapoo Lodge, Improved Order of 
Red Men was instituted in October, 1893. It 
has at present a membership of 68. 

Harmony Council No. 16, Ancient Order 
American Mechanics, was instituted in 1883 
with about 40 members. The highest member- 
ship was 128. At the present time there are 65 
members. They own their lodge room and the 
property is valued at about $1,500. Mr. Oakes 
gave $200 to the building. 

The M. E. church at Maiden was built be- 
tween 1832 and 1840. About 1844 or 1846 
the church divided. There are about 60 or 75 
members. A new church edifice is now in the 
course of construction, which will be a brick 
structure 35x50 with an alcove back choir, ves- 
tibule four feet extra and will cost $45,000. 
The present pastor is Rev. Rowe. The building 
committee is composed of H. J. Hervey, Au- 
brey Krantz, J. E. White and Dr. W. F. Shir- 
key. The church is practically on the same site 
as the old one except that it is about ten feet to 
the front of the old church. The church is in 
a prosperous condition. Maiden, Danaville and 
Putney constitute the charges of the pastor. 

The Southern Methodists took charge of the 
M. E. church now known as the Northern 
Methodist by reason of a majority in the voting. 



234 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



but after the Civil War the property was re- 
stored to the Methodist or what is known as 
the Northern branch of the church by the 
courts. The Southern Methodists erected a 
very neat structure but are not holding services 
in it. 

The Baptists have a strong membership at 
Maiden. 

Kanawha Salines Presbyterian church. 
Charleston and Maiden or the "Licks*' as it 
was afterwards called was organized by Dr. 
Henry Ruffner. Dr. J. M. Brown was the first 
pastor of both Charleston and Maiden. After 
the separation Rev. Brown remained with the 
Charleston church and Rev. Stewart Robinson 
was the first regular pastor of the church at 
Maiden after the separation. The present pas- 
tor is Rev. J. W. Carpenter who came here in 
1907. 

The first house of worship was called a 
meeting house, which was located on the Ruff- 
ner estate below Georges creek. This building 
was in use until about 1838 and could be used 
by all denominations for religious services. 
About 1839 or 1840 Col. David Ruffner erected 
the present house of worship with his own 
means and since that time this brick structure 
has been used as a house of worship by the 
Presbyterians. Kanawha Salines church was 
organized September I, 1841, it having been 
known previously as the Kanawha Presbyterian 
church at Kanawha Salines and Charleston. 
W. Va. The present membership of the church 
is 72. 

At one time 42 salt furnaces were in opera- 
tion in and around Maiden. Now there is only 
one furnace owned and operated by J. O. Dick- 
inson & Co. 

J. O. Dickinson & Co. plant or furnaces 
were erected for the manufacture of salt in 
1832 by Dickinson and Shrewsbury or by 
Dr. Putney. The plant was destroyed by flood 
in 1 86 1 and rebuilt by J. 0. Dickinson 
early in the seventies. Capacity. 1 50 bar- 
rels, daily. Other products are calcium chloride 
and bromine. Five or six tons of calcium 
chloride are produced daily and 125 pounds of 
bromine. 

The brines found in the Kanawha valley are 
different from those discovered in other parts 



of the country. By analysis of the W. Ya. 
Geological Survey, Vol. 5, they are found to be 
98.28 per cent pure, whereas the reports in the 
same volume of the product of one of the plants 
in the Ohio district is given as 91.31 per cent 
pure, and another of the Ohio plants, 95.32 per 
cent pure, both of which would indicate that 
the salt has 3.7 per cent less impurities than the 
salt in other districts. Owing to this purity 
this product has an exceptional value as a meat 
curer or preservative. W ith the exception of 
the Snow Hill plant this is the pargest plant 
ever operated in the valley. The last furnace 
to cease operations was the Brooks furnace two 
or three miles above Charleston. The next to 
the last was the Snow Hill furnace, operated 
by Dr. J. P. Hale. Mr. Charles Dickinson has 
been in charge of the plant since 1898. The 
furnace is run by gas piped thirteen miles from 
Boone county, W. Va. A combination of gas 
and coal is used for fuel. It is expected to 
increase the capacity of furnace to 175 barrels 
daily. 

The stock breeders especially in the blue 
grass district use the salt manufactured in the 
Kanawha valley. 

The Campbell Creek Coal Co., located at 
Maiden or just below is a very old company and 
has operated and worked out several mines. 

Maiden has one saloon. 

the Campbell's creek bridge tragedy 

It was on the night of the 24th of Decem- 
ber, 1875, that Thomas Lee was waylaid and 
murderd by Rufus Estep and John Dawson, 
on the iron bridge spanning Campbell's creek 
at Maiden. On the next day (Christinas) 
the perpetrators were arrested by the officers, 
taken to Charleston, and lodged in jail, there 
to await trial on the charge of murder. The 
murder of Lee was so unprovoked that a mob 
was at once organized, resolved to avenge his 
death bv lynching Estep and Dawson. Philip 
W. Morgan, high sheriff of the county, to- 
gether with John W. Lentz, John T. S. Perry 
and Silas Morgan, having learned of the in- 
tention of the mob, under cover of darkness 
removed the prisoners to Barboursville. and 
placed them in the Cabell county jail; but, 
fearing that the mob might learn of their 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



235 



whereabouts and follow on, they, two days 
later, removed them to the Wood county jail 
at Parkersburg. 

Here they remained until the convening of 
the circuit court of Kanawha county in Jan- 
uary, when the court and prosecuting attorney 
having concluded that there was no longer 
danger of mob violence, ordered the sheriff 
to return the prisoners to the jail at Charles- 
ton, that they might be ready for trial. But 
no sooner were they brought back than 
"Judge Lynch" announced himself ready for 
work, accordingly ordered the circuit court 
to at once try and convict the prisoners, else 
he would proceed to the execution himself. On 
the 24th of January. 1876, the prisoners were 
brought into court and arraigned upon the 
charge of murder. Their attorneys R. H. 
Freer and Abram Burlew, asked for a change 
of venue, and offered, as a reason for doing 
so, the fact that an armed mob existed, and ow- 
ing to its presence, it would be impossible to 
secure a fair trial for the accused. Their mo- 
tion was strongly opposed by John E. Kenna 
and James H. Ferguson, attorneys for the 
state. Judge Joseph Smith reserved his deci- 
sion until the next morning, and the prisoners 
were remanded to jail. 

Meanwhile, the matter was being discussed 
at the courthouse. Thomas Hines, a journey- 
man tailor of Charleston, walked into a shoe 
shop on Anderson street, and cut the throat 
of J. W. Dooley, a colored shoemaker, who 
died from the wound in twenty-five minutes. 
Hines was at once arrested and lodged in jail. 
Judge Smith never rendered his decision, for 
that night the mob surrounded the jail and 
took from it Estep and Dawson, and at the 
same time it was joined by about fifty colored 
men, who took out Hines. All marched to 
Campbell's creek bridge, and there the two 
former paid the penalty of their crime on the 
very spot on which they had committed it ; 
and at the same time Hines expiated his by 
hanging to the limb of a honey-locust tree 
three hundred yards above the bridge. The 
mob dispersed, and the bodies were cut down 
and buried the next morning, under orders 
from the authorities. Thus met and adjourned 
the first and last court over which "Judge 
Lynch" has presided in Kanawha. 



CABIN CREEK DISTRICT 

Cabin Creek District lies on both sides of 
the Kanawha. On the south side of the river 
it extends from Loudon, below Field's creek, 
up to Fayette county at Montgomery and in- 
cludes the waters of Kanawha. This takes in 
Paint creek, Cabin creek, Slaughter's creek 
and Field's creek. On the north side of the 
Kanawha, it includes Witcher's creek, Kelly's 
creek and Buffalo fork of Simmons' creek. 

There is a corner on Rock Camp fork of 
Bell creek where Nicholas, Fayette and Ka- 
nawha join and the line runs from thence to 
the Kanawha river at the mouth of Simmons' 
creek at Cannelton ; thence down the middle 
of the river to lower end of Montgomery; and 
thence to Raleigh county, crossing Paint at 
the mouth of Laurel branch. The old road 
came down to Gauley river at the mouth of 
Twenty-mile and then up Bell creek and 
thence down Hughes' creek, or Kelly's creek, 
their heads being near. 

The first white man who dared to attempt 
to settle in the Kanawha valley was "Walter 
Kelly. In the early part of the year 1774 he 
removed his family to the mouth of the stream 
which has ever since borne his name now 
within the limits of this district. His settle- 
ment was eighty-five miles west of Donnally's 
fort in Greenbrier, and was at the time the 
most western English settlement in America. 
Its destruction by Indians and the tragic end 
of some members of the family have been al- 
ready narrated in this volume. 

The murder of one individual or a dozen 
families did not deter the sturdy pioneer from 
his onward march in the conquest of the wil- 
derness, and accordingly, before a year has 
passed after the destruction of Kelly's settle- 
ment, we find Leonard and William Morris 
both residing almost in sight of the fatal spot. 
Their settlement is elsewhere noticed. Among 
those who here found homes and become actual 
settlers in the next few years were John Hans- 
ford, Sr., Thomas Foster, Ransom Gatewood, 
Robert Pern-. John Jarrett, John D. Massey, 
Gallatin G. Hansford, William Johnson, John 
Wheeler. Shadrach Childers, Peter Likens, 
Spencer Hill, William Pryor, Barney Green, 
Thomas Trigg and Shadrach Hariman. The 



236 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



latter was an Englishman, who came to the 
Kanawha valley and married Susan Pryor; 
this was, most probably, the first marriage 
contracted on the banks of the Kanawha. 
They had to go to Fort Savannah (now Lew- 
isburg) for license. He was killed by a rov- 
ing band of savages, on the 7th day of March, 
1 79 1, 011 what is now known as the Donnally 
farm, near. Charleston. 

The same year in which Hariman was 
killed, there came to the valley a family of the 
name of Wheeler ; they remained two years 
at the Kelly's creek settlement, and then re- 
moved eight miles farther down the river and 
began an improvement. Several months 
passed away, autumn came and brought with 
it the lurking band of Indians. One evening, 
when the family — six in number — were sealed 
in front of the cabin engaged in roasting 
chestnuts, and all unconscious of their fate, a 
savage scream rent the air, the report of a 
dozen rifles resounded among the mountains, 
and, with the exception of one lad, nearly 
grown, every member of the family lay dead 
upon the ground. The boy ran and made his 
escape to Kelly's creek, where he related the 
bloody story. A company of soldiers went 
down the next morning, but only to find the 
charred remains of five human bodies among 
the smoking ruins of the cabin, into which the 
savages had carried them before applying the 
torch. 

Staten's run is a small stream which emp- 
ties into the Kanawha a short distance below 
the town of Cannelton. It derives its name 
from the following incident. Soon after the 
formation of the county, in 1789, James 
Staten, Leonard Morris, William Morris, John 
Jones and John Young made a journey to 
Charleston, for the purpose of attending court. 
After having finished their business at the 
county seat, they set out on horseback to re- 
turn to their homes. When near the above 
mentioned stream they were fired upon by a 
number of Indians, and, although a perfect 
shower of balls whistled past them, but one 
took effect, and that caused the death of James 
Staten. The others put spurs to their horses 
and rode safely away. The stream has ever 
since been known as Staten's run. 



THE OLDEST PROTESTANT CHURCH WEST OF 
KANAWHA FALLS. 

In 1777 — early in the quarter of a past cen- 
tury — was gathered the first Protestant congre- 
gation in the Kanawha valley. No minister 
proclaiming the glad tidings had yet lifted up 
his voice in this (then) wilderness land, but 
the old pioneers in obeyance of the scriptural 
injunction, "assemble yourselves together," 
met, and organized a congregation. Soon the 
Macedonian cry was heard east of the moun- 
tains, and Revs. John Alderson, Mathew Elli- 
son. James Johnson and John Lee responded 
to the call, came west of the mountain barrier 
and assisted in carrying on the good work 
already begun. 

.Among the names of those who were mem- 
bers of this primitive church we find the fol- 
lowing: Leonard Morris (the first permanent 
settler), Levi Morris. Benjamin Morris, Will- 
iam Morris and wife, Katie Carroll, William 
Morris. Jr.. John Jones. John Hansford, Jane 
Hansford, David Jarrett, William Huddlestone, 
Edward Hughs, Lewis Jones, Mary Malone. 
Susanna Malone, Leah Alderson. Thomas 
Trigg. Polly Ellison. Polly Winsor, Nancy 
Hariman. Richard Hughs. Matilda Winsor. 
and John Meadows. This was the beginning 
of the Kanawha Baptist church of today. 

TOWNS 

Of towns, this district has Cannelton. which 
came into existence through the manufacture 
there of oil from cannel coal. It is opposite 
Montgomery, and this latter town is in Fayette. 
Handley is a railroad town, on the C. & O. 
railroad. There are also Clifton, called Dcgo, 
(now Pratt). Cedar Grove. East Bank. Coal- 
burg. Shrewsbury or North Coalburg. Chel- 
yan, Lewiston. 

On Cabin creek, it is town all the way up, 
and the places are not large as towns, but ex- 
tremely busy as coal properties. This district 
is noted for having seen the beginning of the 
settlement of Kanawha, at the mouth of Kel- 
ly's creek and at the mouth of Paint creek. 
Paint creek was an Indian thoroughfare for 
the upper New river, a cut-off, or short route, 
less difficult to follow than New river. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 237 



CEDAR GROVE 

Cedar Grove is located on the right bank of 
the Kanawha river on the line of the Kanawha 
and Michigan Railroad, at the mouth of Kelly's 
creek. The town was incorporated about 1902. 
The finest and oldest house in the place is the 
residence of the late H. P. Tompkins, which 
was erected by William Tompkins, father of the 
late H. P. Tompkins, about 1844. The house 
is constructed of brick and is near the mouth 
of Kelly's creek and is occupied by the family 
of Mr. Tompkins. H. P. Tomkins was the 
second mayor of Cedar Grove after its incor- 
poration. The following is a list of those who 
have served as mayors of the town : Joseph 
Luther, H. P. Tompkins, Dr. R. M. Hudnall, 
H. P. Tompkins (second term), Benjamin 
Hope, whose term was finished by Herbert 
Harold, who was the sixth mayor. Mr. Har- 
old was succeeded by Walter Campbell; he in 
turn by John Quick. The ninth mayor was 
Harold P. Tompkins, a son of H. P. Tompkins, 
the second mayor ; he was said to be the young- 
est mayor in the United States. The tenth 
mayor, the present incumbent, is Eli Dixon. 
The first mayor was appointed by the court 
until an election could be held. 

There are eight stores in the place, viz : The 
Sunday Creek Co. store (a general store), W. 
C. Shannon's general store; H. A. McClung 
& Son, grocers; W. E. Lewis, general store; 
Calderwood Bros., general store; M. S. Miller, 
general store and millinery; James Estep, gro- 
cer; and G. H. Spruce, grocery. M. F. 
Spruce is a funeral director. There are two 
butcher shops and three coal companies which 
operate in the vicinity. 

The Methodist Episcopal church is the old- 
est church in Cedar Grove. The building is a 
brick structure located at the mouth of Kelly's 
creek. It was erected for the Methodists by 
William Tompkins. After a lapse of eight or 
ten years without services, the church was re- 
organized in 19 10. In this year some improve- 
ments were made, among other things a new 
belfry being added. The church is in the Ce- 
dar Grove circuit. There are twenty members 
and Rev. J. E. Brown is the pastor. 

There are three churches in the Cedar Grove 



circuit, one at Maiden and one at Glen Ferris. 
The latter was organized in 1910 and has 
twenty-three members. The structure is a 
frame building which was erected in 1903. 
Rev. J. E. Brown is the pastor. 

Brown Memorial Presbyterian church has a 
membership numbering thirty. The congrega- 
tion has no pastor. The last pastor was Rev. 
John Carpenter. The church, a frame struc- 
ture, was erected in 1903, and was dedicated 
in June, 1904. 

The Baptist church of Cedar Grove, a frame 
building, was erected in 1903. Its highest 
membership is about sixty-five. 

There is also a colored Baptist church in 
the town. 

William Calderwood is postmaster of Cedar 
Grove. 

The Kelly's Creek Railroad, a branch road 
and also a coal road, runs five miles from 
Cedar Grove to Mammoth; also Kelly's Creek 
South Western Railroad, two and a half miles 
long, running from Cedar Grove to Ward. 
This is also a coal road. 

Kanawha Star Lodge No. 177, K. of P., 
with a mebership of forty-five, has the follow- 
ing officers: Ernest Derring, chancellor com- 
mander; Charles Rutledge, master finance; C. 
H. Malcolm, master exchequer; and Charles 
Rutledge, secretary. 

The town receives its chief support from the 
coal mines. 

PRATT 

The town of Pratt, W. Va., was originally 
laid out in 1850 under the name of Clifton and 
incorporated June 4, 1905. The railroad sta- 
tion is known as Paint Creek Junction. The 
early owner of the site was Dickinson Morris, 
who was a son of James Morris, original owner 
of the land on which Handley was laid out. 
The town is a third of a mile above the mouth 
of Paint creek, and the corporation extends to 
Paint creek. Part of the survey of 430 acres 
was granted by Virginia to John Jones in 1795, 
who was the first settler. The population ac- 
cording to the last census is 306. The oldest 
inhabitant in the point of residence is Julian 
M. Johnson. There are four stores in the town, 
as follows : J. A. B. Holt, a dry goods and a 



238 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



grocery — two stores; Walter Baughn, general 
store; and T. S. Chapman, general store. 

Pratt is the terminus of the Paint creek 
branch of the C. & O. Railroad, which extends 
up Paint creek twenty-two miles to Kingston. 
It is principally a coal road but has a passenger 
train. There are about fifteen mines on this 
railroad. Paint Creek Collieries Company 
has the greatest number of mines of any of 
the companies. Standard Splint & Gas Coal 
Company is located about six miles up the 
creek; Imperial Colliery Company, at Burn- 
well, thirteen miles up the creek; Christian 
Colliery Company, at Mahan, fifteen miles up 
Paint creek, and one other company about 
nineteen miles up known as Milburn Coal 
Company. The nearest gas comes from 
Shrewsbury and is piped to Montgomery by 
the Montgomery Gas Company and is used at 
Pratt. The first mayor of the town was Oscar 
A. Veazey and the first recorder T. S. Chap- 
man. The present mayor is Charles B. Cole- 
man, and the present recorder, Oscar A. Vea- 
zey. Dr. John H. Hansford is the physician 
of the town. 

About 1870 there was a postoffice at this 
place known as Clifton and J. B. Johnson, 
the father of J. M. Johnson, was the post- 
master. The present postmistress of Pratt is 
Mrs. Cecil Dickinson, a sister of the post- 
master at Charleston. About 1878 the post- 
office was changed to Paint creek and later 
moved to Hansford. The postoffice was then 
named Dego from a town in the northern 
part of Italy selected by the postoffice depart- 
ment. After Charles Pratt & Co. purchased 
the large tract of land on Paint creek the post- 
office was changed to Pratt, this being about 
1899. 

There was formerly an old Union church 
in the town but it was deeded to the town for 
a town hall. Mr. Veazey has a private chapel 
in his yard and it is used for church purposes, 
a priest holding services there once a month. 

The Baptist church known as the Kanawha 
Baptist church is a frame building put up 
about ten years ago. Rev. Ayare is the pastor. 
The church is over 100 years old; it has a 
membership of about 150. 

The Episcopal minister, Rev. Geo. P. Bent- 



ley, of Dublin, Ireland, resides in the town 
of Pratt. His parish in in Montgomery. 

Paint Creek Lodge I. O. O. F. No. 135, 
was instituted first at Hansford (the Paint 
creek) and moved to Pratt about 15 years 
ago. The membership numbers 110. Thomas 
Huddleston is noble grand; Nick Robson, vice 
grand; Solomon Mooney, secretary; and J. 
A. B. Holt, treasurer. The lodsre owns a 
hall. 

HANDLEY 

Handley, W. Va., was laid out by the Wy- 
oming Manufacturing Company and was 
named for a Mr. Handley who was connected 
with the company. The company opened up 
coal mines, opening the Kanawha seam of coal. 
The depot was built about 1891 or 1892, be- 
fore that this being a flag station. The land 
originally belonged to James Morris. 

The oldest house in the place is the James 
Morris residence now used as a hotel. When 
the town was laid out there were only two 
houses and some cabins used by James Morris 
for slaves. The C. & O. Railway Company 
located yards and round house at Handley 
early in 1891. The town claims a population 
of about 1. 000. There are two churches in 
Handley — a Baptist and a Methodist. The 
Methoidst church was erected about 1890 and 
the Baptist church in 1893. Handley Lodge, 
K. of P. (with 30 members) ; Arapahoe Lodge 
of Red Men; a lodge of American Mechanics; 
Handley Camp No. 14,986, Modern Woodmen 
(instituted Feb. 1, 191 1, has 25 members), 
and railway organizations make up the fra- 
ternal life of the town. 

Among the business enterprises in the town 
of Handley we find the following: Chesa- 
peake Mining Co. store; Harry Woodruff, 
general merchant ; Hugh Pike, general store ; 
G. W. Brady, general store; F. B. Irvin & 
Co., genral store; and Dalton & Harbour, 
general store. Joseph Robson is the post- 
master. 

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Y. M. C 
A. was built from 1894 to 1896. The build- 
ing contains lodging and dining rooms, large 
reading room, dining room and restaurant 
open day and night. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



239 



The Morris House, a hotel and boarding 
house, is conducted by Wm. Arington, and the 
O'Mally House by Wm. O'Mally. 

The Baptist church, whose pastor is Rev. 
Howell, who resides in West Charleston, was 
erected about 1893 and is a frame structure. 
The membership is fifty. The funds were 
given and raised by the late J. B. Lewis. Mrs. 
Lewis put in a steel ceiling at a cost of $175 
and blinds to the church. The first pastor was 
Rev. Davids, who was succeeded by Rev. 
John W. Curnes and he in turn by Rev. Frank 
Howell. The church is in a healthy condition. 

The M. E. church was erected about 1890. 
The present membership is twenty-five and the 
present pastor is Rev. Grimes. The structure 
is a frame building costing $1,500, but more 
than $2,000 has been spent on it in all. The 
first pastor was Rev. Thomas Everhart; Rev. 
Waltz followed him; he was succeeded in turn 
by the following: Rev. Phillips, Rev. King, 
Rev. Woolf, Rev. Bias, Rev. Beresford, Rev. 
Leslie, Rev. Dickey, and Rev. A. W. Grimes. 
The postmaster is Joseph Robson. There is 
one physician in the town — Dr. J. E. Mus- 
grave. 

The first coal work was by Frank Love, 
John Smith and J. B. Lewis in the gas and 
coal in 1875, about 400 feet above the Y. M. 
C. A. building. 



CHARLESTON DISTRICT 

Charleston District extends from Tyler 
creek, Union district, along the Kanawha, up 
to Black Hawk Hollow, up to Baker's fork of 
Two-mile, including Two-mile of Elk and 
Two-mile of Kanawha, and the city of Charles- 
ton and some of Elk river. 

It is the capital of the state of West Vir- 
ginia and has the courthouse of the county, 
and a reputation. 

The town was founded by George Clen- 
denin and family and many friends, and is 
noted for landing the courthouse of the 
county while William Morris was busy about 
other things. 

It might be said that Charleston and Charles- 
ton district are about the same, and it is gen- 
erally supposed to have a courthouse ring 
that runs things in Kanawha — sometimes. 

It includes almost all of the two Bullett sur- 
veys — the (1030) A. on upper side of Elk, 
surveyed in 1779, and the Bullett (1240) A. 
below Elk. It did not grow much until after 
the war was over. It has always been a ques- 
tion whether it were not preferable as a town 
rather than as a city, for the purposes of a 
home. 

See chapter entitled "Charleston — the Coun- 
ty Seat." 



CHAPTER XIV 



EDUCATION 

Early Schools and Schoolmasters — Harsh Discipline — Biennial Report of the State Superintend- 
ent of Free Schools — Inter-District Contests — Introduction of Agriculture — Free Schools of 
Charleston and Their Teachers — Negro Education. 



The value of a good education, or at least 
one that is sound and practical, is so generally 
recognized at the present day in every civilized 
community that any discussion of the question 
would be out of place in the present volume. 
Among our pioneer ancestors, also, there w ere 
many who recognized its importance but who 
were unable to secure the advantage for their 
children owing to the lack of facilities — either 
of schools or schoolmasters. 

The first schoolhouses in this section were 
crude affairs. They were constructed of logs, 
usually unhewn. At one end of the building 
was a fireplace, the wood for fuel being cut 
and brought in from the surrounding forest 
by the elder male pupils, or supplied from 
an annual wood-cutting by the patrons of the 
school. There were low benches for the 
smaller boys and high ones for the big boys. 
These benches were split from trees and had 
no backs, and sometimes the splinters were 
not always removed. Along the wall w r ere the 
writing desks, above which a log had been 
left out. This opening, covered with__greased 
paper served for a window. The pupils' caps 
were hung on wooden pegs driven into the 
walls. 

At the opposite end of the room sat the 
teacher on a high chair before a high desk and 
behind him was a plentiful supply of hickory 
withes. The writing pens were of quills. The 
books used were not uniform; in fact any 
kind of a book might be used for a reader. 

The teacher's word was law and his rule 
was seldom tempered with mercy. For trivial 



offenses he inflicted corporal punishment, 
which was often too severe. Reading, writing 
and arithmetic were the principal and almost 
the only studies, and, indeed, it has been said 
that some of the teachers knew little else, 
though as communities before more settled 
and civilized, other studies, such as geography, 
grammar and singing were gradually intro- 
duced. 

Notwithstanding his limitations, however, 
the early teacher did a good work. He labored 
under disadvantages that would have discour- 
aged a less purposeful people, and ofttimes, in 
spite of the severe discipline which was con- 
sidered necessary in those days, a gleam of 
kindly humor would break forth in a rough 
joke or a patient effort to help some backward 
scholar. 

"The master sleeps upon the hill 
All coated o'er with snow," 

but his method of training the youthful mind 
has not been forgotten, and the results of his 
hard and ill paid w ork were and have been 
manifested in the character and achievements 
of the generations that profited by them. 

To give a detailed history of all the various 
schools and institutions of learning that have 
been established in Kanawha county would 
occupy too much space and 'is not our present 
purpose. Mention of some of them may be 
found in other parts of this volume, as also 
of some of the early teachers. Suffice it to 
say that from the times we have thus briefly 
referred to, there has been a gradual but steady 



240 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



241 



progress in the right direcion. The quality 
both of the schools and of the teachers has 
been lifted to a higher grade; the methods of 
instruction have been more systemized, the 
standard of scholarship raised very greatly, so 
that this county as a whole can bear compari- 
son with the most favored communities any- 
where. 

Kanawha county has been a strong free 
school county. There were some good schools 
at Charleston as early as 1818. About the 
year 1829, Colonel David Ruffner donated a 
lot in Charleston for a church and an academy, 
and contributed to the erection of suitable 
buildings. 

This county, along with other counties, was 
named in the special act passed February 25, 
1845, to establish free schools in certain coun- 
ties, and adopted the act in 1847. In obedi- 
ence to the strong free school sentiment pre- 
vailing in this county, its representative in the 
legislature, Dr. Spicer Patrick, took an active 
part in securing the passage of the act after- 
wards adopted by this county. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Kanawha 
county had taken a leading part in the move- 
ment for the establishment of free schools, and 
had adopted the act by more than two-thirds 
©f the vote of all qualified voters in the county, 
before it could be put into operation, strong 
opposition by large property owners had to be 
met and overcome. In 1853 the firm of Dick- 
ison and Shrewsbury brought suit against 
James H. Fry the sheriff of the county, who 
had levied on the property belonging to this 
firm to secure the payment of school tax due 
from it to the amount of $350.82. The suit was 
decided in favor of the sheriff. 

The territory, which was laid off on the 
south side of Kanawha river opposite Charles- 
ton some time after the war for a magisterial 
and school district, is now Loudon district. 
In that territory there were, or had been, fine 
old log schoolhouses. At Brownstown, which 
is now Marmet, the old log schoolhouse had 
rotted down, and the first school taught there 
after the war was in the Southern Methodist 
church. 

In 1865 Washingon district had three log 
schoolhouses, two of them being 15 feet by 16 



feet by 7 feet high, built of round logs, a board 
roof held on with weight poles, chimney built of 
sticks and mud and a fireplace five feet wide. 
There was one writing-bench ten feet long, 
and a log sawed out of the side of the building 
to give light, the writing bench being used as 
a shutter for the opening in cold weather. 
One schoolhouse was built of hewn logs with 
two glass windows which was considered a 
model schoolhouse at that time. It was built 
in 1839, and is now occupied as a dwelling 
house. 

Steven Thomas Teays, of St. Albans, gave 
the following sketch showing how they did 
things in Jefferson district when he was a 
schoolboy. The people were almost all 
methodists in that community, and built a 
beech log house 40x60 feet, and used it for a 
church and schoolhouse. Mr. Teays remem- 
bered seeing more than a hundred horses 
hitched near the old beech church on various 
occasions. The people came from Elk river, 
Coal river, and from up and down the Kana- 
wha river, and took part in old-fashioned 
Methodist meetings. 

Mrs. Joplin taught the first school in the 
old beech church in 1845, and also taught in 
1846 and 1847. A teacher, whose name was 
Kirkum taught in 1848. During that year, 
Teays, then a boy of ten years of age, full of 
fun, to vary the monotony of a dreary school 
day, blew the ashes off the top of the wood 
stove into the eyes of a boy schoolmate, who 
yelled considerably, and under the excifement, 
the teacher seized a piece of stovewood and 
struck Teays a blow on the head, which dis- 
abled him for some time. The teacher started 
for parts unknown, and has «not yet returned. 

There have been great developments in Jef- 
ferson district since the days of the old 
church schoolhouse. The schoolhouses at this 
time are furnished with patent desk seats, 
charts, maps and globes and other modern fix- 
tures, which is also true of the other school 
districts. 

The teachers of Poca district met at Sisson- 
ville, October 31, 1903, and organized a very 
interesting teachers' district institute. The 
school work of the district is progressing very 
well. 



242 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



STATE SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT 

The biennial report of the state superintend- 
ent of Free Schools of West Virginia, for the 
two years ending June 30, 1910, presents the 
following facts and figures with respect to 
Kanawha county, as considered by magisterial 
and independent districts. 

Number of Schools in District. 

Big Sandy 20 

Cabin Creek 125 

Charleston 8 

Elk 40 

Jefferson 19 

Loudon 41 

Maiden 21 

Poca 24 

Union 31 

Washington 16 

St. Albans 2 

Total 347 

Number of White Pupils Enumerated. 

Big Sandy 1,368 

Cabin Creek 6,098 

Charleston 551 

Elk 2,103 

Jefferson 860 

Loudon 1,764 

Maiden 1,152 

Poca 1,401 

Union i,!97 

Washington 947 

St. Albans 336 

Total 17.777 

Number of Colored Pupils Enumerated. 

Big Sandy 

Cabin Creek 440 

Charleston 55 

Elk 

Jefferson 96 

Loudon 98 

Maiden 32 

Poca 30 

Union 76 

Washington 



St. Albans 46 

Total 873 

Number of White Pupils Enrolled 

Big Sandy 1,003 

Cabin Creek 4,426 

Charleston 358 

Elk 1,679 

Jefferson 656 

Loudon 1,225 

Maiden 770 

Poca 974 

Union 948 

Washington 719 

St. Albans 273 

Total 13,031 

Number of Colored Pupils Enrolled 

Big Sandy 

Cabin Creek 394 

Charleston 28 

Elk 

Jefferson 67 

Loudon 67 

Maiden 

Poca 16 

Union 37 

Washington 

St. Albans 35 

Total 644 

Total Value of All Taxable Property 

Big Sandy $ 1,400,700.00 

Cabin Creek 12,628,103.00 

Charleston 1,031,564.00 

Elk 2,886,458.00 

Jefferson 1,904,180.00 

Loudon 4,914,887.00 

Maiden 1,490,052.00 

Poca 750,112.00 

Union 896,880.00 

Washington 527,230.00 

St. Albans 800,320.00 

Total $29,329,486.00 

The rate of levy for Building Fund is 12^ 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



243 



in each district ; the rate of levy for Teachers' 
Fund 25 in each district. 

Total Amount of Building Fund 

Big Sandy $ 2,011.61 

Cabin Creek 17,064.05 

Charleston 3-434-58 

Elk 5716.45 

Jefferson 3,920.84 

Loudon 10,635.72 

Maiden 2,720.05 

Poca 2,460.61 

Union 2,545.48 

Washington 3, 505. 73 

St. Albans 12,729.30 

Total $66,744.45 

Total Amount of Teachers' Fund 

Big Sandy $ 6,264.74 

Cabin Creek 46,911.83 

Charleston 3,724.58 

Elk 12,082.77 

Jefferson 10,130.22 

Loudon 18,917.29 

Maiden 6,719.58 

Poca 4,221.72 

Union 5,899.64 

Washington 4,603.74 

St. Albans 3,745.60 

Total $123,221.71 

The rural school work of Kanawha County 
for the year beginning July 1st, 1909, and clos- 
ing June 30th, 19 10, opened with a concerted 
effort on the part of superintendent and teach- 
ers, with the following in mind : 

The importance of finishing the eighth grade 
work. 

The value of written composition. 
The study of agriculture emphasized. 
The value of pleasant acquaintance with the 
patrons. 

The value arising from completing the eighth 
grade work was held up before the schools by 
the writer, and with the co-operation of the 
splendid teaching force in the county the re- 
sult was gratifying, as is evidenced by the fact 



that seventy-three bright young people finished 
this work and received their diplomas in 19 10. 

It is very apparent to the superintendent that 
one of the real weaknesses of the schools of 
Kanawha County is a lack of ability on the 
part of our young people to command fit 
words and properly arrange them in sentences 
in an attempt to clearly express their "thought- 
life" in written work; hence a new movement 
was inaugurated known as Inter-district Con- 
tests in Composition, Spelling and Oratory. 
The winner in each instance was to be awarded 
twenty-five dollars in gold. Considerable in- 
terest was manifested in this work throughout 
the county and some good accomplished. 

The introduction of agriculture into the 
schools necessitated some special reading on the 
part of our teachers, so as to be able to effi- 
ciently instruct in this subject. Thus a Kana- 
wha County Teachers' Reading Circle was or- 
ganized in the office of the county superintend- 
ent and Saturday meetings were held in the of- 
fice, to which the teachers of the county were 
invited. As a result of these meetings several 
books on agriculture were read prior to and 
after the campaign by Professor D. W. Work- 
ing and in this connection it gives the writer 
real pleasure to make mention of the splendid 
work done during the ten days' campaign by 
the above named representative of the State 
University. 

Knowing so fully the benefits of a more per- 
fect co-operation on the part of all educational 
forces, the teachers of our county were urged 
to come into friendly touch in every way pos- 
sible way with these forces in their respective 
districts; for it is a well-established fact that 
in most instances where the teachers come short 
of the mission, a lack of friendly relation with 
these forces is apparent. 

FREE SCHOOLS OF CHARLESTON 

The free schools of Charleston were organ- 
ized in the fall of 1864, the year following the 
admission of the State into the Union. Mr. 
J. T. Brodt taught the first school for white 
children. In the same year a school for col- 
ored children was taught by Miss Olive Spar- 
row. These schools were small and poorly pat- 
ronized, and they were taught in buildings 



244 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



wholly unsuited to the purpose. The first 
school was taught in the basement of the Meth- 
odist church, while even as late as 1868 the 
best accommodation for schools was a rickety 
frame building, scarcely fit for a stable. 

In this year the Board of Education, com- 
posed of progressive men,- determined to secure 
a better building. Although they met much 
opposition they were eventually successful in 
erecting the Union School, a two-story build- 
ing on State Street, then the center of the town. 
When completed the building could accommo- 
date three hundred pupils. All the white 
schools of the town were then consolidated in 
the new building. 

In 1871 by an act of the Legislature the con- 
trol of the city schools was given to the city 
council, with whom it remained for ten years, 
when it was again transferred to a city board 
of education. Mr. S. H. Patrick was princi- 
pal of the schools from 1873 to 1878. During 
his term of office he drew up a course of study, 
— the first standard for grading the schools. 

Mr. George S. Laidley was appointed su- 
perintendent of Schools in 1878. With the ex- 
ception of the years 1881-1883 he lias held 
this position continuously until the present 
time. From 1883 to 1895 there is little to be 
said of the history of the schools except that 
they continued to grow in enrollment and in 
adaptation to the needs of the city. In these 
years several of the school buildings at pres- 
ent in use replaced the older structures, now 
grown inadequate for the increased population. 
The houses built at this time were brick, and 
furnished with modern appliances. Ample 
grounds around the school houses were secured 
at a time when land was comparatively cheap. 
As a result of this farseeing policy the schools 
now own valuable play-grounds. 

In 1895 the territory on the west side of Elk 
River was added to the City and the schools in 
that section were joined with the city schools. 
The limits of the City were further extended 
in 1897 by the addition of the territory for- 
merely known as Ruffner, southeast of Charles- 
ton. The school in this district was also in- 
corporated with the city system. 

The growth of the Charleston High School 
in the last thirty years has been substantial. 



In 1882 Mrs. Mary R. McGwigan was chosen 
principal, with Mrs. Coleman as assistant. For 
twenty-four years Mrs. McGwigan filled this 
position with credit. The High School now 
occupies a handsome building on Quarrier 
Street. Although it was erected in 1903 the 
growth of the school already necessitates an 
addition, which will be built this year. There 
are at present 375 pupils in the High School, 
and the teaching force numbers fifteen. 

The Alumni Association of the Charleston 
High School was organized in 1899. Yearly 
meetings since that time have brought the grad- 
uates in touch with each other and with the 
school, and have added to the interest of the 
community in the school. 

At the present time the Charleston schools 
occupy thirteen buildings and have an enroll- 
ment of 4,921 pupils. There are 137 teachers. 
In the last four years four handsome new build- 
ings have been erected, one building has had 
an addition of four rooms, and at present two 
new additions are in process of construction. 

In addition to the ordinary school branches 
there are special teachers for music, drawing, 
and domestic science. In all respects the 
schools meet the present requirements. 

The schools are directed by a board of edu- 
cation consisting of nine members. Much of 
the present prosperity of the schools is to be 
attributed to the broad-minded attitude of this 
board, whose acts have been determined solely 
by the needs and best interests of the schools. 

The following is the present membership of 
the board of education : 

I. E. Chamberlain, president. 

A. T. Cabell 

J. F. Bedell 

D. T. Farlev 

Val. Frutl/ 

M. Gilchrist 

A. G. Higginbotham 

L. L. Price 

W. W. Venable 

W. O. Damn, secretary. 

Mr. J. E. Chamberlain has served the board 
as President since 1903. He has held the posi- 
tion longer than any preceding president has 
done. His loyalty to the interests of the 
schools and his activity in their behalf has 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



247 



done much to give them the standing they now 
have. 

SCHOOL BUILDINGS NOW OCCUPIED AND THE 
PRESENT TEACHING FORCE 

Geo. S. Laidley, Superintendent 
Special 

Mary B. Fontaine, Assistant Superintendent 

and Supervisor of English 

Nina M. Owen, Music in Grades 

Myrtle N. Stalnaker, Penmanship 

H. Madeleine Keely, Drawing in lower 

grades 

A. W. Croft, Drawing in upper grades and 
high school 

J. H. Francis, Music in High School 
Hallie B. Corsett, Domestic Science 
H. C. Lounsbery, Sanitary Inspector 
Anne L. Riggs, Clerical Assistant 

High School 

Morris K. Turner, Principal 
Mary R. McGwigan, Mathematics 
Mary Maud Patrick, English 
Bettie K. Starke, Algebra 
Paul E. Demmler, Science 
Nancy H. Powell, Latin 
Clara Hinz, French and German 
Minnie Lee Goff, English and French 
C. L. Smith, Algebra and Civics 
Mabel E. Belcher, Stenography and Book- 
Keeping 

Mary E. Reber, English 

Ellen M. Brown, History and English. 

The High School building, Quarrier St., was 
erected in 1903. The cost of the building and 
grounds was $50,000. It contains 17 rooms, 
all of which are used at the present time. The 
office of the Board of Education and the Su- 
perintendent of Schools is in this building. 

Union School 

Ettie S. Walker, Principal 
Louise S. Truxbury, Kindergarten 
Josephine R. Estill, Primary 
Elizabeth C. Keely, Primary 
Eunice Plunkett, First 
Mazie O. Walker, First 



Cora Hopkins, Second 
L. Belle Michaelson, Second 
Winifred Brown, Third 
Eunice P. Withrow, Third 
Lulu G. Stoffel, Third 
Carrie Holt, Fourth 
Mona Snyder, Fourth 
Delia D. Grass, Fourth 
Nellie E. Mason, Fifth 
M. Alice Martin, Fifth 
V. Rosa Shelton, Sixth 
Alice J. McChesney, Sixth 
Elberta Rogers, Seventh 
Russell R. Bell, Seventh 
Gertrude M. Reynolds, Eighth 
Jennie W. Hutchinson, Eighth 
Elsie Rippetoe, Assistant. 

The Union School was built in 1892. It is 
the largest building in the city, and cost, to- 
gether with the land, about $60,000. It is 
situated on State Street. Miss Walker has been 
principal of this building ever since it was 
erected. She has taught continuously in the 
Charleston schools for forty-four years, during 
which time she has exerted a wide and bene- 
ficent influence. 

Mercer School 

Miss Hattis Wilson, Principal 

L. Josephine Mathews, Primary 

Ella J. Spradling, Primary and First 

Erna E. Young, First 

Sybil M. Ball, Second 

H. Madeline Keely, Second 

Ida M. McGee, Third 

Katherine Blackwood, Third 

Ella Smoot, Fourth 

Gertrude Humphrey, Fourth 

Roberta Hopkins, Fifth 

M. Frances Arbuckle, Sixth 

Ethel Jackson, Seventh 

Mary Ella Craig, Seventh 

Mabel F. Gibbons, Eighth 

Mabel C. Spencer, Assistant. 

The Mercer School, facing on Washington 
and Lee Streets, contains fourteen rooms and 
an auditorium. It has a large yard, which is 
much enjoyed as a playground. The building 



248 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was erected in 1889 at a cost of $60,000 for 
land and building. 

Kanawha School 

Minnie S. McWhorter, Principal 

Olive M. Wildman, Primary 

Mabel C. Spencer, Assistant First 

Thelma F. Wallen, Second 

Minnie G. Slack, Third 

Carrie Hill, Fourth 

Grace D. LeMaster, Fifth and Sixth 

Flora Miles, Fifth 

A. Belle Dashiell, Fifth 

Florence E. Dick, Sixth 

Nan M. Grabill, Sixth 

Marion E. Jenks, Seventh 

Eleanor C. Hopper, Eighth. 

The Kanawha School, erected in 1907, is a 
twelve-room building. It is situated on Eliz- 
abeth Street, and the lot extends from Lee to 
Quarrier Street. It is in every respect a mod- 
ern building. The land and building cost about 
$70,500. 

Lincoln School 

Mattie A. Rust, Principal 

Katie T. Farley, Primary 

E. Belle Cunningham, Primary 

Marion L. Board, First 

Myrtle N. Stalnaker, Second 

Nelle G. DeWees, Assistant Second 

Annie E. Finney, Third 

Pearl R. McGee, Third 

Myra Howard, Fourth 

Berenice Howard, Fifth 

Olive V. Thurston, Fifth 

Mary E. Hagerty, Sixth 

Katherine E. Joachim, Seventh 

Daisy B. LeMaster, Seventh 

May Jackson, Eighth. 

The Lincoln Building, erected in 1898, orig- 
inally contained ten recitation rooms, but in 
1910 the growth of the population necessitated 
the addition of four new rooms, while another 
addition of four rooms is now (1911) being 
built. The building is situated on Maryland 
and Delwood Avenues between Fayette and 
Roane. It has a very large yard. Miss Rust 



has been the efficient principal of this building 
ever since it was erected. The building and 
grounds cost $56,500. 

Bigley School 

Maggie P. Lette, Principal 
Mrs. Lette, Primary 
Ida S. Given, First 
Sarah C. Barber, Second 
Sallie Humphreys, Third 
Minnie Morris, Assistant 
Helen E. Cavender, Fourth 
Mary L. Branch, Fourth 
Elizabeth Whiteside, Fifth 
Eva L. Meeks, Fifth 
L. D. Smith, Sixth 
* Leonora Hardway, Sixth. 

The Bigley School was built in 1907. It is 
a modern building of the same type as the Ka- 
nawha, but with fewer rooms. It is situated 
on Bigley Avenue and Glen. The building and 
grounds cost $41,000. 

Tiskelwah School 

Henry C. Robertson, Principal 

Ella Orth, Primary 

Annie C. Thornhill, Primary 

Lucy B. Barber, First 

Christina Orth, First 

Nellie Hastings, First 

Vernie M. Chase, Second 

Nellie M. Hard, Second 

Anna M. Popp, Third 

Maude E. Harmon, Third 

Pernae E. Stout, Fourth 

Virginia B. Cunningham, Fourth 

H. C. Robertson, Fifth 

Nelle G. DeWees, y 2 day assistant . 

M. O. Weems, Sixth 

This modern twelve-room building was 
erected in 19 10. It is one of the handsomest 
buildings in the city. The house and lot cost 
about $54,500. It is situated on Florida Street. 

Elk School 

Muriel L. Porter, Principal 
Mrs. Porter, Primary 
Minnie M. Morris, Assistant 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



249 



Hallie M. Hall, First 
Mary Farley, Second 
Bessie Jordan, Third 
Kate N. Bower, Fourth 

Beech Hill School 

Lucy J. Javins, Primary and First 
Elsie Javins, Second and Third 

The Elk and the Beech Hill Schools are 
small frame buildings which the city took over 
when the west side was incorporated. An- 
other building of brick is now being built on 
the Elk lot. 

COLORED SCHOOLS 

Garnett 
C. W. Boyd, Principal 
Annie E. Simpson, Primary 
Maud S. Viney, First 
Hattie E. Peters, Second 
Esther E. Fulks, Third 
H. B. Rice, Fourth 
Naola M. Farrar, Fifth 
Estella B. Greene, Sixth 
Rhoda A. Wilson, Seventh & Eighth 
Beatrice Calhoun, Primary Assistant 

Garnett High School 
J. F. J. Clark, Principal 
L. C. Farrar 

Nina H. Clinton, English & Music 

Flora M. Webster, Commercial 

Helen M. D. Truxon, Domestic Science 

The Garnett School, built in 1889, and the 
Garnett High School, built in 19 10, stand on 
the same lot on Jacobs Street. The Garnett 
School is an eight-room building. The High 
School is one of the finest buildings in the city. 
It contains a large auditorium, laboratories, 
and domestic science rooms in addition to reg- 
ular class rooms. The Garnett School and lot 
cost $20,000; the Garnett High School $25,000. 

Washington School 
M. J. Tyler, Principal 
Lizzie O. Hopkins, Primary 
Ammie Hutchinson, First & Second 
Amelia R. Wilcher, Second & Third 
Mrs. Tyler, Fourth & Fifth 



This is a four-room brick building on Don- 
nally Street. It is so constructed that an ad- 
dition may be made to it whenever the growth 
of the population makes it necessary. It was 
built in 1902. The house and lot cost $6,000. 

The Island School is a one-room frame build- 
ing, which was acquired when the west side 
was added to the city. I. C. Cabell teaches 
from the Primary through the Third inclusive. 

HISTORY OF NEGRO EDUCATION IN WEST 
VIRGINIA 

Revised Ed. 1907 

The problem of negro education is by no 
means a simple one. How to lift an ignorant 
and uneducated race to the plane of twentieth 
century requirements, fitting it for the compli- 
cated economic and moral duties of life, giving 
it the fibre to contend patiently for place amid 
the maddening competition of the business 
world; to lay bare the mistakes and follies of 
the first intoxication of long prayed-for free- 
dom and inspire with the real spirit of real lib-" 
erty and true citizenship, millions of unfortu- 
nate but native' born Americans, — challenges 
the sacrifice of the deepest thought and the 
truest patriotism. 

In studying the question, we must not elim- 
inate from our calculations the fact that we are 
dealing with the children of a race scarcely a 
generation removed from slavery and around 
whom still cling many of the sad results of 
their parents' unfortunate past. In the minds 
of most of these children education and labor 
are distinct and opposite concepts. Education 
is associated with luxury and idleness, labor 
with ignorance and drudgery. To teach the 
nobility of labor, and that the greatest useful- 
ness and the highest happiness are the hand- 
maids of diligence, is the mission of our school. 
In the work we must guard against unfair 
standards of comparison, and observe that the 
educational progress of a race cannot always 
be measured by a progress of things. Building 
and apparatus measure largely the progress of 
things, but time is a very important element in 
ascertaining definitely what has been the ul- 
timate progress of hand and mind. 

The West Virginia Colored Institute like 
other agricultural and mechanical schools for 
the colored race, is a child of the Morrill Bill. 



250 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



This bill was approved by Congress Aug. 30, 
1890 and entited "An act to apply a portion 
of the proceeds of the public lands to the more 
complete endowments and support of the col- 
leges for the benefit of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts established under the provisions 
of an Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862." 
By this act West Virginia was apportioned 
$18,000 and by act of the legislature (session 
of 1891), $15,000 was given to the West Vir- 
ginia University and $3,000 to the West Vir- 
ginia Colored Institute, established by the same 
act. By the conditions of the act these sums 
were to be augmented until the university 
should receive $20,000 and the institute $5,000 
annually, which sums would be the maximum. 

Mr. J. Edwin Campbell, the first principal 
of the West Virginia Colored Institute, gives 
the following account of its establishment : 

An appropriation of $10,000 was made by 
the legislature with which to purchase a farm 
of not more than fifty acres and to build a suit- 
able building for such an institution. As the 
act provided that the institution should be lo- 
cated in Kanawha County, it was first thought 
best to purchase the property known as Shel- 
ton College, situated on the lofty hill over- 
looking the village of St. Albans. But the 
committee appointed after investigation re- 
ported adversely. It was then decided to 
erect a building at some suitable location. 

Finally thirty acres of level bottom land was 
purchased from Mrs. Elijah Hurt, near "Farm" 
on the Great Kanawha River. This land is 
a part of the estate left by Samuel Cabbell. 
deceased. Upon this farm the board of the 
school fund erected a building. Ground was 
broken August 25, 1891, and the corner stone 
laid Sunday. Oct. nth of that same year. The 
building was completed about the first of 
April, 1892. and was received bv the board of 
the school fund on April 20th. The main or 
academic building, Fleming Hall, was the first 
erected, at a cost of about $10,000. It was 
carefully designed and planned to meet the 
needs of modern education. Since its erection 
the building has been considerably enlarged 
and is now 80 feet long, and 76 feet wide, and 
is modern in its appointments. Besides an ad- 
ditional purchase of 38 acres of land, a mod- 



ern barn and seven other buildings have been 
erected on the institute grounds. Five of these 
are built of stone and brick, the others are 
frame buildings. 

MacCorkle Hall is a large and beautiful 
building, 106 feet long and 50 feet wide and 
accommodates 100 girls. Atkinson Hall, the 
young men's dormitory rivals MacCorkle Hall 
in convenience and beauty. The A. B. White 
Trade School is the most commodious and by 
far the largest building connected with the 
school being 244 feet in its greatest width with 
ornamentations of stone and roofed with slate. 
It would be a credit to any institution. This 
building was erected at a cost of $35,000 and 
finished by the students of the school. It is 
intended to contain all the industries for boys. 
This is (with the exception of the Armstrong- 
Slater Trades School at Tuskegee) the larg- 
est building of its kind in the United States 
and without exception the best lighted and 
most convenient. 

Dawson Hall, the building for Domestic Arts 
and Sciences, now in course of construction 
l 1907) when finished will be the most beau- 
tiful building on the campus. This hall, built 
of brick and stone, will contain all the girls' in- 
dustries, and the third story will be utilized 
as a Senior Girls' Home. These buildings to- 
gether with West Hall, a large frame build- 
ing containing the library and departments of 
agriculture and cooking and with the princi- 
pal's home, a large and convenient frame build- 
ing, constitute the buildings of the institution. 
All of them are heated by steam and lighted 
by electriciy. 

In all 161 students have graduated since 
1896. Of these 85 are engaged in teaching, 
three are pastors, two are machinists, one an 
attorney-at-law. sixteen are carpenters, six 
blacksmiths, and twelve dressmakers. The 
majoritv are teachers growing out of the de- 
mand for teachers. Many of these teachers 
follow their trades during vacation from school 
duties. The course of study is the same as 
pursued in other normal schools in the state. 
In addition to the book work even- student is 
required to learn some useful trade before 
graduation. The six grades are divided into 
equal divisions, one half doing book work in 



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251 



the forenoon while the other half are in the 
shops and in the various departments and vice 
versa. In this way the pupils are given equal 
opportunities for mental and manual training. 
The school has six well equipped departments 
under the direction of twenty-two teachers : 
normal, agricultural, mechanical, domestic, com- 
mercial and musical. The normal department 
has been previously discussed. In the mechan- 
ical department, smithing, wheelwrighting, 
steamfitting, carpentry, woodwork, bricklaying, 
plastering, printing and mechanical drawing 
are taught. The agricultural department, be- 
sides giving a good course in scientific farm- 
ing, also offers to students entering it practical 
opportunities in dairying, poultry raising, stock 
judging and general farm work. The commer- 
cial course — designed to give the student a 
knowledge of business forms — besides a short 
course in bookkeeping, has an excellent course 
in shorthand and typewriting. The musical 
department, besides giving instruction in sight 
reading, voice culture, and ear training, offers 
an excellent opportunity for instructions on the 
pianoforte. Pupils pursue the course of study 
in this school at a very small cost and with no 
extra charges for the use of a piano for prac- 
tice. 

Military Department — Besides the well or- 
ganized departments above mentioned, the 
state provides for the appointment of 60 cadets, 
who received their uniforms, room rent, books 
and stationery free of charge. The course in 
this department is both theoretical and practi- 



cal : the first includes recitations in drill regu- 
lations, supplemented by lectures on minor tac- 
tics, army organization, administration and dis- 
cipline ; small arms, firing regulations and oth- 
er military subjects. The practical course in- 
cludes military drill and gymnastics, target 
practice, military signaling, marching and cas- 
tramentation, numbers. 

The school at present ( 1907) has an en- 
rollment of 225 students, which is the largest 
in its history. This fills the dormitories too 
full for comfort. Students are in attendance 
from eight states. The number of graduates 
is 161 and a large number have gone forth to 
fill places of usefulness in life who have been 
students but are not graduates. 

The income of the school is derived from 
two sources : First, an annual amount of $5,000 
received from the Morrill Fund; Secondly, 
legislative appropriation. The money received 
from the United States Government can be ap- 
plied only to instruction in agriculture, the me- 
chanic arts, English language, and the various 
branches of mathematical, physical, natural and 
economic science, with special reference to their 
application in the industries of life, and to the 
facilities for such instruction. The state has 
dealt very generously with the West Virginia 
Colored Institute, as the following list of ap- 
propriations will show: 1891, $10,000; 1893, 
$14,000; 1895, $16,000; 1897, $29,000; 1899, 
$39,000; 1901, $66,000; 1903, $54,000; 1905, 
$64,000. Total state appropriation from 1891 
to 1905, is $352705- 



CHAPTER XV 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIONS 



Religious Creeds of the Early Settlers— Intolerance— The Distinction Between Religion and 
Church— Early Kanawha Churches and Pastors— The Baptists, Presbyterians, Episco- 
palians, Catholics and Others— First Presbyterian Church of Charleston— Methodist 
Episcopal Church — United Brethren, and Others— Churches in Charleston in 1811 — Our 
Sermon. 



The county of Kanawha was settled princi- 
pally by the people of Virginia, and from that 
part of Virginia known as the Valley of Vir- 
ginia, the country west of the Blue Ridge. 
This part of Virginia was settled principally 
by the Scotch-Irish and Germans. 

The people of England, Ireland and Scot- 
land were under the government of the Eng- 
lish King, or Queen, and the English Parlia- 
ment, and in so far as their churches were con- 
cerned, they were the English church, the Ro- 
man Catholic and the Presbyterian. The 
Scotch were Presbyterians and the Irish were 
chiefly Roman Catholics. Owing to the re- 
bellions in Ireland, the people were outlawed, 
the lands confiscated to the crown, and in the 
province of Ulster, alone, there were one-half 
million acres at the disposal of the King, and 
these lands were parceled out to the Scotch 
and English for services rendered or expected ; 
these Scotch in Ireland were called Scotch- 
Irish. It was said that the province of Ulster 
enjoyed peace, which was because the same 
was depopulated. 

Between these sets of people, English, Irish 
and Scotch, they made a very poor kind of a 
country. It was war, pestilence and famine, 
most of the time, and this was kept up until the 
Colony in America offered to them all a land 
of religious liberty, a healthy, hearty country, 
the only drawback being the Indians, who had 
no religion and altogether too much liberty. 

The Scotch-Irish were persecuted by the 
English and by the Irish, and the Irish by both 



the others, and it was a continuous fight, which 
seemed to be founded on their respective 
churches. 

There is a wonderful difference between Re- 
ligion and Church, as was long ago discovered 
and the fact became almost established that in 
the churches there was no religion, each striv- 
ing to compel all others to conform to their 
own ideas of a church and to destroy them 
when they declined to do so. More people 
have been destroyed, more cruelty practiced, 
imposed and suffered in the name of the church 
than from all other causes known, not even 
excepting politics. 

The effect of these troubles in Europe, not 
only in England, Ireland and Scotland, but 
also in Germany and France was to drive the 
people to a country where they could live in 
peace, where they could enjoy liberty in all its 
forms and the country of America is still re- 
ceiving from the Old World the oppressed and 
distressed of all kinds. Along about 1729 the 
Scotch-Irish immigrated by thousands to Phila- 
delphia and many from Europe would sell their 
services for years, to pay their passage to 
America — made servants of themselves to get 
to America. 

To a great extent the Germans were glad to 
get away from all churches and when they 
settled in Pennsylvania, it was said they had 
less religion than the Indians; but the Scotch- 
Irish, that settled in Augusta County, Va., 
held on to their church and faith. It is hard- 



252 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



253 



ly fair to call a cruel church organization a 
religion. 

When the Revolution was over, Virginia 
by law did away with all church as connected 
with the State, and abolished all religious tests 
— so called — and the people of Kanawha county 
never had any church or religious trouble to 
contend with ; the people organized their 
churches and did in this respect as they chose. 

If the past history of any church should be 
called up to prove its orthodoxy, we fear none 
of them would be entitled to a certificate of the 
true faith ; and at the same time we would 
certify that among them all are good people, 
in spite of their creed or church associations. 
This is because of their true religion. 

EARLY KANAWHA CHURCHES 

The general supposition has always been, 
that the pioneers had neither time nor inclina- 
tion to attend to churches while engaged with 
the Indians, bears, snakes and such, but this 
was only true for a while as to time, for no 
sooner were they allowed time, than they all 
gave attention to church services and church 
building. 

The Morris family were the first settlers 
and they were Baptists and they began early to 
have both churches and services. 

Dr. Henry Ruffner was a pioneer Presby- 
terian, wrote of the Morris settlement and said 
at an "early day" there came to the Kanawha 
Valley a Presbyterian minister known as "Lit- 
tle Bobby Wilson" through the wilderness to 
Major William Morris's residence, and that 
the Major was rather dictatorial in manner, 
although really kind and generous at heart. 
That he was a Baptist wholly and exclusively 
and did not entertain any special liking for 
Presbyterians. Rev. Mr. Wilson reached the 
Major's on Saturday and desired on the next 
day to have church services and began his in- 
quiry as to the subject and learned that the 
Morris family were of the Baptist persuasion 
and he learned that there would be no church 
services next day nearer than the mouth of 
Elk, so Mr. Wilson announced that he was a 
minister and if it was agreeable, he would like 
to preach to the people in the neighborhood. 
The Major asked of what profession he was 



and was told that the preacher was a Presby- 
terian and the Major promptly responded that 
he could not preach about here ; that they were 
all Baptists and did not have much of an opin- 
ion of "the preacher's sort of people." Mr. 
Wilson moved on and reached the village of 
Charleston and found a Mr. Johnson, a Bap- 
tist, preaching under the trees, who invited Air. 
Wilson to preach, which he did, and he also 
preached the next day in the Court House. 

The "Early day" is rather indefinite as to 
time, but from the other facts something 
might be learned as to date. 

The court house had been built and this was 
soon after 1789. There had been erected a 
Baptist church at an early day at Kelly's creek, 
just when it is not stated, but probably as early 
as when Mr. Wilson called, but the Morris 
family and the people were all Baptist, and 
they had been in that locality since 1774. 
There was a little village at the mouth of 
Elk; so we are disposed to assume that it 
was soon after the Clendenins had begun to 
make a county and a town at the mouth of 
Elk, and before they had ever made a church 
of any kind, and we will not be criticised for 
saying that it was "a long time ago" when the 
Morrisses would not tolerate a Presbyterian 
sermon. Now many of that family are mem- 
bers of other churches. 

Mr. Atkinson would date the first sermon in 
the Valley as that of the Rev. Steele, a Meth- 
odist minister in 1804, as will be seen by his 
History of Kanawha County, page 153, and 
mentions Jesse Spurlock and Thomas Buffing- 
ton, as Methodists in the County on the Ohio 
river, but not in Kanawha Valley. 

Mr. Atkinson speaks of the first Methodist 
sermon, under the head of "Religious History 
of the Kanawha Valley" and he mentions no 
other, sermon or services, he must have given 
this as the first ; or else he intended us to take 
it as the only religious ceremony of that kind. 

It appears from Dr. Ruffner's statement 
that William Morris and George (or John) 
Alderson were the first delegates from Kan- 
awha county to the General Assembly, that 
Mr. Alderson was afflicted with a stammering 
tongue and often had to make three or four 
trials at a word. 



254 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Dr. Hale gives the list of delegates for 1790 
as George Clendenin and for 1791 George 
Clendenin and Daniel Boone and William 
Morris for 1792, 1793 and 1794, etc., and Mr. 
Alderson is not given as a delegate from Kan- 
awha; Hale's list of delegates was taken from 
the "Kanawha Republican" a newspaper in 
1847 an <3 supposed to be the only list in exist- 
ence. All this would have little to do with 
the church or first sermon but for the fact 
that Mr. Alderson was a missionary Baptist 
preacher, and no doubt he preached one of the 
first sermons, long before 1804, whether he 
was elected or not. or whether he stammered 
or not. 

BAPTIST 

Mr. V. P. Lewis says that Rev. John Aider- 
son was pastor of the Lynnville Baptist church, 
in Rockingham county; that in 1775 and 1777, 
he made no less than three visits to the Green- 
brier valley, and while on these visits baptized 
three persons, two of whom were John Griffith 
and Mrs. Keeney. These were the first per- 
sons ever baptized in the western waters of 
Virginia. He now resolved to remove to the 
west, and early in the year 1777 set out with 
his family. He was halted by Indian troubles 
at Jackson's river, but reached his destination 
in October. His first location was in Jarrett's 
Fort, on Wolf creek, now in Monroe, but 
after a short time he settled on the east bank 
of Greenbrier river, where Alderson now 
stands, and cleared a farm on which he after- 
ward followed the plow with his gun swung 
to his shoulder. In tw o years he succeeded in 
organizing a church of twelve members, him- 
self and wife included. They considered 
themselves as a branch of the Lynnville church, 
but transacted business as a separate body. 
On the 24th of October, 1779. they were reg- 
ularly constituted a working body known as 
the "Greenbrier Baptist Church," and the fol- 
lowing year it was admitted into the Ketocton 
association of Loudoun county, Va. 

Notwithstanding the members were dis- 
persed over a wide area, measures were taken 
as early as 1783, to erect a house of w-orship. 
and in May of that year, the site on which the 
Greenbrier church has since stood, was fixed 
upon as a suitable location. In July, the fol- 



lowing year, the building was so nearly com- 
pleted that it was used for public worship. 
This is believed to have been the first church 
building erected on the western waters of the 
Kanawha. Mr. Alderson continued his la- 
bors here seven years before he met with a 
single Baptist preacher, but in 1785, Rev. 
James Johnson came over the mountains and 
was induced to settle on the Kanawha. The 
latter in 1793 organized the Kanawha Baptist 
church, one and one-half miles below the mouth 
of Paint creek, on Meeting House branch, the 
first in the valley west of the Kanawha Falls. 

From 1793 t0 l8o 7, a period of fourteen 
years, all the Baptist churches of the New- 
River, Kanawha region, belonged to the New- 
River association, but in the last named year, 
the Greenbrier association was organized, and 
comprised ail the churches down the Kana- 
wha toward the Ohio." 

"In the year 1800 — three years before Rev. 
Johnston removed to Kentucky — Rev. John 
Lee came west of the mountains and halted in 
Teays Valley, now in Putnam county. He 
was born and reared in southwest Virginia, 
and when he entered the ministry he was very 
illiterate, but by constant application he not 
only learned to read but became well ac- 
quainted with the Scriptures. He was re- 
markably successful in the ministry, and in 
him was verified the Scriptural declaration that 
"God hath chosen the weak to confound the 
mighty." By the year 1806 he had organized 
the Teays Valley church, which, the next year, 
was admitted into the Greenbrier association, 
with a membership of fifty-two. Mr. Lee ex- 
tended his field of labor and continued to 
gather in the sheaves, and at the meeting of the 
association in the year 1808. the Mud River 
church, organized entirely by his own labor, 
was admitted into that body with twenty-two 
members. When we remember the sparsely 
settled condition of the country at that time 
we are struck with surprise at the success 
wdiich crowned the labors of this lowly man. 
He remained with these churches until 1825, 
when he removed beyond Ohio, where he con- 
tinued his labors until he fell by the hand of 
death. 

"In the years that followed the churches of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



255 



this denomination multiplied rapidly and 
spread throughout the valley. The Cole River 
church was organized in 1803; Upper Falls 
church (on Cole river), 181 7; Green Bottom 
church, now in Mason county, in 1820, from 
which time they have increased to perhaps 
seventy organizations in the valley. 

"In 1834, the church throughout the United 
States divided on the question of mission work, 
and from that time to the present the student 
of its history meets with missionary and anti- 
mission Baptists. The disaffection extended 
to the Kanawha valley, and in 1834 the Teays 
Valley association was rent asunder. Rev. 
William C. Ligon, then pastor of the old Kan- 
awha church, led the missionary movement, 
and in the same year the anti-mission members 
of the lower part of the valley met and organ- 
ized the Pocatalico association, their champion 
being the Rev. William Martin. They are 
now styled by church historians. Primitive 
Baptists. The Pocatalico association has with- 
in its jurisdiction several churches, among 
which are Liberty and Hopewell, in Kanawha 
county ; Zoar. in Putnam ; Enon, in Mason, 
and Eliun and Little Flock, in Jackson." 

The Charleston Baptist church was organ- 
ized in the court house on the 30th day of Oc- 
tober, 1869. by the Rev. P. H. Murray. He 
has been preaching for some time before the 
organization was perfected and continued to 
do so after the organization was effected, until 
the calling of the Rev. J. B. Hardiwicke, in 
1870. who was then installed as the first reg- 
ular pastor of the Charleston church. The 
names of the first members were R. T. Oney, 
Mrs. A. J. Marsh. Rachel A. Smith. David 
Beaver. Sarah A. Beaver, Byron Holmes, 
Sarah A. Holmes. Martha J. Willimson, 
Sallie Goshorn. A. P. Sinnett, J. H. Wood- 
rum, Meredith Price and Almeda Price — thir- 
teen in all. The Rev. T. C. Johnson is the 
present pastor. In connection with the church 
is one of the most flourishing Sabbath schools 
in the city. 

coal's mouth baptist church 

In the spring of 1859 the Rev. Martin Bibb 
visited Coal's Mouth and preached to the very 
few Baptists then living in the vicinity. On 
the 29th of May, 1859, he baptized a young 



lady in Kanawha River at the mouth of Coal 
River. The banks of the river were literally 
lined with people, many of them witnessing 
baptism for the first time. This little begin- 
ning resulted in the organization of the Coal's 
Mouth Baptist Church. 

The church was regularly organized on the 
13th of April, i860. The council that organ- 
ized the church was composed of the following 
brethren: Rev. Martin Bibb, Rev. Ralph 
Swainburn, Rev. Thomas Hawkins, Rev. W. 
A. Wood, Rev. John Mitchell and Rev. Morris 
Reece. Although but five persons were ready 
to join the church, the council decided that the 
church should be organized. The five constit- 
uent members were : Jahn Hansford, Alvah 
Hansford, Mary A. Lewis, Eliza A. Rock and 
Victoria Hansford. 

Though few in numbers, this church began 
to work. A lot was secured, also lumber 
enough to build a meeting house. Subscrip- 
tions amounting to enough to complete the 
building were subscribed (but not paid in), and 
all seemed encouraged. But the Civil War 
came on and everything was demoralized. The 
lumber paid for was carried away in the flood 
of '61. and the subscriptions could not be paid. 
When the war closed the Baptists found it nec- 
essary to start anew. 

The church was reorganized in 1866. with 
the following members : John Hansford, Alvah 
Hansford, Victoria Hansford, Mrs. H. K. 
Chilton, Mary Allen. Eliza Swindler, Patty 
Wilkenson, Blanche Wilkenson, Ann Wilken- 
son, and two others whose names we could not 
obtain. 

In 1866 a small house of worship was built 
on the lower side of Coal River. This build- 
ing was afterward sold to the M. E. Church, 
and another meeting house was built, this time 
on the east side of Coal River (1882-83). 
This building was destroyed by fire February 
12, 1906. After the burning of the meeting 
house, services were held in halls until the pres- 
ent building was ready for use. The first serv- 
ice in the basement of the new building was 
conducted May 16, 1909. 

At a meeting held Thursday evening, May 
24th, 191 1, the name of the church was changed 
from the "Coal's Mouth Baptist Church" to 



256 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



"The First Baptist Church of Saint Albans." 
Dedicatory services were held on June 4, 191 1. 

The church has had many struggles, but she 
has triumphed over them all. Mrs. Victoria 
Hansford Teass, one of the constituent mem- 
bers ( (now deceased), wrote of the church : "As 
I pause and look back over the forty years in- 
tervening between then and now, my heart goes 
out in thankfulness to Him who works in mys- 
terious ways and caused the 'feeble band' to 
grow into a flourishing church now numbering 
over three hundred, beside the great number 
that came into its doors and passed on to the 
Church Triumphant." 

CHURCH OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES 

Rev. T. B. Lawler, Pastor; T. H. Griffith, 
Clerk. 

Deacons. — John Hollinsworth, Presley Mar- 
tin, E. H. Holstein, Dr. John Henderson. Chris 
Sattes, Charles Kerns, C. J. Pierson. 

Trustees. — John Martin, F. D. Burgess, C. 
D. Hereford. 

Finance Committee. — John Martin, T. H. 
Griffith, Mrs. K, L. Wilson. 

Music Director. — John Martin. 

Organist. — Mrs. K. L. Wilson. 

Ushers. — Charles Kerns, Walter Morrison, 
Chris Sattes, James Mallory, Clyde Coiner, 
Frank Holstein. 

Sunday School. — I. E. Handley, Supt., T. 
H. Griffith, Asst. Supt., Clyde Coiner. Treas- 
urer, Secretaries, Nellie Rock, Ora Hollins- 
worth. 

Ladies' Aid. — Mrs. James A. Watson, Pres- 
ident, Mrs. Pendleton, Secretary, Mrs. John 
Hollinsworth, Treasurer. 

PRESBYTERIAN 

The first Presbyterian minister who visited 
that part of the valley below the Falls, was 
Rev. William Graham, who was for twenty- 
one years at the head of Liberty Hall academy, 
the first Virginia institution of learning west 
of the Blue Ridge. In 1798 he went on a 
missionary enterprise to Mason County on the 
Ohio river, where he sickened and died of a 
fever, January 8, 1799. The place of his set- 
tlement still bears the name of "Graham Sta- 
tion." 



In the year 181 5 the Rev. William Gould, of 
Gallipolis, Ohio, began to preach at Point 
Pleasant and other points on the Kanawha. 
Almost contemporary with him, Rev. Henry 
Ruffner began preaching in the upper part 
of the valley, and it was due to his labors that 
the First Presbyterian church of Charleston 
was organized. 

First Presbyterian Church, Charleston. 
The Presbyterians of both Charleston and the 
Salines were formed into an organized church 
on May 14, 1819, and on that day the Rev. 
Henry Ruffner met the members from the two 
places and effected the organization, he having 
been appointed for this purpose. He became 
its pastor and preached alternately at Charles- 
ton and Kanawha Salines for one year and 
then resigned to accept the chair of ancient 
languages in Washington College, at Lexing- 
ton, Virginia. 

The name given was the "Kanawha Presby- 
terian Church," and this was selected as it 
embraced the Presbyterians residing in the two 
towns, and it would not have suited everybody 
to call the church after either place. It was 
therefore given a wider jurisdiction and in- 
cluded the church of the entire Valley of the 
Kanawha. From 1820 to 1836, this church 
had for its ministers the Rev. Calvin Chad- 
dock, the Rev. Nathaniel Calhoun, and the 
Rev. A. S. Morrison. In April 1837 the Rev. 
James M. Brown. D. D.. was installed as pas- 
tor and so continued until his death, June 8, 
1862. He was the oldest of five Brown broth- 
ers, sons of Man' Moore, all of whom be- 
came eminent Presbyterian ministers. He 
wrote the famous little book "The Captives of 
Abbs Valley" while he was living in Charles- 
ton as the pastor of this church. He not only 
built up the Presbyterian church in Charleston, 
but did much for the cause of education and 
aided in securing competent teachers and good 
management for the school in Mercer Acad- 
emy in Charleston. 

After the death of Dr. Brown in 1862, this 
church was supplied by the Rev. J. W. C. 
Blaney and the Rev. J. C. Downing until 1867. 
In 1868 the Rev. J. Calvin Barr of Lewisburg. 
Greenbrier county. West Virginia, who for 
nearly ten years had served with the venerable 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



257 



Dr. McElhenny at the Lewisburg church, 
took charge of the Charleston Institute, a girls' 
school in Charleston, Kanawha county, West 
Virginia, which school was located on the lot 
on which the post office has been located for 
many years. 

At the beginning of the school year of 1869. 
he and his scholarly assistant the Rev. N. G. 
Geddes, took charge of the Presbyterian church 
in Charleston, preaching alternately. Both 
were graduates of Jefferson College, Pennsyl- 
vania, one a graduate of the Theological Sem- 
inary of Allegheny and the other of Princeton, 
N. J. Mr. Barr was a minister of the South- 
ern Presbyterian church and Mr. Geddes of the 
Northern church. Mr. Geddes found the work 
of teaching and preaching too onerous, and 
after a few months retired and left Mr. Barr 
in full charge of the pulpit until 1872. 

There had been a divided feeling in the con- 
gregation for some time. A large majority 
desired to be reinstated in their old relations 
with the Greenbrier Presbytery and the Synod 
of Virginia, while a minority preferred unit- 
ing with the Presbytery of West Virginia, 
had not sent a representative to either Pres- 
byterv since the death of Dr. Brown in 1862. 
One hundred and fifty members petitioned the 
session to represent them in their ecclesiastical 
courts. The session called a meeting of the 
On account of this divided feeling, the session 
congregation and presented them with two 
rolls that they might inscribe the same re- 
spectively according to their choice. One hun- 
dred and fifty enrolled themselves under the 
Greenbrier Presbytery and twenty-one under 
the Presbytery of West Virginia. The minor- 
ity took the name of "The Kanawha Presby- 
terian" and the larger congregation the name 
of the First Presbyterian church, and the prop- 
erty was amicably divided. The larger con- 
gregation took the old church, its furniture, 
books and records, and the smaller congrega- 
tion took the parsonage property. 

Dr. J. C. Barr was regularly installed pastor 
of the First Presbyterian church May 15, 1872. 
In 1885 this church, with its surrounding mis- 
sions, had reached a membership of about four 
hundred, and Rev. T. E. Booker of Staunton 
was called as assistant to Dr. Barr. After 



eighteen months Mr. Booker accepted a call to 
Hebron church in Lexington Presbytery and 
Dr. Barr was left alone. With the help of an 
active eldership and a student each summer 
from the Seminary, he kept up the work alone 
until May, 1899, when Rev. R. E. Vinson was 
called as assistant pastor, who was a graduate 
of Union Theological Seminary and a schol- 
arly, gifted young man. He accepted the chair 
of Hebrew in Austin Theological Seminary, 
May 1, 1903. 

Owing to Dr. Barr's advancing years. * he 
and the session decided that they should seek 
a co-pastor who could take the responsibility 
of the preaching and after six months' delib- 
eration and effort a call was extended to Dr. 
Ernest Thompson of Stuart Robinson Mem- 
orial church of Louisville, Ky. He accepted 
and was installed co-pastor Nov. 1, 1902 and 
has proved a faithful and efficient pastor. He 
generally preaches Sabbath morning and even- 
ing to a large congregation, and the congre- 
gation has increased and the membership has 
reached about seven hundred. 

The stone church on the corner of Quarrier 
and Hale Streets was opened for service in 
June, 1889. and its total cost was about $35,- 
000. It seats seven hundred, and with lecture 
room it will seat fully one thousand persons. 
The parsonage on the church lot in which Dr. 
Barr lived was built in 1890 costing about 
$6,000.00 and the parsonage in. which Dr. 
Thompson resides cost $11,000.00. Several 
flourishing missions have been maintained and 
four mission churches have been built. The 
Bream Memorial, Lick Branch and the Glen- 
wood, have become separate organizations and 
the Bream Memorial is self sustaining and has 
a membership of five hundred and forty-two 
and a Sunday school of over one thousand, and 
has its own pastor, the Rev. Chas. F. Myers. 

Dr. Thompson is a native of Georgia, a 
graduate of Drewry College, Mo., and of Mc- 
Cormack Theological Seminary and he took a 
post graduate course in the University of 
Edinburg. 

From the parent organizations at Charles- 
ton and Point Pleasant, have come numerous 



*Dr. Barr died Sept. 8, 191 1. 



258 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



others. From that at Charleston have grown 
those of Maiden, St. Albans and others, while 
from that at Point Pleasant have come that of 
Town Flats, in 1837; Upper Flats, in 1849; 
Buffalo, in i860; and Winfield and McLean 
chapel, of a later date. 

Among the men who have devotedly worked 
to spread the teachings of the church through- 
out the valley have been Rev. Robert Osborn. 
J. M. Brown, Stewart Robinson, Thomas N. 
Paxton, George S. Woodhull, John Rowe and 
John C. Brown. This is among the most ac- 
tive denominations of the valley. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 

This denomination early began its work in 
the Kanawha valley; but, because of the neg- 
lect in keeping records, and the destruction and 
loss of the same during the late war, much of 
great interest has been irretrievably lost. Of 
the first ministers who traversed the country 
drained by the New River, Kanawha and their 
tributaries, we know but little, but as early as 
1796, they were so numerous in this region, that 
a conference — the first west of the Alleghenies 
— was held at Lewisburg, in Greenbrier coun- 
ty. Bishop Francis Asbury presiding. The 
work went on and was rapidly extended to the 
Ohio. On the 23d day of May. 1804. the 
general conference in session at Baltimore, de- 
clared that the Greenbrier district should be 
included in the Baltimore conference, while 
the Great Kanawha valley should be a part of 
the Western conference, which then included 
the states of Ohio. Kentucky. Tennessee, the 
Illinois country and the Natchez mission. 

"But owing to neglect in making and 
preserving records.'' says Mr. Lewis, "we 
know comparatively little of the introduction 
of Methodism into the valley. It is certain, 
however, that Rev. Asa Shinn was one among 
its earliest expounders here and probably the 
first, who visited this immediate region. 
Among those who were contemporary with 
him, or who came soon after him, were Jacob 
Truman, Samuel Brown, John Cord. Samuel 
Dement. William Pickett and the distinguished 
Henry Bascom. afterward a bishop in the 
Methodist Episcopal church, south, and. who. 
it is claimed, preached the first Methodist ser- 



mon ever delivered in the town of Charleston. 
This was in 1813, and two years later another, 
destined to the bishopric — Rev. Thomas A. 
Morris — delivered a series of sermons in 
Charleston. In 181 5 Rev. Mr. Morris traveled 
the Kanawha Valley, and in 1816 joined the 
Ohio conference. For several years he traveled 
a circuit, then served as elder, and in 1836, was 
elected a bishop. He was the last of the Meth- 
odist bishops that made the rounds of his con- 
ferences on horseback. He died at Springfield, 
Ohio, September 2, 1874. 

"The church appears to have been organized 
in Charleston, as early as 1816, and the congre- 
gation then worshipped in a log house which 
stood near the site on which the brick church 
was afterward built on Virginia street. From 
this time onward the names of Thomas Lowery, 
Burwell Spurlock, Stephen Spurlock. Francis 
Wilson, Alexander Cummins, Joseph Farrow, 
W illiam McComas. William Herr. Henry S. 
Fernandus. David Kemper. Isaac C. Hunter 
and John H. Power, are remembered as among 
the early Methodist ministers of the valley. 

"Rev. Robert O. Spencer with a colleague, 
Joseph Deter, who died a few weeks after his 
arrival, came to the valley in 1833. The 
Charleston congregation then, as it had done 
for some years previously, worshipped in a 
frame building which stood on what is now 
Virginia street, but in the year 1834. Rev. 
Spencer W. Young, largely assisted by Charles 
R. Baldwin, a prominent and talented lawyer 
of Charleston, having at the time but recently 
become a member of the church, and the co-op- 
eration of the laity, among whom were Thomas 
C. Thomas. Luke Wilcox and Henry New. 
undertook and in the same year, completed a 
commodious brick edifice, which became known 
as "Asbury Chapel." It was dedicated by Rev. 
William Young. The renowned Henry Bas- 
com had been engaged for that purpose, but was 
unable to be present. The first trustees ap- 
pointed in 1833. were Thomas C. Thomas, 
William S. Hutt, John Trudgian. James S. 
Stark and Charles R. Baldwin." 

The Methodist Episcopal Church (South) 
was organized in the year 1866 by the Rev. J. 
F. Johnson, the present minister being Rev. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



259 



Robert T. Webb. The first building erected by 
this denomination was destroyed by fire. 

EPISCOPAL 

The church had its representatives early in 
the history of Kanawha County and may have 
had them earlier than the record shows, as for 
several years after the settlement began there 
was little done towards establishing churches. 

The county was formed in 1788. Prior to 
1776, Virginia was a colony of England and 
the Established Church of England was the 
church in Virginia; all others were dissenters. 
The state government and the church were 
more or less the same in the colonies, and the 
vestries of the church participated in matters, 
and had duties to attend to. that are now a 
part of the county government. Every parish 
had its vestry and even- county had one or 
more parishes, and parishes were formed by 
the Assembly. Henning's Statutes show that 
legislation concerning the church and parishes 
was a large part of the work of the General 
Assembly. 

The legislation recorded in Chapter I. Oc- 
tober Session of 1776. was in relation to to- 
bacco, and the next, in relation to the church, 
repealing the act of parliament that imposed 
duties on the people or punishment for religious 
opinions, or as to any mode of worship, and 
exempting dissenters from paying taxes to sup- 
port churches. - but the glebes were saved to 
the parishes and all donations held sacred: in 
short, all connection between church and state 
was repealed. 

Then the war came on to determine whether 
this act should stand or fall, and the church in 
Virginia continued to be so English that the 
loyalty of the rebels in the churches of the col- 
ony was held doubtful. When the war was 
over, the church in Virginia was in a very weak 
condition, her ministry looked upon with dis- 
favor and as tories. her churches nearly all 
despoiled and her members unable to decide 
what to do ; their love of liberty seemed to take 
them one way and their church another. 

But the best people in Virginia were' Epis- 
copalians and they passed that Act which made 
all religions and churches stand on an equal 
footing, and they did as much to sustain it as 



did any others. They sacrificed their church 
for their country, while others were fighting 
for their country and their churches. The 
Prayer Book was retained, though they could 
not use the Prayer for the King. In Virginia 
they had upwards of 160 churches and about 
100 ministers. At the end of the war there 
were about thirty ministers, and the church 
was well nigh extinct; but the members would 
not concede that they could not be loyal to the 
State and be Episcopalians, so they began to 
organize and they procured Rev. Dr. Madison 
to be consecrated as Bishop of Virginia, but 
he died in 1812. 

They called annual conventions or councils; 
Bishop Moore succeeded Bishop Madison ; reg- 
ular clergy and lay delegates attended from 
the parishes and it was in 1823 that the church 
in Kanawha was represented in the annual con- 
vention held in Leesburg, when the Rev. 
Charles H. Page attended from Kanawha. Ac- 
cording to his report, the church had ten com- 
municants, and the church at Coalsmouth was 
in a flourishing condition and a church there 
was then being built; there were two Sunday 
schools in the parish, one at Coalsmouth and 
the other at Charleston, and Mr. Page was then 
rector. Edmond Berkely was the lay delegate 
at the convention in 1826 : the church at Coals- 
mouth was built, principally through the Hud- 
son family: the congregations were from 100 
to 150 in number. In 1829. Bishop Meade was 
elected an assistant bishop and this shows that 
the church was growing throughout the state. 
In 1832, Rev. Mr. Goodwin was the Rector of 
Kanawha Parish. In 1836. Rev. John Martin 
was rector of Kanawha Parish and his report 
shows a church being built at Charleston and 
that he also preached at Coalsmouth. 

The reports from the churches are interest- 
ing and those who would like to read them can 
call on Dr. Roller and get Bishop Peterkin's 
Book. In 1840. Rev. James Clark was the 
rector of Kanawha Parish, and Rev. Mr. Mar- 
tin of Coalsmouth Parish. In 1841. $2,000 
had been collected to build a church in the Sa- 
lines. In 1842. the Bishop says, it was re- 
ported that the churches in Western Pennsyl- 
vania and Western Virginia were discussing a 
proposition to make a new diocese of their ter- 



260 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ritory, but a motion looking to this subject was 
laid on the table ; the church in the Salines had 
been completed, costing $3,300. In 1844, says 
the Bishop, he consecrated the church in the 
Salines, and preached at St. John's in Teays 
Valley, which church was once a distillery and 
is now commonly called, "Still House Chapel." 
In that year, Rev. Mr. West was rector at 
Coalsmouth. In 1845, Rev. ^ Ir - H. D - Ward 
was minister at Charleston and Rev. F. B. 
Nash at Coalsmouth. In 1846, Bishop Johns 
was assistant to Bishop Meade. In 1848, 
Francis M. Whittle was rector at Charleston 
and the Salines, and Rev. F. B. Nash at Coals- 
mouth and at Still House Chapel. In 185 1, 
Rev. R. T. Beam was rector in Charleston, and 
Mr. Nash at Coalsmouth. In 1856, Rev. R. T. 
L. Smith was rector at Charleston and Maiden. 
In 1857, the Bishop visited Coalsmouth, Cedar 
Grove and Fields Creek. In i860, Mr. Smith 
was rector in Charleston. He reports that he 
had done preaching on missionary trips, and 
once at Clifton an old man promised he would 
prepare a room for preaching for any Evan- 
gelical minister to use ; it was not long before 
Rev. Mr. Smith was again at Clifton and found 
that the old man had done as he promised and 
the room was prepared; in this he preached, 
the old man and his wife and daughter attend- 
ing afternoon and evening and the church be- 
ing well filled. The old lady, who was over 
seventy, came up with her daughter, who had 
been brought to God by his preaching, and said 
she was so happy she wanted to shout like a 
Methodist, though she was a Baptist. In 
Coalsmouth, the church which had been vacant 
for several years, was in that year filled by 
Rev. Alonzo J. M. Hudson. 

Now comes on another war. There were 
visited in i860 by the bishops in Western Vir- 
ginia the churches at Bunker Hill. Martins- 
burg, Hedgesville, Shepperdstown, Middleway, 
Charlestown, then in Greenbrier and Monroe, 
Fairmont, Wheeling, Wellsburg, Moundsville, 
Parkersburg, Ravenswood, Point Pleasant; but 
failed to reach Weston, Mercers Bottom, 
Charleston. Coalsmouth, Morgantown. The 
reports show collections from all of them and 
also from Clarksburg, Pleasant County, etc., 
and show a healthy financial condition of the 



church, but there were no delegates to the An- 
nual Council from West Virginia. In 1862, 
when the war was going on, Bishop Meade 
died. In 1865, Rev. W. F. M. Jacobs came 
to Charleston, found the church much disor- 
ganized and the building desolated; he was 
taken sick and had to resign and Rev. Mr. 
Thompson of Gallipolis kindly officiated. In 
1867, Rev. Mr. Jacobs, who resigned because 
of ill health, died. In 1868, Rev. Joseph A. 
Nock came to Charleston; Rev. F. M. Whittle 
was elected assistant bishop of Virginia, with 
Bishop Johns ; Maiden organized a separate 
parish ; Coalsmouth had no minister, and had 
had none since 1861. In 1869, Rev. Mr. Nock 
resigned and Rev. C. M. Callaway was elected. 
In 1873, Rev. David Barr was minister at 
Coalsmouth. In 1875, Mission Chapel in West 
Charleston was under Supt. E. L. Bill ; Rev. 
Mr. C. M. Callaway resigned from St. John's 
at Charleston; Rev. Pendleton Burke resigned 
at St. Albans ; Convocation held at Wellsburg 
resolved that a division of the diocese is de- 
manded by the interests of the church in West 
Virginia. Rev. R. A. Cobb was elected to St. 
John's, Charleston in 1875. In 1876, Bishop 
Johns died in April; Committee reports in 
favor of the division of the Diocese and of 
making the State of West Virginia a new dio- 
cese. This division had been agitated in 1821, 
in 185 1, in 1865, in 1872 and again in 1874. 

In 1877. there was held a primary conven- 
tion to take steps toward the formation of the 
new diocese ; the vote for bishop of the new 
diocese did not select. In 1878, Council at 
Charlestown elected G. W. Peterkin bishop of 
West Virginia; at the Special Council at Mar- 
tinsburg, Bishop Peterkin presided and there 
were present eight clergy and seven laymen. 
In 1880, Rev. R. A. Cobb was elected secre- 
tary of Council: and Rev. Mr. Cobb and Maj. 
T. L. Brown were elected deputies. In 1883. 
Rev. R. A. Cobb and Maj. T. L. Brown were 
deputies to General Convention, which was at- 
tended by eighteen clergymen and sixteen lay- 
men. In 1886, R. A. Cobb and T. L. Brown 
were elected from Kanawha. In 1887, Rev. 
Dr. Cobb resigned as secretary of Council. In 
1888 occurred the death of "Rev. Dr. R. A. 
Cobb, G. W. Thompson. Maj. F. C. Corill and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



261 



General J. H. Oley; Sheltering Anns Hospi- 
tal, located at the mouth of Paint Creek, has 
collected $5,650.38; Rev. R. D. Roller was 
called to Charleston. In 1889, the deputies 
from Kanawha to the General Convention were 
Rev. R. D. Roller and W. S. Laidley, and 
changes in the Prayer Book was its work. In 
1890 the Council met in Charleston; St. John's 
Church was completed. In 1892, deputies 
from Kanawha to the Council were Dr. Roller 
and W. S. Laidley. In 1895, the deputies 
were the same as in 1892. In 1898, a Coad- 
juter Bishop was considered; the deputy from 
Kanawha was W. S. Laidley ; ninety places 
had been visited during the last year, and there 
had been 4,568 confirmations since organiza- 
tion. In 1899, Rev. W. L. Gravall was elected 
Co-Adjutor Bishop and consecrated November 
10. in 1901, Council was held at Charleston; 
the delegates elected from Charleston were Dr. 
Roller and W. S. Laidley. Since this date 
there has been little change except in a steady 
growth of confirmations. 

Bishop Meade said when he first came to 
Charleston there were two communicants, Mrs. 
Colonel Lovell and Mrs. Quarrier; there were 
others by birth and education attached to the 
church, and some gentlemen advocated . it in 
preference to others. At Coalsmouth, the 
Thompsons, Hudsons, Lewises, Turners, 
Thorntons, Bradfords, Simmses, Rogerses and 
others have been vestrymen. Rev. Joseph Wil- 
lard came to Kanawha as a missionary, and 
was the first Episcopal minister to come here. 
He found but few communicants but several at- 
tached to the church and willing to contribute to 
its support, including the Slaughters, Quarriers, 
Rogerses, McFarlands, ' Patricks, Drydens, 
Lovells, Welchs, Reynolds, Lewises and others. 
The deed to the lot for the church was re- 
corded in 1835 and the building was completed 
in 1837. The corner stone for the new church 
was laid in 1884, and the building finished in 
1888. A committee had been appointed to 
build a new church; the Bishop informed the 
congregation they needed it by sending a con- 
tribution of $25 for that purpose. The com- 
mittee consisted of Mrs. A. J. Ryan, Mrs. C. 
I. Morgan, W. H. Hogeman, W. A. Quarrier 
and W. S. Laidley. Mrs. Ryan resigned and 



Rector Cobb was appointed in her place. Mrs. 
Morgan removed and Mrs. H. D. Ruffner was 
appointed in her place. Each of the committee 
except Laidley died before the church was 
finished. The church was consecrated June 9, 
1 90 1. The building, with the spire, is of 
stone. 

The "House of Prayer" was built in 1874 
by a committee consisting of E. L. Bill, Lewis 
Summers and W. S. Laidley. Mr. Bill and Mr. 
J. D. Luckadoe conducted the Sunday School. 

St. Mathews Church on the South Side was 
started in 1892 by the Rector, Dr. Roller and 
Alexander \Y. Quarrier. After Mr. Quar- 
ter's death, Mr. W. W. Adams carried on the 
work until his death, and was succeeded by 
John Howe Peyton, who finished the handsome 
stone church. 

In Bishop Peterkin's Book, a "History of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in West Vir- 
ginia," will be found much fuller details of the 
Church in Kanawha, and this can be had of 
Rev. Dr. Roller of Charleston. 

THE UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH 

This body of Christians began its work in 
what is now Vest Virginia, in the year 1836, 
and its first organization was perfected in Ma- 
son county. A conference west of the moun- 
tains was organized at Centreville, in Tvler 
county, in March, 1858, and the body thus 
created, has ever since been known as the Par- 
kersburg conference, in the bounds of which 
the great Kanawha valley is included. The ter- 
ritory embraced within the conference included 
a large portion of what is now West Virginia. 
From this beginning this denomination has 
spread its work over almost the entire state, in- 
cluding the counties of the Great Kanawha 
valley, where it has a large membership with 
valuable church property, especially in Mason 
and Putnam counties. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC 

The Rev. Father Bonnecamps, a Jesuit, was 
the first Catholic priest who saw the mouth of 
the Great Kanawha river. He was the chap- 
lain of the French expedition, which buried the 
leaden plates on the banks of the Ohio in 1749. 
The expedition reached the mouth of the Great 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Kanawha, August 18, 1749, where storms de- 
layed it for two days. Whether Father Bon- 
necamps performed any part of the church ser- 
vice here is not known, but it is to be presumed 
that he did. He was an able mathematician and 
from his observations on this journey, he drew 
the first map of the Ohio valley. It is still 
preserved, and is a model of accuracy. 

"Who the first Catholics were that settled in 
the Kanawha valley," says Mr. Lewis, "we do 
not know, but that there were some residing 
here at an early date is a matter of record. 
But no organizations were effected for a number 
of years. The first priest known to have vis- 
ited Charleston was Rev. Father Hitzelberger, 
who came on a visit to relatives or friends about 
the year 1836, when he preached in the court 
house. Subsequently he was pastor of the 
church at Norfolk, Va. ; he later joined the 
order of Jesuits and died there many years 
since. 

"Right Rev. Bishop Richard Vincent Whe- 
lan visited the Kanawha valley for the first time 
in 1842. He came from Richmond in a stage 
coach to Kanawha Falls, whence he went to 
Nicholas county to visit the Duffy s there re- 
siding. On a later visit to the valley he fell 
sick at a hotel in Charleston, but was removed 
to the residence of George Jeffries, where he 
was attended by Dr. Cotton. 

"Rev. John H. Walters visited Charleston 
previous to the Civil War, and baptized sev- 
eral persons there and at Valcoulon on Coal 
river. Fathers Joseph Heidencamp, Henry F. 
Parde, Patrick McKernan and Father Kellen- 
berg from Pomeroy, Ohio, visited Charleston 
and other points in the valley during the 
Civil War, but there was no stationed priest 
until the coming of Father Joseph W. Stenger. 
to whose energy and zeal is due the flourishing 
condition of the church in the valley at the 
present time. * * * He arrived at 
Charleston June 5, 1866, and in August of 
the same year, Bishop Whelan joined him and 
purchased property. A school was organized 
that year, and Father Stenger converted the 
office of the late Judge Dunbar into a chapel, 
where the congregation worshiped until De- 
cember, 1869, when the church building was 
completed. 



CHURCHES IN CHARLESTON IN I91I 

Second Day Adventist ; Randolph near 
Ohio avenue; Rev. Geo. Moore, pastor. 

Baptist Temple; Capitol and Washington; 
Rev. T. C. Johnston, pastor. 

Cavalry Baptist; 732 Indiana avenue, West- 
side; Rev. T. H. Binford, pastor. 

Ebenezer Baptist; Stockton street; Rev. 
Judge W. Coleman, pastor. 

First Baptist (colored) ; Washington near 
Shrewsbury; Rev. B. R. jReed, pastor. 

Glen wood Baptist; 701 B. St.; Rev. Peter 
Moore, pastor. 

Magazine Missionary Baptist; Gardner 
near Crescent rd. ; Rev. Ira H. Bee, pastor. ' 

Church of Sacred Heart (R. Catholic); 
Broad bet. Va. and Ouarrier streets; Rev. 
Father Lewis, pastor. 

Christian; Lee cor. Brooks; Rev. Samuel 
D. Moore, pastor. 

St. John's Episcopal; Broad and Quarrier 
streets; Rev. R. D. Roller, pastor. 

St. Luke's Episcopal: Randolph nr. Vir- 
ginia Ave. : Rev. Arthur Lewis, pastor. 

St. Mathew's Mission: Southside; Rev. A. 
Lewis, pastor. 

Church of B'nai Jacob; Court and State: 
Rev. Samiel Fredman, pastor. 

Polish Jew Synagogue — Court nr. State 
street. 

Virginia Street Temple; Virginia, bet. 
Broad and Brooks; Rev. Leon Volmer, pastor. 

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran ; Court, 
bet. State and Virginia ; Rev. E. S. Wanna- 
got, pastor. 

Bowman Methodist Episcopal : Upper Big- 
lev Ave. ; Rev. C. C. Lanahan, pastor. 

'Elizabeth M. E. ; South Side: Rev. C. A. 
Powers, pastor. 

First M. E. (South): Washington near 
Dickinson ; Rev. R. T. Webb, pastor. 

First (State Street) M. E. Church; Ouarrier 
and Morris ; Rev. O. D. King, pastor. 

Lawrence M. E. Church; Washington nr. 
Elizabeth ; Rev. W. A. Byus, pastor. 

Roane Street M. E. Church: 401 Roane 
(W. SO; Rev. R. T. Yoak. pastor. 

St. Paul M. E. Church: Court, bet. State 
and Virginia; Rev. R. P. Downs, pastor. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



263 



Simpson M. E. Church (Colored) ; Quar- 
rier and Dickinson; Rev. T. S. Corroll, pas- 
tor. 

Sixth Street M. E. Church; Sixth near Rus- 
sell; Rev. C. C. Graham, pastor. 

Bream Memorial Church ; Charleston St. ; 
Rev. C. F. Myers, pastor. (See sketch in 
chapter XVII.) 

First Presbyterian; Quarrier and Hale; 
Rev. Ernest Thompson, D. D., pastor. 

Glenwood Presbyterian, 1223 Seventh Ave. 

Good Will Mission, Young near Welch. 

Kanawha Presbyterian Church; 1007 Vir- 
ginia St.; Rev. J. M. Waddell, pastor. 

Lick Branch Presbyterian Church ; South 
Ruffner. 

Piedmont St. Mission. 

Schwamb Memorial Presbyterian Church; 
Crescent Road. 

Second Presbyterian Church ; Bigley Ave. 

South Side Presbyterian Mission. 

United Brethren Congregations ; Ort Hall ; 
Rev. W. M. Slaughter, pastor. 

SUNDAY SCHOOLS 

The Sunday School Superintendents' Asso- 
ciation reports the following attendance of the 
Charleston Sunday schools on Sunday, October 
1st: ' ' , 

MORNING SCHOOLS 

Calvary Baptist 402 

First M. E 336 

First Presbyterian 311 

Sixth Street M. E 230 

First M. E. South 317 

Baptist Temple 191 

Bowman M. E 176 

Kanawha Presbyterian 125 

Roane Street M. E. .' 83 

Christian Church 78 

United Brethren 53 

AFTERNOON SCHOOLS 

Bream Memorial 728 

Union Mission 150 

Schwamb Memorial 130 

Young Street 60 

Lick Branch 52 

This, of course, does not include all the schol- 
ars in the city, but only those so reported in the 
papers. 



OUR SERMON 

"If a man die, shall he live again?" 

The proposition is put in the form of a con- 
undrum or query, as if it were not a settled one 
— that man shall die. We have all our days 
been taught that life is uncertain and that 
death is sure — that death and taxes are of the 
sure things of this world. Paul says that "by 
Adam, sin entered into the world and death by 
sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all 
have sinned." And by our experience, tradition, 
and by revelation we say, that all earthly things 
do die, and the proposition might be read, "As 
man must die, shall he live again?" 

Death is the cessation of life, as darkness is 
the absence of light; so death is the departure 
of life; it is the event which changes man from 
a living unto a deceased person, and this, event 
comes to all living beings. Then we will ask, 
what is life? "Life is life," a vital force, that, 
being implanted in any one, or anything, makes 
him a living, moving, thinking person, or if in 
a thing, makes it a growing, changing, living 
thing. This definition is not very satisfactory. 
Life may be defined, perhaps, as a quickening, 
animating principle, and death is the absence 
thereof, yet there may be a suspension of this 
animation, but no death, as it may return; but 
when this principle is incapable of restoration, 
then it is death. When man was by God 
formed, he was made man out of the dust of 
the ground; then the Creator breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life, he became a living 
soul. In one instance his physical body was 
formed, in the other he was created a living 
soul. This made the whole man of . a dual na- 
ture — this physical or earthly body with his 
soul or Spiritual nature added. 

But "life" is not comprehended and hence 
cannot be defined ; it is of that spiritual nature 
which mortal man cannot comprehend and no 
philosophy can explain or make known. We 
may learn of its results, but life itself we are 
unable to comprehend. A preacher once said 
(and he spake with authority). "Then shall the 
dust return to the earth as it was and the 
spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 
Whenever the natural body is spoken of, it is 
always spoken of as mortal, and the spirit as 
immortal, and there has never been supposed 



264 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to exist any man that was not of this dual na- 
ture ; otherwise he would be only as an animal, 
that has no soul. The separation of the soul 
and the body is at the time of his death, if not 
the cause of it. 

In so far as our observation goes, and so far 
as all learning in all ages, and all records show, 
it is the fate of all to die — that there is a time 
coming to each living person when his body and 
his spirit shall separate. This same preacher 
has said "There is no man that hath power 
over the spirit to retain the spirit, neither hath 
he power in the day of death," and we know of 
no contradiction having been made of this 
statement and of no tradition or record, nor of 
any observation to the contrary. 

If a man die, shall he live again? 

Having conceded to the first proposition, that 
he not only will die, but as a fact, must die, 
sometime, sooner or later, and that the time is 
not far off to many, what of the other part of 
the question, "Shall he live again." This is 
no new question; man has never desired to be 
annihilated, and it has been stated that he will 
live again because the desire to so live, has been 
thus implanted within him. Whether this is 
strong proof or no proof, we leave with you, 
and shall not undertake to determine. We ad- 
mit that we have no knowledge of any one who, 
having died, has returned to tell us of the here- 
after life; neither do we know that his evi- 
dence would be convincing, if it depended only 
on his word. There are some persons called 
Spiritualists that claim to have had spiritual 
communications from persons who have de- 
parted this life, which, if true, would prove the 
fact that if a man die he shall live again; but 
even this testimony is not satisfactory and it 
does not furnish sufficient evidence to satisfy 
all persons that the communication is from the 
one from whom it purports to come. Besides 
Spiritualism has never been generally regarded 
as a proper medium of communication of the 
great facts, the answer to which is of such vast 
importance to all. 

Then on what must we base our conclusions ? 
We answer, upon the Word of God, upon the 
Bible, upon Revelation, the inspired Written 
Word of God. We do not suppose that we 
need this inspiration to teach us that there is 



a God, for much of his power and knowledge 
and His attributes are known without it; but 
there is not much else that would satisfy the 
ordinary mind, that "man does live again." 
Paul wrote most convincingly on this subject 
and it is taught from the beginning to the end, 
most conclusively, that man shall live again; 
his dual nature can be explained on no other 
theory, and it is not as difficult a proposition 
to believe, perhaps, as it is to disbelieve it. 

There are insects that live in one state or 
condition for a time and then undergo a change 
of nature and, without ceasing to live, go on 
under a new life or a nature quite different. 
Insects that were made to and do live in the 
water as their natural element and are at 
home and happy under the water after a sea- 
son undergo a radical change into another form 
(metamorphosis) and come out, and stay out 
and live in the air ever after. Once they 
would swim, but now they fly; once they be- 
longed to the water but now to the atmosphere, 
which has become their natural element. If 
insects, bugs and worms are thus made to live 
again or to continue their life after such a 
change of nature, of which we have no manner 
of doubt, should it be considered incredible 
that man should be given a like ability to live 
again and experience a change of nature? 
That he should live on Earth as a physical 
natural man and afterwards live a spiritual life 
in another element, in another world ; live as 
we believe both God and His angels live, with 
a better and more refined nature, and able to 
comprehend much that he is now unable to do? 
It seems to us that this almost convinces us that 
it not only is true, but that it as a matter of 
course must be true that if a man die, he shall 
live again. 

Taking it to be answered in the affirmative, 
that hereafter he shall live again, that really he 
never wholly dies, that his spiritual nature has 
never died, but only his earthly natural body, 
he continues to live and will live in the Spirit- 
ual world. Then we may ask. what of it and 
what then? We are satisfield that a spiritual 
life is not similar to the life we here live, and 
that there must be a purpose in making the 
change, and that this change will not be an 
immaterial one — that we will not go along as 



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265 



we have been going. We know and we are 
taught that there is in this world a principle 
of right and of good, and of truth, as well as 
a principle of wrong, of wickedness, and of 
deception and fraud. God is the living princi- 
ple of all that is good, and Satan of the other 
and that they are opposed to each other. That 
in the future world the followers of the one 
and those of the other are to be separated, and 
that the good are to be blessed and the others 
will not be. 

You ask how we know all this? Through 
inspiration and revelation and by the force of 
necessity, — we must believe that God made a 
heaven and another place, and that there was a 
purpose in this preparation of two places or 
states of being. If all were to be treated alike, 
only one place would be required and if there 
were to be no discrimination, there would be 
no inducement to be good and obey God, but 
we could follow our own wicked inclinations, 
and make the future world as miserable as 
this world has been made to many; therefore 
as a matter of necessity, and of common sense 
there must be more than one future world and 
place and there must be a separation of the in- 
habitants of the earth, — they must be divided, 
hereafter. 

If those that have tried to serve the Lord 
and do his will are to be blessed, and rewarded, 
they must be separated from those that caused 
them so much suffering on earth. Satan and 
his hosts and his followers have done all in 
their power while on earth to cause all the suf- 
fering possible, which was by no means to be 
endured longer, if it could be avoided; and it 
is taught that it can be and will be avoided in 
the next world, and that there will be a sep- 
aration of the sheep from the goats. There 
is no doubt of this proposition in the mind of 
any one who believes in God, in a future world, 
and in the fact that Man shall live again. It 
is asserted by some that they do not believe all 
this, that when a man dies that is the end of 
him, and they do not or pretend not to believe 



the Bible, and what it teaches as to the future; 
but the fact, as so taught, does not depend upon 
any one's belief, and whether you do or do not 
believe it, the fact remains the same, neverthe- 
less. 

He has commanded among other things that 
"thou shall not lie, nor steal, nor kill;" and the 
violation of one of these commands is as great 
a sin, as it was in Adam and Eve to eat the 
forbidden fruit, and mankind suffered the con- 
sequences as surely as the sin was committed, 
and "the Lord shall judge his people" and "it 
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
living God." Then the most natural question 
that could be asked, is, what are we to do to 
avoid the future punishment. We are not a 
minister of the Gospel nor authorized to in- 
terpret the Bible, nor to advise in such matters. 
But there are persons sent to teach, to warn 
and to advise. Seek of them, read the Book 
that professes to be God's inspired Word. Do 
that which your own conscience teaches you to 
do and leave off that which you know, already, 
is wrong, and do that which you know is right ; 
cease to do evil. Choose you this day whom 
you will serve, God or Satan. Do not deceive 
yourself with the belief that you can serve 
Satan all your life on Earth, and live hereafter 
in Heaven with God and his Holy Angels and 
mankind redeemed and saved. Life in this 
world dies not last long, death is the separa- 
tion of this body from the soul, and then will 
follow the separation of the good from the bad : 
when you can no longer prevent your real na- 
ture from being known and your merits or de- 
merits from being rewarded. Your belief or 
your want of it, may be your worst sin. Per- 
haps it would be well for you to investigate and 
make enquiry, to learn what you should do, 
and then do it; for life is uncertain, and you 
may make it too late. Do not rely on our 
words, but consider and act. Read this over 
and let it have its weight, consider it and may 
you be blessed in your attempt to reach the 
truth. 



CHAPTER XVI 



KANAWHA PHYSICIANS 

Early Physicians — Drs. John Eoff, N. IV. Thompson, Spicer Patrick, R. E. Putney, J. E. Put- 
ney, T. O. Watkins, Daniel Smith, C. I. Lewis and Others — Character of the Profession 

in Kanawha County — Charleston Doctors. 



PHYSICIANS OF KANAWHA 

As far back as either history or tradition 
will take us, we find that Kanawha has had 
good physicians, notwithstanding the fact, as 
stated by Mr. Thomas Mathews that "previous 
to the coming of doctors, the people were 
healthy." It was not considered healthy to 
have Indians lurking around and it was hardly 
considered correct that because the residents 
had nothing in particular, they would not have 
a chill. It has been said that the mistakes made 
by physicians are not exposed to the public but 
are covered up about four feet under ground, 
and that -there is nothing more to be said. 

The earlier physicians of the valley, says 
says Dr. A. L. Knight, were generally classi- 
cally educated, good anatomists and presum- 
ably skillful surgeons, but did not practice be- 
yond minor surgery prior to the introduction 
of chloroform, as an anesthetic about 1844. 
Since then, major operations have occasion- 
ally been done in the valley. The valley is now 
also provided with aurists, ophthalmologists and 
other specialists. Prior to the passage of the 
act regulating the practice of medicine in the 
state of West Virginia, there were scattered 
here and there, Thompsonian or root and 
"yarb" doctors, whose methods were a combina- 
tion of the obsolete ones of physicians and the 
ordinary domestic practice (from away back). 
These woods doctors were audacious in direct 
proportions to their ignorance of pathology, 
and would undertake to cure anything from 
scaties or itch, to caveinoma or cancer. Still 



they should have a niche at least on the pedes- 
tal of the fane to medical history. Their suc- 
cess, with their crude, but innoxious remedies 
furnished by the bountiful hands of nature, 
gave many beneficial lessons to the regular 
physicians. Their harmless, but often efficient 
"teas," led the regulars to adopt more extracts 
and tinctures to the exclusion of harsher rem- 
edies. But the "firum ovea tea," given to make 
the measles break out. the "stercus vaccae," as 
a poultice in snake bite, and the blood of a 
black cat's tail, for erysipelas and shingles, 
were not adopted by the regulars. 

The difficulties and hardships of the pioneer 
physician were great indeed. First, he kept and 
dispensed his own medicines — an inconvenience 
only known to those who have filled the dou- 
ble office of practitioner and apothecary. Then 
he and his horse were burthened with the old 
fashioned, weather-beaten saddle-bags, called 
by our grandmothers "saddle-pockets." in 
which at best, a limited supply of the most or- 
dinary medicines and a few surgical instru- 
ments could be stowed away. As a matter of 
course, a circuitous ride of fifty, sixty, often 
100 miles, with perhaps thirty or more patients 
to provide for, would exhaust the largest pill- 
bags of all save the stronger medicines. Out 
of such a difficulty there was but one escape, 
to adopt the method of Dr. Bob Sawyer, of 
Dickens's "Pickwick" story, namely, to "give 
'em calomel all round," which would hold the 
fort till a new supply of medicinal ammunition 
could be sent on. Then there were but few 



266 



ST. MAEK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ST. ALBANS 



M. E. CHURCH, ST. ALBANS 




HIGH SCHOOL, ST. ALBANS 



POSTOFFICE AND FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND 
DR. WILSON'S HOSPITAL (SECOND FLOOR), 
ST. ALBANS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



269 



public roads or highways ; in many sections not 
even a bridle path. All of the choice bottom 
and contiguous lands bordering on the Ohio 
and Kanawha rivers were in large military 
surveys, and in many instances owned by non- 
resident parties and therefore unimproved. 
The remaining portions were sparsely settled 
and hence three-fourths of the valley was a 
primitive wilderness. 

However, the undergrowth of small bushes, 
except in deep, loamy soils where the dog-weed, 
paw-paw and hazel flourished, were not nearly 
so dense as in after years, so that course could 
be followed by day or moonlight by means of 
blazed trees, ridges, streamlets, etc. But these 
Heaven-gifted courses of travel were from 
time to time obstructed by the settlers them- 
selves by newly made fields and clearings where 
the unwary traveler would often find himself 
confronted with heaps of logs and brush, or 
newly-made rail or brush fence lying directly 
across the faintly outlined bridle-path. In the 
latter case the hillside cow-trail around the field 
bordering on the inclined, stony, ragged edge 
of the hill, offered the only feasible way of 
continuing the tiresome ride. 

The reader will perceive by the foregoing 
that these laborious journeys could be made by 
the pedestrian or upon horseback only ; and 
hence a physician having within his field of 
practice from one to two thousand inhabitants 
was compelled to keep in good condition from 
two to four good saddle horses, such as did not 
hesitate to climb the ragged hills or to swim the 
swollen streams when so required, and with 
stamina to endure his rounds of visits, which 
often required from one to two days and nights 
over just such roads and by-ways as above 
described. And all this labor of man and 
horse at the extortionate price of twenty-five 
cents per mile, measured by the crude guesses 
of the patrons ! 

What there is to regretted is that the life 
of the early physicians has not been recorded 
but left to tradition, and we know that tradi- 
tion fades out and leaves no coloring. There 
was a Doctor Caruthers in Kanawha at some 
time, but of him we find no record; his asso- 
ciates have, as he has done, gone with no rec- 
ord left. 



It has been said that Dr. John Eoff was the 
first resident physician of Charleston and that 
he came in 1810. He was born in Shepherds- 
town, attended medical school in Philadelphia, 
went to Wheeling and then to Charleston and 
began to practice medicine. In 1812 he mar- 
ried Helen Ouarrier and in 1816 returned to 
Wheeling, where he remained the rest of his 
life and became eminently successful. 

The next mentioned physician was Dr. N. W. 
Thompson, who, it is said, was here in 1814, 
and this seems to be all there is to tell of him. 
Whether he belonged to the Coalsmouth family 
or came before them, or what he did or tried 
to do, we know not. One thing we are satis- 
fied, about, he neglected to make a record, hence 
we can tell you no more. There was also a 
Dr. William Cobbs settled up Elk, about the 
mouth of Big Sandy, who practiced medicine 
for a long time and was said to be "lucky," 
if not learned. He had a large territory to 
serve and he killed himself riding about visit- 
ing the sick, — and last of all the Doctor died 
also. 

As to the date of the coming of Dr. Spicer 
Patrick, there has arisen a question whether it 
was in 1816, or later. Here is a case where 
there should have been no question, where rec- 
ords should have been abundant ; and we find 
the record to be 18 16. Elsewhere we have 
given a sketch of this physician, and he is 
said to have been one of the best the country 
afforded. He aimed to discover the cause of 
the trouble — to make a correct diagnosis of the 
case, and to be as sure thereof as was possible, 
then to proceed with his remedy. 

Then there was Dr. Richard E. Putney who 
came from Buckingham county, Virginia, in 
181 5 or thereabouts. He was born in 1793, 
began to practice on his arrival and continued 
until his death in 1862. His wife was Ann E. 
Ruffner, and they settled in the vicinity of the 
salt works. He was a highly educated man 
and an excellent physician. For nearly fifty 
years he went in and out before his people, 
helping them to get back to health and strength. 

Dr. James E. Putney, son of the old Dr. 
Richard, lived and practiced in Maiden for 
forty years. He was born in 18 16, attended 
school in Athens, Ohio, and at Lexington, Va., 



270 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



where he graduated in 1837. He afterwards 
attended lectures in Cincinnati and at Louis- 
ville, Ky., where he was graduated in 1846. 
He returned to Maiden and practiced through- 
out the Valley. He was quite popular and 
never failed to attend to those who called for 
his help. The latter part of his life he suffered 
with ataxia, the result of exposure and hard- 
ship in the army from 1861 to 1865. He died 
at home in Maiden in 1876. 

Dr. T. O. Watkins came in 1836. He lost 
his life in 1840. He practiced medicine as 
long as he lived and his office was in "Virgin 
Row." His son, Joseph F. Watkins, was a 
physician also and they were both devoted to 
their patients' welfare. They were graduates 
of medical schools and noted for their success. 

Henry Rogers, M. D., died in 1837. 

Dr. Daniel Smith was a physician practicing 
at the upper end of the county and was faith- 
ful to the patient when it was dangerous to 
attend, as was the case when the cholera was 
prevalent. 

There was also Dr. A. E. Summers, Dr. A. 
S. Patrick, Dr. John P. Hale, Dr. James Don- 
nally ; Dr. J. Turner of Coalsmouth ; Dr. John 
Parks of Maiden; Dr. William Mairs of Sis- 
sonville ; and Dr. C. I. Lewis of Kanawha 
Falls. 

Charles Irwin Lewis, M. D. was born at 
Cedar Grove, Kanawha County, Virginia, in 
1836. His father was Thomas A. Lewis, son 
of Dr. Charles Lewis, son of William Lewis, 
of the Augusta County family of Lewises. His 
mother was Mary, a daughter of Aaron Stock- 
ton. He graduated at the Jefferson Medical 
College of Philadelphia in 1858 and began the 
practice in the fall of the same year at Cannel- 
ton in Kanawha, where they were manufac- 
turing oil from Cannel coal and working over 
200 men, and he remained there until 1861 
when he enlisted in the service of the Con- 
federate States and was commissioned Captain 
of Troop I of the 8th Virginia Reg. Cavalry. 
His company was enlisted in Fayette and Ka- 
nawha counties. He continued in this service 
until 1864 when he was captured at Shepherds- 
town on the Potomac, and remained in prison 
with the "Immortal Six Hundred" until the 
end came, when he returned to Cannelton and 



took up his practice anew. He was never mar- 
ried and has become almost too old to go far, 
and his eyesight is not so good. 

Dr. John T. Cotton was born in 1819, and 
was the son of Dr. Cotton of Boston and an 
eminent physician. He graduated at Marietta 
College, studied with his father, attended med- 
ical school in Cincinnati, began practice in 
Ravenswood, Va. ; and just after his marriage 
to Sarah Fitzhugh in 1845, settled in Charles- 
ton. He devoted his life to his profession and 
his practice was a varied one. At one time the 
cholera visited the Valley and the Doctor had 
a bad case in Charleston. The patient thought 
he had to die and the Doctor was of somewhat 
the same opinion as medicine seemed to have 
no effect. While alone at his home with his 
wife, who was preparing a meal and was cook- 
ing a pot of cabbage, the sick man concluded he 
would have one more square meal. While his 
wife was out he helped himself freely, and 
when the Doctor came he was told what had 
been done. The sick man was wonderfully 
improved, — it cured him. Dr. Cotton's daugh- 
ters were Mrs. Governor Wilson, Mrs. Frank 
Woodman and Mrs. W. B. Donnally. He 
had two boys, John and Harry, both deceased. 
The Doctor took no special interest in politics, 
but was interested in the church and was a 
lifelong member of St. John's Episcopal 
Church. He was always, a generous, kind- 
hearted, intelligent gentleman, and ranked with 
the best physicians of the State. He died in 
1906. 

Dr. J. Parker was from New York and 
practiced surgery and was considered eminent 
in his profession, but he remained but a few 
years before the war. 

Dr. J. M. Stanton died in 1904. Dr. Wil- 
liam P. Hogue, Dr. William Dunbar, Dr. 
Daniel Mayer, Dr. E. W. Clarke. Dr. George 
P. Thompson, and Dr. F. H. Thomas were 
all practicing but a few years ago. 

Dr. T. L. Barber came to Kanawha and be- 
gan to practice, and seemed to be on the go 
all the time. He knew everybody and went 
about night and day. He erected the Barber 
Sanatorium and Hospital and took a great in- 
terest in electric therapeutics. He married 
the daughter of Judge J. H. Brown. He had 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



271 



not completed his hospital before he, himself, 
was taken down. He made a trip to England 
to consult a physician, and he had consulted 
eminent ones in Cincinnati, but the disease 
progressed and we had to give him up. He was 
buried in 19 10. He was a very active, ener- 
getic man, and devoted to his work. 

The members of the medical profession in 
Kanawha county are an able body of men — 
in general earnest students and fully up-to- 
date, both as physicians and surgeons, and re- 
flecting in full measure the intelligence of the 
community of which they form an important 
part. They are members — all or most of them 
— of the Kanawha County Medical Society, 
which meets twice a month in the Hotel Ka- 
nawha Assembly Room, and no small number 
belong also to the state and national associa- 
tions of their profession. They have never 
been found wanting in an emergency and are 
among our best citizens. We append a list of 
those now practicing in Charleston and the en- 
virons and the reader may find more detailed 
mention of many — both of the city and out- 
lying districts — in the biographical part of this 
volume. . 



physicians, 191 1 

Albert L. Amick, Laomi L. Aultz, Otis 
L. Aultz, Geo. S. Bacus, Summers F. Beck- 
with, M. Henry Brooks, Dorse W. Brown, 
Irene B. Bullard, John E. Cannady, Gus- 
tave B. Capito, Lawrence Carr, Ira P. 
Champe, Vincent T. Churchman, Charles 
E. Copeland, Edwin A. Davis, Eugene Davis, 
Richard T. Davis, Ellis E. Edgell, Henry F. 
Gamble, Martin V. Godbey, Patrick L. Gor- 
don, Job L. Gregory, Peter A. Haley, Geo. M. 
Hamilton, W. R. Hughey, Robert L. Jones, 
Alex. Littlepage, Geo. Lounsbery, J. M. Mc- 
Conikay, Frank L. McGee, W. A. McMillan, 
Geo. A. McQueen, Adam T. Mairs, W. F. 
May, Joseph Mayer, John Milbee, John W. 
Moore, John S. Morris, Hugh G. Nicholson, 
Charles O'Grady, Benjamin S. Preston, James 
Putney, Chas. A. Ray, Henry L. Robertson, 
W. S. Robertson, Chas. W. Root, G. Clarence 
Schoolfield, John T. Sharp, Arthur A. Shaw- 
key, Earl J. Stahl, E. D. Stump, John L. 
Stump, Fred H. Thaxton, W. J. Thomas, W 
W. Tompkins, Harry H. Young. 



CHAPTER XVII 



SOME OLD TIME CITIZENS 

Brief Sketches of Geo. Goshom, I. B. & F. Noyes, Edmund Saunders, Ezra Walker, James 
Trusloiv, Rev. John Snyder, John Slack, Greenbury Slack, John and Levi Welch, James 
Nevins, Col. James Atkinson, John McConihay, Adam Aultz, Joseph Bibby, Mathews 
Family, Blackwell Chilton, Geo. Fisher, David Shirkey, Charles Brozun Family, Col. 
Henry Fitzhugh, Maj. James Bream, Col Joseph Lovell, Bream Memorial Church — Whit- 
taker Family — The Van Bibbers — Andrew Donnally Jr. — Mathew P. Wyatt — Aaron 
Stockton — William W. Homing — Fry Family — Capt. S. C. Farley — Miller Family of Gau- 
ley Bridge — James Carlon's Memory — Col. Benj. H. Smith — Harrison B. Smith — Gen. 
Daniel Smith — Luke Wilcox — Dr. Spice r Patrick — Shrc-wsbury Family— Capt. Sam 
Christy — and Mr. Truslow. 



George Goshorn was the ancestor of the 
Goshorns of Kanawha; he was born in 1789, in 
Pennsylvania, and died in Charleston in 1845. 
He came to Charleston in 1822, and by energy 
and integrity he and his sons accumulated a 
fortune and maintained their character as the 
most reliable merchants. His sons were John 
H., William F., Jacob, George Alvan and 
David A. They were Democrats and Presby- 
terians, and of course were faithful and con- 
scientious citizens. 

Noyes, Isaac, Bradford, and Franklin — 
They came from Columbia County, New York, 
in 1785; Isaac came in 1804 and Bradford in 
1809. Isaac married Cynthia Morris in 1807. 
They engaged in salt making, selling goods and 
buying furs, and conducted a general mercan- 
tile business. Isaac retired with a handsome 
property in 1848. He was devoted to die 
Presbyterian church and as all the family of his 
name were good musicians, they always had 
a good choir and he was an elder in said church. 
He introduced the organ in the church services 
about 1830, which of course made some of the 
members groan, but it was continued and they 
used it and also had a base viol, but with a 
good man with good music, and a good 



preacher, what did the opposition amount to? 

Bradford Noyes was diligent in business 
and served the Lord, and was blessed with 
success. His family were Mary, Annie, James 
Bradford, and Emma. Mary, the wife of John 
C. Ruby, died in 1867. Mr. Bradford Noyes 
was born in 1788 and died in 1850. 

Franklin Noyes was born in 1793, came to 
Kanawha in 1826. was a merchant and salt 
maker. He died in 1856; his wife was Nancy 
Venable and her children were Bradford, 
Catherine, Isaac, Philip H., Franklin, William 
A.. Charles, James B. and Benjamin. Who 
was it that ever missed these boys playing on 
all sorts of musical instruments, or the laugh 
of Jim B. ? 

Edmund Saunders came from Ireland in 
1845, where he was born in 1774. came to 
Charleston in 1863 ; he lived to be over one 
hundred years old. 

Ezra Walker was born in Vermont in 1802: 
he was graduated in the Ohio Cniversity at 
Athens, began to practice law, after having 
taught school in the Kanawha Salines, in 1832. 
He became superintendent of the James Run 
and Kanawha Company, which included the 
turnpike and river from Covington, Va., to the 



272 



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273 



Ohio River. His first wife was Miss Mary 
Smith of Staunton, Va., who he married in 
1832; afterward in 1849 he married Julia 
Shepherd. He died in 1853, leaving his wife 
and two children, Ezra and Kate. He was a 
finished scholar, an elder of the Presbyterian 
church, and a close friend of Dr. J. M. Brown, 
pastor of said church in Charleston, and of 
Rev. Dr. McElhenny of Lewisburg, and of 
Judge Lewis and George W. Summers of 
Kanawha. He was known as a Christian gen- 
tleman. 

James Truslow was born in Fredericksburg, 
Va., in 1778. He married Agnes Mosby Finch 
in Fluvana in 1807, came to Kanawha in 181 1, 
and died in 1830. He was noted for his strict 
integrity and sincere piety and his good works 
in aid of religion. His children were: Mary, 
the wife of Geo. H. Patrick; Elizabeth, the 
wife of Rev. C. R. Baldwin; America, John, 
James, William and Charles Truslow. 

Rev. John Snyder was among the first set- 
tlers of Kanawha and lived at Queen Shoals 
on Elk, and died at the residence of his son, 
Daniel B. Snyder. 

John Slack came to Kanawha from Green- 
brier county at an early day. He had two 
sons, John and Greenbury. John was born in 
1810 and spent near all his life in Charleston; 
he had been a salt maker, farmer, constable, 
deputy sheriff, sheriff, merchant, clerk of the 
county court, and others too numerous to men- 
tion, and was given anything he desired. He 
was upright,, efficient, kind hearted, and never 
offensive. His wife was Sarah Porter; their 
children were Fannie, who was the wife of 
John S. Cole, who were the parents of John 
Slack Cole; Edward B., on his farm on Elk; 
George Porter Slack, and Miss Tidee who 
married a minister. 

Greenbury Slack was born in 1807 in Ka- 
nawha, and was a man of great positiveness 
of character. He was a justice, a farmer and 
merchant, and always when not otherwise en- 
gaged was studying his books and getting in- 
formation from papers. He was well in- 
formed in history, mathematics and poetry, 
reading such authors as Milton, Young, Pol- 
iock, Shakespeare. In 1861 he took a very 
decided stand for the union of the states in 



opposition to secession. He was sent to the 
convention at Wheeling and aided in the re- 
organization of the state of Virginia in the 
Union, notwithstanding the action of the con- 
vention at Richmond. He was also in the 
convention of 1863 which organized the 
State of West Virginia; he was in the senate 
of the new state. Prior to the war he was a 
Whig, subsequent thereto a Republican, and 
more of a writer than a speaker. He died in 
1873 in his sixty-fifth year. - His children 
were Major Hedgeman, Capt. John Slack, Jr., 
and Mary, wife of John W. Wingfield. 

John Slack, Jr., is now the oldest survivor 
of the name. He has been sheriff or deputy 
sheriff near all his life, a careful, thoughtful 
man of affairs and a good judge of humanity. 

Welch, John and Levi. — They came from 
Pennsylvania. Levi Welch was a merchant 
of Charleston, a man of sound business sense. 
He was educated, of great moral worth, and 
enjoyed the respect of all with whom he had 
any dealings. A resident of the Salines, he 
was also a salt-maker, and was engaged as 
manager of the shipment and sale of salt. He 
died of cholera in 1849. He married in 182 1, 
a daughter of Goodrich Slaughter, one of the 
early settlers, and was connected with other 
prominent families. John was, like his 
brother Levi, a good clerk, bookkeeper and 
accountant, was deputy sheriff and merchant, 
and was strictly honest and careful. His wife 
was a sister of James C. McFarland, the 
president of the Bank of Virginia. He died 
in 1856, aged sixty-seven. His widow re- 
sided on Summers street. His son, James, lost 
his life in the Civil War at the battle of 
Scary on the 17th of July, 1861. And there 
was George, his sister Miss Cornelia, and Levi. 

James Nevins, born in 1806, in Rockbridge, 
Va., was a blacksmith, who obtained a knowl- 
edge of the ordinary branches of an English 
education. He went to Greenbrier in 1840, 
and having been a mechanic all his life was a 
master of his trade. He married in Green- 
brier, Miss Jane McClelland, a woman of 
great worth and character. In 1843, he came 
to Kanawha and his shop was on Front street 
near the lower ferry. Then he went to Gos- 
horn street. He was of great physical strength 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



274 

and endurance and was an upright, reliable 
man and an excellent mechanic. He was a 
man of very positive convictions, did his own 
thinking, and acted on his own judgment. He 
was a consistent member of the Presbyterian 
church and always in his seat when the church 
was open each Sunday. His daughter was 
the wife of Mr. Edward Irwin, for years a 
member of the council of the city and one of 
the best hearted men that ever lived. Once 
a poor, hard-looking man applied to a good 
man on the street for some money to get his 
breakfast and the good man declined for fear 
he would spend it for drink. He then applied 
to Mr. Irwin and he gave it to him for fear, 
he said, that the poor fellow was hungry. 

Col. James Atkinson was born in Kanawha 
in 1811 and died in 1866. He was the son 
of George and Sarah Atkinson, and his par- 
ents were not wealthy, but- they raised their 
family on a farm and of course there were 
no free schools; nor were there many of any 
other kind without being attended with con- 
siderable expense. James, like all other boys 
that wanted to learn, managed to secure a fair 
English education, which qualified him for the 
ordinary branches of business. After remain- 
ing at home on the farm until he was twenty- 
one years old, he was a hale and hearty, stout 
young man, with plenty of good sense and also 
what was another qualification, he was of 
good address, reasonable, fair and upright, 
and attentive to business. He was made a 
constable and was kept busy. He then learned 
the trade of a carpenter and was much more 
than a common one, for he was an architect 
and could handle large contracts. For several 
years he gave this business his exclusive at- 
tention. In 1840 he engaged in a little specu- 
lation and he with one or two others loaded 
a barge with poplar lumber and started for 
New Orleans. They took their own time and 
built houses, furnishing the material, and it 
was two years before he reached home again. 
He then married Miss Miriam Racier, daugh- 
ter of George Rader of Nicholas county. He 
then engaged in boat building, and then pur- 
chased a farm on Elk Run and went thereon 
in 1845. He was elected a justice of the 
peace and continued to be re-elected, for he 



held the confidence and respect of the people. 
He was a deputy sheriff under R. H. Early, 
under John Slack, Sr., and under John Slack, 
Jr., and was sheriff himself in 1861-62. He 
gave satisfaction in all relations of life. Dur- 
ing the war he and Greenbury Slack did a 
mercantile business and it was a success, and 
he continued thereat until the fall of 1865. 
He was a quiet, generous, free-hearted man, 
and his home was always open to entertain 
ministers, and he was a liberal supporter of his 
own church, the Methodist church. He was 
well known throughout the entire county and 
was well received wherever he went. 

In the summer of 1864 he was riding down 
Elk run, going, to Charleston, and he stopped 
at Mr. Duling's house and took dinner. Mrs. 
Duling. who was his daughter, prepared a 
good dinner for him. and he enjoyed a hearty 
meal. Before leaving, however, knowing that 
they had made some cider and had set it away 
in jugs in the cellar, he went down to get a 
glass of it, and near the cider there had been 
set a glass of caustic soda, or lye, and he helped 
himself to a glass and by mistake took a swal- 
low of this deadly soda, and the wonder was 
that it did not kill him at once. He was taken 
home and he lived, confined to his bed, for a 
long while, but never regained his health, 
although he was able to walk around. He 
was a fine, large, hale and hearty man of over 
two hundred and twenty pounds, he after- 
wards became but a living skeleton. After 
two years, in September, 1866, he finally had 
to yield and gave up the struggle, and the en- 
tire country mourned his sad loss. Mrs. At- 
kinson, his wife, was the most liberal, gen- 
erous, good-natured person that ever lived 
anywhere. If she had a fault, it was her over- 
generosity and kindness of heart. 

John McConihay was an early settler of the 
Kanawha valley, and his home was at the 
mouth of Field's creek, about fifteen miles 
from Charleston, on the south side of the run. 
He owned a large body of land, valuable for 
its coal as also for its timber and for farming 
purposes. He was an active, energetic busi- 
ness man and he became the owner of a large 
estate, and he was the head of a large and re- 
spectable family. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



275 



Adam Aultz was an early settler of this 
county and settled on the Pocatalico run in the 
northwestern part of the county. He had a 
good farm on which he resided, a good citizen 
and an honest one, and a representative man 
of his part of the county, and he lived to be 
quite an old man, with a large and worthy 
family of well-to-do people. 

Joseph Bibby was born in England in 1805, 
and he became a miller by trade, and at twenty- 
six years of age, shortly after his marriage, 
he emigrated to the United States, reaching 
Norfolk in 1832. Afterward he made his 
way westward and located in Kanawha in No- 
vember, 1832. The Ruffners had built a large 
planing-mill on Elk river, in Charleston. Mr. 
Bibby succeeded in getting work immediately 
and after about five years he purchased the 
mill and owned it ever afterwards. It has 
been called Bibby's mill, and by most people 
it is supposed that he erected it himself. He 
also spent a few years in making salt, but mill- 
ing was his work for a lifetime. He also in- 
vested in real estate in Charleston, which 
proved a good investment. He and his wife 
made a trip to England in i860 and spent six 
months among his old associates at the home 
of his youth. There were no better people 
than the Bibbys, and their English customs 
and accent always made them interesting asso- 
ciates. 

Mathews Family. — In 1808 this family 
came from Buckingham county, Va., to Ka- 
nawha and settled near the mouth of Davis 
creek. Before they arrived in Virginia they 
had lived in Wales. Thomas had two broth- 
ers, and he came in his own ship with all his 
possessions and a large number of men with 
him to the Chesapeake bay. It seems that 
these brothers did not like the English and had 
incurred the enmity of some British officers, 
and hence they departed for the colonies with 
all they had. Thomas Mathews located in 
Buckingham and he had a son, Thomas, Sr., 
who came to Kanawha as aforesaid, and it 
was Thomas, Sr., who remarked that before 
the lawyers, doctors and preachers reached 
the Kanawha valley, there was as peaceful, 
healthy and good moral vicinity as could be 
found, but — ! Thomas Sedden Aximanda 



Marhews and Guy P. Mathews were the two 
sons, and Lucy the daughter, and she was 
Mrs. Swindler. Both sons were surveyors, 
and Thomas S. A. Mathews (called Sutton for 
Sedden) j was one of the commissioners of for- 
feited and delinquent land, with James M. 
Laidley the other commissioner; this was 
about 1840. 

Guy P. Mathews was a surveyor also; his 
wife was Jane Wilson (a sister of Alex. Wil- 
son). He has two sons: Thomas J. Mathews, 
a surveyor, and John, the steamboat captain. 
Thomas C. married Miss Wygall of Diblin, 
Va. Captain John married Miss Walker of 
lirownstown. Mary C, the oldest child of 
Guy P., married B. F. Porter, and her son 
was Guy A. Porter. Elizabeth married Mr. 
Burks of Cabell county. Lucy married George 
Morrison, whose son was Hale Morrison. 
Sarah and Mattie never married. Sutton was 
bom in 1800 and died in 1850. Guy P. lived 
on his farm and died thereon. It was the 
father, Thomas, who made the eight day- 
docks which were six or eight feet tall, show- 
ing the hours, days, weeks and the quarter of 
the moon, and various other inventions which 
showed him to be a most skillful mechanic. 
Sutton discovered cannel coal and also that 
oil could be made from this coal, which led 
to the coal operations at several places in 
the county. It was the father that at an early 
day got up the great race between the steam- 
boat, Daniel Webster (Captain Coleman), and 
a canoe manned by six men, to run from Mai- 
den down to Charleston, and everybody took 
sides and made bets, the people being about 
equally divided. Mr. Mathews was one of the 
principal men, and he bet on the canoe and 
lost $500. They prepared the canoe and had 
six good men, and at the start the canoe kept 
ahead for awhile, but the steamer finally 
passed it and won the race. Dr. Hale said 
that almost every man and woman had a bet 
and the banks were lined with spectators, and 
the whole community interested. 

Blackwell Chilton came from Fauquier, Va., 
where he was born in 1783, landing in Kana- 
wha in 1827, and was a farmer. He died in 
Charleston in 1872, in his ninetieth year. He 
was an industrious, honest, enterprising man 



276 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



of more than ordinary ability and enjoyed the 
respect of his fellowmen. 

George Fisher lived on his farm near Sis- 
sonville on the Poca river, and was about 
ninety years of age when he passed away. 
He was upright and industrious, took care of 
his property, a good farmer and accumulated 
a good estate. He was noted for letting alone 
other people's affairs. He left a large family, 
even to great grandchildren. 

David Shirkey was also in the Sissonville 
vicinity, one of the leading farmers of the 
county, a good reliable man, industrious, hon- 
orable, having a large family of respected 
people. 

Charles Brown Family. — Charles Brown 
was born in Amherst county, Va., in the year 
1770. He was the owner of land in Kanawha 
as early as 1804, and we also know that he 
married a daughter of Reuben Slaughter of 
Kanawha in 1808, and that he lived in Ka- 
nawha until his death in 1849. Col. Andrew 
Donnally's eldest daughter Mary, was the wife 
of Reuben Slaughter, and his daughter, 
Elizabeth Slaughter, was the wife of Charles 
Brown, and Charles Brown's children were : 
Taliyrand P., Christopher, William Pitt and 
Charles Porus. Charles Brown purchased 
land in Teay's valley, on Kanawha, on Third, 
on Guyandotte, Morris Spring branch, lots in 
Charleston. Peters Creek, Davis Creek and 
Elks Run. He patented land in 1818 on Ka- 
nawha, Hurricane, Elk, Big Sandy, Coal and 
Rocky fork, near 2,000 acres, besides pur- 
chasing much more. It is said that he was 
eccentric, that in after life he kept the ferry 
at the mouth of Elk across both Elk and Ka- 
nawha : and he was so well known that most 
of his friends called him "Charley.'' He had 
been in business with Mr. Whitteker and this 
is supposed to have been while he was en- 
gaged in making salt just below the mouth 
of Lewis creek. He lived in the vicinity of 
Maiden; on which side of the river we have 
not learned, but we know he owned land on 
Rush creek and made a lease for 99 years, 
which expired but a few years ago. Late in 
his life he lived in Charleston at the mouth 
of Elk. He evidently was a man of means 



and much real estate. His family connections 
were of the best. 

Taliyrand P. Brown was associated with 
Capt. James Payne in the boat business on 
the Kanawha. He was the founder of Win- 
field, in Putnam county, and afterwards 
moved to the W est. He died in 1881 at sev- 
enty-two years of age. His wife was Sophia 
Forqueran and he had several children, one 
of whom was Anna Maria, who married 
Isaac Fulton of Massachusetts, who had a 
daughter Edith, and she married Harold 
Phelps, who died in 1901, whose widow lives 
in New York. Mrs. Phelps was in Charleston 
in 19 10 looking up the graves of her ancestors 
in Kanawha. She says one of Mr. Brown's 
eccentricities was that he always voted just 
on the opposite side from that on which 
George Goshorn voted; which would indicate 
that he was a Whig for the Goshorns were 
all born Democrats. Christopher died in Mis- 
souri without children. 

William Pitt Brown died at the age of 
nineteen and was buried with his father. 
Charles Porus Brown was a physician. He 
married Amanda Roberts who was the sister 
of the wife of Napoleon Boyer, who recently 
died in Florida. Susan Brown, a daughter of 
Taliyrand. married Benjamin Harriman, a 
son of John, who was a son of Shadrack Har- 
riman. John Harriman married Nancy 
Morris. 

Col. Henry Fitzhugh. — Henry Fitzhugh, 
the youngest son of Henry and Henrietta S. 
Fitzhugh, was born at Bunker Hill, a country 
seat of the family near Warrentown, Va., 
January 10, 1830. His parents were descended 
from a long line of distinguished English an- 
cestors and he inherited from them many 
noble traits of character and graces of man- 
ner that adorned his life. He removed with 
his father's family in 1834 to Charleston, 
W. Va. In the fall of 1840 he entered Mer- 
cer Academy, then under the charge of Rev. 
Stuart Robinson, an accomplished scholar and 
successful educator. Under his tuition Henry 
was prepared in 1844 to enter the sophomore 
class of Marietta College. His record there, 
both as a student and as a young man of 
gentle, refined and polished manners, was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



277 



most praiseworthy; he was a great favorite 
with his classmates and much admired in the 
charming society of that delightful old town. 
Immediately after graduating in 1847, he com- 
menced the study of law and received his li- 
cense to practice his profession early in the 
year 1850, at Ravens wood, Jackson county, 
Va. (now W. Va.) 

After his father's death in 1855, he removed 
to Charleston and formed a partnership with 
his brother Nicholas Fitzhugh. In 1857 he 
was employed by the stockholders of the bank 
in Maiden, which had become involved in dif- 
ficulties, to search out the matter and place 
it on a sound financial basis. So successful 
was he that he won the admiration and con- 
fidence of the stockholders to the extent that 
they placed the entire management of the bank 
in his hands. It was then called the Bank of 
Charleston: he was made president and A. 
Spencer Nye was cashier. The institution be- 
came prosperous and so continued until the 
Civil War. when by the arbitrary rule of Gen- 
eral Wise, the funds of all the banks of 
Charleston were removed to Richmond and ap- 
propriated to public use. 

Henry Fitzhugh joined the Confederate 
army in 1861 as lieutenant colonel under Gen- 
eral A. G. Jenkins. In 1862 he entered the 
Kanawha valley with Adjutant General Lor- 
ing. Sent to Europe by the Confederate 
states government in 1864, to negotiate funds 
and to establish a series of blockade runners, 
he was captured on his outward bound pas- 
sage and made a prisoner in New York city, 
but through the influence of friends and a 
little gold he was released and was soon in 
London. He became acquainted with Lord 
Palmerston, Thomas Carlyle and others, who 
were exceedingly kind to him. He was em- 
ployed after the war was over to investigate 
for commercial purposes the mines of New 
Mexico and Central America, but these coun- 
tries were so unsettled that no legitimate busi- 
ness could be done. Going to New York 
where he had been a prisoner three years be- 
fore, he happened to meet Mr. Suiter of 
Fredericksburg, with whom he had become 
acquainted in the South during the war. and 
thev went into the banking- business under the 



firm name of Suiter & Co., and became quite 
successful. Subsequently Col. Fitzhugh went 
to Chicago and took a cold, which brought 
on pneumonia and caused his death. He died 
in New York April 10, 1890. The company 
and men with whom he did business spoke of 
him in the highest terms of respect and said 
that his name was a synonym of all that was 
good and beneficent. 

Maj. James Bream and Col. Joseph Lovell. 
— To these men also are the people much in- 
debted for the development of the country 
discovered and settled by the pioneers. 

Major James Bream was a London mer- 
chant who came to Virginia and settled in 
Richmond in 1798. His family consisted of 
his wife, who had been Mrs. Lovell, and the 
following named children : Leonora Caroline 
Lovell, who became the wife of Dr. Henry 
Rogers ; Cassandra Lovell, who was after- 
ward Mrs. Lafong; Alfred Lovell, who died 
young; Joseph Lovell, subject of this sketch; 
Alethea Bream, who became Mrs. Brigham ; 
and Lavinia Bream, who was the wife of Dr. 
Spicer Patrick. For years after Major Bream 
and family had settled in Richmond and he 
had established himself in business and was 
prospering, and his children being educated, 
things went on in a well ordered, quiet way. 
He was making money, teaching the children 
and living happily. 

By the time Joseph Lovell became twenty- 
one years old, in 1814, he had progressed in 
his studies, had read law and had obtained 
his license to practice in the courts of Vir- 
ginia. He then thought it best to make a 
trip westward to determine the best location 
for him in which to settle and go to work. It 
was in Maiden that we first hear of him. He 
had passed through the best part of the agri- 
cultural domain of the valley, where farms 
were being opened up, houses being improved 
and erected, fences and barns constructed, or- 
chards, fields, meadows all aglow, and he had 
reached the bustling locality of the salt makers. 
Here he let it be known that he was ready 
to do business as a lawyer and here we find 
him employed to settle a question of the right 
of title to a piece of land. This compelled 
him to visit the courthouse to examine the 



278 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



records, and he then became interested in the 
"town at the mouth of Elk," and in the lands 
surrounding the same. Mr. Lovell was pleased 
with the outlook, with the valley, the river 
with the prospective manufacture of salt, and 
its adequate facilities for transportation and 
connection with the outer world. He saw 
with prophetic eye the growth that was 
bound to come — factories, farms, fortune and 
fame. Not only did he settle at once, but he 
insisted on his step-father coming also, that 
there was not only room for the employment 
of his own energies, but all the opportunities 
for business and the accumulation of wealth 
that Major Bream could wish. He began to 
invest in real estate and salt property, while 
Major Bream began to dispose of his property 
and collect his assets preparatory to joining 
Mr. Lovell in Kanawha. 

It was in 1816 that Major Bream visited 
Mr. Lovell and it was not long after that he 
and his family were located here also. Mr. 
Joseph Lovell had business to attend to. he 
had money to loan and to invest, and he was 
engaged in salt making. He was a splendid 
talker and he knew what to say to please the 
people, and it was not long before he was one 
of the most popular of men. In February. 
1818, he met Miss Bettie Washington Lewis, 
a daughter of Mr. Howell Lewis of Mason 
county (son of Col. Fielding Lewis, whose 
wife was Bettie Washington, the sister of the 
General). Dr. Henry Ruffner officiated and 
they were married, and resided about half way 
between Maiden and Charleston. In 1819 he 
was elected to the House of Delegates and 
went to Richmond to the legislature. We 
said that Mr. Lovell was popular with the 
people. He was given by the county court 
every office that he desired ; he was made an 
officer of the militia, and promoted in rapid 
succession until he was made a colonel of the 
Eighth regiment of the Thirteenth brigade of 
the First division of Virginia militia. He was 
sent to the Legislature until he declined to 
further attend ; so that he had all the civil and 
military honors that he could wish. He now 
turned his attention to the care of his wife 
and family. His children were: Alfred, born 
December, 1818, who died in 1842; Richard 



Channing Moore, born in 1822, who married 
Mary Patrick; Howell Lewis, born in 1824, 
who married Miss Beuhring of Cabell county; 
Joseph, Jr., born in 1827, who married Miss 
Nye of Marietta; and Fayette A., born in 
1830, who married Miss Shrewsbury of Mai- 
den. Colonel Lovell removed into Charleston, 
built his residence on Virginia street and his 
office adjoining, and his business house lot is 
now covered with the thirteen-story building 
of Alderson and Stephenson, at the corner of 
Kanawha and Capitol streets. He organized 
the first trust in Kanawha, and had all the salt 
factories under the control of one head, which 
directed all matters of the shipment and sale 
of salt, and he transformed the county from 
a Jeffersonian to a Whig county, and Henry 
Clay was the salt-maker's idol. Col. Joseph 
Lovell died in 1835. 

Major James Bream lived a part of the 
time in the vicinity of his furnace, but re- 
moved to Charleston to spend the remainder of 
his days. He was a genial, good-natured old 
gentleman, and took a great interest in his 
family, and the Lovell children were the same 
to 'him as his own. It is told of him that he 
had a habit sometimes when excited of using 
rather strong language, but never failed, if 
he used a profane word to ask pardon for the 
same. This family, being English, were 
naturally Episcopalians, but there was no 
Episcopal church in Charleston for some time, 
and the Major said to his wife that they 
should be connected with one of the churches 
here and proposed that they should unite with 
Dr. Henry Ruffner's church. She did not ex- 
actly like the idea : in fact, one of her descend- 
ants said, she was so much opposed to the 
proposition that she manifested her opposi- 
tion by giving the footstool she was using such 
a kick that it flew across the room, but she 
afterwards complied with the Major's sugges- 
tion. Even after their own church was or- 
ganized here, they made no change, although 
Mrs. Lovell was one of the prime movers in 
having the Episcopal church built here and 
was one of its supporters. There is a street 
in Charleston called Lovell street after the 
Colonel, and all of West Charleston belonged 
to Major Bream, in fact all the land from Elk 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



279 



river down to Two Mile creek and then some, 
besides some salt furnaces and other real es- 
tate. In fact he was quite a wealthy man in 
his day and time. He died in 1842, leaving 
his estate to his wife by his will. 

Bream Memorial Church. — It is said that 
Mrs. Mary Bream, who died in 1845, also 
made her will by which she disposed of the 
Bream estate among her children, treating the 
Lovell children the same as the Bream chil- 
dren. Also by her will she gave the sum of 
$500 "to the Bishop of the Presbyterian 
church of Charleston." upon certain terms 
and conditions, and it has been stated that 
there has not yet been found a Presbyterian 
minister here that for $500 was willing to 
sign a receipt as a bishop, agreeing to said 
conditions. The pictures of Mr. and Mrs. 
Bream are in the possession of Mr. Andrew 
S. Alexander, and they should be copied and 
enlarged and placed in the Session room of 
the Bream Memorial church on the west side 
of Elk, where a handsome stone church has 
been erected to their memory ; and the Episco- 
pal church should have a window ; if not to 
Mr. and Mrs. Bream, then to the memory of 
Mrs. Lovell and her family. 

All of these families are buried in the 
Spring Hill cemetery of Charleston. Major 
Bream's life was more retired, reserved and 
exclusive than that of Col. Lovell's, who was 
a more public man in his affairs. The Major 
enjoyed the quiet private life of an English- 
man, while the Colonel loved to meet the 
people and enjoyed their manifestations of ap- 
plause, which they were always ready to give. 
Both of these men did much to build up the 
town and the county; they, brought money and 
energy and made business, and should ever 
be remembered as helpers of the town. The 
Memorial church was a very proper mark of 
respect to their memory. They were good 
people who aided the church and helped the 
cause, to which all their descendants are de- 
voted. 

Whittaker Family. — There were four 
brothers who came to Kanawha from Massa- 
chusetts- — William, Aaron. Thomas and Levi 
Whittaker. The children of William were : 
Norris S.. Alfred. Henry. William and Phil- 



ena. The children of Aaron were : Charles, 
Elizabeth, AVilliam, Minnie, Keith, and Lydia. 
The children of Thomas were : Frank, William, 
John, Helen and Thomas. The children of 
Levi were: Maria, Salina and Wallace. 
William came to Kanawha in 1804 and Aaron 
came in 1810. All were engaged early in 
making salt and all were active busy people. 
All of them lived in Kanawha and most of 
the time in Charleston. 

Van Bibbers. — This family came from Hol- 
land. Jacobs Van Bibber came in 1684 and 
Isaac Jacobs, the father came in 1687, as also 
did Mathias. The colony was headed by Pas- 
torius, a very learned German and they were 
situated at or near Germantown, Pa., and in 
1 69 1 a charter was obtained for their town, 
and Jacobs Isaac was one of the committee 
men with power to hold court, impose fines, 
hold a market, etc. They manufactured fine 
linen; printing was also done and the Bible 
was printed in German thirty-nine years be- 
fore it was in English. There were among 
them Mullenburg, Pennypacker, Rittenhousen, 
Wister, Cassell, Deidenstricker, Levering, 
Keppell and others. Mathias Van Bibber lo- 
cated 6,168 acres on the Skipeck and the lo- 
cality was known as Van Bibbers Township. 
Then he went to work to colonize his land 
and began 100 acres for a church which was 
built in 1725. The Van Bibbers were men of 
standing, ability, enterprise and means. The 
father went to Philadelphia as a merchant and 
did business on High Street and there died 
in 171 1. Mathias and others moved to Mary- 
land and the family has been distinguished both 
in War and in Court. 

At the falls of the Kanawha, Van Bibbers 
Rock, has been known and keeps in mind the 
daring Indian fighters of the early days. 
There was Capt. John Van Bibber, who came 
to Kanawha in 1781 and he died in 1821. 
Those that came were Isaac. Peter. John and 
Brigetta. Peter came to Greenbrier County 
and settled there. John was a surveyor and 
his wife was Chloe Standiford and she was 
fair to look upon. John became a trader and 
took a boat and went as far south as Natchez. 
He. with some others, undertook to return 
across the country and was caught by the In- 



280 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dians and after being robbed of all he had, 
was turned loose in the woods and left to 
wander promiscuously. After a long solitary 
wandering, he one day came across a cabin, 
which proved to be the home of Daniel Boone 
on the Holsetein, where he found help and pro- 
tection. 

John and Peter and a Mr. Alderson came 
down the Kanawha Valley and they were said 
to have discovered the Burning Spring. They 
were at the Battle of Point Pleasant and John 
was made ? captain at said battle. The Van 
Bibbers remained on the Border. 

Brigetta married Isaac Robinson and had 
her home on Crooked Creek in Mason County. 
Rhoda was a beautiful daughter and there was 
a son. Rhoda was killed and the boy was 
made a prisoner. Brigetta's husband was 
killed and she and her little boy were made 
captives. After several years she was pur- 
chased by a Frenchman and set at liberty and 
made her way back to Botetourt. 

After peace was made, and after she re- 
gained her health and strength, she went back 
to where the Indians were to secure her boy, 
arriving at a time when the small-pox had 
broken out among them. She took the disease 
and was laid up for some time, and when she 
found her boy, he was so well satisfied with 
his life of freedom that he refused to come 
away with her. After a long time she finally 
persuaded him to return with her to Point 
Pleasant. The boy did not long survive, but 
Brigetta lived to be ninety-five years old. 
/y Andrew Donnally, Jr., son of Col. Andrew 
Donnally, was born in Fort Donnally. and the 
wife of young Donnally was Majorie Van 
Bibber, daughter of Capt. John Van Bibber. 
They were married in 1802 and continued to 
live at the homestead of Col. Donnally, about 
five miles above the mouth of Elk. for nearly 
a half century. Andrew, Jr., had six sons 
and several daughters. One of the latter mar- 
ried James Henry Fry and another married 
Col. John Lewis. Daniel Boone was a near 
neighbor of Col. Donnally and Jesse Boone was 
a brother-in-law of Andrew Donnally. Jr., 
both of whom married Misses Van Bibber. // 

Mathew P. Wyatt. — He was born at the 
mouth of Blue Stone river in 1799 and his 



parents were Edward and Rachel (Burnsidej 
Wyatt. He was one of a family of ten chil- 
dren and he came to Kanawha when he was 
eighteen years old. When he became twenty- 
two he was married to Caroline Lewis Tully, 
a daughter of James and Elizabeth ( Starke ) 
Tully. She was the first cousin of John L. 
Cole, the surveyor, lawyer, poet and humorist 
of the county. The children of Mathew P. 
Wyatt were Julia Ann, James Blackburn. 
Mark, Clark, Benjamin F., Amanda Jane, 
Lucy Joan, Dick Johnson and Leathia Maris, 
the latter being Mrs. Jack Bowles. Mathew P. 
lived just below the mouth of Cabin Creek, 
now known as Chelyan, but later he removed 
about four miles up Cabin Creek in the year 
1846. He was a farmer, engaged in the lum- 
ber and timber business. He was elected a 
constable and afterwards was elected a jus- 
tice of the peace, and continued to hold court 
for the people, and in fair weather he held 
his court in his front yard under a locust tree. 
He always desired to adjust and compromise 
rather than litigate. He was a Democrat be- 
fore and after the war and was opposed to 
secession all the time, but insisted in maintain- 
ing the union of the states. 

When the Wheeling government was or- 
ganized he continued as such. There was an 
election of some kind to be held and he was 
called on to act in some capacity as an officer 
in connection with said election. He knew 
that it was a dangerous piece of work and he 
thought it best to let it go by until more quiet 
times. The officials, however, were unwilling 
to consent to this, and he had to show his 
loyalty by doing the work ; otherwise he would 
have been regarded as disloyal to the state, 
and so, to get along without trouble, he did 
as he was desired. A short while afterwards, 
he was arrested for taking part in the Wheel- 
ing government and made a political prisoner. 
He was carried over to Richmond in October, 
1862 and held there in durance vile till June. 
1863. He said that part of the time he had 
a pretty tough time of it, that much of the 
time he was sick and did not have many delica- 
cies to eat, but that they treated him as well 
as they were able. His predicament was one 
in which he had not much choice. He had to 



RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM E. MOHLER. ST. ALBANS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



283 



act. or show favor with the Confederates, 
which he had no disposition to do, as giving 
aid and comfort to the party which he op- 
posed and he had to make his selection of 
prisons, and with the hope of avoiding both, 
he acted as he did, and in fact, he had little 
or no choice. It was pretty hard on the old 
J. P. 

He was a great friend of Judge Brown's. 
They had much business together in litigating 
land titles and ejectment suits, and he had a 
great admiration for the judge's skill in man- 
aging such cases. The judge was a Democrat 
before the war, as was also the squire, and 
they were much together and the judge was 
glad to find him so loyal and safely Union 
in his sentiments, and he stated after it was 
all over that the judge was one of the best of 
men and he was disposed to go with him in 
almost everything except one, and in that he 
could not go — that was, that the Judge had 
gone into the Republican party and he just 
could not go that far, even to be in good com- 
pany. 

Squire Wyatt survived his wife a number 
of years, he dying in 1874. His son, Ben- 
jamin F. Wyatt, was for many years a deputy 
sheriff of Kanawha County and he was elected 
to the legislature of West Virginia in 1874. 
.^j^/Varon Stockton was born in Princeton, N. 
J., in 1776 and was a cousin of Commodore 
Stockton. Aaron went first to Kentucky and 
afterwards came to Kanawha and married 
Elizabeth, a sister of William Tompkins, whose 
wife was Rachel Grant, and Mr. Tompkins 
was one of the leading saltmakers. Mr. 
Stockton at one time owned the "Burning 
Spring" — Cedar Grove, . at the mouth of 
Kelly's Creek and the Kanawha Falls, where 
he lived when the war came on and into the 
rebellion he went and remained until it was 
over^/He had two sons and four daughters : 
William was drowned in the New River; 
John died many years afterwards; Eliza mar- 
ried James Veasey, father Oscar; Jane mar- 
ried Mr. Shaw, then Mr. Hale and then Mr. 
Hawkins; Rebecca married James Trimble; 
Mary married Thomas A. Lewis and they 
were the parents of Dr. C. I. Lewis. 

William Waller Henning went from Soott- 



sylvania to Albemarle and settled in Charlottes- 
ville in 1793. He dealt in real estate and 
owned a distillery and it is said that he was 
not very successful. In 1805 he went to 
Richmond to engage in the collection and pub- 
lication of all the laws of Virginia, and he was 
aided and encouraged in the enterprise by 
Thomas Jefferson and by Mr. William Mun- 
ford in the publication of the Henning and 
Munford Reports of the decisions of the 
Courts. The Henning Statistics at Large, 
have become very valuable, both as History 
and Law, and all the lawyers and historians 
want them in their libraries. The wife of 
William Waller Henning was Agatha, the 
daughter of Henry Banks. He died in 1828. 

FRY FAMILY 

Joshua Fry was born in England, was edu- 
cated at Oxford, and came to Virginia. He 
was professor of Mathematics in "William and 
Mary," was present at the organization of Al- 
bemarle county and he was one of the magis- 
trates. He was the county lieutenant and was 
the surveyor of the county, and was possessed 
of several tracts of land. He was made the 
Colonel of the Virginia Regiment of which 
George Washington was Lieut. -Col. in 1754 — 
in the French and Indian War. Col. Fry died 
and was buried at Fort Wills, now Cumber- 
land, Md., and Washington took command. 
His home in Albemarle was called "View- 
Mont" and his widow lived there until her 
death in 1773. She was Mrs. Mary Micon 
Hill when she married Col. Fry. His children 
were John Henry, Martha, the wife of John 
Nicholas, William, and Margaret the wife of 
John Scott. John married Sarah Adams. 
Henry married Susan, daughter of Dr. 
Thomas Walker, and they had nine children. 
Reuben Fry was the father of Joseph L. Fry, 
of Wheeling and the Kanawha Frys are de- 
scendants of this branch. J. H. Fry was born 
in December 1798, came to Kanawha in 18 18, 
read law in .office of his brother, Joseph L. 
Fry, was a salt maker, was deputy sheriff and 
sheriff for four terms, was in the House of 
Delegates two terms and four times in the 
senate. He died June 26, 1863. He left 
Philip H. Fry, Jas. H. Fry. Joseph L. Fry, 



234 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and his daughters were Mrs. Alvin Goshorn, 
Mrs. Lewis Wilson and Miss Sally Scott Fry, 
all of whom are deceased, except Joseph L. 
Fry. 

CAPTAIN SNELLING C. FARLEY. 

He was born in Kentucky in 1806, was 
brought to Kanawha in 18 13 and went to 
school at Mercer Academy in Charleston to 
Jacob Rand, and he was deputy sheriff under 
Col. Andrew Donnally. In 1844 he purchased 
an interest in the side wheel steamboat "Cum- 
berland Valley," and he was given command 
of her, and ran her from Charleston to Nash- 
ville and from this time on be was constantly 
on the river. His next boat was the "A. W. 
Quarrier," which ran to Cincinnati — next the 
"Allen Collier" — then the "Anvilla Wood," 
then the "Hermann." then the "Ellen Gray," 
"Kanawha Valley" No. 1 — then the No. 2. 
He built the "T. J. Pickett" and ran her from 
Cannelton to Louisville. He was Captain of 
the "Mollie Norton." a large side wheel boat, 
then the "Cottage No. 2" and his last was the 
"R. W T . Skillinger." He was an excellent boat- 
man, and is said to have brought his boat up 
the Kanawha when there was insufficient water 
to float her over the bars when he would raise 
her bow and jump her over the bar. He was 
exceedingly popular, and he ran his boat for 
the comfort of his passengers, and it was a 
pleasure to travel with him. He was a safe 
man. and everybody knew Captain Farley, who 
never became loud nor rough but was always 
polite and gentle. 

He was on the "Kanawha Valley No. 2" 
when General Wise took charge and burned 
her. His home was on Kanawha Street on 
the corner of Clendenin Street. His wife was 
the daughter of Morris Harvey, and after he 
quit boating she kept a good boarding-house. 

THE MILLER FAMILY OF GAULEY BRIDGE 

In 1800 John Miller of Bath removed to 
Lick Creek of Greenbrier. He married Jean 
Hodge in 1803. and James Hodge Miller was 
born in 1805 near the Green Sulphur Springs 
of Greenbrier. 

A certain Miss Chapman was born in Frank- 
fort, Kentucky, in 1806 and she and James 
Hodge Miller were married in 183 1. Soon 
after 183 1 they went to Gauley Bridge and set- 



tled and went into the general merchandizing 
business, kept the postoffice and a house for 
public entertainment. They were within sight 
and hearing of the Kanawha Falls, and there 
were many who stopped here to enjoy a fishing 
trial. The old fashioned stage coach with four 
horses ran from Charleston to the Allegheny 
Mineral Springs further East and on to Coving- 
ton, Virginia, and going west, they went to 
Charleston where they could get a steamboat : 
or they could continue across the country to 
the Ohio river at Guyandotte. where boats could 
be had. at any time, of some kind. This line 
of travel continued from an early day until the 
opening of the Ches. & Ohio R. R. in 1873. 

Mr. Jas. H. Miller did business for sixty 
years at this place and kept the post office for 
forty years. During the civil war. the place 
was frequently crowded with soldiers. Gen- 
erals Floyd and Wise held the place and Floyd 
fought the battle of Carnepex Ferry near this 
place. Wise fell back and destroyed the bridge 
across the mouth of Gauley, which perhaps 
made a mark indicating that he had been there, 
but did not delay any one long enough to write 
about it. General Floyd, they say, fought 
some, then in the night got away. He and Wise 
were not helping anybody and they did not 
harmonize worth a cent. General Cox and 
General Rosecrans. directed the Federal forces, 
and let General Floyd get away without incon- 
venience. 

But in all this Mr. Miller held his own place, 
and after the war was over was sent to the 
West Virginia Legislature a couple of sessions. 
Neither the war nor the Legislature was the 
sort of entertainment exactly suitable to the 
taste of Mr. Miller. He was a very quiet, 
peaceful man. and preferred life without the 
excitement attendant upon war and killing peo- 
ple, or the peculiar excitement usually attendant 
upon the making laws or electing a U. S. Sen- 
ator. The children of James Hodge Miller 
were Tames Henry Miller. Ann Eliza Miller 
and William who died in infancy. James 
Henry married Margaret Muncy in i860, and 
they had Fenton H. Miller. William A. and 
Robert H. Miller. Fenton is the cashier of 
the Bank of Gauley. He was born in 1865. 
James Hodge Miller died in 1893 ar, d w ^s 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



285 



buried near his home and his wife followed 
him in 1899 and was buried near her home. 
James Henry Miller continued the business of 
his father, and in 1906 he, too. went into the 
other world. His wife is still living. He was 
much the same kind of a man as was his 
father — an honorable, honest, upright, consci- 
entious, quiet, unobtrusive man, one of the 
kind that had the confidence and .respect of all 
people. 

Gauley Bridge is within the sound of the 
Kanawha Falls, within sight of the Hawk's 
Nest and Cotton Hill — each about 1,000 feet 
high — which look down to see the gathering of 
the rivers to take a fresh start for the Ohio 
river. Here the surface of the country changes, 
as also the Geology, and Kanawha Falls is per- 
pendicular over twenty feet. This part of the 
country is greatly enjoyed and by some it is 
regarded as a suburb of Charleston, and noth- 
ing has added so much to the pleasure of the 
sojourn here as the Miller family. 

JAMES CARLON'S MEMORY 

John Carlon came from Richmond and set- 
tled at the Kanawha Falls. He afterwards re- 
moved to Springfield, Ohio, and died during 
the Civil War. James Carlon was one of his 
slaves, who was born in 1840. Mr. Carlon 
had fifteen slaves, part of whom he sold and 
the others he hired out until the war. 

Jim remembers Major Montgomery's fam- 
ily, who kept the ferry just below the Falls and 
who was the father of James, Michael and 
William Montgomery, and James Alontgomery 
was the founder of the town of Montgomery. 
He also remembers Mr. James Miller, the 
postmaster, Mr. John Hill, James Muncy, sher- 
iff, Mr. Paddy Huddleston and his sons, and 
Colonel Aaron Stockton, who lived at the Falls, 
kept the hotel, had a mill and a boatyard, and 
all his men were colored men and Fielding 
Julins was their supervisor. The wife of Col. 
Stockton was the sister of William Tompkins, 
who lived at the mouth of Kelly's Creek, now 
Cedar Grove. His sons were John and William 
Stockton. W T illiam was drowned in his attempt 
to bring a raft down New River. John died at 
his home during the war. Miss Eliza married 
Mr. James Veasey. father of Mr. Oscar Veasey. 



Miss Rebecca married James Trimble and she 
was the mother of Mrs. M. Levi and Mrs. S. 
M. Smith. Miss Babe married C. F. Stock- 
ton. Mrs. Aaron Stockton died in 1862 and 
the Colonel died about 1866. 

That the Colonel was a busy man, owned 
much land and the Falls; discovered cannel 
coal which he shipped to New Orleans. He 
took his daughter Jane with him to New Or- 
leans and she there married a Mr. Shaw and 
Jim's wife belonged to Mrs. Shaw. After the 
death of Mr. Shaw, she married Mr. Hale, and 
afterwards married Mr. Hawkins. Miss Mary 
Stockton married Thomas Lewis of Coal's 
Mouth, and Dr. Irvin Lewis was their son. 
The Doctor raised a company of cavalry and 
became their captain and served the Confeder- 
acy till the end. 

Jim says that early in the war he was hired 
to bring over the river a canoe, and that night 
the men who hired him used the boat to cross 
over to meet Capt. Lewis, and that a black man 
reported Jim to the men belonging to a New 
York Regiment as being engaged in ferrying 
rebels, and his friends had to keep Jim out of 
the way. Later in 1862, Jim hired himself to 
Captain Fitch of the L T . S. quarter-master's 
department and he remained in that depart- 
ment until the end of the war. Jim says that 
when the Confederate General Loring came 
down, they had a battle at Fayette and were 
fighting all along down the Valley and Jim 
took his battle ax and kept ahead of Col. 
Lightburn as he retreated, and went on to 
Gallipolis and remained until General Loring 
was satisfied with the Valley and retired, and 
then he came back to his post. Jim says the 
river was full of all sort of craft, full of col- 
ored people, and they were in Ohio called 
"Contrabands." 

Tim savs that his master John Carlon was a 
Southern sympathizer in Ohio and talked too 
freely and he had to get away from there. He 
came to Kanawha Falls and told. Jim he needed 
some money and Jim says he took all he had 
and he borrowed some and gave to him 
$100.00, and he gave Jim a paper saying that 
he could go where he pleased. Jim says he 
went to Springfield afterwards to see him and 
let him have $350.00 for which he gaA-e Jim 



286 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



his note, and afterwards he was paid the note 
and five hundred besides and given his free pa- 
pers, in 1863-4. Jim says he bought his wife 
after President Lincoln's Proclamation, which 
he rather thinks he need not have done. After 
the war, Jim says he dug coal, teamed, helped 
build railroad on the K. & M. under Col. 
Sharp as Receiver and was inspector of R. R. 
ties, and also was on the Kelly's Creek R. R., 
and of late years he has been engaged in remov- 
ing houses. Jim says he was raised by good 
people, who were always kind to him, was paid 
well for his work generally, that he never was 
able to collect all his dues from the govern- 
ment and sometimes lost for his work, but he 
learned to read and write after the War. and 
gets along better now. 

COL. BENJAMIN H. SMITH 

Pie was one of the strong men of Kanawha, 
strong physically, mentally and financially; his 
life business was that of attorney, and he wax 
strong as such. He was a student of the law 
and never ceased to study it ; he took a great 
interest in the land law of Virginia and did 
much to help clear it up and make land titles 
more certain and less complicated. 

In Virginia and especially in the western 
part, where there was much speculation in 
lands, the mode of acquiring title to land was 
probably more loose and uncertain than else- 
where and the law of forfeiture of title for 
non-payment of tax, the law of possession un- 
der the statute of limitation, made the subject 
complicated. 

This has been set forth rather tersely by 
a dream. One of the greatest land litigants 
ever produced in Kanawha said that he dreamed 
that he died and went up to the gates and 
sought admission, where St. Peter sat to de- 
cide such questions as "the right of entry." — 
That the latter questioned him and learned that 
the litigant was from Kanawha (which fact, 
he said, made St. Peter frown), and that the 
applicant had spent a long life principally in liti- 
gation of land-titles, and if he had not acquired 
much land, he had given an awful lot of trou- 
ble and expense, and the applicant being versed 
in the subject, set up the fact that he had al- 
ways been engaged in asserting his individual 
rights under the law. To this St. Peter was 



not advised so he referred the subject to St. 
Paul, and he stated that he had studied all the 
laws of science and other earthly subjects and 
had acquired some insight thereinto and that 
he had had occasion also to examine somewhat 
minutely the land law of Virginia, but that on 
account of its various complications he had 
been compelled to admit that he was totally un- 
able to understand it. This litigant was \Y. A. 
McMullin and his dream might be said to fairly 
give his idea of the situation. Such at least 
was the character of the land laws that Col. 
Smith made a study of during his entire life. 
There were at the Kanawha Bar several law- 
yers, who also worried over the same subject 
and made a suit for land a difficult subject and 
generally worth the land to try the case. So 
that in most land cases the attorneys were en- 
gaged with a contract to take part of the land 
for their fee, and hence, either the lawyer on 
one side or the one on the other, was encum- 
bered with a lot of land on which to pay taxes 
without even a prospect of receiving any com- 
pensation in a life time. 

Generally speaking, there was considerable 
litigation in this county in regard to titles of 
large tracts of land and generally the suits 
were with non-residents on one side or the 
other of the suit, and these suits were gener- 
ally in the U. S. Courts. Col. Smith was al- 
ways sought by one side or the other in most 
of the cases ; and his work was extensive and 
his fees were not small, although not sufficient 
to pay for the work that he did. 

These lands were ordinarily what was called 
"wild lands," which means that they were not 
cultivated and generally without anyone resid- 
ing thereon. They were covered with fine tim- 
ber and underlaid with coal and lately have 
been found to contain oil or gas, or both, which 
has made them valuable, but which for so long 
paid no income to the owner, and only kept the 
owner poor by his holding and paying the 
taxes thereon. If he could do this, he left his 
grandchildren fortunes. Undeveloped lands 
were not an unmixed blessing. 

We have attempted to give an idea of the 
country and the kind of work that Col. Smith 
devoted his life to study and in which he en- 
gaged as an attorney. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



287 



Besides this, Col. Smith through marriage 
became interested in salt making, and no busi- 
ness of the extent of the Kanawha Salt busi- 
ness, could get along without more or less liti- 
gation, and sometimes of very large cases, con- 
sequently he naturally had "his hands full of 
clients and cases in courts, and whenever he had 
a case, he thoroughly studied it, for he knew 
that to win a fight in Kanawha, he had some- 
thing to work for. 

Col. Benjamin H. Smith was born in 1797, 
and he was named after his father, who was a 
son of Daniel Smith, who was a son of John 
Smith, all of whom lived in the Shenandoah 
Valley of Virginia, not far from Harrison- 
burg, once in Orange then in Augusta, and then 
in Rockingham County, Virginia. The orig- 
inal John Smith was supposed to have been an 
Englishmen, but this one is said to have been 
a Scotch-Irishman, but he was captain of the 
militia and held a commission under the Colo- 
nial Government of Virginia. Daniel Smith 
was quite a prominent man in war. He be- 
came a Colonel and aided Major Andrew Lewis, 
who came from the same neighborhood, in 
driving Governor Lord Dunmore from the col- 
ony of Virginia. Daniel had four sons, one 
of whom was Benjamin Harrison Smith, and 
the Harrison family and the Smiths lived in 
the same vicinity — for whom the town of Har- 
risonburg was named. 

Daniel Smith married Jane Harrison. Ben- 
jamin Harrison Smith married Elizabeth 
Cravens. Col. Benjamin Harrison Smith mar- 
ried Roxalana Noyes. 

It seems that the Smiths had their own no- 
tions concerning the subject of slavery, al- 
though they all, more or less, owned slaves. 
Col. Benjamin H. Smith's father, in 1810, re- 
moved to Ohio, and took his slaves' with him 
and made them all free. 

Col. Smith then was educated at the Univer- 
sity of Ohio at Athens, then studied law in the 
office of Hon. Thomas Ewing, Sr. It is 
stated upon good authority that this selfsame 
Thomas Ewing was a poor young man finan- 
cially but he had more than the ordinary 
brain power and other good qualities. That 
to get an education and make himself a lawyer, 
he came to Kanawha and got work at the 



Salt furnaces, and while thus engaged, he also 
studied law and Latin. Of course such a man 
succeeded and became one of the great men 
of Ohio. 

Col. Smith as a young lawyer from Ohio 
came to Kanawha, and for some reason, he 
was not by some kindly welcomed, but this did 
not deter him in the least; probably made him 
more determined to continue right here. We 
do not know why he was not regarded with 
favor by some, but he was regarded with the 
greatest favor by others, and it was not long 
before he married the daughter of Isaac Noyes, 
one of the largest merchants and salt makers. 
Perhaps he, Col. Smith, expressed his opinion 
too freely on the subject of slavery, or on some 
political, or church question, for he never hes- 
itated to speak out, without using any tact or 
evasion, and as Mr. Noyes was from the North, 
such opinions on these questions did not offend 
him as easily as some others. 

As to his political views, he was a Whig of 
the first water, as long as there were any such 
party. During the civil war, he was an ardent 
Union man, and was the U. S. Dist. Attorney 
for some time when he resigned. After the 
war was over, and the government policy went 
to such extremes towards the South — after the 
death of Mr. Lincoln — he changed his polit- 
ical views and was a candidate for governor of 
West Virginia in 1868 on the Democratic 
ticket, but it was in the days of proscription 
and too early for him or anyone but a decided 
Republican to be elected in the new State. The 
Colonel repudiated the Republican policy and 
ever afterwards voted with the Democrats in 
West Virginia. 

In matters of church, he was in his faith a 
Methodist, so he always said, but he was not 
connected with any church and went with his 
wife and family who were all devoted Presby- 
terians, and when this church in Charleston di- 
vided, his family remained with the Northern 
Branch, while the large majority took the other, 
or Southern route. These matters will be ex- 
plained elsewhere. The Colonel was well dis- 
posed to all churches, when the left politics or 
business alone, and would aid in any good 
cause, but he had his own opinions on all sub- 



288 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



jects and never hesitated to express them when 
an expression was called for. 

The Colonel was chiefly an attorney all his 
life, but he was often called on to run for an 
office. He was elected to the State Senate in 
1833, and at two subsequent elections was re- 
elected to same office. In 1849, he was ap- 
pointed U. S. Attorney for the Western Dis- 
trict of Virginia and remained in office dur- 
ing the terms of Taylor and Filmore. In 1850 
was elected to the Constitutional Convention of 
Virginia, and was also in the Convention which 
formed the State of West Virginia and was 
appointed U. S. Attorney by President Lin- 
coln and remained in this office for five years 
when he resigned. While the Colonel contin- 
ued at work, he turned over the principal part 
of his business to his son, Major Isaac Noyes 
Smith, and E. B. Knight who composed the 
law firm of Smith and Knight, and the Colonel 
aided them when it was thought they needed 
his assistance, and he gradually left the work 
to others. He died in 1887 at his home in 
Charleston, Kanawha County, aged 90 years. 
His grave is in the Cemetery at Charleston, 
with the rest of his family, and is marked by a 
handsome monument. 

Colonel Benjamin H. Smith was all his life 
a hard worker and a great reader. In his young 
days, he said, he had no taste for books, but 
only for outdoor 'exercise, which gave to him 
a strong able body with a good constitution, 
and his mind was like his body, able and well 
trained for his business. He was an outspoken 
person and sometimes perhaps more so than 
was called for, and more than once involved 
himself in a personal encounter with some law- 
yer, when it might have been avoided, though 
he was ready and willing to maintain himself 
or his defence. There was no difficulty to get 
his ear and he was always ready to listen to 
any and every one. He was devoted to his 
wife and family. His manner was plain and 
unvarnished and he frequently ridiculed some 
things that he did not seem to appreciate, which 
the custom of the country called for. 

Major Isaac Noyes Smith, was the only son 
of Col. B. H. Smith. Isaac Noyes Smith, with 
whose education and training as a lawyer the 
Colonel took such pains. He always stood well 



at the bar, and was noted for the careful prepa- 
ration of his papers, and his cases. 

The Civil War came on, and the young men 
of Charleston went with the State of Virginia, 
and Isaac went with them, greatly to the re- 
gret of his father. He returned with the title 
of Major. After the war, Isaac and Mr. E. 
B. Knight, opened their law office under the 
firm name of Smith and Knight, and they were 
do ing a large and profitable business when death 
came suddenly to Major Smith. 

He married Miss Caroline Quarrin, and left 
an interesting family which will be treated else- 
where. 

Harrison Brooks Smith. Major Smith left 
a son, Harrison Brooks Smith, who became an 
attorney and practices in all the courts, in the 
firm of Price, Smith, Spillman and Clay. Mr. 
Smith also has other interests that occupy his 
attention, one of which is the Southern States 
Mutual Life Insurance Company, and still other 
interests too many to mention, coal, oil and gas 
interests, saying nothing of real estate gener- 
ally. 

Harry is a married man, full of business, full 
of music as was his father and as are all others 
whose name is Xoyes, and he. like his father 
takes quite an interest in his church affairs, and 
all other affairs that are for the. good of the 
town and the people thereof. In consequence 
he is not a strict party man but holds himself 
free to act as he sees best without being bound 
by any party precepts or promises. 

The three above-mentioned attorneys and 
business men. may be called three of Charles- 
ton's builders, and who have done and are do- 
ing much to make their city and county one of 
the best in their state, devoting their time and 
talent and taxes for this purpose and with this 
intention, and this has been the case since 1822 
and may it continue, on ad finitwn. 

GENERAL DANIEL SMITH 

When we write of the big men of Kanawha, 
we must tell of General Smith, who died about 
1855. He was a brother of Col. Benj. H. 
Smith. He was a general of the Virginia mili- 
tia and he was also a celebrated physician, and 
a most extraordinary man in popular estima- 
tion. He was unusually large, near three feet 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



289 



across his breast and in proportion otherwise — 
a fine, large, hearty, good looking man — and 
was a general commanding a brigade of mili- 
tia, a physician, which enabled him to become 
acquainted with the suffering humanity and to 
relieve them, or to bury them; it was no won- 
der that he was popular and whenever he de- 
sired it, he was sent to the General Assembly. 

He married the widow of John Harriman, 
who was a son of Shadrick Harriman, who was 
one of the first settlers and the last white man 
killed by the Indians in Kanawha, (so said), 
and she was Nancy Morris of Cabell County, in 
Teays Valley. He lived at East Bank, and 
practiced medicine, and one season along in the 
upper part of the county there was (about 
1845), an epidemic of typhoid fever, and about 
one half of those that took it died. He was 
sent for and he went and it is said that there 
were but few of his patients that died and those 
were such as disregarded his instructions while 
recovering. 

Luke Wilcox was born in New York in 1795, 
and came to Kanawha in 181 6. His wife was 
Miss Pinkston Kenner. He was a salt maker. 
He died in 1854 and his residence was on his 
farm near Brownstown. His reputation for 
integrity and firmness of character in all busi- 
ness transactions was above question. His 
daughter Amelia was the wife of Major W. A. 
Bradford, both of whom have passed away, but 
leaving descendants. Dr. John Wilcox also 
is a descendant. Mr. Luke Wilcox was a prom- 
inent business man and respected by the en- 
tire community. It is stated that he contributed 
more largely to the erection of the Virginia 
Street M. E. Church than any other person. 
This was in 1834 and he presented to said 
church in 1836 a silver communion service; 
and when he died, he paid through his execu- 
tor, to the Rev. Mr. Bruce, a methodist clergy- 
man, $1,000 for his services and his sermon 
at his funeral. 

DOCTOR SPICER PATRICK 

He was born in the state of New York, in 
1 79 1. He was the son of Jacob Patrick who 
was born in 1761, and Sarah Spicer Patrick 
born in 1765, who were married in 1786, the 
father being of Scotch descent and the mother 
of English descent. He came to Kanawha as 



a practicing physician in 1816, and seems to 
have met with a welcome from the very day of 
his arrival. During his entire life he held the 
respect of the community and his association 
was with honest and reliable people of the best 
class. As a physician he ranked among the 
best and gave his utmost care and attention to 
his patients. He went when called, especially 
to what might be called, bad cases. He was 
obliged to go long distances from home, and 
it was generally considered a desperate case 
when Dr. Patrick said that the patient had but 
little chance of recovery. His reputation among 
the other physicians was of the highest order, 
for his skill was recognized and his character 
as a gentleman was equally as good. He was 
interested in the welfare of his county and his 
adopted state, and was frequently sent to the 
Legislature and to State Conventions, in both 
of which he took a prominent and interested 
part. 

When he first came to Kanawha he resided 
in Charleston and in 1822 he married Miss 
Lavinia V. M. Bream, a daughter of Major 
James Bream, and in 1848, he removed his 
residence to his farm, which had been a part of 
the Bream estate, near to the Two-mile creek, 
below Elk on the river — where he spent the 
remainder of his days. He generally drove 
daily to the town, and could usually be found at 
the drug store of Dr. J. H. Rogers. The 
Lovell and Bream families and their kindred 
were all related to him and he was called and 
consulted by them on all occasions. His first 
wife was Lavinia Bream and their children 
were May, the wife of R. C. M. Lovell ; Sally, 
the wife of Col. H. D. Ruffner; Lavinia, the 
wife of Major William Gramm, U. S. A., and 
Dr. Alfred S., James B. and John Patrick. 
His second wife, whom he married in 1844, 
was the widow of Col. Robert M. Steele, and 
they had no children. In 1852, he married in 
Richmond, Miss Virginia Harris, a grand- 
daughter of Chief Justice Marshall, and to them 
were born one daughter. Miss Susie, and 
Harie. William and George Patrick. 

He sat as a member of the County Court of 
Kanawha, from 1839 until 185 1 when officers 
became elective by the people. His decisions 
were always prompt and gave satisfaction, for 



290 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



he gave close attention to the proceedings, the 
evidence and the discussions, and his good sense 
and judgment generally brought him to a cor- 
rect conclusion. He was possessed of a strong 
will, a quick, intelligent mind, a generous heart 
and an open hand; he had no fear and fol- 
lowed his own convictions, always courteous 
and kind, yet nevertheless was positive and de- 
cided, and as has been said of him "he was not 
lavish in his expression of fondness and did not 
depreciate friendship's currency by the exces- 
sive employment of its smaller coin." There 
was not pretences or sham about him; he was 
always sincere, a true friend and a frank enemy. 

He was a communicant of St. John's Epis- 
copal Church, a vestryman all his life and a 
warden of the vestry. He usually attended the 
councils of the diocese as a delegate from 
Charleston and gave close attention to all mat- 
ters relating thereto. 

It is said that he was a Mason, and from a 
communication in the papers it appears that his 
associates whose names were given were all 
members of the fraternity, to wit : Lewis Sum- 
mers, Joel Shrewsbury, James Wilson, Peter 
Scales, J. C. McFarland, J. F. Faure, Andrew 
Parks, Joseph Lovell. Mathew Dunbar, John 
Welch, Mason Campbell. A. W. Ouarrier, Dr. 
James Craik, John Laidley, John Samuels, W. 
S. Summers, Sr., G. W. Summers, H. H. Smith, 
Jas. A. Lewis, J. P. Turner, R. E. Putney and 
other prominent men in this part of the state. 

Deaths in the family: — Lavinia V. M., born 
in 1805, married in 1822, died in 1843 > James 
B. Patrick. M. D., born in 1823, died in Mis- 
souri in 1849 ; Mrs. Sally Patrick Ruffner, born 
in 1838, married in i860, died in 1886; Mrs. 
Leonora C. Rovers, born in 1790, married in 
1818 and died in 1876; Major William Gramm. 
born in 1834, died in 1888: Dr. A. S. Patrick, 
born in 1832, died in 1906. 

SHREWSBURY FAMILY 

Children of Samuel and Polly Dickinson 
Shrewsbury, married 1785 — 

John D. Shrewsbury, born 1786; married 
Nancy T. Morris; died 1845. 

Samuel, born 1789; died 1835. 

Martha Usher, born 1791 ; married Jacob 
Van Meter. 



William, born 1794; married Rhoda Shrews- 
bury 1823; died 1882. 

Elizabeth Dabney, born 1796; died 1829. 

Joel, born 1798; married Frances Quarrier 
1828; died 1849. 

Nancy, born 1801 ; 

Charles Lewis, born 1804; married Eleanor 
Woodburn 1839. 

Adam D., born 1807; died 1808. 

Juliet, born 1809; married Rev. James 
Craik 1829. 

Children of Joel and Sally Dickinson Shrews- 
bury — 

Julia, born 1800; married M. J. Shrewsbury 
and J. Turner. 

Elizabeth, born 1807; married Lewis Ruff- 
ner. 

William D.. born 1808: married Martha 
Darneal. 

Samuel, born 1810; died 1825. 

Sallie. born 1812; married John D. Lewis. 

Dickinson, born 1816; married Mary Mc- 
Conihay. 

Eliza, born 1817; married Benj. D. Smithers. 

Caroline ; married A. W. Ouarrier. 

Children of John D. Shrewsbury and Nancy 
Morris Shrewsbury — 

Charles: went to Missouri. 

Samuel, married Priscilla Worth; went to 
Missouri. 

Leonard ; went to California ; died 1907, aged 

81. 

Andrew : never married. 
Parthenia : married Robt. F. Hudson ; parents 
of Mrs. Emma H. Nye. 

Margaret, married Dr. E. H. C. Bailey. 

CAPT. SAM CHRISTY AND MR. TRUSLOW 

In Mercer's Bottom in 1819. there was born 
one, Sam Christy, whose training was that of 
moving boats in the water, and when near 
grown he made his way to the Kanawha salt 
works for Ruffner. Donnally & Co.. who were 
engaged in making salt and shipping it in flat 
boats. Christy knew the Kanawha river as he 
knew his spelling book — by heart. He had 
hardly settled down before he married Miss 
Minerva Montgomery of Maiden, which had 
much to do toward locating this new pilot and 
steamboat man. They had four boys: Edgar, 
Lawrence. Millard and Albert. Then the war 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



291 



came along and stopped the shipping of salt. 
There were two men who did not wish to en- 
list in any army but did want work to do — 
something that would pay, something to do with 
a boat. Capt. Sam Christy was one and Mr. 
William H. Truslow was the other. Truslow 
did not want a boat without Christy and Christy 
wanted none without Truslow. The two, to- 
gether, had figured it out that, with each other, 
a boat and a river, they could make it. There 
were other good men they could get. Captain 
Martin was a pilot, Captain Caruthers was a 
captain's mate, and with a cook and a bar- 
tender the eating and drinking matter was fixed. 
They had some money and they knew what a 
boat was for. They began by buying the Vic- 
tor, then the Victress, and then the Leclaire, and 
soon they took the machinery of the last named 
and built the Kanawha Belle, a lighter boat 
than the Leclaire, with all the power they 
needed, thus making a new boat with a part 
of the old one — like the boy's shirt. Captain 
Christy had the boat on the way to the Ohio 
early in the morning and would reach Gallipolis 
before dark; early next morning, by breakfast 
time, they were well on their way up the river 
and would be at Charleston by dark. They 
carried both passengers and freight, taking on 
and putting off all the day. Here were a pair 
of captains, Christy and Truslow, who were 
most of the crew. They were making money, 
doing business, attending to the wants of the 
people. All was moving like clock-work; the 
boat had its hours, a schedule like a train ; you 
would get on, pay your fare and get off where 
you pleased and no fool questions asked. When 
you left Gallipolis, you had to have a pass from 
the provost marshal to go up the Kanawha, but 
to go down, no questions were propounded. 

Once upon a time a young man from Kana- 
wha found himself wanting a pass to go to 



Charleston, and he went to the provost's office 
and made known his wants. A young lieuten- 
ant was in charge and comprehended the sit- 
uation, but he wanted some assurance of the 
loyalty of the traveler, and with an "all right" 
said: "You are a good Union man, I suppose?" 
The passenger did not feel that he had to make 
any pledges and submitted that he was not, per- 
haps, the best in the world, and as a result, 
was told by the lieutenant he could not have a 
pass. Then there was an appeal to the cap- 
tain of the provost, who did not see the mat- 
ter in the same light and gave the pass, say- 
ing nearly all the people in the valley were of 
doubtful loyalty, except the soldiers and they 
would take care of them all. The passenger 
then and there decided to be all things to all 
men, anything you want so let me go along. 
Captains Christy and Truslow attended strictly 
to business. Whatever you wanted them to do, 
they were there to do if there were no military 
objections. They could not bring whiskey, it 
was contraband, but they did not open pack- 
ages to learn the contents and they never fed 
the passengers too highly. A splendid pair of 
captains — Christy and Truslow ! Kanawha 
Belle, on schedule time! They were men 
that could be trusted and took care of what 
was entrusted to them, but there was no trust- 
ing on their part ; you had to pay as you go or 
go ashore. Everybody was glad to be with 
these men; they felt safe. It was many years 
that this pair of boatmen had the benefit of the 
Gallipolis trade, but a train can beat a boat. 
We simply wish to record the fact that the 
men were trained to their business, they tended 
to their own business and they knew how to 
make money in that way. It was a pleasure to 
travel with them then and it is now a pleasure 
to tell the fact. — you got what you paid for. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



MISCELLANEOUS 

Timber — Kanawha Riflemen — W. Va. Soldiers in the Federal Army — Statue of "Stonewall" 
Jackson — U. S. Direct Taxation — Derivation of the Name "Kanawha" — The Case of 
Jack Neal — Early Taverns — Newspapers — Surveyors of Lands — Fraternal Societies — 
Order of Elks — A Yankee Trick — Dissenting Opinions — Judge Lynch — Some Early Mar- 
riages — Some Good Old Colored Folks — Condensed Facts about Charleston — Census Sta- 
tistics — Dates of "First Things." 



TIMBER 

At first sight of the forest-clad mountains 
of West Virginia one is inspired with much 
the same feeling which called forth the dramatic 
exclamation of that hardy explorer, Champlain, 
when centuries ago he suddenly came in sight 
of the wooded mountains of Vermont — "Voila 
les verts monts!" — "Behold the green moun- 
tains !" 

The clothing of green which covers the 
mountains and valleys of this state is remark- 
able for variety and value as well as for beauty, 
making it of interest equally from the view- 
points of the dendrologist and the lumberman. 
In the coves are found the lighter shades of 
green of the poplar and basswood, a little 
higher up the oak and beech of a darker hue, 
all of which are interspersed with the still 
darker foliage of the hemlock. The artist is 
greatly enraptured with his first view of this 
state, for the mountains run into each other at 
all angles and the different shades of green 
which appeal to him in summer give way in 
autumn to yellow, red and russet brown, and 
are so blended in these rich and diverse shades 
as to enlist his deepest admiration and baffle his 
efforts to reproduce them adequately on his 
canvas. 

In that part of West Virginia of which 
Charleston is the center and which is as 
near the center of the southern Appalachi- 



ans as it is possible to locate is found mer- 
chantable timber of splendid size and quality 
which represents the untouched portions of the 
dense forest growth which originally covered 
the entire state. The principal kinds of tim- 
ber constituting this growth are poplar, white 
oak, red oak, chestnut, basswood, hemlock, 
hickory, ash. beech, birch, maple, sycamore, 
buckeye, gum, walnut, cherry, butternut and, 
in fact, all the species represented among de- 
ciduous trees. Of the woods which are ex- 
ploited and which give the greatest value to 
the forests yellow poplar and oak. which are 
found in the greatest abundance, are by far the 
most important, because of their fine quality 
and the magnificent proportions of their 
growth, in which respects they are unexcelled 
anywhere. 

The timber growth along the streams, on the 
miniature plateaus and in the upper coves of 
the southern Appalachians is exceptionally 
heavy, isolated stands of timber having been 
estimated to contain as much as 100.000 feet 
to the acre. On the steep mountain sides and 
on the banks of the rivers the growth is usually 
small and scattered, the good timber, as a gen- 
eral rule, being found where the soil is richest 
and where it derives some protection from the 
neighboring peaks. 

In Kanawha and Raleigh counties are 
heavy stands of poplar and oak. intermixed 



292 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



293 



with which are many fine specimens of chest- 
nut, basswood, hickory, maple and ash. 

THE SOUTH SIDE FOUNDRY AND MACHINE WORKS — 
CHARLESTON 

The South Side Foundry and Machine 
Works was incorporated in 1899 under its 
present name with a capital stock of $100,000 
paid in. The business was established in 
Charleston in 1870 by O. A. and William T. 
Thayer, brothers, who first established the 
business in Maiden in 1867. O. A. and Will- 
iam T. Thayer conducted the business as part- 
ners until its incorporation in the year before- 
mentioned. This is one of the successful 
manufacturing concerns of Charleston, turning 
out a long list of useful products such as 
equipment for coal mines and coke plants, in- 
cline drums, monitors, stationary and shaker 
coal screens, chutes, coal larries, mine ventilat- 
ing fans, mine cars, sheet iron work of all 
descriptions, smoke stacks, weigh baskets, re- 
volving screens, dumping chutes, also hoisting 
and hauling engines, cages for shaft mines and 
in addition thereto a number of patented spe- 
cialties, such as "Thayer's" improved ratchet 
rail benders, and "Acme" sand dryers, and 
have patents on various other things. The con- 
cern carries in stock a large line of wire rope, 
pipe and fittings ; also brass goods, bar iron, 
steel bolts, rivets, etc., and in addition to this 
carry also in stock boilers, engines, logging 
trucks, locomotives, logging truck wheels, axles, 
castings in both iron and brass. The capacity 
of the plant is such that it can handle a heavier 
class of work than can be turned out by any 
concern nearer than Pittsburg or Cincinnati. 
The present site has been the location of the 
plant since 1870. It is located on the south 
bank of the Kanawha river, facing the C. & O. 
R. R., a short distance west of the C. & O. 
passenger station. There are 100 employes 
on the payroll, to whom steady employment 
has been furnished. This concern, during its 
existence for a period covering more than 40 
years, has added much to the material growth 
of Charleston and to the reputation of the city 
as a manufacturing center. The business is 
of great volume in West Virginia, Kentucky 
and Ohio. However, the products are shipped 



to all parts of the country. This may be classed 
as one of the oldest manufacturing plants in 
Charleston. The following are the officers : 
W. E. Mohler, president, St. Albans, W. Va. ; 
John A. Thayer, secretary, Charleston, W. Va. ; 
G. Todd Thayer, treasurer and general man- 
ager, Charleston. 

JUDGE JOHN L. WHITTEN 

Born in Mason county, Virginia (now West 
Virginia) on the 5th day of February, 1861, 
the subject of this sketch attended district 
schools in winter, and worked on the farm in 
summer until 17 years of age. He then taught 
in country schools for four years and during 
vacation attended select and Normal schools 
until 1883, when he was elected on the Repub- 
lican ticket county superintendent of schools of 
Mason county, being 22 years of age and the 
youngest superintendent in the state. Re- 
elected to that office he served altogether for 
four years. He studied law, and was admitted 
to the bar in 1883, but did not begin active prac- 
tice until after graduating from the law de- 
partment of the Georgetown University, Wash- 
ington, D. C, in 1891. He was elected pros- 
ecuting attorney of Mason county in 1896, and 
re-elected in 1900, serving in that office until 
the death of Judge F. A. Guthrie, and was there- 
upon commissioned by Gov. White judge of 
the 7th Judicial circuit, then composed of the 
counties of Mason, Putnam and Kanawha, to 
serve the unexpired term of Judge Guthrie of 
four months and eight days. During this short 
term many important cases were tried in Judge 
Whitten's court, five of them being appealed 
to the Supreme Court, and all of them being 
affirmed by that court, he thus having the dis- 
tinction of never being reversed. Since re- 
tiring from the office of judge he has held no 
office except that of Mayor of the town of 
Point Pleasant, to which position he was elected 
by a majority of five to one over his opponent, 
and re-elected by the same majority. He was 
married on the 18th day of April, 1888, to 
Miss Mary R. Gwinn, daughter of Henry 
Gwinn of Mason county, to which union five 
children have been born, viz: Rudolph, now a 
student at West Point, N. Y. ; Ann Eliza, a 
pupil of the New England Conservatory of 



294 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Music, Boston, Mass. ; and Lynda, Lamar, and 
Othniel, who are attending the High School of 
Point Pleasant. 

Judge Whitten, since finishing the law course 
at the Georgetown University, has been active 
in the practice of the law, and has been engaged 
in many of the important cases of Mason and 
adjoining counties, and in the Supreme court 
of Appeals. He is at present the referee in 
bankruptcy of the district composed of the 
counties of Putnam, Mason, Jackson and 
Rhoane, under Judge B. F. Keller of the U. S. 
District Court for the Southern District of 
West Virginia. 

KANAWHA RIFLEMEN, ORGANIZED IN 1856 

Commissioned Officers 
Captain, Geo. S. Patton, killed September 
19, 1864, at Winchester, Va. 
First Lieut., Andrew Moore. 
Second Lieut., Nicholas Fitzhugh, deceased. 
Third Lieut., Henry Daniel Ruffner. 

Second Organization of the Company 
Captain, David L. Ruffner, deceased. 
First Lieut., Richard Q. Laidley, deceased. 
Second Lieut., Gay Carr. killed at Dry 
Creek, West Virginia. 

Third Lieut.. John P. Donaldson, deceased. 

Third Organization of the Company 
Captain, Richard O. Laidley, died 1873. 
First Lieut., John P. Donaldson, deceased. 
Second Lieut.. Henry W. Rand, deceased. 
Third Lieut.. Alanson Arnold, killed at 
second Cold Harbor. 

Non-commissioned Officers and Privates 
Arnold, Alanson, deceased. 
Arnold, E. S., deceased. 
Barton, Norman. 
Blaine, Charles, deceased. 
Boswell, Martin, deceased. 
Brodt, J. T., deceased. 
Bradford, Henry, killed at Cotton Hill. 
Brooks, W. B. 
Broun, Thos. L., wounded. 
Broun, To. M., deceased. 
Brown, Siline. 
Cabell, Robt. (did not go.) 
Cabell, H. Clay, deceased. 



Caldwell, William. 
Carr, John O. 
Carr, Gay, deceased. 
Chambers, John, deceased. 
Chewning, Charles, killed at Lewisburg in 
1862. 

Clarkson, A. Q., deceased. 

Cook, Walton. 

Cox, Frank, deceased. 

Cushman, William, deceased. 

Dean, Bartlett, D. G. 

Doddridge J. E. Jr., deceased. 

Doddridge, Philip, deceased. 

Donaldson, John P., deceased. 

deGruyter, M. F., deceased. 

Dryden, John, D. G. 

Feine, Karl D. G. 

Fry, James H. Jr., deceased. 

Grant, Thos. T., deceased. 

Griffith, N. G. D. G. 

Haggerman, James. D. G. 

Hale, John P.. deceased. 

Hansford, Carroll M., deceased. 

Hare, Robert. 

Hopkins. — ., deceased. 

Keifer, Valentine. D. G. 

Laidlev. Richard O.. deceased. 

Lewis, Charles C. D. G. 

Lewis, James F., deceased. 

Lewis, Joel S.. deceased. 

Lewis. William S. D. G. 

Lewis. John, killed at Winchester. Septem- 
ber 19. 1864. 

McQueen, Archibald, deceased. 

McFarland, Henry D. 

McMullen, John. 

McClelland. Robert, deceased. 

Malone, W'illiam. deceased. 

Mathews, Lewis. D. G. 

Mathews, John, deceased. 

Miller. Samuel A. (sent to Confederate 
Congress), deceased. 

Miller. H., deceased. 

Norman. James. D. G. 

Norman. Tohn G. D. G. 

Norvell. W. Gaston. D. G. 

Noyes, Benjamin, deceased. 

Noyes, Frank, deceased. 

Noyes, James B., deceased. 

Noyes, James B. Jr., deceased. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



295 



Noyes, William, deceased. 

Noyes, John (Poca). 

Parks, Cecil, killed by railroad. 

Parks, Bushrod, deceased. 

Patrick, A. S. Dr., deceased. 

Patrick, John, deceased. 

Quarrier, Joel S., deceased. 

Quarrier, William A. deceased. 

Quarrier, Monroe, deceased. 

Rand, Henry W.. deceased. 

Rand, Noyes. deceased. 

Read, Fred N., deceased. 

Reynolds, Fenton M., deceased. 

Reynolds, William. 

Roberts, Thomas. 

Ruby, Edward. 

Ruby, John C, deceased. 

Rundle, John, deceased. 

Ruffner, David L., deceased. 

Ruffner, Daniel, Jr., deceased. 

Ruffner, Joel Jr., deceased. 

Ruffner, Meridith P., deceased. 

Ruffner, Andrew S. 

Shrewsbery, Andrew. 

Shrewsberry, Joel, deceased. 

Shrewsberry, John. D. G. 

Spessard, Jacob, deceased. 

Smith, Isaac Noyes, deceased. 

Smith, Thomas. 

Singleton, Albert, deceased. 

Snyder, W. B. 

Smithers, David, deceased. 

Smithers, Samuel. D. G. 

Summers, William S., deceased. 

Summers, George W. Jr., deceased. 

Swann, John S., deceased. 

Swann, Thomas B., deceased. 

Teays, Stephen T., deceased. 

Thompson, Cameron L. 

Thompson, Thornton, deceased. 

Turner, Benjamin F., deceased. 

Watkins, Joseph F., deceased. 

Wehrle, Mienhart (hung by U. S. troops). 

Welch, George L. 

Welch, Levi, deceased. 

Welch, Tames, killed at Scary, 1861. 

Walls, Richards. D. G. 

Wilson, Daniel. D. G. 

Wilson, Harrison. D. G. 

Wilson, Henry. 



Wilson, W. A., deceased. 

William Armstead, colored cook, faithful 
during the war. 

The above were members of this crack com- 
pany in 1858. When the company offered 
its services to Virginia in 1861, there were 
some that did not go, marked D. G. ; about 
twenty that are now living, and those marked 
"deceased" died after the war. Only about 
seven were killed in battle. 

WEST VIRGINIA SOLDIERS IN THE FEDERAL 
ARMY 1861-1865 

In answer to the question, "How many 
West Virginians served in the Federal Army 
during the war between the States?" Virgil A. 
Lewis, state archivist and historian, says in his 
Third Biennial Report, page 205, "a correct 
answer to this question has never been made 
and in all probability never will be," but he 
gives a statement of West Virginia in account 
with the United States, viz : 
1861 — To quota, under calls for that 



year 8,497 

1862 — To quota, under calls for July 2 4,650 
1862 — To quota, under calls for 9 mo. 

men reduced to 3 year men 1,162 

1864 — To quota, under calls for Feb. 

1. 1864 5,127 

1864 — To quota, under calls for March 

4 ■ 2,051 

1864 — To quota, under calls for July 19 5,928 
1864 — To quota, under calls for Dec. 19 4,431 

Total requisition on State 31,846 

Contra Credit by Enlistments 

1861 — Enlistments under call of that 

year ... 12,688 

1862 — Enlistments under call of July 2 3,888 

1863 — Enlistments under call of May 

26 to Dec. 31 3,281 

1864 — Enlistments under call to Jan. 31 131 
1864 — Enlistments and re-enlistments 

May 1 4,712 

1864 — Enlistments and re-enlistments 
from Aug. 1, to Dec. 31 T ,956 

1865 — Enlistments and re-enlistments 

to Aug. 31 2,509 

Total enlistments 29,165 

This would show a deficiency of 2,681 

31,846 



296 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



By a statement of provost marshall it was 
credited with 31,884. 

This statement had reference to April 30, 
1865; as part of these were re-enlistments, the 
estimate is made that West Virginia furnished 
to the United States about 28,000 men. To 
secure these men by volunteering, each county 
was designated to furnish her share and to 
offer inducements that would secure the men. 
A statement is furnished of the local bounties 
offered by the counties for volunteers, and the 
amount figures up to $1,965,549, which is 
close to two millions for 28,000 men, or an 
average of $70 per man. 

Ohio county furnished $334,959. 

Harrison county furnished $258,438. 

Wood county furnished $187,791. 

Marshall county furnished $18.1,325. 

Monongalia county, $154,425. 

Preston county, $135,700. 

Marion county, $103,075. 

Kanawha county, $9,400. 

Putnam county, $12,630. 

Cabell county, $3,600. 

Gilmore county, $3,689. 

There seems to have been seventeen regi- 
ments of infantry volunteers and two regiments 
veteran infantry volunteers; seven regiments 
cavalry volunteers and one of veteran cavalry, 
and one regiment of artillery. 

Of the men enlisted, total deaths were 3,224. 
There were fifty-one companies of State 
guards. Kanawha county had one company 
under Captain Robt. Brooks. 

COLORED SOLDIERS IN THE U. S. ARMY FROM 
WEST VIRGINIA 

There were accredited to West Virginia, 212 
colored soldiers and were assigned to the 
45th Reg. U. S. Col. 

IN THE CONFEDERATE SERVICE FROM 
WEST VIRGINIA 

It was in the South Branch valley and 
Lower Shenandoah and the Greenbrier valley 
that and southern West Virginia, that fur- 
nished these. It is said they were a part of a 
company, a company or companies from the 
counties of Barbour. Berkely. Boone. Cabell. 
Clay, Calhoun. Fayette. Gilmer. Greenbrier, 



Hampshire, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Kana- 
wha, Lewis, Marion, Mason, Mercer, Monon- 
galia, Monroe, McDowell, Morgan, Nicholas, 
Ohio, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Ral- 
eigh, Randolph, Roane, Upshur, Wayne, 
Wyoming, Logan, etc. 

The difference will be noted, when stated 
that Mason county sent over one thousand to 
the Federal army and sixty-one into the Con- 
federate, while Hampshire sent more than one 
thousand into the Confederate and seventy- 
three into the Federal army. 

As to the number of soldiers in the C. S. A. 
from West Virginia, no one can know, as 
there seems to be no record from which num- 
bers can be had. It is said that the Stonewall 
brigade had twelve companies from W. Va. 
The Twenty-secend Reg. Va. was com- 
posed of men from W. Va. There were nine 
companies in the Thirty-first Va ; six com- 
panies in the Thirty-sixth Va. Reg. Summers 
sent 200, Pendleton 700. Gen. Oley reported 
that he paroled over 5,000 confederates, and 
V. A. Lewis' estimate is 7.000, were in C. S. 
A. from W. Va.. and of these there were 
deaths amounting to 800, and in both armies 
4,024 died. 

We find no mention of bounties for con- 
federates, no hospitals, commisions, or any- 
thing except guns, — most of them had shoot- 
ers. Thirty-five thousand soldiers from West 
Virginia, about one-fifth of that in C. S. A. 
and four-fifths in U. S. A. 

STATUE OF "STONEWALL" JACKSON 

The statue of General Jackson was erected 
on the capitol grounds in Charleston, and un- 
veiled September 27, 1910, by the efforts of 
the United Daughters of the Confederacy of 
Charleston, West Virginia, and the site of the 
monument was located under the provisions 
of Joint Resolution No. 13 of the Legislature 
of West Virginia, adopted February 25, 1905. 
It was designed and executed by Sir Moses 
Ezekiel, of Rome. Italy, shipped from Rome 
to Baltimore and thence to Charleston, where 
it arrived August 31. 19 10. The granite foun- 
dation came from Richmond, Virginia, the 
marble from Genoa and the bronze statue was 
made in Rome. The board of public works 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



297 



of W est Virginia marked the location on the 
capitol grounds April n, 19 10 and approved 
the inscription to be placed thereon. 

On the 31st of May, 19 10, ground was 
broken for the monument by Chapter No. 151 
U. D. C, shovels full of earth being removed 
by the president, Mrs. Samuel S. Green, and 
an address was delivered by Brig.-General 
Samuel S. Green, commanding the Second 
Brigade, U. C. V., followed by an oration by 
Hon. W. E. Glasscock, governor of West Vir- 
ginia. The sculptor, Sir Moses Ezekiel, is a 
native of Richmond, Virginia, and was edu- 
cated at the Military Institute of Lexington, 
Virginia. He went to Italy in 1888 and be- 
came so eminent as sculptor that he was 
knighted by the King of Italy. 

The unveiling took place September 27, 
1910, in the presence of at least five thousand 
people, strangers and citizens of the city, and 
the procession was headed by the Stonewall 
Brigade Band of Staunton, Virginia, and a 
company of cadets of seventy-five from the 
Virginia Military Institute, and then a bat- 
talion of the Second Regiment of West Vir- 
ginia National Guard, and the people followed 
after. At the monument, Brig.-General S. S. 
Green presided. The invocation was by the 
Right Rev. Geo. W. Peterkins of Diocese of 
West Virginia. Addresses were made by Gen. 
Green, Hon. John A. Preston of Lewisburg, 
West Virginia. Mrs. Green of Chapter 151, 
U. D. C, cut the cord and unveiled the statue, 
and the Virginia Cadets fired a salute. Other 
addresses were then made by Hon. Robt. 
White of Wheeling. Hon Bennett Young of 
Louisville, Ky. The vocal music was ren- 
dered under the direction of Mrs. J. Griff Ed- 
wards of Portsmouth, Virginia. Governor 
Mann of Virginia, was represented by R. A. 
James of the board of visitors of the Virginia 
Military Institute, and Governor Glasscock of 
West Virginia, was represented by Adj. -Gen. 
Charles E. Elliott. The inscription is as follows : 

Stonewall Jackson 
Erected as a memorial to the Confederate Soldiers 
1861-1865 
By Charleston Chapter No. 151 

United Daughters of the Confederacy 



The above was taken from the Third Bian- 
nual Report, State Department and History, 
Appendix III, 1910-1911, in which is found 
a biographical sketch of Gen. Thomas J. Jack- 
son, showing why they called him "Stone- 
wall." 

U. S. DIRECT TAXATION 

Congress, in 1813, wanted to raise three 
millions of dollars and passed an act for the 
raising of the same by direct taxation. Of 
the state of Virginia, there was required of 
her as her part, the sum of $369,018.44. Vir- 
ginia raised it by taxation on her counties and 
the counties now part of West Virginia, were 
required to pay as follows : 

Monroe county paid $1,030.50 

Mason county paid 1,130.50 

Brooke county paid 1,195.50 

Wood county paid 1,338.50 

Cabell county paid 1,546.50 

Greenbrier county paid 1,650.44 

Pendleton county paid 1,428.50 

Kanawha county paid 2,167.50 

Harrison county paid 2,672.50 

Hardy county paid 2,126.50 

Ohio county paid 1,907.50 

Monongalia county paid 2,992.50 

Hampshire county paid 3;795-5Q 

Randolph county paid 5,465.50 

Berkeley county paid 6,147.22 

Jefferson county paid 6,876.28 

The taxation required then indicates the 
relative strength financially in 18 13. Wood 
and Ohio would be lower in the line, Hamp- 
shire and Jefferson would not appear among 
the large counties now, and Kanawha would 
probably vary her position; and the list is 
otherwise interesting. 

DERIVATION OF THE NAME "KANAWHA" 

June 12, 1734, order of Colonial Council. 

"Whereas a barborous murder was some 
time since committed in Spottsylvania county 
by some northern Indians, and thereby there 
is just cause to suspect that the same ,was done 
by the nation of Coonays (Conoys) under the 
government of Pennsylvania." * * * 

With reference to the matter above referred 
to. Governor Gooch of Virginia, on the 13th 



298 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



of July, 1733, sent a letter to Governor Pat- 
rick Gordon, of Pennsylvania, stating that a 
man and his wife had been murdered and 
scalped in Spottsylvania in April, 1733, by said 
Indians, — Coonay or Conoy Indians — they 
were called in Pennsylvania the "Ganawese" 
and in 1701 made a treaty with Pennsylvania 
and were said to be from the northern part of 
the Potomac and that the now "Lost river"' 
derived its name from them — Conai-Conoy. 

EAST BANK 

The first to purchase lots on the site of this 
flourishing town were A. C. Shaver and E. 
M. McVey, in 1878. The site of the town was 
laid out on the property of the Harriman heirs. 
William Prior owned some land, on which re- 
sided his sons, James, a funeral director, John, 
a bookkeeper, and Tipton, a salesman, and the 
town for a time was called "Prior," its first 
name having been Hampton. Its present name 
was taken from a small coal bank in operation 
about that time. Here are located the East 
Bank Coal Works and a number of other coal 
works, and here or in the vicinity, are also lo- 
cated the Hamilton Oil and Gas Company and 
the Montgomery Gas Company, both successful 
enterprises. 

Among the oldest settlers in the place are 
William Paxton Prior (the oldest settler). Rev. 
Mr. McVey, who has been here since 1866, 
when he built a house here and moved into it ; 
A. C. Shaver, Sylvester Chapman, Shelton 
Johnson, Henry Thompson, and Mrs. Sallie 
Saunders, who first married a Mr. Morris. 
The first mayor was G. W. Poff. 

S. M. Buck opened the first coal bank in 
East Bank. 

East Bank has three church edifices — those 
of the M. E. Church, South, secretary. B. G. 
Keeny; the Missionary Baptist, F. Howell, pas- 
tor; and the Free Will Baptist church, pastor, 
E. M. McVey, the Missionary Baptist being 
the oldest organization. 

The Missionary Baptist church was organ- 
ized about 1887 and is known as the Hampton 
Baptist church. The first pastor was H. H. 
Hugart, whose successors were Rev. James 
Roberts, Rev. Geo. Foster (now a Unitarian 
minister of Chicago, 111.), Rev. J. W. Cock 



(now of Huntington, W. Va.), Rev. Mr. 
Winebenner, and Rev. V. F. Howell, the pres- 
ent incumbent. The membership of the church 
is about eighty. This church originated with 
or sprung from the historic old Kanawha Bap- 
tist church, whose building was destroyed dur- 
ing the Civil war. The present and first build- 
ing is a frame structure. 

The Free Will Baptist church was organized 
in 1878 with four members and now has about 
seventy-five. Its pastors have been Rev. W. [. 
Fulton, John E. Cox, Rev. Mr. Stewart. N. E. 
Mercer, E. M. McVey and W. R. Nester, Mr. 
McVey, the present pastor, having served the 
organization during the greater part of the 
time. The church edifice is a frame building. 
46x64 feet ground plan, and is the first build- 
ing of the organization. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has 
a present organization of twenty-eight mem- 
bers. The building — a neat brick structure — 
was erected about twenty years ago. The con- 
gregation has been served by Revs. Carney, 
John Martin. N. McClung, A. M. Hollister 
and W. E. Bennett. 

East Bank has one dentist, Dr. G. W. 
Owens. The present mayor of the town is J. 
R. Jones ; recorder. Julian F. Keeny. Postmas- 
ter. D. M. Tarrett. 

East Bank is well supplied with secret or- 
ders, including the Odd Fellows, Knights of 
Pythias, Senior Order of American Mechanics 
and Red Men. Abraham Encampment No. 20, 
I. O. O. F.. moved in 1873 from Marmet to 
Coalburg, and came to East Bank in the fall 
of 1896. 

Lodge No. 63. chartered February 15. 1872. 
was first instituted at Coalburg. A hall was 
built in the fall of 1896 at East Bank, the build- 
ing being of brick. There were five charter 
members and seven in lodge when it was in- 
stituted, the former being Capt. A. Frauber, 
Francis Calvert. John Calvert, Milton Cole and 
Larry Bryan. The two others who went in at 
the same time were M. W. Stanley and A. 
Schlaegel. The lodge has now 97 members. 

Cherokee Tribe No. 33, Improved Order of. 
Red Men, of East Bank, was instituted with 
27 charter members, namely: Chas. Rutroff, 
William Thomas. Tobias Benjamin. G. A. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



299 



Poff, John B. Clark, John Banister, John Can- 
terbury, William H. Bowers, Geo. P. Snead, 
John M. Hudnall, James Hull, W. S. Monta- 
gue, T. L. Moore, William Sigmond, D. L. 
McConihay, R. E. Hendrickson, M. F. Poff, 
Elex. Sims, Geo. W. Keeney, C. T. Stanley, 
William L. Banister, Robert A. Snead, G. P. 
H. Spruce, James D. Arrington, M. F. Spruce, 
Buron E. Holstine and G. W. McVey. The 
charter was issued in May and the lodge in- 
stituted in November, 1892. It has about 28 
members at the present time. 

The Senior Order of American Mechanics 
was instituted June 11, 1892 and has a present 
membership of sixty-five. They rent their 
hall and have their own cemetery. 

Kanawha Lodge, K. of P., No. 16, was first 
instituted at Coalburg. It now has about 60 
members and owns its own building, which is 
a frame structure. 

The Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias 
have each a cemetery and the latter own their 
own hall. 

East Bank has seven stores, the merchants 
being as follows : Harry Howery, general mer- 
chant H. P. Hudnall, general merchant; J. C. 
Lewis, general merchant and restaurant ; H. 
M. Blair, general merchant; M. Morowitz, 
clothier and dry goods; E. Rosen, dry goods 
and clothier; H. R. Wiltberger, druggist. 
There are two milliners — Miss Anna Golden 
and Mrs. L. McConahey. 

THE CASE OF JACK NEAL l8oi 

The following account of a freeman's strug- 
gle for liberty was written by Dr. Henry Ruff- 
ner. There seems to have been two cases 
where negro traders attempted to take slaves 
down south on boats on the Ohio and met dis- 
aster, and there was more sympathy for the 
negroes than for the traders. 

Jack Neal and Sam Robinson had been 
manumitted by will, and before the will had 
been probated, some traders purchased them, 
though knowing that they were free, seized 
them in the night and moved them out of 
reach to the Ohio river, placed them in a large 
canoe and started down South. But Jack was 
no ordinary negro — jn the first place he was a 
giant in strength, was an excellent mechanic 



with plenty of sense. They told Jack what 
they intended to do with him and he told them 
that he gave them warning. All the negroes 
they had were ironed and fastened together with 
a chain and placed in the piroque, and they 
were required to row while the traders guided 
the boat. They had passed the mouth of the 
Kanawha in the night ; Jack had been working 
to get loose and had succeeded. He struck 
one of the traders with a hatchet, which quieted 
him, and the other plunged into the river and 
drowned. Now what was to be done? They 
were below Gallipolis — there they were ar- 
rested and sent to Virginia, at Kanawha 
courthouse. Edward Graham was the attor- 
ney for the commonwealth and William Ster- 
rett for the negroes. They were tried before 
the whole bench of justices with no jurors, and 
on the 17th of August, 1801, for the murder 
of Bennett Rogers and Ralph Elliott. All of 
them were acquitted except Jack and he was 
found guilty and sentenced to be hung on the 
19th of September, next. The court directed 
the clerk to write the facts to the governor. 
The attorney, Graham, resigned and Sterrett 
was appointed in his place. When Jack was 
asked if he had anything to say, he arose and 
related the whole facts — his life, his being 
freed, kidnaped and the consequences. Then 
he was sentenced, and a history of the case 
sent to the governor with a petition for re- 
prieve. 

The governor suspended the execution and 
investigated the facts of the story. There 
was another trial as to some points occasioned 
by the fact that he had not been executed, but 
he was resentenced to be hung on the 19th of 
September, 1802. It was close to the fatal 
day and no pardon yet and no other mail to 
come. Jack said he must get out. He made 
all preparations and waited. Evidently he had 
many friends and all seemed desirous that he 
should escape. Jack made his attempt just be- 
fore daylight. He got the jailor's gun first, 
and then broke for the woods in a heavy fog, 
but they afterwards recaptured him and re- 
turned him to the jail. The next day they 
expected to hang him but a special messenger 
arrived with reprieve. He was kept in the 
jail, then permitted to work in shop, then was 



300 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



fully pardoned, then obtained his papers of 
freedom and afterwards returned to his old 
home. The expenses for guarding and board- 
ing Jack seem to have been needless, and it 
looks as though there might have been some 
sort of "graft;" but perhaps we are wrong. 
It seemed that no one could blame Jack for 
what he did, but he seems to have found no 
friends either in Ohio or in Pittsburg; he did 
find them, however, in Kanawha. 

EARLY TAVERNS 

The first tavern, or inns, as they were then 
called, so far as can now be learned, were the 
Buster Tavern, at the northeast corner of 
Court and Kanawha streets, and the Griffin 
Tavern at the northeast corner of Summers 
and Kanawha streets. 

The prices of accommodations at such places 
of public entertainment were prescribed by 
the courts. The following is a list of prices 



established at a court in 1820: 
Breakfast, dinner, or supper, each .... 25c 

Lodging, per night I2 l / 2 c 

Horse at hay, per night 25c 

Horse at pasture, per night .' . I2 l / 2 c 

Jamaica Spirits, Cogniac Brandy, and 

Madeira Wine, per gallon 600c 

Cherry Bounce and Country Gin. per gal. 300c 
Whiskey and Peach Brandy, per gal. . . 200c 
Beer and Cider, per gal 50c 



Clearly, they were not prohibitionists. 

NEWSPAPERS 

The rise and progress of newspapers fur- 
nishes a good gauge of the advance of civiliza- 
tion, and a short history of the press is a proper 
accompaniment of the history of any county. 
The first newspaper established at the county 
seat of Kanawha county was called the Kana- 
wha Patriot, and was published by H. P. Gaines 
in the year 18 19. In 1820 Mason Campbell 
began the publication of the Western Courier, 
which survived for two years, but five years 
later the same gentleman started the Western 
Virginian, the publication of which he continued 
until 1829. He then sold out to other parties, 
who changed the name to the Western Register, 
but continued its publication for only one year. 
A year or two afterward Mason Campbell and 



Ezra Walker began the publication of the Ka- 
nawha Banner, which survived until 1834, 
when it was followed by a paper of smaller 
size, called the Kanawha Patriot, a political or- 
gan of the Whig persuasion. In 1840, Pate & 
Hickey established the first Democratic jour- 
nal, the Jeffersonian, but at that time the 
Whigs largely predominated in the county, and 
the paper only had the brief existence of one 
year. In 1842, E. W. Newton began the is- 
sue of a Whig paper, called the Kanawha Re- 
publican. The Western Virginian was the sec- 
ond Democratic venture, in 1851, by Thomp- 
son & Gardner. The paper survived but lit- 
tle longer than its democratic predecessor. It 
was succeeded by the Kanawha Valley Star, by 
John Rundell, and this paper lived to record 
the opening of the Civil war. In 1864, S. S. 
and E. T. Moore began the issue of the first 
Republican paper, the West Virginia Journal. 
In 1870. H. S. Walker & Co. established the 
West Virginia Courier, first a weekly, then a 
daily and finally a tri-weekly paper. The Bap- 
tist Record, by J. B. Hardwicke. D. D.. was 
started in 1870. but it had a short life. The 
same year the Charleston Herald was started 
by John Brisben Walker, which was issued for 
two years. The Kanawha Daily, in 1871 had 
a short existence, under the charge of Thomas 
Hughes & Co. In 1872 C. B. Webb issued 
the Kanawha Chronicle, at first independent in 
politics, but in 1876 espousing the cause of the 
democracy. The Kanawha Gazette. Demo- 
cratic, established in 1877 as a weekly; issued 
as a daily since 1888; M. W. Donnally. pro- 
prietor; the Kanawha Democrat, by P. M. 
Noyes; The Nonpareil, independent, 1877, 
weekly till 1890, then daily, by J. V. Hender- 
son: the Star Tribune, Republican, 1881 ; M. 
B. Reber. manager; the West Virginia School 
Journal, educational: 1881. by B. S. Morgan. 

In 191 1 there are the Charleston Daily Ga- 
zette, Democratic, (Vol. 2=;), and the Charles- 
ton Daily Mail. Republican, (Vol. 28). We 
shall not attempt to say who the different ed- 
itors may be. 

Then there are the Advocate, the Labor Ar- 
gus (Socialist), the Mountain Leader: and 
during campaigns of any kind, there are others. 

The Kanawha Republican was the longest 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



301 



lived ; it was edited by Mr. Newton and con- 
tinued for about thirty years. 

Probably the ablest edited, was the "West 
Virginia Courier," by Mr. H. S. Walker. The 
Kanawha Valley Star was edited by Demo- 
cratic lawyers. 

SURVEYORS OF LANDS 

The surveyor was always an important man ; 
there was a sort of mystery about him, for he 
knew things that many others did not. He 
had to know that there was a north star and 
he had to run his course thereby — had to have 
an instrument that most of the people could 
tell nothing about. He pretended to be able 
to explain the variation of the needle, knew 
what a degree meant, and knew an angle to be 
something other than something to eat. A sur- 
veyor was a learned man, a sort of magician. 
In the days when the State had lands for sale 
and a man wanted to purchase and own real 
estate, he deposited money with the treasurer 
and took a paper giving its date, its number 
and the amount paid in, and the quantity of 
land to which he was entitled. He then went 
to the neighborhood where he wished to locate 
the land and made an entry of the quantity of 
land and the location thereof in a general way. 
He then had it surveyed accurately, marking 
the corner and line trees, for each had a dis- 
tinctively different mark placed on the trees to 
indicate the lines and corners. A plat was 
made and also a description of the survey, giv- 
ing its corners, courses and distances, with 
monuments, creeks, trees, etc. With this and 
the treasurer's warrant, he laid them before 
the governor who wrote out a grant or patent 
for the land surveyed and paid for. The pur- 
chaser then had his land charged to him on 
the land books, and then paid his taxes, once 
each year, forever. 

In the course of human events, these lines 
and corners would be forgotten and lost, as it 
were. Trees would fall down and sometimes 
they were cut down ; other surveys would be 
made near to them, others would set up claim 
to the land and it would become necessary to 
learn the location of the lines anew. The sur- 
veyor would be sent for; he would try to lo- 
cate some corner, tree or rock, or known point 



in the said survey, and then he would run it 
out as it was originally run or located. An- 
other interesting matter would have to be at- 
tended to ; that was, to ascertain what Was the 
variation of the needle so as to make exact 
allowance for it. Finding a tree that might 
have once been marked as one of the corner 
or line trees, the surveyor wishes to establish 
it beyond question. The tree has changed 
greatly; it has been growing all these many 
years since it was marked. Was this the tree 
that was marked in 1 795 ? Can you prove it ? 
This is the business of the surveyor. 

There were for many years two surveyors in 
Kanawha, Mr. A. P. Sinnett and Mr. John L. 
Cole. They were in no manner alike. Mr. 
Sinnett was a dignified, quiet, stately man, and 
went about his work as if he meant to do it 
exactly, no guess work at all. Mr. Cole was a 
jocular, good-natured, hearty, humorous, over- 
grown boy, who was never very much in ear- 
nest, never as exact or particular as you might 
suppose ; if he could not find the star he wanted, 
another one would do as well. Practically ev- 
erybody knew that Mr. Sinnett was a surveyor. 
The court had directed Mr. Sinnett to go to a 
certain place on Coal river to do some survey- 
ing. He had notified the parties of the day 
that he would be there and he expected they 
would meet him, but for some reason he could 
not go. He sent Mr. Cole in his stead, and 
Cole was on time and in place. Cole did not 
think it necessary to introduce himself or tell 
them his name was not Sinnett, for he heard 
them all call him Sinnett. They had learned 
by some means that Mr. Sinnett wore a wig 
to cover his bald head and they were curious 
to see it. They mentioned the fact, and Cole 
admitted it but made no move to display the 
curiosity. A certain man could stand it no 
longer and proposed that if Cole would ex- 
plain one thing he would be satisfied. Cole be- 
came curious and agreed to his proposition. 
He stated he could not comprehend how it was 
that when Mr. Sinnett made choice of a wig 
he selected a red one. Cole found himself in 
a close place and was getting Mr. Sinnett in 
a tighter one. He could not carry that any 
further. When they had been going until 
noon they reached the bank of Coal river and 



302 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



were enjoying the rest and cool of the shade. 
Cole saw a long grape vine hanging from the 
limb of a tree down to the roots of the tree on 
the bank. He cut it loose from the ground 
and taking it in his hands swung out over the 
stream. He had a delightful suing but when 
it came back toward the bank it did not quite 
reach, and each time it failed to come as near 
as before, until it was about to come to a stop 
some ten or more feet away from it. There 
was nothing to do but to let go, drop into the 
stream and wade ashore — -with the joke on him. 

Before surveyors were allowed to work at 
their profession they had to secure a certificate 
from the College of William and Mary that 
they had been examined and found competent 
to survey. Reuben Slaughter was the first 
surveyor and there were others, and they kept 
coming. The Mathewses were all surveyors 
and they came quite early. They might all 
have had their certificates of competency, but 
no two surveyors ever made the survey contain 
the same area; however, it is wonderful how 
they can trace a line and learn the corners of 
large surveys that had been made many years. 
Everybody knew that Sinnett was exact, but 
Cole could find a line with less to help him than 
any other surveyor ; he seemed to know what 
the old surveyor thought, said and did. the 
latter perhaps concluding there was no other 
way to lay the line, and Cole arriving at the 
same conclusion from the self-same circum- 
stances. 

FRATERNAL SOCIETIES 

Of secret and benevolent organizations Ka- 
nawha county has her full share, the beneficial 
influence of such societies, though formerly 
doubted by some, is now generally recognized, 
and that citizen is a rara avis who hasn't 
"jined" one or more of them. Owing to their 
predilection for secrecy we have been unable to 
find out as much about some of them as we 
could have desired. A few, formerly organ- 
ized have for one reason or another passed out 
of existence, but those now flourishing are as 
follows : 

FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 

Masons. 

Masonic Temple, cor. Virginia and Hale. 
Trustees, Charles K. Payne, for Kanawha 



Lodge No. 20, A. F. & A. M. ; James F. 
Brown, for Tyrian Chapter No. 13, R. A. M. ; 
James N. Carnes, for Kanawha Commandery 
No. 4, K. T. 

Odel Squier Long Lodge of Perfection No. 
3, A. & A. S. R., meets every third Tuesday 
in Masonic Hall. J. Talman Waters, sec. 

Beni-Kedem Temple. A. A. O. N. M. S. 
Meets 2d Thursday of each month in Masonic 
Temple, Virginia n. w. cor. Hale. Benjamin 
Caruthers, potentate ; Joseph Ruffner. recorder; 
26 Citizens' National Bank bldg. 

Kanawha Commander}- No. 4. Knights Tem- 
plar. Meets every 4th Monday evening of each 
month in Masonic Temple, Virginia n. w. cor. 
Hale. J. Talman Waters recorder. 27 Citi- 
zens' National Bank bldg. 

Kanawha Lodge No. 20 A. F. & A. M. 
Meets 1 st and 3d Monday evening of each 
month in Masonic Temple. Virginia n. w. cor. 
Hale. J. T. Waters, sec. 

Tyrian Royal Arch Chapter No. 13. R. A. 
M. Meets 2d Monday of each month in Ma- 
sonic Temple. Virginia n. w. cor. Hale. H. M. 
Anderson, sec. 

B. P. O. E. 
Charleston Lodge No. 202. Meets every 
Friday at Elks Hall. Quarrier and McFar- 
land. Guy H Newcomer, sec, 1580 Quarrier. 

F. O. E. 

Charleston Aerie No. 519. Meets even- 
Thursday at I. O. O. F. Hall. Capitol cor. 
State, j. R. Foster, rec. sec. 

Improved Order of Red Men. 

Cornstalk Tribe No. 23, Improved O. R. M. 
Meets every Thursday evening in Elk Bank- 
ing Co. Hall. Charleston cor. Virginia av. 
John Thumb. S. ; J. L. Javins. K. of R. 

Nokomis Tribe No. 13. Imp. O. R. M. 
Meets every Wednesday evening in Odd Fel- 
lows' Temple. Capitol cor. State. R. Kuntz. 
C. of R., 107^ Capitol. 

I. O. O. F. 

Ellinipsico Encampment No. 13. chartered 
Aug. 23, 185 1 ; meets everv Thursdav evening 
at Odd Fellows' Hall. Capitol cor. State. E. W. 
England, scribe. 329 Court. 

Glen Elk Lodge No. 95. Meets every 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



303 



Thursday evening at 8 in I. O. O. F. Hall, 
Virginia s. w. cor. Pennsylvania av. J. M. 
Masoncupp, sec., 112 Court. 

Glenwood Encampment No. 40. Meets ev- 
ery Monday evening at I. O. O. F. Hall, Vir- 
ginia s. w. cor. Pennsylvania av. F. T. Mel- 
dahl, scribe, 121 5 Washington. 

Kanawha Lodge No. 25, instituted Dec. 5, 
1865 ; meets every Tuesday evening at Odd 
Fellows' Hall, Capitol cor. State. W. J. Coch- 
ran, sec, 1814 Quarrier. 

Patriarch Militant. Canton Kanawha No. 7. 
Meets at Odd Fellows' Hall, Capitol cor. State 
every Thursday. Howard B. Wolf, clerk. 

Daughters of Liberty. " 

Union Council No. 5. Meets every Monday 
night in Orts Hall, Charleston cor. Tennessee 
av. Mrs. Dema Hill, treas. 

Daughters of Rebekah. 
Myrtle Lodge No. 97. Meets at Odd Fel- 
lows' Hall, Capitol cor. State, even- Monday 
evening at 7 :3c Miss Maude Grinstead, sec, 
423 State. 

D. O. K. K. 

Shiaraz Temple No. 29. Meets 2d Thurs- 
day of each month at n>4 Capitol. Ceremo- 
ial sessions January, May and September. 
Freeman Carte, sec. 

Knights of Columbus. 

K. O. C. Council No. 771. Meets every 1st 
and 3d Sunday in School Hall. Broad and 
Quarrier. G. G. Bratt, F. S. 

Knights of Pythias. 

Glenwood Lodge No. 180. Consolidated 
with Glendale Lodge No. 78. 

Elkana Lodge No. 63. Meets every Friday 
evening in K. of P. Hall, n l / 2 Capitol. C. B. 
Oakes, K. of R. and S., 1310 Washington. 

Glendale Lodge No. 78. Meets every Tues- 
day evening at 7:30 in Elk Banking Co.'s Hall, 
Charleston cor. Tennessee av. Felix E. Wal- 
lace, K. of R. and S., 107 Roane. 

Keuka Lodge No. 26; chartered Nov. 5, 
1879; meets every Wednesday evening at 217 
Capitol, Forest Wash, K. of R. and S. 



Knights of the Maccabees. 

Elk City Tent No. 9. Meets every Wednes- 
day evening in Ort's Hall, Charleston cor. Ten- 
nessee av. F. F. McLane, R. K. ; Gus Ban- 
dusch, F. K., 412 Bibby. 

Capitol Tent No. 43. Meets every Thurs- 
dav evening at 218 Capitol. Frank Calvert, 
R. K. and F. K., R. F. D. No. 1. 

Ladies of the Maccabees. 

L. O. T. M., Hive No. 6. Meets even- 
Tuesday at I. O. O. F. Hall, Virginia s. w. 
cor. Pennsylvania av. Cecilia Shiller, K. of 
R. ; Katie Gherken, K. of F. 

Capital City Hive No. 20. Meets even- 
Tuesday evening at Odd Fellows' Hall, Cap- 
itol cor. State. 

Modern Woodmen of America. 
Charleston Camp No. 5719. M. W. of A. 
Meets every Monday evening in Odd Fellows' 
Hall. J. A. Rusk, elk., no Capitol. 

Mystic Circle. 
Capital City Ruling No. 70. Fraternal Mys- 
tic Circle. Meets on call. W. F. Calbreath, 
W. C, Broad and Smith. 

National Association of Stationary Engineers. 

Charleston Lodge No. 3, N. A. S. E. Meets 
first Saturday at 8 p. m. at 10 Arcade. O. H. 
Michaelson, cor. sec. 

National Union. 
Forest Council No. 134, National Union. 
Meets 2d and 4th Friday of each month at 
Kanawha National Bank bldg. W. B. Wilkin- 
son, sec. 

Junior Order of United American Mechanics. 

Capital City Council No. 221. Jr., O. U. A. 
M. Meets every Wednesdav evening at 7 130 
in Elk Banking Co. Hall. V. T. Post, R. S. 
Order of United American Mechanics. 

Charleston Council No. 9. Meets every 
Mondav evening in K. of P. Hall, Capi- 
tol. Charles G. High. C. S. 

Elk City Council No. 13. Meets every Fri- 
day evening in Elk Banking Co.'s Hall. 
Charleston cor. Tennessee av. Hubert Mel- 
ton. R. S.. Indiana av. and Birch. 

Lincoln Council No. 47. Meets everv Tues- 



304 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



day evening in Odd Fellows' Hall, Capitol 
cor. State. C. W. Butts, rec. sec. 

Riverside Council No. 46. Meets every 
Tuesday evening in I. O. O. F. Hall, Capitol 
cor. State. Robert Barnett. R. S., io8 l / 2 Cap- 
itol. 

United Commercial Travelers. 
Kanawha Council No. 21. Meets every 2d 
Saturday in K. of P. Hall, 11 1 / 2 Capitol. C. 
\Y. Ballard, sec. and treas.. 141 2 Quarrier. 

COLORED ORGANIZATIONS 

Pythians ( Colored ) . 

Capital City Lodge No. 1. Meets 1st and 
3d Thursdays in K. of P. Hall, Washington 
cor. Dickinson. Charles W. Boyd. 11 27 Pied- 
mont rd., K. of R. and S. 

West Virginia Lodge No. 60. Meets 1st 
and 3d Tuesdays in K. of P. Hall, Washington 
cor. Dickinson. George L. Cuzzens. 12 16 Lee, 
K. of R. and S. 

Order of Calanthe. 

Phyllis Wheatley Court No. 1. Meets 2d 
and 4th Tuesdays in K. of P. Hall. Washing- 
ton cor. Dickinson. Mrs. Mary J. Hazelwood, 
1342 Washington. R. of D. 

Masonic. 

Washington Lodge No. 6. Meets 1st and 
3d Fridays in K. of P. Hall. Washington cor. 
Dickinson. J. H. Taylor. W. M. : A. A. De- 
honey, sec, 1323 Lewis. 

Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. 

Kanawha Light Lodge No. 1637; chartered 
Sept. 1, 1874. Meets 1st and 3d Mondays in 
Frankenberger Hall. Kanawha cor. Summers. 

Household of Ruth. 
No. 163. G. U. O. of O. F. Meets 1st and 
3d Tuesdays at Frankenberger Hall. Kanawha 
cor. Summers. Mrs. Lizzie Waynesboro. W. 
R., 1 34 1 Lewis. 
Colored Miscellaneous Societies and Clubs. 
Charleston Women's Improvement League. 
Mrs. M. J. Hazelwood, pres. 

MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES AND CLUBS 

Blunden Post, No. 73, G. A. R. Meets 
every 2d and 4th Saturday of each month at 
I. O. O. F. Hall. Capitol cor. State. Joseph 



Bohnert. C. : W. H. Bonham, V. C. : Thomas 
Swinburn, Adj.; W. P. Hardway, O. of D. ; C. 
B. Mcintosh, Q. M. ; Alexander Watts, chap- 
lain. 

Blunden W. R. C. No. 6. Meets every other 
Tuesday at 2:30 p. m. in I. O. O. F. Hall,, 
Capitol cor. State. Mrs. Lottie Skees. sec. 
415 Reynolds. 

Capital City Trades Assembly. Meets every 
Sunday at 2 p. m. in hall 107-109 Capitol. 

George Crook Post, No. 3, G. A. R. Meets 
1st and last Fridav of each month at 4 p. m. 
in I. O. O. F. Hall, Capitol cor. State. O. H. 
Michaelson. adjt., 9 Arcade. 

George Crook W. R. C, No. 16. Meets 1st 
and 3d Friday at 2 130 p. m. in I. O. O. F. 
Hall. Capitol cor. State. Mrs. Emma Monta- 
gue sec. 702 Donnally. 

Camp Thomas L. Broun, United Sons of 
Confederate Veterans. No. 193. Meets at the 
call of the commandant at the office of Payne 
& Payne, Kanawha Valley Bank bldg., 3d floor. 
Commandant, W. D. Payne; 1st lieut. com- 
mandant. V. T. Churchman : 2d lieut. com- 
mandant. Joel H. Ruffner; adjt.. R. P. Flour- 
noy ; surgeon. Dr. P. L. Gordon ; quartermas- 
ter. R. S. Spilman ; color sergeant. T. A. Rob- 
erts: chaplain. Rev. H. G. Williams: treas.. 
Gunther Peyton. 

Camp R E. Lee 887. United Confederate 
Veterans. Meets in I. O. O F. Hall on the 
first Saturday at 10 A. M. D. C. Lovett. adjt. 

Charleston Chamber of Commerce. Meets 
fourth Thursday of each month at 6 Kanawha 
Banking & Trust Co. bldg. Charles Loeb, sec. 

Charleston Chapter 151 United Daughters 
of the Confederacy. Meets 2d Monday of each 
month at members residences. Mrs. Ernest 
Von Schlectendal. rec. sec. 1-309 Virginia. 

Charleston Typographical Union. No. 146. 
Meets last Saturday night of each month in 
Odd Fellows' Hall, Capitol cor. State. H. S. 
Tanett. sec. 

Children's Home Society of West Virginia. 
Rev. N. O. Sowers, mngr., 11 18 Washington. 

Edgewood Country Club. Edgewood Drive. 
Henry Poindexter. sec. 

Kanawha County Medical Society. Meets 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



305 



ist and 3d Tuesday of each month in Hotel 
Kanawha Assembly Room. Dr. H. L. Rob- 
ertson, sec. 

Kanawha Valley Central Labor Union, 
Frank W. Snyder, sec, 603 Virginia. 

New Germania Club. Meets every Wednes- 
day evening ( during winter months ) in Elks 
Hall, Quarrier, cor. McFarland. 

Stonewall Jackson Camp 878, United Con- 
federate Veterans. Meets 2d Monday of each 
month at State cor. Court, at 2 p. m. J. F. 
Wilcox, adj. 

Taw Club, W. A. Williams, pres.; O. M. 
Buck secretary. 

West Virginia Humane Society. Annual 
meeting at the Capitol in December. G. R. 
Thomas, agt. 

West Virginia State Federation of Labor. 
603 Virginia. F. W. Snyder, sec. and treas.. 
1577 Washington. 

Woman's Christian Temperance Union. 
Meets every Wednesday at 3 p. m. at members 
houses. Mrs. W. A. Radford, rec. sec, 1521 
Washington. 

Young Men's Christian Association, Capitol 
opp. State House. G. W. Atkinson, pres. ; 
Peter Silman, vice pres. ; Wm. B. Mathews, 
treas. ; W. C. Florain. sec 

THE BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER 
OF ELKS 

By Willard F. Comstock, Exalted Ruler. 

Perhaps there are no charitable, social or 
benevolent organizations in the country which 
have made such rapid progress along the lines 
of their foundation or have attracted a larger 
or more substantial membership than the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
originating in 1868, with members of the the- 
atrical profession, but at present being open 
to every other, under certain restrictions. 
While not a beneficial order, it is claimed that 
it expends more in unostentatious charity than 
any other organization in the world. The 
basic principles of the organization attracted 
reliable men in every section and lodges were 
rapidly organized. Charleston, W. Va.. enter- 
ing the field and for some years had a pros- 
perous lodge in operation. About 1897 the 
old organization was allowed to lapse. 



Too many of the older citizens, however, 
had enjoyed the benefits of the order to forget 
and when an effort was made to reorganize, 
a hearty response came and in October, 1903, 
the lodge of Elks at Charleston regained its 
charter and has been prosperous ever since, 
now having a membership of 425 in good 
standing. There are fourteen lodges in West 
Virginia and it is estimated that there are 
750,000 members in the United States. A 
sentiment of the order is expressed in the 
words — Dead but Not Forgotten — and a me- 
morial service is performed all over the United 
States for those members who have passed 
away, on the first Sunday of December, every 
year. 

The Charleston Lodge of Elks, of which 
Willard F. Comstock is Exalted Ruler, occu- 
pies a fine brick house with dimension of 120 
by 100 feet, standing on Quarrier street. It 
is luxuriously fitted up and is a credit to the 
city. Mr. Comstock has been particularly 
active in its affairs since 1904, and has served 
in official positions before his election to the 
highest office in the club. 

THE YANKEE GETS IN HIS WORK IN KANAWHA 

The first steamboat that ascended Elk river 
was the "Little Kanawha," in 1837. She 
went up as far as Queen shoals, distant twenty- 
six miles from Charleston. The second was 
the "Paul Pry," in 1838. She was chartered 
by a corporation or company of men from 
New York and Connecticut, who came to this 
section ostensibly to manufacture shoe pegs, 
axe handles and tool handles generally, but 
really to make some money. They brought 
with them turning-lathes and all the machinery 
necessary to the manufacture of the above 
mentioned articles, and doing business under 
the firm name of Smith & Sherman, they be- 
gan operations. There was at the time no 
more demand for their wares in this county 
than there is today for salt water in mid- 
ocean : but the work went on nevertheless. 
Cords upon cords of axe handles and other 
articles in proportion were made and ranked 
up. Bushels of shoe pegs were boxed and 
ready for market, but no buyers came. 

A member of the firm came to Charleston. 



306 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and offered to sell the stock on hand at what 
would have been ruinous prices in a section 
in which the said stock would have been in 
demand, but of course no purchaser could be 
found, so he returned without having effected 
a sale. A month or six weeks later, a gentle- 
man having a business-like appearance arrived 
in Charleston and advertised that be wished to 
purchase just such a stock as the company up 
Elk had on hand, and offering at the same 
time several times as much for it as the repre- 
sentative of the company had asked a month 
before. Two of Charleston's enterprising busi- 
ness men now saw a chance for a specula- 
tion ( ?), and quietly set off post haste up Elk, 
and upon arriving at the place where the com- 
pany operated, at once purchased the entire 
stock on hand, paying cash down for the same. 
Congratulating themselves upon the shrewd 
transaction which they were now performing, 
they wended their way back to Charleston, but 
upon arriving, lo, and behold! the would-be 
purchaser could not be found. He never was, 
and the explanation lies in the fact, as was 
afterward developed, that he was a member 
of the company. Many years passed away be- 
fore the victims of the first "Yankee trick" in 
Kanawha heard the last of it. 

DISSENTING OPINIONS 

We find many opinions recorded as to what 
might be termed "historic facts;" to several of 
which we will have to enter a dissenting 
opinion. These facts stated are but opinions, 
and every one is entitled to his opinion and 
whether right or whether wrong, without any 
apology or excuse ; further than that we will 
not, by omitting to dissent, let it be said that 
by our silence we affirm. 

Take for instance the case of Shadrack 
Harriman, who has been for a long while back 
reported as having been killed by the Indians 
in 1794 while he was coming to Charleston 
from his home, and that he was the last white 
man killed in the valley by the Indians. Dr. 
Hake records this as a fact and others have 
repeated it. We have to dissent. In the first 
Order Book of the County Court, on April 5, 
1 79 1, said court appoints Susanna Harriman 
and William Prvor administrators of the 



estate of Shadrack Harriman, deceased; Jo- 
seph Carroll and Robert Wheeler were ap- 
pointed appraisers of Harriman's personal es- 
tate, and in 1792, the heirs of said Harriman 
were assessed with five horses and one negro. 
This evidently shows that he had been killed 
long before 1794, and of the fact of his being 
killed, we have no doubt, and hence he was 
not the last white man killed by Indians in 
the valley. 

Again we find in the Recollections of John 
Boyer, that he states that in 1810, from 
Guyandotte to Catlettsburg. there was no 
house and says Peter Boyer. his father, car- 
ried the mail from Boyer's Ferry to Catletts- 
burg, and made a report of each house along 
the route and who occupied each house and 
that then there was no house between these 
streams or these towns in 1810. We again 
have to dissent. In 1809 Cabell county was 
organized and the courthouse was in Guyan- 
dotte. and there were several justices, a clerk 
and a sheriff of said county, and the road be- 
tween these places ran along on the bank of 
the Ohio river, and the first settlers' houses 
were along this road near the river, and that 
there were several of the justices of said 
county residing within the section mentioned 
as also the sheriff. There were Major Nathan- 
iel Scales, Thomas Buffington. Dr. Henry 
Hampton. Richard and Benjamin Brown and 
Harry Brown, the sheriff, and others that re- 
sided there while this part of the country was 
yet in Kanawha, and there is abundant evi- 
dence, of record, that shows these facts. 

In 1792 George and William Clendenin 
gave bond in February for the cutting and 
clearing of a road from Charleston to the 
Great Sandy river, so that we think that the 
road had been opened, and there were houses 
along this road in which were residents prob- 
ably as early as 1805. and most certainly be- 
fore 1810. 

It has been repeatedly stated that Thomas 
Hannan was the first settler in the county of 
Cabell and that he was on the Ohio as early 
as 1796 while part of Kanawha. He was 
charged with tax in 1793 an ^ he had a suit 
tried at Kanawha courthouse in August, 1795. 
We think we are justified in saying he was on 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



307 



the Ohio as early as 1793, and certainly in 
1795 and long before 1796. 

The Kanawha record proves that John 
Bailey, the husband of Ann, lived in Kanawha 
and on November 3, 1794, she presented his 
will to the Kanawha county court for probate. 

It has been stated with some assurance that 
Norris S. Whittaker was the first white child 
born in Charleston and that his birthday was 
February 3, 1807. See Atkinson's History, 
page 278. As to the first white child born in 
Kanawha, was Jacob Young in 1789, the day 
the Indians attacked Tacket's fort at Coals- 
mouth. But General Lewis Ruffner was born 
in Charleston, and the same authority gives 
his birthday Oct. I, 1793. Therefore, we must 
dissent from the conclusion stated on page 278, 
that Whittaker was older than Ruffner. 

Again,~~we are told that there was a river 
discovered by Gov. Spottswood in 17 16, just 
west of the Blue Ridge, that the governor 
gave it a name and that it was the first Chris- 
tian name bestowed upon a West Virginia 
river, and that the governor drank the health 
of the king in what is now Pendleton county, 
West Virginia. We dissent. 

We also find it recorded that the Kanawha 
Falls were discovered in 1671 and again we 
dissent. 

The first statement of discovery in 17 16 
does not correspond with the record made at 
the time by Mr. Fontaine. As to the discov- 
ery of Kanawha Falls in 1671, the facts stated 
do not authorize said conclusion. It is stated 
that Batts, Wood, Fallam, Neasam and Pere- 
cute on September 1, 1671, left Petersburg; 
on September 7th they were on the Blue 
Ridge; on the 13th of September they were 
on Swope's Knob, on the 14th they saw the 
high cliff walls of the canon of New river, and 
on the 1 6th of September they were at the 
Kanawha Falls. It is stated that they reached 
a curious river, which had a fall and made a 
great noise, and they set a mark to see if the 
river ebbed and found that it did slowly; that 
they could not stay longer and started home 
on the 17th, reaching home in October, 1671. 
We think that such a trip made at such a rate 
was not only unprofitable but impossible. We 
find that the "Falls of Bland" were discovered 

19 



in 1 64 1, on a river running west and that the 
Bland and the New was the same stream. In 
another instance a statement is made that, 
looking away from the crest of the Blue 
Ridge they saw the peaks about the birthplace 
of rivers, now in West Virginia ; said birth- 
place of rivers is the head of the James, of the 
Potomac, of the Monongahela, the Gauley, 
etc., and it was impossible to see these hills 
from the Blue Ridge. We dissent. 

As to the land on which the city of Charles- 
ton is built, it is stated in a deed in 10 W. Va., 
404, that the 1030 acres were conveyed to 
Geo. Clendenin by Cuthbert Bullitt in 1787, 
and that it was granted by the Commonwealth 
to Thomas Bullitt by patent 1779. Dyer 
Index, 52, says it was patented to Cuthbert 
and the copy at the auditor's office says it was 
surveyed in 1775, and patented to Cuthbert in 
1779. 

It has been said that Leonard Morris was 
the first permanent settler in Kanawha val- 
ley and that it was in 1775, and cites a deposi- 
tion to 1 prove it. The deposition does not prove 
it and the family of William Morris, of whom 
Leonard was one, was at Kelly's creek in the 
fall of 1774. 

There are some other data that might be 
used to correct some historic facts found in 
many places — mistaken facts, conclusions not 
justified by facts. Traditions and incorrect 
recollections, misprints, etc., are all very nat- 
ural, but when we are satisfied of mistakes 
they should be corrected, and to correct history 
is as material and important as to record it. 

JUDGE LYNCH 

Thomas Lee was murdered in December, 
1875, at Campbell's creek bridge, six miles 
above Charleston by John Dawson and Rufus 
Estep. They were arrested and lodged in jail 
in Charleston, and the people of Maiden and 
and Campbell's creek decided that there should 
be no escape of the punishment, and that they 
would attend to see the same duty adminis- 
tered without delay. 

Sheriff Philip W. Morgan and deputies 
John W. Sentz, John T. S. Perry and Silas 
Morgan had charge of the jail and by some 
means heard of the approaching mob, and re- 



308 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



moved the prisoners to Cabell county and 
then to Wood county. A short time, several 
days, the sheriff was ordered to return the 
prisoners, which he did, but under protest. 
The mob gave the circuit court judge, Judge 
Smith, to understand that if he did not, they 
would hang the murderers. Mr. Freer and 
Burlew were appointed as attorneys for the de- 
fendants and moved the court for a change of 
venue, and Mr. Kenna and Judge Ferguson 
for the state opposed the motion. The court 
heard the motion and withheld his decision 
until the next morning, and that night the mob 
of about 300 persons took the prisoners from 
the jail to the same bridge and hung the men 
that did the murder at that place. December 
24, 1875. A mob is a dreadful thing, but the 
attorneys were right in their motion, and evi- 
dently the court was satisfied thereof, although 
the prisoners were guilty. 

The case of Thomas Hines. — A tailor 
killed J. W. Dooley, a colored shoemaker, in 
June, 1876. Hines was placed in the same 
jail with the other prisoners and when the mob 
came down for Dawson and Estep about fifty 
colored men joined them and took Hines to 
the same bridge and hung him to a locust tree 
nearby. Dooley was a peaceable man and had 
given Hines no reasonable offense. At that 
time it was the first trial of the kind, but it 
cannot be said to have been the last. 

SOME EARLY MARRIAGES 

1792 — Thomas Smith and Elizabeth Young, 
by Francis Watkins. 

1793 — William Miller and Elizabeth Frick, 
by Francis Watkins. 

1793 — Martin Harwide and Susan Ellison, 
by Francis Watkins. 

1793 — Charles Young and Sarah Morris, 
by Francis Watkins. 

1793 — Samuel Henderson and Sally Don- 
nally, by Francis Watkins. 

1794 — David Melbourne and Susanna Har- 
rison, by Francis Watkins. 

1794 — John Megs and P. Clendenin, by 
Francis Watkins. 

1794 — William Hall and Polly Seamonds, 
by Francis Watkins. 



1794 — Lawrence Bryan and Mary Morris, 
by Francis Watkins. 

1795 — Joseph Burwall and Mary Upton, by 
James Johnson. 

1795 — Joseph Clyman and Ruth Briggs, by 
James Johnson. 

1795 — Mathias Young and Milly Holliday, 
by James Johnson. 

1795 — William Rider and Polly Tackett, 
by James Johnson. 

1795 — Jacob Van Bibber and Sarah Miller, 
by James Johnson. 

1795 — Fleming Cobb and Sarah Morris, by 
James Johnson. 

1795 — Samuel Cobble and Susanna Crow, 
by James Johnson. 

1795 — James Moss and Elizabeth Carroll, 
by James Johnson. 

1796 — Benjamin Hadley and Nancy Rey- 
ling, by James Johnson. 

1796 — John Tackett and Johanna Castale, 
by James Johnson. 

1796 — James Robertson and Elizabeth Sim- 
aptos, by James Johnson. 

1796— Joseph Hilyard and Elizabeth Mor- 
ris, by James Johnson. 

1796 — Thomas Beels and Mary Wilson, by 
James Johnson. 

1796 — Daniel Irwin and Peggy Compton, 
by James Johnson. 

1796 — Robert Iron and Mary Balliton, by 
James Johnson. 

1796— John Morris and Mary Ann Cole- 
man, by James Johnson. 

1796 — James Van Bibber and Jean Irvin, 
by F. Watkins. 

1797 — James Van Bibber and Louise Rey- 
nolds, by F. Watkins. 

1797 — William Owens and Nancy Creage, 
by F. Watkins. 

1797 — Machias Van Bibber and Margaret 
Gardner, by F. Watkins. 

1 797 — Goodrich Slaughter and Hannah Van 
Bibber, by F. Watkins. 

T 799 — John Young and Kasiah Townsend, 
by James Johnson. 

1799 — Stephen Tackett and Mary Kerr. 

1799 — John Buckle and Mary Hind Upton. 

1799 — James Thompson and Elizabeth 
Thornton, by James Johnson. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



309 



1799 — James McRoberts and Polly Kenner, 
by James Johnson. 

1799 — John Cavender and Sarah Casdorph, 
by James Johnson. 

1799 — Thomas Asbury and Leah Cattett, 
by James Johnson. 

1799 — David Smith and Mary Briggs, by 
James Johnson. 

1799 — Michael Buck and Lucretia Pryor, 
by James Johnson. 

1799 — James Gordon and Isabella Calis- 
ton, by James Johnson. 

1799 — Thomas Cobbs and Elizabeth See, by 
James Johnson. 

1799 — Nathan Huddleston and Margaret 
Girard, by James Johnson. 

1799 — Caleb Price and Ann Smith, by 
James Johnson. 

1799 — Joseph Upton and Mary See, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — Ruell Daggs and Nancy Johnson, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — Rowland Wheeler and Nancy Hill, 
by James Johnson. 

1800 — Charles Venable and Catherine Mor- 
ris, by James Johnson. 

1800 — James Shirkey and Mary Beals, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — John Huff and Barbary Darling, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — Henry Harman and Elizabeth Par- 
singer, by James Johnson. 

1800 — William Clayton and Sarah Smith, 
by James Johnson. 

1800 — John Tackett and Sarah Hilyard, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — John Slack and Comfort Samuels, by 
James Johnson. 

1800 — James Murdock and Jane Graham, 
by James Johnson. 

1800 — Henry Montgomery and Nancy 
King, by James Johnson. 

1800 — George and Lucy, slaves of George 
Welch, by James Johnson. 

SOME GOOD OLD COLORED FOLKS 

There have always been some good colored 
people in Charleston. Almost all of them 
have "gone where the good niggers go" and 
we wish to claim them as Charlestonians. We 



do not mean that those we mention are all of 
them — not pretending to be exclusive nor to 
mention all — but we wish to record the names 
of a few colored people that are and were, 
and have always been known to be truthful 
and trustful, reliable, and safe, honest and 
worthy, and good all the time — born that way ! 

Tom McCown was always safe and trust- 
worthy and reliable and could not be spoiled. 

Washington Primus has it written on his 
monument that "he was an honest man." 

Washington, a blind man, a servant of 
Judge Brown, was known all his life to be 
truthful and reliable — strictly honest. 

Noah Colley came to Kanawha in 1814, was 
a drayman, and undertaker and sexton of the 
Presbyterian church until 1869, and was al- 
ways relied upon and was safe. 

Randall Miller, known as "Uncle Doc," 
was a hack driver and wagoner and was good 
as gold. 

Israel Rue was born in Pennsylvania in 
1777. He sued for his freedom and gained his 
cause. He lived on Davis creek until he was 
nearly 100 years old and all that time was 
known to be a good, honest man. 

Judy Grinnan was a good woman and re- 
liable and true. 

Dabney and Simon Page had the confidence 
of all people always. 

Peggy Bradford was always what a good 
woman should be and she was always with the 
best of people and much respected. 

Wilson Harris and his wife Isabella Harris 
were always sent for when anyone was needed 
to help, man or woman, and they were both 
taken into the people's houses, respected, and 
relied on by all. Wilson on October 28th, 
191 1, celebrated his 90th birthday and is yet 
one of Charleston's reliable men, and a man 
of worth. 

Perry Harden and Jenny his wife, were the 
servants of Judge Summers. Perry has gone 
and Aunt Jenny is quite old — they were good 
people and deserve great credit for their faith- 
fulness. Perry's hearty laugh was worth a for- 
tune, one which only an honest soul could have. 

William Armstead was another who was 
full of truth and in whom all men had confi- 
dence; was always quiet and polite. He was 



310 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



set down as a member of the Kanawha Rifle- 
men and went into the Civil War with the 
boys and stayed with them to the end, and came 
home and continued to enjoy the respect of all 
men. He was a cook in the company of sol- 
diers, was a barber and always had a good 
shop and plenty of customers. He afterwards 
read law, applied for and obtained a license to 
practice law and knew what it was to be a 
gentleman at all times. 

Wellington Nixon was the hired man of 
Mr. Quarrier after the war and was trusted 
with everything, no matter how precious, and 
there was never any question of want of con- 
fidence, and Wellington could not have been 
made to do otherwise than as expected of him. 

These have so far established their names 
that there has been no doubt of their sincerity, 
their uprightness and stability and honesty. 

From Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Hale we learn 
of some of those mentioned and of some we 
have learned by experience. These people 
were servants of good families, some only for 
a limited time, while some were free nearly 
all their lives. They were all intelligent, in- 
tended to be well born and well raised and 
were trustworthy and reliable and truthful all 
their lives. Much could be learned of them 
and of their habits of life. They knew what 
was expected of them, knew for what they 
were trusted and no one was ever disappointed 
in them. 

We wish to erect a monument to such 
people. They deserve it. 

CONDENSED FACTS ABOUT CHARLESTON 

Charleston, West Virginia, is a hustling 
little city, located on the Great Kanawha river, 
having a population conservatively estimated 
at 28,000. 

Charleston has advantages in the way of 
cheap and competing transportation in every 
direction, east, west, north and south, which 
invite comparison with any commercial or 
manufacturing town in the country. In addi- 
tion to four important trunk lines of railroads 
— the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Kanawha 
and Michigan, the Coal and Coke, and the 
Virginian or Tidewater — it has cheap and re- 
liable river transportation, connecting it by 



water with all points on the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi rivers and their navigable tributaries. 

The Great Kanawha river is one of the best, 
if not the best, improved stream in the United 
States. The Federal government has ex- 
pended over four and a quarter millions of 
dollars in "slack watering" (or locking and 
damming) this river, the improvements there- 
by made insuring not less than six feet depth 
for navigation the year around. 

Charleston has about twenty-nine manufac- 
turing institutions. The Kelley Axe Manu- 
facturing Company, the largest manufactur- 
ing institution in the city, and reported to be 
the largest axe manufacturing company in the 
world, alone employs about 1,200 men. 

Charleston is the most important jobbing* 
center between Cincinnati and Richmond. 
The number of houses engaged in the various 
lines of business is 42. Conservative estimate 
places the total volume of this business at 
$15,000,000. 

Charleston has ten banks — four national and 
six state. According to authentic returns ob- 
tained and compiled as of the 17th day of No- 
vember, 1909, the nine banks then doing busi- 
ness in Charleston showed aggregate deposits 
of $6,521,120.58. 

An official statement of the receipts of the 
Charleston postoffice for the years 1906, 1907, 
1908 and 1909. is as follows: 

Total receipts for 1906 $83,388.84 

Total receipts for 1907 90,434.33 

Total receipts for 1908 93.310.41 

Total receipts for 1909 98,310.41 

Charleston has two progressive industrial 
development companies, one of which is the 
Kanawha Land Company and the other the 
Dunbar Land Company. The former has ex- 
tensive sites at South Charleston, about three 
miles from the business center of the city. The 
Dunbar Land Company also has extensive 
sites located a short distance below the city. 
Both companies offer sites convenient for rail- 
road-sv itching facilities. 

Charleston is also the active center of the 
greatest oil and natural gas development in 
West Virginia at this time. The gas fields 
particularly are very extensive, affording a fair 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



311 



assurance of an abundance of gas for years to 
come. 

Back of all this are the great coal fields, of 
which Charleston is the financial, and to a great 
extent, the geographical center. The last re- 
port of the chief mine inspector of West Vir- 
ginia showed that within a fifty-mile radius of 
Charleston there were 176 coal companies, ope- 
rating 366 mines. 

The climate of Charleston is ideal for manu- 
facturing industries, especially in summer, 
when, however hot the days may be, the nights 
are cool and refreshing. 

Charleston has thirty-four churches in 
charge of thirty-three different ministers, di- 
vided among the various denominations as fol- 
lows : Adventists, 2 ; Baptist, 4 ; Catholic, 2 
Christian. 1 : Episcopal, 3 ; Lutheran, 1 
Methodist Episcopal, 9; Presbyterian, 10 
Jewish, 2. 

Charleston also has a magnificent Y. M. 
C. A. building, which has just recently been 
opened. 

Charleston has three hospitals and a num- 
ber of charitable organizations, including a 
shelter for homeless children. 

The Charleston Chamber of Commerce has 
been organized about ten years, and during 
that time has been the active public industrial 
and financial organization of the city. 

CENSUS STATISTICS 

Population of State 

1870 442,014 

1880 618,457 

1890 762,794 

1900 958,800 

1910 1,221,119 

That part of Virginia taken to form West 
Virginia, is as follows : 

i860 376,688 1820 136,808 

1850 302,313 1810 105,469 

1840 224,537 1800 78,592 

1830 176,924 1790 55373 

West Virginia has 55 counties. The popu- 
lation of counties range (from Grant to Ka- 
nawha) from 7,838 to 81,457. 



COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF POPULATION OF 
CITIES AND TOWNS IN WEST VIRGINIA 

Increase Over Pre- 
ceding Census 
lation. Number. Per cent. 



City and Census Year. 

Bluefield : 

1910 

1900 

1800 



11,188 
4,644 
1.775 



6,544 
2.860 



Charleston : 

1910 22,996 

1900 11,099 

1890 6,742 

1880 4,192 

1870 3,162 

i860 i,5 2 o 



11,897 
4,357 
2,550 
1,030 
1,642 
470 



1850 



1.050 



Clarksburg : 
1910 
1900 

1890 

1880 

1870 

i860 



Fairmont : 



Huntington : 

1910 31,161 

1900 11,923 

1890 10,108 

1880 3,174 

Martinsburg : 



19.238 
1,815 
6,934 



140.9 
161.6 



107.2 
64.6 
60.8 
32.6 

108.0 
44.8 



9,201 

■ 4.050 
. 3.008 

■ 2,307 


5.I5 1 

1,042 

701 


127.2 
34-6 
3°-4 






■ 895 



1910 


9.7i 1 


4,056 


7i-7 


1900 


5.655 


4,632 


452.8 


1890 


1,023 


123 


13-7 


1880 


900 


279 


44-9 


1870 


621 


2 8 3 


l n.8 


i860 


704 


21 


3-i 


1850 


683 







161.4 

18.0 

218.5 



1910 


10,698 


3-134 


41.4 




7.564 


338 


4-7 


1890 ...... 


7,226 


891 


14. 1 


1880 


6,335 


1,472 


30.3 


1870 


4,863 


1,499 


44-6 


i860 


3.364 


1. 174 


53-6 


1850 


2.190 







Decrease. 



312 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Increase Over Pre- 
ceding Census 

City and Census Tear. Population. Number. Per cent. 

Morgantown : 

9» I 5° 7-255 3 8 2-8 

1900 1,895 884 87.4 

1890 1,011 266 35.7 

1880 745 x 52 a 6.5 

1870 797 56 7-6 

i860 741 

Moundsville : 

1910 8,918 3,556 66.3 

1900 5.362 2,674 99-5 

1890 2,688 914 51.5 

1880 1,774 274 18.3 

1870 1,500 414 38.1 

i860 2 1.086 145 15.4 

1850 2 94i 

Parkersburg : 

1910 17,842 6,139 52.5 

1900 n-703 3.295 39-2 

1890 8.408 1,826 27.7 

1880 6,582 1.036 18.7 

1870 5,546 3.053 122.5 

i860 2,493 r.275 io 4-7 

1850 1,218 

Wheeling: 

1910 41,641 2,763 7.1 

1900 38,878 4.356 12.6 

1890 34.522 3.785 12.3 

1880 30,73/ 11.457 59-4 

1870 19,280 5.197 36.9 

i860 14.083 2.648 23.2 

1850 H.435 3-55° 45.0 

1840 7,885 

POPULATION OF KANAWHA COUNTY WITH DE- 
CENNIAL INCREASE. DENSITY. AND 
POPULATION IN URBAN 
TERRITORY 

Total population, 1910 81.457 

1900 54,696 

1890 42,756 



2 Combined population of Elizabethtown 
and Moundsville, consolidated and incorpo- 
rated as Moundsville town in 1863. 



1880 32,466 

l8 7o 22,349 

Increase, 1900-1910 2 26,761 

Per cent of increase 48.9 

Increase, 1890- 1900 11,940 

Per cent of increase 27.9 

Land area (square miles) 860 

Population per square mile, 1910 94.7 

Rural population per square mile, 1910 68.0 



URBAN AND RURAL TERRITORY 

Urban, 19 10 — Places of 2.500 or more 

in 1910 22,996 

Same places in 1900 11.099 

Per cent of increase, 1900-1910 107.2 

Rural, 1910 — Remainder of county in 

1910 58,461 

Same territory in 1900 43-597 

Per cent of increase, 1900-1910 2 . . . 34.1 

Urban. 1900 — Places of 2.500 or more 

in 1900 11,099 

Rural, 1900 — Remainder of county 

in 1900 43.597 

Per cent in places of 2.500 or more, 

1910 28.2 

Per cent in places of 2,500 or more, 

1900 20.3 



POPULATION OF INCORPORATED PLACES IN 
KANAWHA COUNTY: I9IO, I9OO, 
AND l800 



I9IO I9OO I69C 

Cedar Grove town . . . 679 

Charleston city 22,996 11,099 6.74^ 

Clendenin town 815 

Eastbank town 551 468 

Pratt town 306 

St. Albans 1,209 816 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



313 



KANAWHA COUNTY STATISTICS BY DISTRICTS 

I9IO I9OO 189O 

Kanawha County 81,457 54,696 42,756 

Big Sandy district, including Clendenin town 3,835 2,915 1,960 

Clendenin town 10 815 

Cabin Creek district, including Cedar Grove, Eastbank, and 

Pratt towns 22,920 11,854 7,940 

Cedar Grove town 11 679 

Eastbank town 551 468 

Pratt town 3 . 306 

Charleston district, 12 including wards 1 to 9 of Charleston city 23,966 13,417 10,222 

Charleston city (part of) 22,283 11,099 6,742 

Total for Charleston city 13 in Charleston and Loudon 

districts 22,996 11,099 6,742 

Ward 1 2,597 

Ward 2 3,751 

w ^d 3 2,435 

Ward 4 2,886 

Ward 5 2,431 

Ward 6 i,599 

Ward 7 ^ 2,438 

Ward 8 v 2,015 

Ward 9 2,131 

Ward 10 713 

Elk district 6,391 5,665 4,374 

Jefferson district, including St. Albans town 3,841 3,545 3> 2 7° 

St. Albans town 1,209 816 

Loudon district, including ward 10 of Charleston city 5,7 J 8 4,427 3,343 

Charleston city 13 (part of) 713 

Maiden district 3,803 3,364 3.707 

Poca district 4,090 3,818 3,038 

Union district 3*949 3,842 3,266 

Washington district 2,944 1,849 J >636 

census Buffalo 423,715 

Population of Cities Francisco 416,912 

Mdwaukee 373,857 

New York 4,766,883 Cincinnati 364,463 

Chicago 2,185,283 Newark, N. J 347,469 

Philadelphia 1,549,008 New Orleans 339,075 

St. Louis 687,029 Washington, D. C 331,069 

Boston 670,585 Los Angeles 319,198 

Cleveland 560,663 Minneapolis 301,408 

Baltimore 55^,485 Jersey City 267,779 

Pittsburg 533,905 Kansas City 248,381 

Detroit 465,766 Seattle 237,194 



3 Incorporated in 1906. 11 Incorporated in 1902. 

8 Returned in 1900 as in Union district only. 1 2 Part annexed to Charleston city in 1907. 

9 Incorporated as a city in 1905. 13 Part of Charleston district annexed in 1907; 
10 Incorporated in 1904. turned in 1900 as in Charleston district only. 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



314 

Indianapolis 233,650 

Providence 224,326 

Louisville 223,928 

Richmond, Va 127,628 

Norfolk, Va 67,452 

Wheeling, W. Va 41,641 

Huntington, W. Va 31,161 

Charleston, W. Va 23,000 

St. Albans 1,209 

GROWTH OF W. VA. 

187O 442,014 

I880 6l8,457 

189O 762,794 

I9OO 958,800 

I9IO 1,221,119 

MINERAL PRODUCTS (w. VA. ) 

Coal output, 1908 41,659,843 short tons 

Value $40,909,054 

Petroleum 9,523,176 barrels 

Farmlands 10,654,513 

Bushels Value 

Corn, in 1909 27,632,000 $20,448,000 

Wheat, in 1909 .... 4,810,000 5,435,000 

Oats, in 1909 2,156,000 1,164,000 

Potatoes, in 1909 . . 3,822,000 2,599,000 

Hay, in 1909 844,000 tons 1 1,225,000 

Tobacco, in 1909 12,600,000 pounds; value, 
$1,363,000. 

LIVE STOCK ON FARMS I9IO 

Horses 197,000 

Mules 12,000 

Cattle 758,000 

Sheep 709,000 

Hogs 338,000 

Wool, in 1909 3,380,684 pounds. 



In 1905, there were 2,109 manufacturing es- 
tablishments, representing a capital of $86,- 
820,823 an d employing 43,758 persons, to 
whom was paid $21,153,042. The material 
used cost $54,419,206. Output valued at 
$99,040,676. 



DATES OF FIRST OF THINGS 

Watches were made !376 

Almanac printed 1460 

Post office established 1469 

First printing press 1493 

Needles came in use I 545 

Knives used in England 1558 

First wheeled carriage in France. . 1559 

Newspaper published in England . . 1565 

Printing press in America 1629 

Public schools in America 1642 

Daily newspaper 1702 

Steam engine in America 1753 

Flag adopted by Congress 1777 

Photo in England 1802 

Horse railroad 1826 

Kerosene for light 1826 

Lucifer matches 1827 

Iron steam ship 1830 

Steel pens made 1830 

Postage stamps used 1839 

Envelopes made ^39 

Telegraph 1844 

Sewing machine 1846 

Atlantic cable 1858 

Bell telephone 1876 

Edison phonograph 1877 

Trolley in Berlin 1879 

Trolley in Cleveland 1883 



CHAPTER XIX 



HISTORY OF THE COAL INDUSTRY 
By John Laing, Chief of the Department of Mines 

Geography and Geology — Coal Deposits — Early Discoveries of Coal — John P. Turner's Coal 
Mine — Use of Coal by Salt Companies — The Rogers' Survey — Quantity of Coal Mined in 
1840 — Systematic Exploration in 1849 — Mines Opened in 185s — First Commercial Ship- 
ments — Coal Convention in 18 55 — The Pittsburg Seam — Bakerstown Seam — Freeport 
Seam — Lower Kittanning Seam — Clarion-Brookville Seam — Stockton-Lewiston Seam — 
Coalburg Seam — Winifrede Coal — Chilton Seam — Thacker Seam — Cedar Grove Sewn — 
Peerless Seam — No. 2 Gas Seam — Pozvellton Seam — Eagle Seam — Little Eagle Seam — 
Other Coals — General Report of Analysis by the IV. Va. Geological Survey — Miscellaneous 
Statistics. 



Kanawha County lies south, of the central 
portion of West Virginia, and is divided by the 
Great Kanawha River, flowing from the south- 
east, for a distance of more than forty miles. 
The Elk River coming from the northeast flows 
through the County for a distance of nearly 
thirty miles, and empties into the Great Kana- 
wha at Charleston. Coal River flows through 
a small portion of the western part of the 
County and empties into the Great Kanawha 
at St. Albans, twelve miles northwest of 
Charleston, while the Poctalico River flows 
southwest and passes through a portion of the 
northern edge of the County, and empties into 
the Great Kanawha at Raymond City, about 
twenty miles northwest of Charleston. These 
streams, together with their tributaries, form 
the drainage basin of Kanawha County. 

Geologically, Kanawha County carries many 
of the coals from the Monongahela Series to 
the Upper Pottsville Series, and has the dis- 
tinction of being the first locality in the United 
States to utilize natural gas for manufacturing 
purposes, the County being extensively under- 
laid with natural gas and oil, and it is further 
noted for being one of the first localities west 
of the Alleghany Mountains where salt was 
produced. 



Rich deposits of coal were early discovered 
where it had been exposed by erosion along 
the bluffs on mountain sides. W e are told that 
as early as 1742 a party coining from Augusta 
County (Virginia) discovered coal on Coal 
River, which fact possibly gave rise to the pres- 
ent name of that stream. 

John P. Turner, of New York, who at one 
time resided in a mining district near Pitts- 
burg, came to Kanawha Valley about 181 5 and 
engaged in supplying salt furnaces with wood, 
and in the year 181 7, he opened a coal mine 
at the mouth of Burning Spring Branch, about 
seven miles southeast of Charleston, and en- 
tered into a contract with one of the salt com- 
panies to supply coal as fuel. Other salt com- 
panies soon adopted the use of coal as fuel, 
and thus coal mining became an industry in 
the County. 

Prof. W. B. Rogers made an examination 
of the coal seams of the Great Kanawha about 
1836, and in 1841 a geological survey was 
made under his directions, and in his report 
he stated he examined five seams of bitumi- 
nous coal and two seams of cannel coal, above 
water level, in the Great Kanawha Valley. 
He further stated that for the year 1840, 



315 



316 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



5,000,000 bushels of coal were mined and 
used for the production of 1,000,000 bushels 
of salt. Possibly the first coal shipped from 
Kanawha County was mined by Alva Hans- 
ford who, in 1840, built a boat, loaded it with 
coal and transported it to Cincinnati where 
he sold the coal at the rate of seven cents per 
bushel. 

In 1840 the quantity of bituminous coal 
mined in Western Virginia (now West Vir- 
ginia) was computed to be 289,698 gross tons, 
while the entire State of Virginia produced 
379,3 6 9 g ro ss tons. 

It was not until about the year 1849, and 
thereafter, that a systematic exploration of the 
mountains and hills of the Great Valley was 
undertaken with a view of determining the 
value of same as a coal producing field. At 
that time Colonel William H. Edwards, owner 
of the Wilson Survey of 85,600 acres, began 
to make extensive investigations in search of 
coal. 

In the year 1853 mines were opened on 
Field's Creek, where the Winifrede Collieries 
are now located, and the coal transported to 
the Kanawha River by narrow gauge railway 
and thence shipped to Cincinnati, and the 
Lower Ohio by flat boats. 

The year 1855 witnessed the first commer- 
cial shipments of coal from Kanawha County, 
though there were many coal companies or- 
ganized at this time to commence the develop- 
ment of coal lands. From an issue of the In- 
dependent Republican of Point Pleasant, Ma- 
son County, Virginia (now West Virginia) 
dated October 4th, 1855, we read the follow- 
ing: 

COAL CONVENTION 

Proceedings of a Convention held at Charles- 
ton, Kanawha County, pursuant to notice, on 
the 15th of September, 1855. 

Representatives Present : 

Col. C. O. Tompkins. Representative of the 
Paint Creek Co. 

H. M. Onderdonk, Great Western Mining 
& Manufacturing Co. 

E. Kenna, Forks of Coal Company. 

S. F. Griffin, Mt. Carbon Coal Co., and Wy- 
oming Coal Co. 



Dr. English, Mithcomah Cannel Coal Co. 

P. P. Doddridge, Old Dominion Coal Co., 
and The Kanawha Coal Company. 

Joseph Gill, Coal River and Kanawha Min- 
ing & Manufacturing Company. 

\V. T. Rosencrans, Cannel Coal Company of 
Coal River. 

J. D. Vanhorn, Western Mining & Man- 
ufacturing Company of Coal River. 

Clement Smith, President of Coal River 
Navigation Company. 

N. Fitzhugh, Pioneer Coal Company. 

Clement Smith, Virginia Cannel Coal Com- 
pany of Peytona, Coal River. 

W. J. Rand, Iron Hills Coal Company. 

Samuel Miller, Kanawha Salt Company. 

The meeting being duly organized, Colonel 
C. Q. Tompkins was called to the Chair, who 
briefly stated that the object of the Conven- 
tion was to elicit information appertaining to 
the mineral and other interests of the Great 
Kanawha Region, with the view of preparing 
a report, exhibiting the claims of those inter- 
ests to the Legislative aid of the State. 

Some interesting remarks were made by 
different members of the Convention, and the 
following resolutions were presented to and 
passed by the Convention unanimously : 

Resolved, That Colonel C. Q. Tompkins, 
Messrs. Clement Smith. S. F. Griffin and Sam- 
uel A. Miller, be. and they are hereby, ap- 
pointed a Committee, whose duties it shall be 
to inquire into the extent of the general re- 
sources of the Valley of the Kanawha ; the 
probable amount and value of the freight it 
will fijrnish for transportation ; the extent of 
the interests now engaged in the coal, iron, 
salt and lumber of the Valley; the necessity 
of an improved mode of transportation to se- 
cure a successful development of those and 
other interests: to propose a Memorial to the 
Legislature, embodying the result of their in- 
quiries in the matters thus submitted to them, 
and to do and perform every other act and 
thing which they think will best subserve the 
interests of the parties composing this meet- 
ing, having a proper regard to the great in- 
terest of the State, as well as the rights and 
interests of the James River and Kanawha 
Company. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



317 



Resolved, That this meeting be adjourned, 
to meet at Charleston on the 15th day of No- 
vember next, and if the meeting shall not then 
convene, that the Committee, appointed by the 
preceding resolution shall, and they are hereby 
requested to lay the Memorial to be prepared 
by them, before the Legislature in such man- 
ner as the Committee may deem most appro- 
priate. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meet- 
ing be published in the Kanawha Republican, 
and that the other papers of the State, friendly 
to the improvements contemplated, be requested 
to publish he same. 

(Signed) Col. C. Q. Tompkins, President. 
(Signed) Clement Smith, Secretary. 

When the salt manufacturing began to de- 
crease, the manufacturers had coal lands, but 
they did not have the necessary capital to de- 
velop the mines, build barges and boats or pur- 
chase railway equipment, and for this reason 
they were applying to the State" Legislature 
for aid. 

In 1866, Professor Harris S. Daddow, of 
Pottsville, Pa., published his exhaustive work, 
"Coal, Iron and Oil," in which he says: 

"The coals of the Great Kanawha Region, 
as we shall specially describe, are of various 
constituencies, and are adapted to all the re- 
quirements of the trades and manufactures. 
The hard and the cooking, with the fat and 
gaseous bituminous ; the variable splint, and 
the rich and oily cannel, are all found in the 
same mountains, and are all accessible, alike 
to the miner and navigation, through the 
agencies of the eroding waters which have ex- 
posed these coals in a thousand places. This 
is the natural mining and manufacturing cen- 
ter of the Great Alleghany coal field." 

While Kanawha County is rich in its de- 
posits of natural gas, oil and salt, yet its great- 
est wealth lies in its coal deposits. The hills 
contain a great number of seams of coal of a 
workable thickness, among which the follow- 
ing may be named : 

The Pittsburg, Bakerstown, Freeport, No. 
5 Block or Lower Kittanning, Clarion-Brook- 
ville, Stockton-Lewiston Coalburg, Winifrede, 
Chilton, Thacker, Cedar Grove, Peerless, No. 
2 Gas, Powellton, Eagle, and the Little Eagle. 



A diagram showing the coal seams in Kana- 
wha County is herewith submitted. This dia- 
gram has been taken from the "Coals of West 
Virginia," as compiled by Mr. C. E. Krebs, 
Assistant Geologist, Charleston, West Virginia. 
It will be noted that there are sixteen workable 
coal seams in Kanawha County, while the total 
seams in the State are about sixty. Kanawha 
County having more than twenty-five per cent 
of all the seams in the State. 

THE PITTSBURG SEAM 

North of Elk River the tops of the hills 
carry the Pittsburg Coal which reaches a 
thickness of from 3 feet to 7 feet. The coal 
is hard block, glossy, and does not crumble. 
It is an excellent fuel and domestic coal. This 
coal is mined by the farmers and hauled to 
Charleston in wagons, where it is sold for fuel. 
No accurate survey has been made showing 
the exact area underlaid by this seam, but it 
has been estimated at various figures and there 
is possibly from 10,000 to 15,000 acres of this 
coal lying in the hills between Elk River on 
the south and Poctalico River on the north, 
and in the near future this coal will be mined 
on a larger scale and shipped to the western 
markets. 

THE BAKERSTOWN SEAM 

The Bakerstown Coal lies from 400 to 500 
feet below the Pittsburg Coal and has been 
opened on Two Mile Creek but it is thin and 
impure. It has not been thoroughly prospected, 
but the indications are this seam has very lit- 
tle commercial value. 

THE FREEPORT SEAM' 

This coal lies from 100 to 200 feet below 
the Bakerstown and is found along the waters 
of Elk River and possibly south of Elk near 
the tops of the hills. It is from 2 feet to 4 feet 
in thickness, and is a good domestic and fuel 
coal. 

THE NO. 5 BLOCK OR LOWER KITTANNING SEAM 

The No. 5 Block or Lower Kittanning is 
one of the most important in the Kanawha 
Coal Field. It is mined in various places in 
Kanawha County and shipped both east and 
west as a domestic, fuel and steam coal. It 



318 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



lies from 40 to 200 feet above a hard per- 
sistent black flint sandstone which has been 
called the "Black Flint Ledge." At the mouth 
of Elk River this coal is about on a level with 
the Chesapeake & Ohio grade, while it rises 
rapidly, going to the southeast until at Mont- 
gomery the coal seam occurs about 900 feet 
above the level of the Chesapeake & Ohio 
grade. This seam is mined on Blue Creek and 
Elk River, also on the Kanawha & Michigan 
Railway, and its branches, also on Morris, 
Paint and Cabin Creeks of the Chesapeake & 
Ohio Railway. The seam varies in thickness 
from 4 feet to 8 feet. It is a hard, block coal 
and does not easily disintegrate, thus forming 
an excellent coal for shipments. This seam is 
sometimes a cannel coal, as on Falling Rock 
Creek where it has been mined for years and 
on Mill Creek on the Coal & Coke Railway. 
The cannel coal varies from 2.y 2 to 5 feet. 

THE CLARION-BROOKVILLE SEAM 

At from 30 to 50 feet below the No. 5 Block 
there often occurs a seam of coal from 2 to 3 
feet thick, which has been named the Clarion 
or Brookville. This seam has not yet been 
worked in a commercial way. 

THE STOCKTON-LEWISTON SEAM 

The first seam below the Kanawha Flint 
Ledge has been named the Stockton-Lewiston 
Seam where it occurs from 10 to 30 feet be- 
low the Black Flint Ledge. This coal is usu- 
ally a twin seam and was once mined south of 
Charleston for fuel for salt furnaces. It ap- 
pears on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway about 
one-half mile east of Charleston Station. It 
is possible this is the cannel seam that was for 
years mined at Cannelton. It varies in thick- 
ness from 3 to 6 feet, but usually contains some 
impurities. 

THE COALBURG SEAM 

The next seam of importance is the Coalburg 
underlying the Lewiston from 30 to 100 feet. 
This was first mined on a commercial scale at 
Coalburg, sixteen miles southeast of Charles- 
ton, from which it derived its name. In fact, 
it was probably through the mining operations 
of this seam that the character and reputation 
of the coal in the Kanawha Valley was first 



established in the commercial markets of the 
country. This seam contains much splint coal, 
as well as alternate layers of soft or "Gas" 
coal, and one or more partings of shale. Fre- 
quently the layers or shale will thicken up to 
several feet of rock. The coal is mined on the 
Kanawha & Michigan Railway and branches 
of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. It is ex- 
cellent for steam purposes and one of the best 
domestic. It ranges in thickness from 3 to 7 
feet and is one of the important coal beds in 
Kanawha County. 

THE W INI FRED E COAL 

Underlying the Coalburg Seam by an in- 
terval which varies greatly in thickness and 
character of strata from 25 to 100 feet, occurs 
another well known seam known as the Wini- 
frede. The character of this seam is somewhat 
like the Coalburg. It is an excellent splint coal 
and has a wide reputation as a steam and do- 
mestic coal. It was first mined on a commer- 
cial scale at Winifrede on Field's Creek, and 
thus was named from that village. It is mined 
along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and 
its branches, and is one of the important coal 
beds in Kanawha County. 

THE CHILTON SEAM 

From 40 to 75 feet below the Winifrede is 
a bed of impure coal, frequently split into two 
layers by from 2 feet to 4 feet of sandy fire 
clay. It has been named from Chilton, a small 
village on Davis Creek, where it presents a 
conspicuous outcrop along the banks of the 
Creek. At Chilton this coal seems to be thin 
and of very little commercial value. It is pos- 
sible that in some portions of Kanawha County, 
this coal may be of sufficient thickness to be 
commercially mined. 

THE THACKER SEAM 

The Thacker Seam is mined in Mingo 
County, south of Williamson, and also to a 
small extent north of it. It occurs in the Ka- 
nawha Measure, but whether it is of sufficient 
thickness at any point to be of commercial 
value has not yet . been definitely determined. 
On Clear Fork Creek in Raleigh County, 
about three miles southeast of the Kanawha 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



319 



line, it ranges in thickness from 2 feet to 3 
feet, and possibly occurs in the hills on the 
Cabin Creek Side. 

THE CEDAR GROVE SEAM 

From 250 to 300 feet below the Winifrede 
seam occurs the Cedar Grove. This coal was 
first mined on a commercial scale at Cedar 
Grove, near the mouth of Kelly's Creek, from 
which village it has obtained its name. The 
seam ranges in thickness from 2 feet to 3 feet 
6 inches, and is a coal of most excellent qual- 
ity, very low in sulphur, phosphorous, and ash, 
and is an important coal on account of its pur- 
ity and general excellence for fuel purposes. 
The coal bed is very persistent and a large por- 
tion of the southern part of Kanawha County 
is underlaid with this seam. It is worked along 
the Kanawha & Michigan Railway and also 
at some points on the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail- 
way. 

THE PEERLESS SEAM 

At from 40 to 80 feet below the Cedar 
Grove, occurs the Peerless seam. This seam 
has been mined at several places along the Ka- 
nawha River, and is named after Peerless, a 
small village near Winifrede, where it was 
once mined. This seam is a hard splint coal 
and is excellent for fuel and domestic use. 
no. 2 gas (Campbell's creek) seam 

At from 20 to 60 feet below the Peerless, 
occurs probably the most important bed of coal 
in Kanawha County. It has become widely 
known in a commercial way by the name of 
No. 2 Gas, or simply the No. 2 Coal and has 
also been called the Campbell's Creek Coal 
where it was long mined near the mouth of 
Campbell's Creek. The -No. 2 Gas Coal prob- 
ably furnishes the greatest tonnage of any 
Seam of the Kanawha Field. It contains 
enough hard or splint coal to make an ideal 
shipping fuel, while the softer and more friable 
layers make an excellent coke and are also 
valuable for gas making purposes. This seam 
is mined along the Kanawha & Michigan Rail- 
way, and its branches, and the Chesapeake & 
Ohio Railway, and its branches. It is espec- 
cially the most important seam on Cabin Creek 
where it reaches its greatest thickness, ranging 
from 3 feet to 7 feet. It occurs about tipple 



height on Cabin Creek at most of the mines 
and covers almost the entire area. It is also 
mined on Smithers and Paint Creeks. 

THE POWELLTON SEAM 

The Powellton Ceam occurs from 30 to 60 
feet below the No. 2 Gas, and has derived its 
name from Powellton on Armstrong Creek, 
Fayette County, where it has been mined by 
the Mount Carbon Coal Company, Limited. 
This coa] has been mined at Brownstown, now 
Marmet, and was at one time called the 
Brownstown Coal. It does not obtain a 
thickness of commercial value along the Kana- 
wha River. However, on Paint Creek it is 
of workable thickness. The area of this coal 
in Kanawha County is limited. It is a soft, 
gas coal and makes an excellent coke, due to 
its purity and small percentage of sulphur and 
phosphorus. 

THE EAGLE SEAM 

At from 100 to 120 feet below the Powell- 
ton Seam occurs the Eagle. This was first 
mined on a commercial scale in Fayette 
County, thirty miles southeast from Charles- 
ton. It is of commercial thickness on Smithers 
and Paint Creeks, and possibly a portion of 
Cabin Creek. It attains a thickness of from 3 
to 7 feet. It is soft and makes an excellent 
coke. It is also used in the markets in the by- 
product ovens where it seems to excel all other 
coals. It is also excellent for steam coal. The 
area of this seam of commercial thickness in 
Kanawha County, is small, just how much it 
is hard to say, as it has not been fully pros- 
pected. 

THE LITTLE EAGLE SEAM 

This lies from 20 to 50 feet below the Eagle 
Seam at Eagle on the Kanawha River. It is 
general/ly a very pure seam of soft coking coal 
from 18 inches to 20 inches in thickness. It 
has never been mined in a commercial way in 
Kanawha County, and it is doubtful if it oc- 
curs in other places at a commercial thickness, 
unless in the extreme southeastern portion of 
the County, near the head-waters of Paint and 
Cabin Creeks. 

other coals 
It is hardly probable that there are very 



320 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



many other seams in Kanawha County that at- 
tain a commercial thickness. 

The War Eagle Seams and the New River 
and Pocahontas Seams are all under water, 
and from the oil well records and core drill 
holes which have been put down, it is not prob- 
able there are many more seams of coal of 
workable thickness below the seams already 
mentioned. 

The total quantity of coal in Kanawha 
County has never been estimated from actual 
surveys. Dr. I. C. White, State Geologist, in 
Volume II (a), Page 692, estimated that the 
County contained 640 square miles or 409,600 
acres of coal at 10,000 short tons per acre or 
4,096,000,000 tons. It is probable that the 
County contains* considerably more available 
coal of commercial thickness than the figures 

GENERAL REPORT OF ANALYSES TAKEN BY 

Pittsburg 4 3-35 36. 

No. 5 Block or Lower Kittan- 

ning 10 1.81 33. 

Stockton-Lewiston or Belmont 6 2.05 33. 

Coalburg 18 2.16 32. 

Winifrede 11 1.84 34 

Cedar Grove 7 0.86 36 

No. 2 Gas 21 1.58 34 

Powellton 6 1.33 32 

Eagle 15 1.80 29 

In 1897-98 Mr. John W. Hill, Consulting 
Engineer, Cincinnati, Ohio, made Calonmetric 
determinations and chemical analyses of the 
different coals submitted to evaporation trials 
at the Hunt Street Pumping Station City 
Water Works, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the fol- 
lowing is a portion of said tests : 

CALORIMETRIC TESTS 

Heat Unites Percent- Percent- 
Test Sample of Coal Per Lb. by age by age of 
No. Calorimeter. Calori- Ash by 

meter. Analysis. 

25 New River ... 15,166 2.87 2.40 

3 Kanawha Gas 15,166 1.33 3.75 
6 Catsburg 3d 

Pool 13,429 546 5-50 

(a) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey, 

(b Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey, 

(c) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey, 

(e) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey, 

(g) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey 

(h) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey 

(f) Bulletin II West Virginia Geological Survey 



given, and that 6,000,000,000 short tons are 
more nearly correct. 

The coals in Kanawha County are of a very 
superior grade and the analyses show very ex- 
cellent quality for steam and domestic fuel. 
The lower coals, that is, the No. 2 Gas, the 
Powellton, and the Eagle make an excellent 
coke for fuel and foundry purposes. The Eagle 
coal is now being used in several places in by- 
product ovens, and shows a superior coal for 
that purpose. 

The West Virginia Geological Survey has 
taken samples from practically all the operat- 
ing mines, and made analyses of the coals, and 
recently published the results in Bulletin II, 
which general result of the analyses so taken 
is herewith submitted : 



THE WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL 
24 55.07 .O42 5.34 



.17 57 

.09 57' 

7i 57 

44 56 

•31 57 

.90 58 

.19 60 

•99 64 



•56 
.02 

35 
96 

85 
95 
61 
.04 



.008 

.016 

.008 

.005 

.004 

.0148 

.006 

.010 



7.46 
7-84 
778 
6.79 
4.98 
5-57 
5-87 



0.80 
1.1 1 
0.81 
0.66 
0.61 
1. 17 
0.97 
0.77 



SURVEY 
13643 

13536 (a) 
13449 (b) 
13879 (c) 
13657 (d) 
14561 (e) 
14708 (f) 

14309 Cg) 
14660 (h) 



22 
24 

37 
36 



4th Pool Yough- 
iogheny .... 

Pittsburg 3rd 
Pool 

Campbell's 
Creek (No. 2 
Gas) 

Loup Creek 
(No. 2 Gas) 

Pocahontas . . . 

Winifrede .... 

Thacker 

Monongah 
(Pitts burg 
Coal) 



13,293 


5.66 


5.66 


13,225 


4.64 


405 


14,186 


3i7 


2.90 


14,95° 


1.20 


o.95 


15,142 


i-57 


1-25 


14,004 


2.91 


2.85 


i4,5i7 


5.88 


5.00 



14,245 3.04 3.30 



page 296 
page 284. 
page 284. 
page 277. 
page 262 
page 256 
page 256 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



321 



39 Belmont, Splint. 12,930 1.08 1.20 

47 Jellico, Ky. . . . 14,471 1.06 0.85 

43 Luhrig Washed 12,953 6.86 6.90 

45 Wellston Shaft. 12,500 7.80 7.30 



48 Jellico, Tenn. . . 13,852 1.37 1.10 
52 Cedar Grove . . 14,653 3.97 3.47 
55 Coalburg 13,761 5.26 4.93 



ANALYSES 

Test Specific Moisture. Vol. Fixed Ash. 

No. Gravity. Matter. Carbon. 

5 Catsburg Youghiogheny Lump (Pa.) 1.291 0.76 33.04 60.70 5.50 

26 Pocahontas Lump' i- 2 77 0.52 18.80 79.43 1.25 

27 Loup Creek Lump (No. 2 Gas) 1-275 I - I 5 I 9 I 5 78-75 0.95 

1 New River, R. O. M 1.270 0.90 18.60 78.10 2.40 

28 Thacker, R. O. M 1.324 0.73 31.32 62.95 5-°° 

23 Winifrede Lump 1-297 1.05 32.40 63.70 2.85 

3 Kanawha Lump Gas Steam 1.281 0.95 37.35 57.95 3.75 

55 Coalburg, R. O. M 1.289 0.90 38.17 56.00 4.93 

29 Campbell's Creek, R. O. M. (No. 2 Gas) .... 1.278 0.95 38.00 58.15 2.90 

38 Belmont Splint, R. O. M 1.369 1.28 34.22 63.30 1.20 

36 Monongah, R. O. M 1.282 1.05 33.15 62.50 3.30 

48 Jellico, Tenn., R. O. M 1-275 1.80 36.10 61.00 1.10 

47 Jellico, Ky., R. O. M 1-273 r -°8 36.62 61.45 0.85 

44 Wellston Shaft 1.293 3-3& 34-07 55- 2 5 7-3° 

41 Luhrig Domestic Egg 1.306 2.87 33.47 56.76 6.90 

It will be noted from the above comparison Units; and while the freight rates are lower 

of analyses that the Kanawha County Coals to the western markets for the Ohio coals, yet 

are low in Sulphur, Phosphorus and Ash and by the excellent quality of the Kanawha Coals, 

high in Fixed Carbon and British Thermal they are fast supplanting those of Ohio in the 

Units ; that the Kanawha County Coals com- western markets. This is further verified by 

pare favorably with the coals from the dif- the fact that a great many of the Ohio Coal 

ferent parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Western operators are becoming interested in the West 

Pennsylvania. Kentucky and Tennessee. Virginia Coals and are opening mines. In- 

The coal fields with which the coals in Ka- diana is not unlike Ohio, as very little develop- 

nawha County will have to compete are The ment has been done for years in that State. 
Fairmont in the northern part of the State. Illinois has a coal that is high in Volatile 

The Guyan, The Coal River and Mingo in the Matter, Ash and Sulphur. However, this is 

southern part of the State. The coal fields of a hard block, and owing to its proximity to 

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Western Pennsyl- the markets it will be a competitor with the 

vania are competing fields outside the State. Kanawha Coals in the western markets. 

More than sixty per cent of the coals of Large coal developments are being made in 

Western Pennsylvania are now being con- Kentucky at present, and before long, Ken- 

sumed within that State for manufacturing tucky will have a large annual output. While 

purposes, and in a few years a small quantity these coals will compete with the Kanawha, yet 

of the bituminous coals of Western Pennsyl- the Kanawha Coals will compare favorably 

vania will be shipped out of that State ; so this with them in quality and thickness of seams 

field will soon cease to be a competitor. and will be able to compete with them both in 

The principal coals now mined in Ohio are the western and eastern markets, 
of inferior quality to those of Kanawha Natural gas has become a strong competitor 

County, being much higher in ash and sulphur in the past few years. The gas is piped from 

and lower in fixed carbon and British Thermal the fields of West Virginia both east and west, 



322 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



one line going to Baltimore and New York, gether with the Toledo & Ohio Central Rail- 

another to Pittsburg, while another from the way, and the Hocking Valley Railway afford 

Roane County Field goes into Columbus ; an- a western outlet to the Great Lakes, 

jther line crosses through Kanawha County The Kanawha River affords an outlet to the 

from near Clendennin. going to Cincinnati. western and southern markets, and as soon as 

The gas has supplanted the coal in a great the locks and dams in the Ohio River are corn- 
many cities for domestic fuel, and thus de- pleted to Cairo, this transportation will be 
creased the demand for coal. open during practically the entire year. The 

The present outlook of the Kanawha Coal completion of the Panama Canal, which will 
industry compares very favorably with all the probably be within the next two years, will 
competitive fields, and its future outlook is afford a market in the South American mar- 
better than most of them. kets. Kanawha County will be in good posi- 

Kanawha County is fortunate in having the tion to take advantage of this market, owing to 

geographical position for excellent transporta- its water transportation. This is expeced to 

tion facilities. The Chesapeake & Ohio Rail- afford a great market for our coals, 

way, a trunk line, was established in 1873 to We show herewith a schedule of freight 

1874 and affords transportation east and west, rates on coal and coke from the Kanawha and 

The Kanawha & Michigan Railway, to- New River Districts : 

RATES ON COAL AND COKE FROM VARIOUS DISTRICTS IN WEST VIRGINIA OX THE CHESAPEAKE & OHIO 
RAILWAY TO THE PRINCIPAL MARKETING POINTS 

COAL COKE 

New New 

To Kanawha River Kanawha River 

District District District District 

Toledo, O $1-25 $i-45 $2.25 $2.25 

Cincinnati, O 100 1.10 17° *«7° 

Chicago. Ill i-9° 2 °5 2.65 2.65 

Indianapolis, Ind i-55 !- 6 5 2 -35 2 -35 

Milwaukee (proper) Wis. ., 2.50 2.65 2.75 2.75 

Hamilton, O 1.15 I - 2 5 200 2 00 

Springfield, O i- 2 5 M5 2 00 2 00 

Dayton, O i- 2 5 i-35 200 200 

Lima, O I- 25 i-45 2.25 2.25 

Newport-News (prop.) Va • 1.60 1.50 2.00 2.00 

Richmond, Va '.. i-6o 1.50 2.00 2.00 

Lynchburg, Va i-6o 1.50 i-75 *-75 

Lynchburg, Va 2.60 2.00* 

Covington, Va. 

Pea. Nut and Slack 7° -5° 

Mine-Run 8 5 75 -75 - 6 5 

Lump and Egg i-oo .90 

Fordwick, Va. 

Pea, Nut and Slack 75 - 6 5 

Mine-Run 9° •&> 1.50 1.50 

Lump and E gg : -°5 -95 

Manchester, Va i-6o 1.50 2.00 2.00 

Winston-Salem, N. C 2.20 2.10 2.40 2.30 

Emporia, Va 2.40 2.30 2.40 2.30 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



323 



Mineral, Va 1.60 

Jacksonville, Fla 2.85 

Savannah, Ga 2.50 

Toledo, Ohio, for Lake Shipments 97 

Newport-News, Va., for beyond Capes 1.50 



1.50 

2-75 
2.40 
1. 12 
1.40 



2.00 
3-35 
2-75 

175 



2.00 

3-25 
2.65 

1 .65 



RATES ON COAL AND COKE FROM MINES LO- 
CATED ON THE KANAWHA & MICHIGAN 
RAILWAY IN WEST VIRGINIA TO THE 
PRINCIPAL MARKETING POINTS 

COAL COKE 
TO W. Va. W. Va. 

District District 
Net tons Net tons 

Chicago, 111 $1.90 $2.65 

Columbus, 90 1.20 

Detroit, Mich 1.40 2.25 

Fort Wayne, Ind 1.60 

Grand Rapids, Mich 1.90 

Holland, Mich. 1.90 

Indianapolis, Ind 1.55 

Kalamazoo, Mich 1.85 

Lafayette, Ind 175 

Milwaukee (proper) Wis... 2.50 
Milwaukee (for beyond), 

Wis 1.90 

Toledo, 1.25 2.00 

Toledo, O. (for lake ship- 
ments) I. o2 

Kanawha county has now one hundred and 
nineteen operating mines, which produced in 
the year 19 10, 6,444,911 tons of coal, and 
manufactured 21,908 tons of coke. 

The following shows the name of the ope- 
rator, the name of the mines and the post- 
office address of each of the operations in the 
said county: 

Operator, Queen Shoals Coal Co.; mine, 
Queen Shoals; postoffice, Queen Shoals. 

Operator, W. W. Graham; mine, Graham; 
postoffice, Graham Mines. 

Operator, Morris Fork Coal Co. ; mine, Tur- 
ner No. 1 ; postoffice, Heatherman. 

Operator, Morris Fork Coal Co. ; mine, 
Turner No. 2 ; postoffice, Heatherman. 

*Crushed Coke. 

Note — All of the above rates are based on Net tons 
except to Newport-News, Va., "For Beyond Capes," 
which is gross tons. 
20 



Operator, Pen Mar Mining Company; mine, 
Per Mar No. 2 ; postoffice, Big Chimney. 

Operator, Clay Coal Company; mine, Brad- 
ley White Ash; postoffice, Banner Creek. 

Operator, Mill Creek Coal Company; mine. 
Mill Creek; postoffice, Charleston. 

Operator, Villa Coal Mining Co. ; mine 
Mill Creek; postoffice, Villa. 

Operator, Blue Creek Coal & Land Co. 
mine, Wills Hollow No. 1 ; postoffice, Charles 
ton. 

Operator, Blue Creek Coal & Land Co. 
mine, Wills Hollow No. 2 ; postoffice, Charles- 
ton. 

Operator, Blue Creek Coal & Land Co. 
mine, Blakeley No. 3; postoffice, Charleston. 

Operator, Standard Kanawha Coal Mining 
Company ; Mine No. 1 ; postoffice, Quick. 

Operator, Standard Kanawha Coal Mining 
Company ; Mine No. 2 ; postoffice, Quick. 

Operator, Williams Coal Company; mine, 
Williams; postoffice, Sanderson. 

Operator, Campbell's Creek Coal Co. ; 
mines, Nos. 1 to 6; postoffice, Dana. 

Operator, Virginia Coal Company; mine, 
Virginia; postoffice, Dana. 

Operator, Quincy Coal Company; mine, No. 
1 ; postoffice, Quincy. 

Operator, Quincy Coal Company; mine, No. 
2 ; postoffice, Quincy. 

Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No. 101 ; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 

Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No. 104; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 

Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No, 105 ; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 

Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No. 108 ; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 

Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No. 109; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 



324 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Operator, Sunday Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
No. no; postoffice, Cedar Grove. 

Operator, The New Cedar Grove Coal & 
Brick Company; mine, Boyd; postoffice, Cedar 
Grove. 

Operator, Kelley's Creek Colliery Co. ; mine, 
No. i ; postoffice, Ward. 

Operator, Kelley's Creek Colliery Co. ; mine, 
No. 3 ; postoffice, Ward. 

Operator, Cedar Run Collieries Co. ; mine, 
No. i ; postoffice, Blue Creek. 

Operator, Cedar Run Collieries Co. ; mine, 
No. 2 ; postoffice, Blue Creek. 

Operator, Hughes Creek Coal Co. ; mine, 
Hughes Creek, Nos. 2 and 3 ; postoffice, 
Hugheston. 

Operator, Cannelton Coal Company ; mine, 
Nos. 1 and 2; postoffice, Cannelton. 

Operator, Martnet Coal Company; mine, 
Monarch ; postoffice, Monarch. 

Operator, Gates Coal Company ; mine, Pea- 
cock; postoffice, Big Chimney. 

Operator, Marmet Coal Company; mine, 
Butler; postoffice, Marmet. 

Operator, Marmet Coal Company; mine, 
New Butler; postoffice, Marmet. 

Operator, Marmet Coal Company; mine, 
Lens Creek; postoffice, Marmet. 

Operator, Marmet Coal Company; mine. 
Black Band ; postoffice, Marmet. 

Operator, Marmet Coal Company; mine. 
Marmet No. 5 ; postoffice, Marmet. 

Operator, Olcott Coal & Iron Co. ; mine, 01- 
cott No. 1 ; postoffice, Olcott. 

Operator, Olcott Coal & Iron Co. ; mine, Ol- 
cott No. 2; postoffice, Olcott. 

Operator, Peerless Coal Company; mine, 
Peerless ; postoffice, Lewiston. 

Operator, Winifrede Coal Company; mine, 
South, postoffice, Winifrede. 

Operator, Winifrede Coal Company; mine, 
North; postoffice, Winifrede. 

Operator, Winifrede Coal Company; mine, 
West; postoffice, Winifrede. 

Operator, Dry Branch Coal Company; 
mine, Coalburg and Mt. Bryson ; postoffice, 
Dry Branch. 

Operator, Dry Branch Coal Company; mine, 
Belmont No. 3 ; postoffice, Dry Branch. 



Operator, Coalburg Colliery Company, 

mine, Ronda; postoffice, Ronda. 

Operator, Wyatt Coal Company; mine, Oak- 
ley ; postoffice, Eventon. 

Operator, Wyatt Coal Company; mine, Ber- 
lin; postoffice, Laing. 

Operator, Wyatt Coal Company ; mine, Hor- 
ton No. 1 ; postoffice, Sharon. 

Operator, Wyatt Coal Company; mine, 
Horton Xo. 2 ; postoffice, Sharon. 

Operator, Lewis Coal & Coke Co. ; mine, 
Coaling Station; postoffice, Chelyan. 

Operator, Pioneer Peerless Coal Co. ; mine, 
Pioneer Peerless; postoffice, Miami. 

Operator, LaMont Mining Company; mine, 
LaMont ; postoffice, Eskdale. 

Operator, Holly & Stephenson C. & C. Co. ; 
mine, No. 1 ; postoffice, Eskdale. 

Operator, Holly & Stephenson Co. ; mine, 
No. 5 ; Eskdale. 

Operator, Holly & Stephenson C. & C. Co. ; 
mine, No. 5 ; postoffice, Eskdale. 

Operator, Holly & Stephenson C. & C. Co. ; 
mine. No. 2 ; postoffice, Eskdale. 

Operator, Wake Forest Mining Co. ; mine, 
Wake Forest; postoffice, Wake Forest. 

Operator. Carbon Coal Company; mine, 
North ; postoffice. Carbon. 

Operator, Carbon Coal Company; mine, 
South; postoffice. Carbon. 

Operator. Carbon Coal Company; mine, 
Carbon Splint ; postoffice. Carbon. 

Operator, Carbon Coal Company; mine, No. 
4; postoffice. Carbon. 

Operator Republic Coal Company; mine, No. 
1 ; postoffice, Carbon. 

Operator, Republic Coal Company; mine, 
No. 2 ; postoffice. Carbon. 

Operator, Republic Coal Company; mine, 
No. 3-4; postoffice, Carbon. 

Operator. Republic Coal Company; mine, 
No. 5 ; postoffice, Carbon. 

Operator. West Virginia Colliery Co. ; mine, 
No. 1 ; postoffice, Wevaco. 

Operator. West Virginia Colliery Co. ; mine, 
No. 2 ; postoffice, Wevaco. 

Operator. West Virginia Colliery Co. ; mine, 
No. 3 ; postoffice, Wevaco. 

Operator. West Virginia Colliery Co. ; mine. 
No. 4; postoffice, Wevaco. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



325 



Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Davis; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Cherokee; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Caledonia; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Red Warrior; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Buckeye ; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Empire; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Black Tulip; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Keystone ; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Acme; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Shamrock; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Thistle; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Raccoon Splint; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Raccoon Gas; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Rose; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Kayford Nos. 1-2; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Holly; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Quarrier ; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
United Gas; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
United Splint; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Belleclare ; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Cabin Creek Con. Coal Co. ; mine, 
Ruby; postoffice, Kayford. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Reynolds; postoffice, Dungriff. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Knickerbocker; postoffice, Dungriff. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Scranton; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Paint Creek; postoffice, Mucklow. 



Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Wacomah ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Banner No. 1 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Banner No. 2; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Detroit; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Morton No. 1 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Grose No. 1 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Grose No. 2; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Greenbrier No. 1 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Greenbrier No. 2 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Paint Creek Collieries Co. ; mine, 
Greenbrier No. 3 ; postoffice, Mucklow. 

Operator, Coalburg-Kanawha Coal Co. ; 
mine, Coalburg "A" and "B" ; postoffice, Coal- 
burg. 

Operator, Southwestern Splint Fuel Co. ; 
mine, Black Cat ; postoffice, Crown Hill. 

Operator, Belmont Coal Company; mine, 
Belmont ; postoffice, Crown Hill. 

Operator, Belmont Coal Company; mine, 
Cedar Grove ; postoffice. Crown Hill. 

Operator, Crown Hill-Kanawha Coal Co. ; 
mine, No. 8, Coalburg; postoffice, Crown Hill. 

Operator, Standard Splint & Gas Coal Co. ; 
mine, Standard; postoffice, Standard. 

Operator, Imperial Colliery Company; mine, 
Imperial No. 1 ; postoffice, Burnwell. 

Operator, Imperial Colliery Company; mine, 
Imperial No. 2 ; postoffice, Burnwell. 

Operator, Imperial Colliery Company; mine, 
Imperial No. 3 ; postoffice, Burnwell. 

Operator, Chesapeake Mining Company; 
mine, Chesapeake No. 1 ; postoffice, Handley. 

Operator, Chesapeake Mining Company; 
mine, Chesapeake No. 2-3 ; postoffice, Hand- 
ley. 

Operator, Montgomery Coal Company; 
mine, Kanawha; postoffice, Montgomery. 

Operator, Morris Creek Colliery Company; 
mine., Kanawha No. 5, Block; postoffice, 
Montgomery. 



326 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Operator, East Bank Mining Company ; 
mine, East Bank; postoffice, East Bank. 

We append herewith an approximate state- 
ment of the coal and coke shipments of Ka- 
nawha county from 1883 to 1910, inclusive: 



COAL AND COKE OUTPUT OF KANAWHA 
COUNTY (2,000 POUNDS PER TON) 



Year 



Coal 

622,695 

t 

*724,64.o 



1 «»3 

1884 

1885 

1886 *850,o8o 

1887 *944,45Q 

1888 1,100,187 

1889 1,093,650 

1890 i,i43.95i 

1891 1,354,512 

1892 1,316,416 

1893 1,256,359 

1894 1,280,861 

1895 1,319,643 

1896 1,219,385 

1897 1,167,874 



1,358,720 
1,448,236 
1,631,717 

1,934,369 
2,086,992 
2,104,202 
3,127,127 
3.501,835 
4,576,434 
5,181,233 
5,066,588 
4,136,213 

1910 6,444,911 



1 898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 



Coke 
16,645 



Totals 57,993,280 



945 
2,258 

5.637 

t 

t 

2,732 
455 

4,928 

t 

20,132 

21,578 
10,983 
32,665 
30,722 
29,722 

25,789 
9,547 
19,993 
31.527 
12,287 
12,124 

t 

21,908 

3 I2 ,577 



No complete record of the quantity of coal 
mined in Kanawha county has been kept in the 
office of the Chief of the Department of Mines 
prior to the year 1883. 

The total available coal tonnage of Kanawha 
county, as previously stated, is about 6,000,- 
000,000 tons, so that the total coal mined dur- 
ing the past twenty-eight years is less than one 
per cent of the total available coal in the county. 

During the year 19 10 there was shipped a 
total of 6,444,911 tons of coal and 21,908 tons 
of coke. At this rate of mining, it would take 
more than nine hundred years to exhaust the 
total available coal in the county. 

Of the total quantity of coal shipped in 
Kanawha county for the year 19 10, 4,854,377 
tons were shipped by rail and 1,380,642 tons 
shipped by river. There was used at the mines 
99-°53 tons an( l sold locally 79,266 tons, and 
28,173 tons were made into coke, showing 
that less than three per cent of the total amount 
of coal mined was consumed in the state, and 
nearly ninety-seven per cent was shipped be- 
yond the limits of the state. 

The number of lives lost during the year 
1 9 10 was twenty-six out of 7,495 employees, 
or 3.5 per thousand employed. Eighteen of 
these fatal accidents were due to falls of slate. 
Loss of life, as a rule, occurs singly, but 
amounts in the aggregate to alarming figures. 
It is the belief of the writer that fully fifty per 
cent of these accidents are avoidable by the 
rigid enforcement of the Mine Law. and this 
can only be done by fully instructing the em- 
ployees, and by maintaining the strictest dis- 
cipline. 

We append herewith table showing the 
order of Kanawha county in the production of 
coal since 1897, in comparison with other coal 
producing counties of the state: 



ORDER IN THE PRODUCTION OF COAL, I< 



Counties 189 7 18 

Fayette 

McDowell 

Marion 

Kanawha 

Mercer 

Harrison 

Tucker 

Mingo 

Mineral 

*Estimated. fNo record. 



1900 1901 1902 1903 



>7-i9 10 

1904 1905 



I 


i 


i 


i 


i 


• i 


2 


i 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


1 


2 


I 


I 


1 


1 


1 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


4 


3 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


5 


3 


4 


3 


3 


3 


3 


5 


5 


5 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


6 


9 


9 


8 


7 


5 


5 


4 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


6 


6 


7 


5 


7 


7 


7 


8 


8 


8 


10 


10 


10 


8 


8 


9 


9 


9 


8 


8 


7 


7 


7 


7 


7 


9 


7 


7 


6 


8 


8 


9 


1 1 


1 1 


12 


13 


14 


13 


1 1 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



327 



Counties 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 

Preston 13 11 10 10 10 10 

Taylor 10 10 11 11 

Marshall 11 12 12 12 

Randolph 14 

Barbour 19 19 17 18 

Raleigh 16 16 16 19 

Putnam 12 13 13 13 

Ohio 15 15 14 15 

Brooke 17 18 18 20 20 

Mason 14 14 15 16 18 

[ Grant . Jj^^^^^H^H^H^HHi^HI^E^ 

Logan 



11 

16 

14 
12 

13 
15 
17 
20 
19 



1904 
IO 
16 
14 
13 

9 
12 

15 
19 

22 
20 
18 



Monongalia 20 17 

Hancock 18 20 

Clay 

Nicholas 

Lincoln 

Braxton 

; Wayne 

Upshur 

Greenbrier 

: Lewjs 

Gilmer 

Wyoming 

Boone 



!9 

21 



18 
21 



17 
20 



23 



17 
21 

25 
24 
23 



10 
16 
14 
13 
1 1 

9 
15 

21 

17 

22 

19 
20 
18 
24 
23 
25 
27 



9 
16 

15 
12 
1 1 
10 

14 

22 

17 

21 

19 
18 
20 
24 
23 
25 
26 



9 
17 
15 
J 3 
11 



26 27 
. . 28 



18 16 

21 21 
16 15 

22 22 



19 19 

23 25 

24 27 

25 26 

30 30 

26 23 
29 29 

27 24 

28 28 

31 3i 

32 32 



13 11 

16 15 
19 16 

14 14 
12 12 

8 6 

17 17 



20 
18 



33 



22 22 
20 21 

7 8 

18 19 

26 24 

30 3° 

27 26 
25 28 

23 23 

28 29 

24 25 

29 32 

3 2 33 

3 1 3 1 
34 34 

33 27 



Kanawha County stood fourth in the State 
in order of production from 1897 to 1902. At 
that time the production fell off some, and in 
1903, stood fifth, but in 1904 became third; 
but she again dropped back to fourth in 1905, 
and in 1906 she became third again, which 
place she still holds. 

West Virginia stands second State in the 
production of coal in the United States, and 
will soon become first in the production of bi- 
tuminous coal. 

The following table gives the production of 
coal in West Virginia from 1863 to 19 10, as 
compiled from the records of the United States 
Geological Survey. 

Tons of 
. 2,000 Lbs. 

444,648 

454,888 

• 487,897 

512,068 

\ 589,360 

609,227 



YEAR 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 



869 603,148 

870 608,878 

871 . 618,830 

872 700,000 

873 1,000,000 

874 1.120,000 

875 1,120,000 

876 896,000 

877 1,120,000 

878 1,120,000 

879 1,400,000 

880 1,829,844 

881 I,68o.OOO 

882 2,240000 

883 2,335,833 

884 3,369,000 

885 3,369,062 

886 4,005,796 

887 4,881.620 

888 5,498,800 

889 6,231,880 

890 7,394,654 

891 9,220,665 



328 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



1892 9,738,755 

1893 10,708.578 

1894 11,627,757 

1895 n,387,96i 

1896 12,878,296 

1897 14,248,159 

1898 16,700,999 

1899 19,252,995 

1900 22,647,207 

1 90 1 24,068,402 

1902 24,570,826 

1903 29,337,241 

I9°4 32,406,752 

1905 37,79i,58o 

1906 43,290,3:0 

1907 48,091,583 

1908 .» 49,000,000 

1909 49,697,018 

i9!o 59,274,708 

GRAND TOTAL 592,181,265 

Dr. I. C. White, State Geologist, in Volume 
II (a), Page 693, estimated the total avail- 
able coal in West Virginia to be 60,800,000.000 
tons. It is interesting to note that of this to- 
tal quantity, Kanawha County contains nearly 
ten per cent or 6,000,000,000 tons, mak- 
ing it one of the richest counties in the coal 
area in the State. 

The following table gives the list of river 
shipments on the Kanawha River since 1875, 
as compiled from the records of the U. S. En- 
gineer's Office at Charleston, West Virginia: 

COAL SHIPMENTS ON THE GREAT 
KANAWHA RIVER 

^EAR COAL 
1 Tons of 
2,000 Lbs. 

1875 161,932 

1876 200,962 

1877 207,236 

iSy8 No Record 

1879 No Record 

^80 No Record 

1 881 385,148 



1882 „ No Record 

1883 614,818 

1884 736,843 

1885 712,493 

1886 714,465 

1887 929,025 

1888 804,025 

1889 1,076,872 

1890 966,462 

1 89 1 1,030,454 

1892 1,071,511 

1893 9 X 9,320 

1894 1,032,304 

1895 879,304 

1896 922,000 

1897 848,600 

1898 784,000 

1899 942,800 

1900 1,240,680 

1901 1,370,180 

1902 937,880 

!903 1,333,920 

1904 1,094,700 

1905 1,460,680 

1906 1,176,300 

1907 1,667,000 

1908 965,000 

1909 1,065,680 

1910 1,248.040 

GRAND TOTAL 29,500,534 

The above table represents the coal mined 
from Fayette, Kanawha and Putnam Coun- 
ties : but possibly sixty to seventy-five per cent 
of the same was mined in Kanawha County. 

It is evident to the writer, from the statis- 
tics and facts at hand, that the coal industry is 
yet in its infancy. It has only taken a per- 
manent growth in the last ten years, but the 
future development in the State will each year 
grow more rapidly than in the past, and the 
coal shipments will increase proportionately. 
Kanawha County will not only keep apace with 
this increased growth and keep her place as the 
third of the coal producing counties in the 
State, but will gradually push forward to the 
first place. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 329 




DIAGRAM 



SHOWING DIFFERENT 



COAL SEAMS 



IN KANAWHA COUNTY, W. VA. 



CHAPTER XX 



THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORY 



Efforts which Have Been Made to Rescue and Preserve the History of West Virginia — West 
Virginia Historical Society — The Trans- Allegheny Historical Society — The West Virginia 
Historical and Antiquarian Society — The State Department of Archives and History — 
Transfer of Title and Removal — The Museum, etc. 



EFFORTS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE TO RESCUE 
AND PRESERVE THE HISTORY OF WEST 
VIRGINIA 

The New State was, indeed a land of his- 
toric achievement, of military renown and civic 
growth; and soon after the close of the Civil 
War, thoughtful men saw the necessity of col- 
lecting and placing in enduring form the annals 
and records of the new born State; thus saving 
its history of pioneer and more recent times, for 
those who were to come after them. This move- 
ment received its first impulse at Morgantown, 
whence a call for action was sent out. 

THE WEST VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

The date was Thursday evening, September 
30, 1869 — thirty-seven years ago — and the 
place of meeting was the Hall of the Colum- 
bian Literary Society in one of the University 
buildings. The assemblage was a remarkable 
one. Hon. Waitman T. Willey was chosen 
chairman, and John J. Brown was made Sec- 
retary. The Chairman stated that the object 
of the meeting was to consider the propriety 
of establishing an organization to be known as 
"The West Virginia Historical Society." 

After a brief discussion of the advantages to 
result from such an association, a committee of 
three was appointed to prepare a plan of or- 
ganization. 

The report of this Committee, as adopted, 
was as follows: 

Whereas we, Alexander Martin, Waitman 



T. Willey, J. J. Stephenson, George M. Ha- 
gans, S. G. Stevens, H. H. Pierce, F. M. 
\\ ood, F. S. Lyon, John A. Dille, Hugh W. 
Brock, Ralph L. Berkshire, George C. Sturgiss, 
Joseph A. McLane, and John J. Brown, citi- 
zens of Morgantown, W est Virginia recognize 
the importance of a properly organized Society, 
for the purpose of preserving a well authenti- 
cated history of VVest Virginia: Therefore, 
be it 

Resolved, That we do hereby assume the 
responsibility of taking steps towards the 
founding of an organization to be called "The 
West Virginia Historical Society." 

A second resolution provided for the ap- 
pointment of a committee on Constitution and 
By-Laws, and H. H. Pierce, H. W. Brock and 
John J. Stephenson were appointed. 

A third resolution provided for a Committee 
on Charter, and Ralph L. Berkshire, F. W. 
Wood, and John J. Brown, were named. 

A fourth resolution provided for the ap- 
pointment of a committee of five with power 
to choose forty citizens of West Virginia, to 
act as founders of this organization. As such 
committee the Chairman named Alexander 
Martin, S. G. Stevens, George M. Hagans, 
Joseph A. McLane, and George C. Sturgiss. 

A Second Preliminary Meeting was held at 
Grafton December 30, 1869, and among those 
who had not attended the first meeting but who 
now appeared as Founders were Dr. Thomas 
H. Logan, Hon. William E. Stevenson, Hon. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



331 



Francis H. Pierpont, Hon. Alpheus F. Hay- 
mond, Hon. Benjamin F. Martin, Gen. David 
H. Strother, Col. J. Loomis Gould, Gen. 
Thomas M. Harris, and Hon. Chester D. Hub- 
bard. 

A Constitution and By-Laws were adopted 
and an order of business presented. Then the 
Committee on Founders reported the names of 
persons consenting to become such, as follows : 
Prof. W. K. Pendleton, Dr. John Hupp, Dr. 
E. A. Hildreth, W. J. Bates, Dr. Thomas H. 
Logan, Hon. William E. Stevenson. Hon. 
Francis H. Pierpont, Hon. Alpheus F. Hay- 
mond, Hon. James C. McGrew, J. H. Lock- 
wood, Hon. Benjamin F. Martin, Gen. David 
H. Strother, James Logie, Hon. Henry G. 
Davis, Hon. Joseph T. Hoke, Col. Luther Hay- 
mond, James M. Jackson, Hedgeman Slack. 
Dr. A. E. Summers, Hon. Lewis Ruffner, J. 
Loomis Gould, Prof. W. W. Harper, Hon. 
Arthur I. Boreman, Samuel Billingslea, Hon. 
Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, Hon. William Ry- 
land White, Gen. Thomas M. Harris, Hon. 
Chester D. Hubbard, Hon. Joel McPherson, 
and J. W. Workman. Such were the men — 
statesmen of the time — who, regardless of po- 
litical affiliation or views respecting the recent 
war, united in an effort to preserve the history 
of West Virginia. 

An organization was then effected by the 
election of Dr. Thomas H. Logan as President ; 
Gen. David H. Strother, Judge Gideon D. 
Camden, Prof. W. K. Pendleton, Hon. Joel 
McPherson and Hon. Lewis Ruffner Vice- 
Presidents ; Samuel G. Stevens, Corresponding 
Secretary; John J. Brown. Recording Secre- 
tary; Hon. Chester D. Hubbard, Treasurer; 
John J. Stephenson, Curator ; and Hon. Fran- 
cis H. Pierpont, Hon. Joseph T. Hoke, J. 
Loomis Gould, Judge R. L. Berkshire, Dr. A. 
E. Summers, Dr. Alexander Martin, Hugh H. 
Brock, William A. Hanway and F. S. Lyon, 
an Executive Committee. 

The regents of the State University tendered 
the Society the use of a room for its collec- 
tions and this was accepted with thanks. The 
by-laws prescribed two regular meetings an- 
nually, one at Morgantown, in June, the other 
wherever the Legislature should hold its ses- 
sions, or at such place as the Society should 



determine. Then the following named gentle- 
men were elected to resident membership, viz: 
A. W. Lorentz, A. M. Poundstone, Prof. A. 
L. Wade, D. H. Chadwick, William Wagner, 
Archie W. Campbell, Hon. Peter G. Van Win- 
kle, Rev. Loyal Young, Hon. Harmon Sinsel, 
Johnson N. Camden, William Meigs, C. C. 
Cole, W. H. Travers, Hon. William G. Brown, 
F. A. Cather, Hon. John Marshall Hagans, 
William Mallonee, A. H. Thayer, James Evans, 
Elisha H. Coombs, O. W. Miller, Hon. Dan- 
iel Lamb, J. H. Diss DeBar, Judge Samuel 
Woods, M. C. C. Church, Nathan Goff, Jr., A. 
F. Barnes, Henry C. Parsons, William H. Ed- 
wards, and Joseph Johnson. After this, cor- 
responding members in other states were 
elected as follows : J. A. Lintner, Albany, New 
York; Prof. F. H. Smith, Lexington, Vir- 
ginia; Edwin D. Sanborn, Hanover, New 
Hampshire; George Livermore, Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts; and James Veach, L.L. D., Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 

The Third Meeting. — This was held at 
Wheeling, February 9, 1870, Dr. T. H. Logan 
presiding. It was a session of much interest; 
the leading features being the reading of two 
papers, the first entitled "Historical Studies," 
by Dr. Alexander Martin, first President of 
the West Virginia University ; the second, "An- 
nals of the Pan-Handle," by President W. K. 
Pendleton, of Bethany College. One hundred 
and nineteen gentlemen were elected to resident 
membership. Dr. J. S. Newberry and John 
Lothrop Motley were made honorary mem- 
bers; and Dr. Alfred Creigh of Washington, 
Pa.; Dr. George P. Hildreth, of Marietta, 
Ohio, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes of Boston, 
Mass. ; and Henry G. Hanks, of San Francisco, 
Cal., were elected corresponding members. 

The Fourth Meeting. — This meeting was 
held at Morgantown, June 15. 1870, Dr. 
Thomas H. Logan in the chair. The Curator 
made an interesting report of donations to the 
Cabinet and Library; among these being: 
"Eighty-seven Original Patents for West Vir- 
ginia lands; Commission to Lieutenant Evans, 
of Monongalia District, 1792; Pay-roll of 
Monogalia Rangers for 1778; a large number 
of Original Surveys of West Virginia lands 
together with many interesting and valuable 



332 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



papers." Hon. J. W. Patterson and Dr. Jo- 
seph L. Leidy were elected honorary members. 
Carlton Hughes, Washington, D. C. ; L. J. 
Deal, Philadelphia, Pa. ; and William Ewing, 
of Canonsburg, same State, were elected cor- 
responding members. Hon. George M. Beltz- 
hoover, N. N. Hoffman, J. W. Webb, W. C. 
McGrew, Rev. R. W hite, J. L. Simpson. J. B. 
Solomon, J. S. S. Herr, Jacob Waugh, Rev. 
J. H. Flanagan, James B. Hague. A. D. Wil- 
liams, James Carskadon, George A. Fitch, Rev. 
J. M. Nourse, C. H. Hodgson. Rev. Jacob 
Bird, Geo. W. Moredoch, Joseph E. McCoy 
and P. H. Keck were elected resident members. 
General David H. Strother — "Porte Crayon" 
— was elected President; Prof. William K. 
Pendleton, first Vice-President; John J. Brown, 
Recording Secretary and Hon. Chester D. 
Hubbard, Treasurer. 

The Fifth Meeting. — This meeting was held 
at Charleston, in February, 1871. It was an 
interesting session; General Strother. the 
President, read a valuable paper, the subject of 
which was "Historical and Descriptive Notice 
of Berkeley Springs." L. G. Olmstead, of 
New York City, was elected a corresponding 
member. C. W. B. Allison, Judge Robert S. 
Brown, Dr. A. J. Vosburg. Hon. John Mor- 
row, Jr., Colonel James L. McLean, C. F. 
Scott, John Brannom, C. M. Travers, Spencer 
Dayton, Colonel Sam A. Miller, John T. Cot- 
ton, Colonel John L. Cole, Dr. John P. Hale. 
Gen. J. W r . M. Appleton. G. Bier. Hon. Pere- 
grine Hayes, Judge Charles P. T. Moore, J. 
H. Oley, Hon. Madison Laidley. Albert G. 
Davis. E. G. Cracraft, J. Brisben Walker. D. 
W. Emmons, and W. A. A. Alexander were 
elected to resident membership. The Society 
adjourned to meet at Morgantown. June 14. 
1871. 

The Sixth Meeting. — This meeting was held, 
as per adiournment, at Morgantown. June 14. 
1 87 1, Gen. Strother presiding. Forty mem- 
bers were present. David H. Leonard, of 
Wirt County. A. F. Mathews, of Greenbrier, 
John S. Lincoln. W. P. Guthrie, of Mason, and 
Rev. J. M. Warden, of Calhoun, were elected 
resident members. Henry J. Amour, of Car- 
lisle, Pa., was made a corresponding member. 
Hon. Waitman T. Willey read a highly in- 



teresting and valuable paper entitled, "Geo- 
graphical History of Monongalia County, 
West Virginia." No change was made in the 
officers. The Executive Committee was di- 
rected to proceed with the publication of the 
"proceedings" of the Society and money was 
appropriated for this purpose. This volume 
was soon after issued under the title of "The 
Proceedings of the West Virginia Historical 
Society, Vol. 1, Part I," printed by Morgan 
and Hoffman, of Morgantown. As the title 
implies, it contains the proceedings of the So- 
ciety from its organization to the date of pub- 
lication, with nearly all the papers read before 
it and a roll of the names of one hundred and 
sixteen members with their postoffice addresses. 
It is among the rarest and yet one of the most 
valuable historical publications ever issued in 
the State. Unfortunately, it was the last pub- 
lication of the Society. • 

As said before, this Society was a remark- 
able one. Its membership represented every 
part of the State and included the leading edu- 
cators, scholars, lawyers, physicians, clergy- 
men, and business men of the time. They, 
many of them, had been in active life for years 
before the Civil War. They had been divided 
in that struggle. But when it was past they 
were united in an effort to save from oblivion 
the history of the new born State — West Vir- 
ginia. But all grew old. many died, and their 
mantles descended to others who had not been 
history-makers like themselves and when four- 
teen annual meetings had been held, the last 
on the nth of June. 1884, the West Virginia 
Historical Society ceased to exist. 

THE TRANS- ALLEGHENY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

Many people who remembered the interest 
in the history of the State aroused by the old 
Society, and the good it had accomplished, 
sought to bring it back to life again. Some of 
these, on the 19th of June, 1901, sent out a 
call headed: "Proposed Reorganization of the 
West Virginia Historical Society under the 
Name of the Trans- Allegheny Historical So- 
ciety." This call was signed by eighty-seven 
persons, the greater number of whom were 
professional and business men of Morgantown. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



333 



the others scattered throughout the northern 
and eastern sections of the State, among them 
being Hon. Charles J. Faulkner, Hon. Steven 
B. Elkins, Hon. A. G. Dayton, Hon. Henry G. 
Davis, Judge John J. Davis, Prof. Frank B. 
Trotter, Frank Staunton, Myron C. Lough, 
Hon. B. L. Butcher, Col. Alexander Campbell, 
Charles E. W ells, Eugene Somerville, and C. 
W. Maxwell. Among these signers residing 
in Morgantown were Mr. Hu Maxwell, Prof. 
Richard E. Fast, Hon. W. E. Glasscock, Prof. 
P. B. Raynolds, Hon. James H. Stewart, Prof. 
Thomas E. Hodges, Hon. Frank Cox, Hon. 
E. M. Grant. Hon. Joseph Moreland, Prof. 
Waitman Barbe, Judge Okey Johnson, Prof. L. 
L. Friend, Hon. Thomas C. Miller, Prof. 
S. B. Brown, Prof. T. C. Atkeson, Hon. 
George C. Sturgiss, Dr. I. C. White, Hon. John 
W. Mason, Prof. A. L. Wade, Prof. W. P. 
Willey, and Prof. St. George T. Brooke. 

The meeting for reorganization assembled 
June 19, 1 90 1, in the lecture room of the Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station of the West Vir- 
ginia University and was called to order by 
Prof. R. E. Fast, who was chosen temporary 
President, with Clarence Poe as Secretary. 
The purpose of the meeting was explained; the 
constitution of the old West Virginia Histori- 
cal Society was adopted and the President ap- 
pointed, as a committee to revise its by-laws, 
Hon. Joseph Moreland, R. E. L. Allen, J. F. 
Nelson, Hu Maxwell, and Prof. A. D. Hop- 
kins. After the transaction of miscellaneous 
business, the body adjourned to a later date for 
permanent organization. This was effected De- 
cember 5. 1 89 1, when a representation of the 
membership assembled in Room No. 10, Mar- 
tin Hall of the University. The temporary 
organization was made permanent. The Com- 
mittee on Revision of By-Laws reported, and 
an Executive Council consisting of Myron C. 
Lough, of Fairmont; Frank Staunton, of 
Wheeling; and Dr. I. C. White, of Morgan- 
town, was appointed. It appears that this re- 
organization did not last long ere it went the 
way of the parent society. During its con- 
tinuance, its organ was the "Trans- Allegheny 
Historical Magazine." seven numbers of which 
appear to have been issued. 



THE WEST VIRGINIA HISTORICAL AND ANTI- 
QUARIAN SOCIETY 

In January, 1890, at the beginning of the 
session of the Legislature, Virgil A. Lewis, oi 
Mason County, went to Charleston, where he 
circulated a call for a meeting, the object of 
which was declared to be the organization of 
a State Historical Society. This, when signed, 
was as follows :- 

"A Call — We invite all West Virginians 
feeling an interest in History of their State, 
to meet with us in the Senate Chamber at the 
Capitol, on Thursday at 7:30 p. m., for the 
purpose of organizing a West Virginia His- 
torical and Antiquarian Society." This was 
signed by Dr. E. M. Turner and Prof. A. L. 
Wade, of Monongalia County; Dr. John P. 
Hale, Colonel John L. Cole, Judge Thomas D. 
Houston, Colonel J. B. Peyton, Hon. C. B. 
Snyder, and Dr. D. Mayer, of Kanawha 
County; Hon. B. L. Butcher, of Marion 
County ; Hon. Daniel B. Lucas and Colonel R. 
P. Chew of Jefferson County; Colonel Charles* 
B. Hart, of Ohio County; Hon. L. W. New- 
man, of Hancock County ; Dr. William H. Mc- 
Clung, of Greenbrier County; Dr. M. S. Bryte, 
of Preston Co. ; Gen. I. H. Duval, of Brooke 
County; Hon. P. W. Morris, of Ritchie 
County; Hon. Samuel L. Flournoy, of Hamp- 
shire County, and Virgil A. Lewis, of Mason 
County. 

On the next day, Thursday, January 30, 
1890, on motion of Senator P. W. Morris, the 
use of the Senate Chamber was granted for 
the purpose, and at 8 :oo p. m. that day the 
meeting was called to order by Major Thomas 
L. Broun, on whose motion Dr. E. M. Turner 
was made temporary Chairman ; and on motion 
of Judge Thomas D. Houston, Virgil A. Lewis 
was chosen Secretary. The object of the meet- 
ing was explained and the name. "West Vir- 
ginia Historical and Antiquarian Society." 
adopted for the organization. 

The following named gentlemen were pres- 
ent and enrolled as members of the Society, 
viz: Dr. E. M. Turner, Dr. John P. Hale, 
Judge Thomas D. Houston. Dr. Daniel Mayer, 
Major Charles Hedrick. Major Thomas L. 
Broun, Hon. Alvaro F. Gibbons. Hon. David 
W. Shaw. Dr. M. S. Bryte, Colonel John L. 



334 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Cole, C. Homer Morrison, Hon. W. H. Jack, 
Hon. Presley W. Morris, Hon. B. L. Butcher, 
Prof. A. L. Wade, Hon. J. G. Kitchen, Hon. 
Joseph Snyder, Hon. J. W. Parish, Governor 
E. W. Wilson, Hon. Braxton D. Gibson, Hon. 
G. F. Webber, and Virgil A. Lewis. 

A permanent organization was effected by 
the election of Dr. John P. Hale as President; 
Dr. E. M. Turner and Colonel A. F. Gibbons 
as Vice-President; Virgil A. Lewis, Secretary, 
and Major Thomas L. Broun, Treasurer. An 
Executive Board was appointed consisting of 
Governor E. W. Wilson, Major Thomas L. 
Broun, Hon. Braxton D. Gibson, Judge 
Thomas D. Houston, and Dr. John P. Hale. 
Yearly meetings of the Society were provided 
for while those of the Executive Board were 
monthly, it having power to elect members. 
The Secretary was directed to procure a char- 
ter of incorporation and the Board of Directors 
to prepare a constitution and by-laws for its 
government and that of the Society as well. 
Then the body adjourned to meet on the third 
Tuesday in January, 1891. 

On the nth of February, 1890, the Sec- 
retary of State issued a charter of incorpora- 
tion to the Society, making it a body corporate 
under the laws of the State, the charter mem- 
bers being Alvaro F. Gibbons, Daniel Mayer, 
John L. Cole, E. W. Wilson, Jacob F. Cork, 
Virgil A. Lewis, Braxton D. Gibson, Thomas 
L. Broun, John P. Hale, and David W. Shaw. 

An appeal to the Legislature for financial 
aid in the work to be undertaken by the Society, 
was prepared by the Secretary ; on the evening 
of February 16, 1890, Dr. John P. Hale, Col- 
onel Benjamin W. Byrne, Major Thomas L. 
Broun, Gen. B. H. Oxley, Prof. Jacob F. 
Cork, and Virgil A. Lewis appeared before 
the Legislative Committee on Taxation and Fi- 
nance and explained the objects of the Society 
with the result that an appropriation was made 
to assist in the work it had undertaken, that 
is, "for the purpose of collecting and preserv- 
ing relics, books, etc., pertaining to the history 
of West Virginia; the articles which may be 
collected and purchased with the said funds to 
be and remain the property of the State, and 
to be held in trust by said Society for the said 
State." Thenceforth the Society continued to 



exist holding its annual meetings and receiv- 
ing its appropriations from the State. Num- 
bers of other gentlemen later became members 
of it and aided in its work. Among these 
were Rev. R. D. Roller, Hon. George W. At- 
kinson, Judge Joseph Ruffner, Hon. J. R. 
Trotter, J. Tallman Waters, Hon. J. M. Paul, 
Judge W. S. Laidley, Colonel Addison M. 
Scott, Hon. John B. Floyd, Col. Robert S. 
Carr, Gen. B. D. Spillman, Hon. L. A. Martin, 
Hon. N. E. Whittaker. Judge F. M. Rey- 
nolds, Capt. Samuel Mathewson, Judge David 

E. Johnston, Godwin H. Powell, Hon. Daniel 
B. Lucas, Charles Ward. Col. O. H. Michael- 
son, Judge J. B. C. Drew. Hon. N. C. Neal, 
Col. W. A. Ohley. Judge Henry Brannon, John 
D. Lewis, E. L. Butrick, Col. George W. Pat- 
ton, Mrs. David Eagan, Gen. J. W. M. Apple- 
ton, Judge H. C. McWhorter, Col. W. H. Ed- 
son, Gen. B. H. Oxley, Rev. W. L. Price, Hon. 
W. L. Mansfield, Geo. W. P. Craighill. George 
wards, Col. J. D. Baines. Rev. Thomas John- 

F. Coyle, Mrs. Livia Simpson Poffenbarger, 
and others. 

Dr. John P. Hale continued as president of 
the Society until his death in 1902, when 
Major Thomas L. Broun was elected to fill 
the vacancy. From 1901 to 1905 it published 
as its organ the "West Virginia Historical 
Magazine," devoted largely to genealogy, fam- 
ily history, etc. It was edited by Dr. Hale 
until after his death, after which, judge W. S. 
Laidley became his successor. The society col- 
lected much material — books, relics, curios, 
etc. 

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND 
HISTORY ITS CREATION AND WORK 

Thus previously to 1905, three historical so- 
cieties had been organized in West Virginia, 
the first having a continued existence of four- 
teen years ; the second, two years ; and the 
third, fourteen years. Among their member- 
ship were numbered the names of hundreds of 
the best men in the State — men who earnestly 
desired that its history should be rescued, col- 
lected and preserved in systematic, durable 
form. This, these organizations could not do, 
for only the strong arm of the State can ac- 
complish that work; but they rendered an ex- 
cellent sen-ice by arousing and keeping awake 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



335 



an interest in historical research and investi- 
gation on the part of the people. But it is not 
the province of historical societies in any Amer- 
ican State to collect and preserve in systematic 
order the Public Documents, State Papers, 
Legislative Journals, Executive Messages, Pro- 
ceedings and Reports of Boards of Regents 
and Directors of State Institutions, educational 
and otherwise; Minutes of Conferences, Pres- 
byteries, Synods, and other meetings of re- 
ligious bodies, Proceedings of Grand Lodges 
and other Social organizations; Records of 
Commercial and Industrial Progress ; pro- 
grams and catalogues; "dead papers" of courts; 
Annual and Biennial Reports of Executive De- 
partments; maps, charts and drawings, which 
illustrate the history and geography of the 
State and of our common country as well, and 
the many other publications that go to make up 
the Archives of a State, and to classify them 
that they may be readily available for study 
or reference when needed. There were no 
such collections in West Virginia of Pioneer 
Times, of the years when the State was a part 
of Virginia, of the Period of the Reorgan- 
ized Government, or of the State since its ad- 
mission into the Union. No selections of the 
National Publications necessary to elucidate 
our history. Thoughtful men saw this. They 
knew that the other States were doing this 
work at public expense under the direction of 
laws enacted therefor, and that if done at all, 
in West Virginia, it must be done this way. 
This sentiment was voiced by Governor 
George W. Atkinson in his Biennial Message 
to the Legislature, January 9, 1901. In speak- 
ing of the lack of a compilation of our Public 
Documents, he said : 

"I find our Public Records and Documents 
in the archives of the State in a very incom- 
plete and unsatisfactory condition. * * * 
I can find no record relating to the Restored 
Government of Virginia. I have also made 
diligent effort to secure the Journals of the 
Legislatures from 1861 to 1864 and have not 
been able to find them. * * * The Jour- 
nals and Documents during that period cannot 
be found unless, perhaps, the originals are in 
existence and I hope they are; but it is a big 
undertaking to find them and one would hardly 



know where to begin to look for them. * * * 
Messages, Reports, Documents, and Papers 
cannot now be found. I find no Inaugural Ad- 
dress of any Governor of the State printed in 
any bound volume of the State's doings, not 
even my own. * * * These Documents 
are a part of the important history of the State 
and yet they have not been preserved in endur- 
ing form. * * * It is painfully evident 
that our Public Records are woefully incom- 
plete." 

As a remedy he recommended that provi- 
sion be made ( 1 ) to have the State's Public 
Records, Papers, and Documents collected and 
classified; and (2) that a systematic plan be 
devised for the publication and preservation 
of all the State's archives in the future. 

No action was taken at that session of the 
Legislature. Two years thereafter. Governor 
Albert B. White, in his first Biennial Message, 
said : "The West Virginia State Historical 
and Antiquarian Society should be made a 
State Institution. * * * It is a pri- 
vate corporation. * * * Its government 
should be vested in a non-partisan Board of 
Directors." Now, in compliance with this 
recommendation a bill was prepared which 
passed the House and was on its third read- 
ing in the Senate when the session closed and 
it failed to pass. 

Again, January 11, 1905, Governor White, 
in his second Biennial Message to the Legis- 
lature, renewed his recommendation of two 
years before. In urging the matter he de- 
clared for a depository of the publications of 
every Department of the State from its foun- 
dation ; that a most important work "would be 
to have all the missing public records, papers 
and documents from 1861 to the present time 
supplied as far as possible ; to collect, edit, clas- 
sify, put them in a series; and to devise and 
adopt a svstematic plan for the preservation 
and classification of our State archives in the 
future." 

Early in the session, a bill providing for the 
establishment of a Bureau of Archives and 
History originated in the Senate, and, ere the 
session closed, it had passed both houses, and 
became a law. It was as follows : 



336 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



CHAPTER 64 

An Act providing for the establishment of 
a State Bureau of State Archives and History. 

(Passed February 18, 1905. In effect 90 
days from passage. Approved February 21, 
1905-) 

Sec. 1. State bureau of archives and history 
to be established ; to be a department 
of state government ; board of public 
works to establish by laws ; 

Sec. 2. battle flags, etc., held in trust by West 
Virginia historical and antiquarian 
society made part of collection. 

Sec. 3. State historian and archivist to be ap- 
pointed by governor; term of office; 
powers and duties; compensation. 

Sec. 4. Secretary of state to deliver biennial 
reports to such bureau. 

Sec. 5. Appropriation for carrying into effect 
the provision of this act. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF WEST 
VIRGINIA : 

Section 1. There shall be established a 
State bureau of archives and history in which 
shall be collected for permanent preservation, 
so far as it can now be done, all valuable papers 
and documents relating to the settlement of 
the state ; to the period of the reorganized gov- 
ernment of Virginia, and to the erection. and 
formation of West Virginia out of the terri- 
tory of the mother State, with biographical 
matter pertaining to the men who were prom- 
inent then, together with all missing public 
records, State papers, documents of the Legis- 
lature, executive and judicial departments, and 
the reports of all State officials, boards of re- 
gents and directors, of State institutions, edu- 
cational, charitable, penal and otherwise, from 
the twentieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three, to which the annual additions shall 
be added as produced. In this bureau there 
shall be devised and adopted a systematic plan 
for the preservation and classification of all 
the State archives of the past, present, and fu- 
ture. In the said bureau there shall also be 
collected books, phamplets, papers, and other 
works of history, biography, and kindred sub- 
jects as are usually found in such collections, 
together with the works of West Virginia au- 



thors and such others as will properly illus- 
trate the bibliography of the State. In con- 
nection with the collection in said bureau, there 
may be a museum illustrative of history, 
science, the social conditions and life of the 
people of our country, past and present. 

Section 2. The said bureau shall be a de- 
partment of the State government and it shall 
occupy rooms in the State Capitol or in the 
annex thereto. It shall be under the manage- 
ment of the board of public works, which body 
shall have full power and authority to adopt 
and establish such by-laws and regulations for 
its government, as it may deem necessary and 
proper to effect the objects of the bureau, and 
it shall cause to be enforced such library rules 
and regulations as will secure to all students, 
readers, and those making research and inves- 
tigation, that order, quiet and system so nec- 
essary in such an establishment. It shall take 
into its keeping the old battle and regimental 
flags borne by West Virginians in war to- 
gether with all other property, of whatever 
character, which has been purchased by the 
State's money and is now held in trust for the 
State by West Virginia historical and anti- 
quarian society, and shall cause the flags and 
said property to be made a part of the col- 
lection of the bureau of archives and history, 
therein to be classified, labeled and catalogued 
as the other collection of said bureau, in such 
manner as to be of greatest use to the public. 

Section 3. The bureau shall be in charge 
of a person who shall be appointed by the 
Governor for the term of four years, and who 
shall be known as the State historian and ar- 
chivist. He shall be the custodian of the 
collections in this bureau and it shall be his 
duty to carry into operation and full effect 
the provisions of section one of this act; and 
arrange for the publication of such matter as 
the Legislature may, from time to time, pro- 
vide for printing, and enforce all rules and 
regulations required by the board of public 
works pertaining to the bureau, which it may 
prescribe under the provisions of section two 
of this act. He shall cause the rooms of the 
bureau to be kept open to the public daily, ex- 
cept Sunday, from nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing until four o'clock in the afternoon, through- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



337 



out the year; and from seven o'clock until ten 
in the evening during the sessions of Legis- 
lature. He shall make annually a report to 
the Governor to be transmitted by him to the 
Legislature, which report shall contain an ex- 
hibit of all the State's papers, public docu-< 
ments, books, pamphlets, and other property 
belonging to the bureau ; of its annal accumu- 
lations, and a statement of the receipts and 
expenditures accompanied by such recommen- 
dations as he deems best for the State's in- 
terest in the said bureau. His compensation 
shall be fixed by the board of public works, 
which body shall disburse all moneys on its 
own order which may be appropriated for the 
expense of the bureau. 

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Sec- 
retary of State to deliver when printed, bi- 
ennially, at least sixty copies of all the bien- 
nial reports of State officials and of all boards 
of regents or directors of State institutions, 
to be exchanged for similar documents of other 
States. 

Section 5. For the purpose of carrying into 
effect the provisions of this act, the sum of 
two thousand dollars is hereby appropriated 
out of the revenues of nineteen hundred and 
four and five; and the sum of two thousand 
dollars out of the revenues of nineteen hun- 
dred and five and six; the auditor to issue 
his warrants therefor upon such vouchers as 
the board of public works may provide. 

A SYNOPSIS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE 
STATUTE 

The following synoptical arrangement ex- 
hibits the provisions of the Statute creating the 
Department : 

I. STATE BUREAU OF ARCHIVES AND 
HISTORY ESTABLISHED 

1. This Bureau is declared to be a Depart- 
ment of the State Government. 

2. It is to occupy rooms in the State Cap- 
itol or the Annex thereto. 

3. It is under the control and management 
of the Board of Public Works. 

4. By it is to be adopted a systematic plan 
for the preservation and classification of all 
the State Archives — Past, Present & Future. 



5. Two thousand dollars appropriated for 
each of the years 1905 and 1906 for putting 
Department into operation. 

6. Into it are to be collected for permanent 
preservation so far as can now be done. 

(a) All property of whatever character 
purchased with the State's money and hereto- 
fore held in trust by the West Virginia His- 
torical and Antiquarian Society, including the 
Battle and Regimental Flags borne by West 
Virginians in War. 

(b) All valuable Papers and Documents 
relating to the settlement of the State. 

(c) All records and other Documents per- 
taining to the Period of the Reorganized Gov- 
ernment of Virginia. 

(d) All Documents, Books and Papers re- 
lating to the erection and formation of West 
Virginia out of the territory of the Mother 
State. 

(e) Biographical data of the men who 
have been prominent in the affairs of the State. 

(f) All missing Public Records, State 
Papers of the Legislative, Executive, and Ju- 
dicial Departments. 

(g) All Reports of State Officials includ- 
ing Boards of Regents and Directors of State 
Institutions, educational, charitable, reforma- 
tory and otherwise, from the formation of the 
State. 

(h) Works of West Virginia authors and 
of such others as shall properly illustrate the 
bibliography of the State. 

(i) Also, Books, Pamphlets, Papers and 
other works of History, Biography and kin- 
dred subjects, such as are usually found in 
such collections. 

(j) A Museum illustrative of History, 
Science, and the social conditions and life of 
the people of our country — Past and Present. 

1. Has the Management and Control of 
the Department. 

2. Adopts such by-laws and regulations for 
its government as its members deem necessary. 

3. Causes to be enforced such library rules 
as will secure to students, readers, and all those 
making research and investigation, that or- 
der, quiet and system so necessary in such an 
establishment. 



338 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



4. Fixes compensation of the State His- 
torian and Archivist. 

5. Disburses all monies appropriated by 
the Legislature for the expenses of the De- 
partment. 

1. Appoints a person to have charge and 
direction of the Department and whose title is 
that of State Historian and Archivist. 

2. Receives the Biennial Reports of the 
State Historian and Archivist, causes same to 
be printed, and transmits it to the Legislature. 

3. As President of the Board of Public 
Works he participates in the management of 
the Department. 

1. He is the Custodian of the collections 
in the Department. 

2. Carries into effect the provisions of 
Section 1 of the act creating it. 

3. Arranges, classifies, labels, and cata- 
logues the collections in such manner as to make 
it of greatest use to the Public. 

4. Enforces by-laws and regulations or- 
dained by the Board of Public Works for the 
government of the Department. 

5. Arranges for publication such matter as 
the Legislature may from time to time pro- 
vide for printing. 

6. Causes the Rooms to be kept open daily, 
except Sundays, from 9:00 to 4:00 p. M- 
throughout the year; and from 7:00 to 10:00 
p. m. during sessions of the Legislature. 

7. Makes annually a Report to the Gov- 
ernor which, after printing, is transmitted to 
the Legislature. This Report contains : 

(a) An exhibit of all the State Papers, 
Public Documents, Books and Pamphlets, and 
other property belonging to the collection. 

(b) Information regarding the annual ac- 
cessions to the collection. 

(c) A statement of the receipts and expen- 
ditures of the Department. 

(d) Such information as he deems best 
for the State's interest in the Department. 

8. Makes exchange of West Virginia 
documents for those of other States. 

V. The Secretary of State. 

1. Delivers biennially, when printed, at 
least sixty copies or sets of all the Biennial 
Reports of State officials and of all Boards of 



Regents and of Directors of State Institu- 
tions, to the State Historian and Archivist, to 
be by him exchanged with other states. 

Simplicity and Economy of Administration. 
From the foregoing it will be seen that the 
administration of the Department is very sim- 
ple and economical. Its entire management 
is vested in the Board of Public Works com- 
posed as it is of the Governor, Auditor of 
State, Treasurer, State Superintendent of 
Free Schools and the Attorney-General. And 
thus, its control does not cost the State a dol- 
lar. The printing is paid for out of the Gen- 
eral Printing Fund and all appropriations made 
by the Legislature for the Department in ex- 
cess of the salary of the Historian and Ar- 
chivist, and compensation for necessary cleri- 
cal assistance, may be used to increase the col- 
lections and thus enlarge its usefulness. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT 

As is seen by the reading of the Act creat- 
ing it, it was provided that the Department 
should take unto itself all property, of what- 
ever character, which had been purchased with 
the State's money and then held in trust for 
the State by the "West Virginia Historical 
and Antiquarian Society," this to be made a 
part of the collection of the Department of Ar- 
chives and History. Soon after the passage 
of the Act the Executive Board of that So- 
ciety entered into negotiations with the Board 
of Public Works with the result that its en- 
tire corporate collection was purchased trans- 
ferred to, and became the property of the State, 
the consideration being five hundred and 
eighty dollars. The following is evidence of 
this transfer: 

TRANSFER OF TITLE TO PROPERTY FROM THE 
WEST VIRGINIA HISTORICAL AND ANTI- 
QUARIAN SOCIETY TO THE STATE OF WEST 
VIRGINIA. 

Charleston, W. Va., May 25th, 1905. 
"Pursuant to the former proceedings of the 
Board of Public Works, which proceedings 
are of record herein, this board, this day ac- 
cepted the transfer of the property of the 
West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian 
Society, made by Messrs. W. S. Laidley, Ad- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



339 



dison M. Scott and S. S. Green, the commit- 
tee of said society, in writing, as follows: 

"To the Board of Public Works of the 
State of West Virginia: — 
"Gentlemen : — 

"The Executive Board of the West Virginia 
Historical and Antiquarian Society, has ap- 
pointed the undersigned to make transfer of 
property of said society to you, in pursuance 
of the resolution of the said society at a meet- 
ing held April 12, 1905, for the purpose of 
considering your aceptance of the offer of 
this board to transfer the said property to you 
upon certain terms and conditions, mentioned 
in your said aceptance. We hereby now trans- 
fer the said property to you and give the same 
into your possession and control, to be held 
by you on the same terms and conditions that 
we heretofore held the same, and upon the 
terms of your said acceptance. 

"We ask of you for some evidence of the 
said transfer and acceptance thereof, that we 
may report to our board that our mission has 
been duly performed, and to show the date on 
which you have taken control thereof. 

"We would call your attention to one or two 
facts in relation to this subject that you may 
be apprised thereof when called upon to act 
in relation thereto. 

"By the will of Dr. J. P. Hale certain prop- 
erty was granted to the Historical Society. 
Only as to the old clock was there any condi- 
tions, and as to that we were to provide that it 
be kept in repair and running. We are in- 
formed that the executor of said will will set 
up claim to the said property, at the instance 
of the residuary legatee. We did provide for 
keeping the clock in repair, etc., by a contract 
with Mr. Porter. 

"There are many articles in the rooms of 
the society that were placed there as loans, for 
which receipts were given by which they can 
be withdrawn by the owners at any time by 
producing said receipts. No list of said loans 
has been kept. 

"All of which is most respectfully submitted 
this 25th day of May, 1905. 

"W. S. Laidley, 
"Addison M. Scott, 
"S. S. Green." 



Which property is held by the Board of 
Public Works pursuant to said transfer and 
chapter sixty-four, acts of the legislature of 
1905." 

THE WORK OF REMOVAL FROM THE STATE 
HOUSE TO THE CAPITOL ANNEX BUILDING 

This report covers fifteen months that is 
from June first, 1905, to September 30, 1906. 
Having been honored by your excellency with 
the appointment of state historian and Archiv- 
ist in May, 1905, I repaired to Charleston on 
Thursday the first day of June ensuing, my 
term of office beginning on that day. On 
Saturday following, I appeared before the 
Board of Public Works then in session in the 
speaker's room in the House of Delegates, the 
administration of the department being vested 
in that body. By it I was directed to remove 
the collection of the West Virginia Historical 
and Antiquarian Society from the state house 
to the third floor of the capitol annex, and in 
addition thereto all miscellaneous books, pa- 
pers, etc., which had accumulated in the law 
library and in other parts of the building. I 
was further directed to employ one man to 
assist me in preparing the collection for re- 
moval and to call to my aid in this, the 
janitor's force of the State House and An- 
nex. This was done and on June 20th — the 
state's natal day — the removal began, the 
books removed the day being eleven volumes 
of "American Archives" ; forty-five volumes 
of American State Papers; one hundred and 
four volumes of the "Rebellion Record" and 
several volumes of the "Congressional Globe." 

Thenceforth the work of removal went for- 
ward. All book-cases, shelving, show-cases, 
desks, tables, chairs, etc., not in use in the 
State House, were transferred. All these with 
the entire collection were brought down the 
elevator shaft in the State House; transferred 
out of the Capitol grounds and across Lee 
street where, chiefly with the use of a horse 
and block and tackle, it was raised to the third 
story window and placed on the floor there to 
be assorted, classified, and put in order. The 
removal was practically completed on the 9th 
of August. Not a single piece of new furni- 
ture was purchased ; the old taken from the 
State House, was washed, some of it painted, 



340 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



all varnished, and put in place as now ar- 
ranged. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY 
AS IT WAS SEPTEMBER 30, I906 

The room occupied by the department is 
105x82 feet and therefore has, including the 
tower space, 8,610 square feet of flooring. 

Furniture. — On the walls are a thousand 
feet of book-shelving. On the floor are 25 
book-cases, 49 show cases, 48 tables, and 54 
other pieces of furniture not otherwise classi- 
fied. Of the book-cases, thirteen were made 
for the State Library under the direction of 
the Supreme Court of Appeals in the early 
years of the state, and three were used in the 
West Virginia building at the Centennial Ex- 
position at Philadelphia in 1876; of the show- 
cases, eight stood in the West Virginia build- 
ing at Philadelphia; and seven in the Agri- 
cultural and Mineral Exhibit Building at the 
Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1903; 
and of the tables, one was in the Forestry 
building at Chicago, and 16 were used in the 
Horticultural Exhibit at the Louisiana Pur- 
chase Exposition at St. Louis in 1804. The 
total pieces of furniture, including 27 chairs, 
is 176. Of all this but two pieces — one desk 
and one show-case — have been purchased for 
the Department, and the total cost of these was 
$20. 

THE LIBRARY SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT 

BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, MAPS, ETC. 

The books, pamphlets, maps, charts, draw- 
ings, etc., taken collectively, make the historical 
and miscellaneous library of the state. Of 
the books there are 15,438 volumes bound in 
cloth or leather; 1,870 with paper covers; of 
pamphlets there are 5,854, thus making a total 
of books and pamphlets of 23,162. These 
cover a wide range in different subjects of lit- 
erature and the collection, considering its num- 
bers, is rich in history and geography and lit- 
erature. Of the whole about 1,000 treat of 
the subjects pertaining to the literature and 
bibliography of Virginia and West Virginia. 
All have been classified and arranged for cat- 
aloguing and the preparation of finding lists, 
of maps, charts, drawings, etc., illustrative of 
history, geography, and geology, the number 



can, as yet, only be estimated say about two 
thousand. Reading tables have been arranged 
at which all persons making research and in- 
vestigation have free use of books, maps, 
pamphlets, etc. It may be said that when 
catalogues and finding lists have been com- 
pleted, the people of the state will be much 
pleased with the collection. 

THE MUSEUM SECTION OF THE DEPARTMENT 

RELICS, CURIOS, COINS, GEOLOGICAL 

SPECIMENS, ETC. 

Relics. — Here the archaeological collection 
is extensive and very interesting. The "stone 
age" or "flint age" refers to that period of 
prehistoric time — that age of the world — 
when men were without metals and they used 
the hardest substances around them from 
which to construct their implements and uten- 
sils. Among these stones were granite, chalce- 
dony, jasper, jade, obsidian and flint. From 
these by art all their own. they made celts, 
axes, mauls, hammers, pestles, wedges, adzes, 
chisels, gouges drills, perforators, scrapers, 
blades, spear and lance heads, arrow points, 
pipes, discoidals, bi-caves, game-stones, orna- 
ments, and the ceremonial forms used in their 
religious rites. 

Students of archaeology have divided the 
continent into a number of archaeological 
areas, each distinguished by distinctive forms 
of implements and utensils, that the whole field 
may be more systematically studied and the 
results more accurately compared and classi- 
fied. West Virginia lies in part in three of 
these divisions — that is in the Potomac Area, 
the South Appalachian Area and the Ohio 
Valley Area. The state in Archaeology, like 
its history, is an unworked field, little having 
been done, as yet, save to destroy with vandal 
hands the mounds scattered here and there 
over its whole extent — the monuments of a 
vanished race. 

It is stated that in North America there are 
now 4,500 archaeological collections in which 
there are estimated to be more than 2.000.000 
objects. Of these collections, that in this de- 
partment is one of the very best, and now it 
attracts much attention from scholars and 
from all who see it. It is arranged and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



341 



classified in 18 show cases and consists of 52 
grooved axes; 16 grooved hammers or pound- 
ers; 31 pestles of various sizes and forms; 
28 net-sinkers and plumb-bobs; 138 discoidal 
or disk-stones, 18 of which are bi-cave in 
form, five being perforated; seven stone balls, 
that is having the spherical form; 4 egg- 
stones; 15 hematite half ovals; 387 celts of 
various sizes and materials; 13 adzes; 56 
chisels and gouges; 189 drills; 135 per- 
forators; 1,514 arrow-points, triangular in 
form, used in war ; 3,264 arrow-points with 
shoulders, notches and barbs; 162 arrow- 
points with shoulders, notches, barbs and in- 
dented bases ; 93 arrow-points with serrated 
edges; 9 arrow-points (bird) diminutive in 
size; 35 spear-heads with concave or triangular 
bases; 105 spear-heads with square bases; 
1,133 spear and lance heads without shoulders, 
notches or barbs, but with base in the form of 
a stem or shank; 56 knife-blades; 326 scrap- 
ers; 115 oval blades — that is leaving oval 
ends; 108 gorgets, ornaments, and cere- 
monials; 10 implements for which no use has 
been assigned ; 89 broken blades not classified ; 
52 pipes and fragments thereof; 387 unfin- 
ished implements and 2,064 cores, flakes, 
spalls, and fragments from the quarries — a 
total of 10,510 objects, or specimens, in the 
collection. 

These implements, utensils, weapons, pipes, 
and ornaments have no place in history, for 
neither in blood, manners, speech, nor law, 
have the people who first used them left a 
mark in the land in which they lived. But they 
possess a peculiar interest to the student for 
whom they shed additional light upon the con- 
ditions of life among by-gone people. They 
indicate to him the upward steps toward civil- 
ization. 



Curios, Coins, Geological Specimens, etc. — 
This division attracts much attention and is 
of great interest. Of curios alone there are 
about 500, all of which are suggestive, at- 
tractive objects. They are placed chiefly in 
show-cases — 26 in number — and a list of them 
would fill many pages. There are early land 
warrants; commissions of pioneer soldiers 
and civil officers on the frontier ; old portraits ; 
stationery of the civil war and other times; 
bonds, shells, old books, natural curiosities ; 
implements of pioneer times and articles of 
household goods illustrative of life a hundred 
years ago. The collection is suggestive of 
war and peace, of both the olden and more 
recent times. There are guns, pistols, swords, 
fragments of shells, and bullets from many 
battle fields ; pikes brought by John Brown to 
Harper's Ferry, and specimens of Chinese, 
Mexican, and Indian handiwork ; rare medals, 
etc. 

Of the curious kinds of money, coins repre- 
senting the circulating medium of many na- 
tions ; nearly four hundred specimens of pa- 
per money, largely illustrative of old State 
Bank issues before the Civil War, and of the 
fractional currency made North and South 
during that struggle. In addition there is an 
entire case filled with bills of the Confederate 
States, representing many issues, and aggre- 
gating several thousand of dollars. 

Of the geological specimens there are about 
one thousand. Many are fossils and petrefac- 
tions; while others represent almost every 
known variety of mineral substances. 

The appropriation for expenses is $15,000 
annually. In addition to Mr. Virgil Lewis, 
there are seven employees — four male, three 
female. 



CHAPTER XXI 



CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD 



Chronological Record of Events Along the Border — Dates of Battles, Sieges, and Settlements 
— Wealth of Charleston and Kanawha — Concluding Remarks. 



By John P. Hale. 
Believing that dates, systematically ar- 
ranged, very much aid the general reader in 
understanding the relation of facts to each 
other and help the memory to retain them, 
there is herewith given a table of dates, 
chronologically arranged, of the more impor- 
tant and interesting events that have occurred 
along the New-river; Kanawha and tribu- 
taries, relating to their early settlement and 
after history. To get early historical dates 
with accuracy is no easy task, and those who 
have tried it know. This trouble arises from 
the fact — heretofore stated — that those who 
made the history did not themselves record it 
at the time. This was generally done years 
after, either by themselves, or by their friends 
from their dictation, after the dates — never 
much regarded by them — had become some- 
what dim and uncertain. Those who have en- 
joyed the pleasure of listening to the interest- 
ing traditions of old, as related by the linger- 
ing members of the rear guard of a genera- 
tion now past and gone, those whose expe- 
riences dated back to the primitive days of 
border life, cannot fail to remember how often 
they used this almost stereotyped phrase, "in 
an early day," in recounting the incidents of 
"the long, long ago." away back in the dim 
distant past. "The good old times." which 
they remembered with so much interest and 
pleasure, forgetting, or but dimly remember- 
ing, the dangers and hardships which accom- 
panied their daring but successful, and there- 
fore pleasureable. adventures. Their goings 



and comings and their doings were not guided 
by fixed rules nor programmes, nor cramped 
and fettered by cold records. They had a con- 
tempt for calendars and a negligent disregard 
of dates. Facts they remembered, and could 
relate with minutest detail ; but they neither 
knew nor cared whether the events related oc- 
curred five or ten, or twenty years earlier or 
later: all they knew or cared to remember 
was, that they occurred "in an early day" — 
in the dim. indefinite and distance-enchanted 
past. We have taken great pains, however, to 
examine and compare dates, as given by all 
the authorities, records, traditions and other 
sources available, and believe that the accuracy 
of those given below may be relied on with 
reasonable certainty. 

1654. Col. Abraham Wood was the first 
to cross the Blue ridge, and the first to discover 
New river, and to name it "Wood's river." 

1666. Capt. Henry Battle was the next to 
cross the Blue ridge. It is possible that he 
was in the Kanawha valley, as he says he fol- 
lowed a westerly flowing river for several 
days to near where a tribe of Indians made 
salt. 

1727. Cornstalk was born in this valley. 
Col. J. L. Peyton, in his valuable history of 
Augusta county, says he was born 1747, with- 
in the present limits of Greenbrier county, but 
the date is probably too late by twenty 7 years, 
as his son. Elinipsico. was old enough to be 
a commanding officer under him at the battle 
of Point Pleasant, in 1774. 

T 73°- John Sailing, captured on James 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



343 



river, crossed New river on his way to the 
Cherokee towns. He was probably the first 
white man to cross it. 

1734. Orange county was formed, and 
embraced this and all Virginia territory, west 
of the Blue Ridge. 

1738. Augusta county, covering all west- 
ern Virginia territory, was formed, but was 
not organized until 1745. 

1744. Rapin DeThoyer's may issued, giv- 
ing wild guesses at the geography of the great 
west. 

1748. Dr. Thomas Walker and party 
crossed New river westward, and were the 
first, from this direction, to penetrate into 
Kentucky. 

Draper's Meadows' settlement, the first west 
of the Alleghenies. was made by the Ingles 
and Draper families. 

1749. The Loyal Land company, organ- 
ized by Walker, Paton and others, based on a 
grant of 800,000 acres of land, lying north of 
the North Carolina line and west of the 
mountains. 

"In April, first Indian depredation west of 
the Alleghenies, upon Adam Harmon, one of 
the Draper's Meadows settlers. 

"A lunatic from about Winchester wan- 
dered across the mountains westward. He was 
much surprised to find the waters flowing 
westward, and reported the fact on his re- 
turn." 

1749. Capt. DeCeleron, a French engineer, 
planted an inscribed leaden plate at the mouth 
of Kanawha, claiming all the country drained 
by the river for the French crown. 

1750. William Ingles and Mary Draper 
were married, at Draper's Meadows, the first 
white wedding west of the Alleghenies. 

"Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell, influ- 
enced by the account of the lunatic, settled on 
the waters of Greenbrier, in what is now 
Pocahontas county, W. Va. They occupied 
the same camp for a time in peace and har- 
mony ; but, one being a Catholic and the other 
a Protestant, they quarreled on religious sub- 
jects and separated ; the seceder taking up his 
abode in a hollow tree, within speaking dis- 
tance of his late associate. Every morning, 
when they got up, they exchanged salutations 



across the way and that was the last com- 
munication of the day. They were thus found 
by Col. John Lewis, who came to survey lands 
on the Greenbrier in 175 1. Soon after this, 
Martin returned to the settlements; Sewell 
came, alone, down to New river, about Sewell 
mountain and creek, which bear his name, and 
was there killed by the Indians. 

"Dr. Thomas Walker made his second trip 
with a second party, crossing New river and 
going up Peak creek, Cripple creek, Reed 
creek, over to Holston, to Clinch, to Cumber- 
land gap, etc. Returning, he came along the 
Flat Top mountain, by the present site of 
Pocahontas, down to New river, down New 
river to Greenbrier, up Greenbrier and An- 
tony's creek, over the mountains, and by the 
Hot and Warm springs, home." 

1 75 1. Thomas Ingles born to William and 
Mary at Draper's Meadows; the first white 
child born west of the Alleghenies. 

Col. John Lewis and son, Andrew, survey- 
ing lands on Greenbrier river, which they so 
named from the green briers which greatly an- 
noyed them in their surveying ; and the county 
was named from the river. 

1752. Peter Fontaine, a surveyor, by or- 
der of the governor of Virginia, made a map, 
giving what was then known of the western 
part of the state. The map shows how little 
was known. 

1753. Col. James Patton and William 
Ingles taking up lands, under the "Loyal 
Land Company," on Peak creek and in 
Burke's Garden. 

1754. Ingles' Ferry located and settle- 
ments about it begun. 

"James Burke settles in Burke's Garden 
and is murdered by Indians. 

"Two families settle on Back creek, opposite 
Draper's Meadows. 

"James Reed settles and names the first 
'Dublin,' of this neighborhood. 

"A McCorkle family and colony of Dunk- 
ards settle at Dunkard Bottom, near Ingles 
ferry. 

"Two families settle on Cripple creek, a 
few miles above. 

"One family settles at or near the head of 
Reed creek. 



344 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



"All these being on the west side of New 
river." 

1755. Draper's Meadows settlement at- 
tacked, and all present massacred or captured. 

1755. Mary Ingles and Bettie Draper, the 
first white persons ever in Kanawha valley. 

"Mrs. Ingles and Mrs. Draper help make 
the first salt ever made by white persons in 
Kanawha, or elsewhere west of tbe Al- 
leghenies." 

1756. Settlements again made west of 
New river. 

"Vass' fort built under direction of Capt. 
Hogg, and advice of Col. George Washington. 

"A stockade fort built at Draper's Mead- 
ows, under direction of Capt. Stalnaker. 

"Vass" fort captured by a party of French 
and Indians, and the inmates murdered -or 
taken prisoners." 

1756. The New river lead mines were dis- 
covered by Col. Chiswell. and operations be- 
gun. 

1760. An Indian raiding party surprised 
by William Ingles, and others, near Ingles' 
ferry ; six or seven Indians killed, and a few 
escaped. One white man killed. This was the 
last Indian raid or trouble that occurred in 
that region. 

"Selim, the Algerine, of remarkable history, 
passed up the Kanawha valley in search of the 
white settlements to the east. Selim was a 
wealthy and educated young Algerine ; he 
was captured in the Mediterranean by Spanish 
pirates ; was sold to a Louisianna planter, 
escaped, made his way up the Mississippi, and 
up the Ohio. Somewhere below the Kanawha 
he met with some white prisoners ; and a 
woman among them told him, as best she could 
in sign language, to go toward the rising sun, 
and he would find white settlements. As it 
was just about this time that an Indian raid 
had been made through this valley over to the 
Jackson's river settlements, and captured the 
Renix family and Mrs. Hannah Dennis, I 
think it is possible, and even probable, that 
they were the prisoners he met, and who told 
him of the eastern settlements. At any rate, 
he turned up Kanawha then Greenbrier, etc., 
and was finally discovered, nearly naked, and 
on the point of starvation, not far from Warm 



Springs, and kindly taken care of. Through 
a Greek testament in possession of some min- 
ister who saw him, it was discovered that he 
was a good Greek scholar; and thus com- 
munication was opened up between him and 
the minister who understood Greek. Selim 
studied English, became a Christian, returned 
to his home in Algiers, was repudiated by his 
parents because he had given up the Moslem 
for the Christian religion. He returned to 
America, heart-broken, and finally died in an 
insane hospital." 

1762. Archibald Clendenin, and others 
settled on Muddy creek and the Big levels, 
now Greenbrier county. 

"Ingles' ferry established by law — the first 
on New or Kanawha rivers." 

1763. Mrs. Hannah Dennis, having es- 
caped from Indian captivity, made her way up 
through this valley, and, after great suffering, 
reached the Muddy creek settlement. 

"Soon after this, a large Indian raiding 
party, under Cornstalk, passed up the valley 
to Greenbrier, and exterminated the Muddy 
creek and Big levels settlements." 

1764. Capt. Paul, pursuing a returning 
raiding party of Indians with prisoners, sur- 
prised them in camp at the mouth of Indian 
creek, on New river, killed several and recov- 
ered the prisoners. 

1764. Matthew Arbuckle. a hunter and 
trapper from the Greenbrier region, passed 
down the Kanawha valley with peltries, to a 
trading post at the mouth, and returned, being 
the first white man to do so. 

1766. Butler and Carr hunted and trapped 
about the heads of Bluestone and Clinch. 

"Col. James Smith, Joshua Horton, Uriah 
Stone and William Baker passed by New river 
and Holston settlements, and explored the 
country between the Cumberland and Tennes- 
see rivers." 

1767. Butler. Carr. and others, settled 
families about the heads of Clinch and Blue- 
stone. 

1768-69. George Washington, R. H. Lee, 
F. L. Lee and Arthur Lee petition King 
George for two and a half million acres of 
Western lands, for "The Mississippi Com- 
pany." 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



345 



1769. John Stewart, Robert McClennahan, 
Thomas Rennix and William Hamilton set- 
tled in the Greenbrier country, about where 
Frankfort now is. 

1770. George Washington (says Collins' 
history of Kentucky), surveyed for John Fry 
2,084 acres of land at the forks of Big Sandy, 
the present site of Louisa. Washington was 
also at the mouth of Kanawha the same year, 
looking after his own lands and his agent, Col. 
Crawford, is said to have been with him. 

"Camp Union, or Fort Savannah, now 
Lewisburg, was built." 

1 77 1. Kenton, Yeager and Strader, the 
first white men to camp in Kanawha valley, 
settled about the mouth of Two-mile creek of 
Elk river. 

"Absalom Looney, from Looney's creek, on 
James river, settled in Abb's valley, on the 
Bluestone." 

1771-72. Col. Andrew Donnally built 
"Donnally's Fort" ; Col. John Stewart, "Fort 
Spring" ; and Capt. Jarrett, the "Wolf creek" 
or "Jarrett's Fort," all in the Greenbrier 
country. 

1772. The medicinal virtues of the Green- 
brier white sulphur waters first tested by the 
whites. It had long been a famous elk and 
deer lick, among the Inians. 

"A German, named Stroud, settled in the 
glades of Gauley river, where his family were 
murdered by the Indians." 

1773. Tradition (from Ballinger, the 
recluse,) of the -highest water ever known in 
New river or Kanawha. 

"Walter Kelly, a refugee from South Caro- 
lina, settled at the mouth of a creek nineteen 
miles above Charleston, now Kelly's creek. 

"Col. Thomas Bullitt,' Thomas Alsbury, 
Joshua Morris, John Campbell, and, perhaps, 
others were in this valley, looking up lands. 

"Kenton, Yeager and Strader were attacked 
at their two-mile camp by Indians, Yeager 
being killed, and the other two wounded. 

"The McAfee brothers, McCown, Adams, 
and others, from the New river settlements, 
joined by Col. Bullitt, Hancock Taylor and 
others on Kanawha, go to Kentucky to locate 
and survey lands. Bullitt surveyed Big Bone 
Lick, July 5th; McAfee brothers and Han- 



cock Taylor, the site of Frankfort, July 15th; 
and Bullitt, the site of Louisville, August 5th. 

"John and Peter Van Bibber, Rev. John 
Alderson, and Matthew Arbuckle, came down 
through the Kanawha valley from the Wolf 
creek fort. 

"The Kanawha burning spring was first 
discovered by these parties, on this trip." 

1774. William Morris settled at the mouth 
of Kelly's creek, on Kanawha, Leonard Mor- 
ris at the mouth of Slaughter's creek, John 
Flinn on Cabin creek, and Thomas Alsbury, 
and perhaps others, at points lower down. The 
family of John Lybrook, on Sinking creek, 
now Giles county, was attacked by Indians; 
five of the children were murdered, and Ly- 
brook narrowly escaped by secreting himself 
in a cave. 

"In the same neighborhood, Jacob and John 
Snidow, and a smaller brother, were captured 
and taken to the Indians country. Jacob and 
John made their escape and returned, not long 
after; but the boy remained among them until 
he was completely Indianized; and, although 
he afterward came home on a visit, he re- 
turned to the Indians, and spent his life with 
them. 

"A Miss Margaret McKinsie was, also, 
captured; she remained a prisoner eighteen 
years, when she was recovered and returned 
to New river; she married a Mr. Benjamin 
Hall, and lived to a very old age." 

1774. Capt. Stewart, of Greenbrier, was 
notified of the impending danger of an In- 
dian outbreak and he dispatched runners (tra- 
dition says Hammond and Pryor) to notify 
the few settlers on Kanawha. 

"Walter Kelly was killed at the mouth of 
Kelly's creek (Kanawha), Col. Field nar- 
rowly escaping. 

"Gen. Lewis' army, about eleven hundred 
strong, left camp Union (now Lewisburg), 
for Point Pleasant, September nth, piloted by 
Capt. Matthew Arbuckle." 

1774. Daniel Boone was left in command 
of three frontier garrisons (probably camp 
Union, Donnally's fort, and Wolf creek or 
Jarrett's fort). 

1774. Gen. Lewis' army arrived at Point 
Pleasant, September 30th. 



346 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



"October 9th, three messengers arrive in 
camp, with dispatches from Lord Dunmore, 
changing the plans of the campaign. No one 
authority mentions the names of all the mes- 
sengers, but McCullough, Kenton and Girty, 
one by one, are mentioned by several authors, 
and I have seen no other names mentioned by 
any. 

"There is a tradition that, for some insolence 
on the part of Girty, on this occasion, Gen. 
Lewis caned him over the head and drove him 
out of his tent. 

"October 10th, the ever memorable battle 
of Point Pleasant was fought. 

"October 12th, Gen. Lewis crossed his army 
over the Ohio and started to join Lord Dun- 
more before the Indian towns. 

"Capt. Mathew Arbuckle was left in care 
and command of the wounded and the garrison 
at the Point." 

1775. Gens. Washington and Lewis "took 
up" 250 acres of land at and embracing the 
famous Kanawha burning spring. 

"Rev. John Alderson cut out the first wagon 
road across the mountains as far west as the 
Greenbrier. 

"Thomas Ingles settled on Wolf creek of 
New river." 

1776. Robert Hughes, the first settler at 
the mouth of Hughes creek, Kanawha, was 
captured by Indians, and remained two years 
a prisoner. 

1777. Cornstalk, Elinipsico, Red Hawk, 
and another Indian murdered at Point 
Pleasant. 

1777. Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier 
Volunteers, under Col. Skillern. march to 
Point Pleasant, to join forces under Gen. 
Hand, from Fort Pitt, but Hand's forces did 
not arrive. 

"Lieut. Moore, and three men, killed by a 
small party of Indians, near the fort, at Point 
Pleasant — Fort Randolph." 

1778. Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant) 
was besieged by a large force of Indians. 
Having failed to take the fort, they started 
up Kanawha toward the interior settlements. 
Capt. McKee, then in command, called for 
volunteer "runners," to go to the Greenbrier 
settlements and warn the settlers of the ap- 



proach of the Indians. Hammond and Pryor 
at once volunteered and, being rigged out in 
Indian disguise, by the "Grenadier squaw," 
then at the fort, acting as interpreter, they 
reached the settlement safely, and their timely 
notice, no doubt, saved a terrible massacre. 

"Donnally's Fort was attacked, in May, by 
the Indian party above mentioned; but, hav- 
ing been forewarned by Hammond and 
Pryor, and reinforced by volunteers from 
Camp Union, under Stewart and Lewis, they 
successfully resisted the attack; the Indians 
retired with considerable loss. 

"Thomas Ingles settled in Abb's valley." 

1780. Thomas Ingles resettled Burke's 
Garden. 

"An Indian raid into Greenbrier resulted in 
the killing of John Pryor, one of the brave 
messengers, and Hugh Mclver. and the cap- 
ture of their wives; also, Henry Baker and 
two Bridger brothers, and an old man. named 
Monday, and his wife, were killed, and the 
wives and children of Thomas Drennon and 
Mr. Smith made prisoners. 

"A little later, William Griffith, his wife 
and daughter, were murdered, and a son, a 
lad, taken prisoner. This was the last Indian 
raid made, or murder committed, in the 
Greenbrier country. 

"The trail of this last raiding party, only 
two in number, was discovered and followed 
by John Young, Benjamin Morris, William 
Arbuckle and Robert Aaron, as they passed 
down Kanawha, crossed Elk and went up Lit- 
tle Sandy: their camp was discovered on a 
fork of Sandy : they were fired on, one was 
killed and one escaped: the lad. young Grif- 
fith, was recovered. The one killed proved to 
be a white man. disguised as an Indian. The 
fork on which he was killed was. from this 
circumstance, called White Man's fork of 
Aaron's fork (from Bob Aaron) of Little 
Sandy. 

"A Mr. Carr and two children murdered 
near the mouth of Bluestone. and a woman 
at Culversom's Bottom." 

1782. Thomas Ingles' family captured, 
and part murdered, in Burke's Garden. 

"Lewisburg- established as a town, with 
Samuel Lewis. James Reid. Samuel Brown, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



347 



Andrew Donnally, John Stewart, Arthur 
Matthews, William Ward and Thomas Edgar, 
trustees. 

"Thomas Teays, captured below the mouth 
of Coal river, taken to Ohio and condemned 
to be burned, with Col. Crawford. He was 
recognized and saved by an Indian, with whom 
he had hospitably divided his salt, when sur- 
veying in Teays' valley, the year before. 

1784. James Moore, Jr., captured in Abb's 
valley. 

1785. Captain John Dickinson located five 
hundred and two acres of land at and about 
Campbell's creek, including the "Big Buffalo 
Lick," or Salt Spring. 

1786. The first wagon road, called 
"Koontz's new road," was opened from Lewis- 
burg to Kanawha river. Its route was by 
Muddy creek, Keeney's Knobbs, Rich creek, 
Gauley, Twenty-Mile, Bell creek and Camp- 
bell's creek, with side trails down Kelly's creek 
and Hughes' creek to the "Boat Yards." 

"James Moore, Sen., of Abb's Valley, and 
two of his children killed, and the balance of 
the family made prisoners." 

1787. The state of Virginia ordered the 
construction of a wagon road from Kanawha 
Falls to Lexington, Ky. 

1788. George Clendenin built the first 
house and fort (Fort Lee) where Charleston 
now stands. 

1788. Lewis Tackett was captured by In- 
dians and, on the way down the Kanawha 
river, was tied to a pine tree at Knob Shoals, 
while the captors went off hunting; a rain 
storm coming on, loosened his buckskin 
thongs, and allowed him to make a remark- 
able escape. The "Tackett Pine" stood until 
within the last few years, a. prominent land- 
mark. 

"Tackett, after this, built a fort at the 
mouth of Coal river lower side." 

Later, this fort was captured, and several 
persons murdered. There are two versions of 
the story of the capture of fort Tackett. Il 
adopt that given by Mr. Atkinson, in his his- 
tory of Kanawha, derived from Mr. George 
Harmon, it is the less sensational, but probably 
the most reliable. John and Lewis Tackett, 
and their mother, were captured near the fort. 



while gathering turnips. Chris. Tackett and 
John McElhany were the only men in the fort 
when captured. Chris. Tackett was killed in 
the action, McElhany and wife, Betsy Tackett, 
Sam Tackett and a small boy were taken pris- 
oners ; McElhany was tomahawked near the 
fort. John Tackett succeeded in making his 
escape, but Lewis Tackett and his mother 
were taken to the Indian town on the Scioto, 
where they remained, as prisoners, two years, 
when they were ransomed and returned. In 
the Young family, of this valley, is preserved 
an interesting tradition in relation to the cap- 
ture of Tackett's fort. When the attack com- 
menced, John Young with a young wife and 
a one-day-old babe, was in the fort, but upon 
the final surrender, and under the friendly 
cover of the approaching shades of night, 
Young picked up his wife and babe and the 
pallet on which they lay, made his way, un- 
observed, to a canoe at the bank, laid them 
in, and through a drenching rain, poled his 
canoe, with its precious freight, up the river, 
during the night to Clendenin's fort, and they 
were saved. Neither father, mother nor babe 
suffered any harm from the effort, fright or 
exposure. That babe, Jacob Young, died but 
recently, aged about ninety years, leaving a 
large family of worthy descendants in this 
valley. 

"Ben Eulin was out in the hills below Point 
Pleasant, hunting; he was pursued by Indians, 
and, to escape them, jumped over a cliff, just 
below and in sight of the point, which proved 
to be fifty-three feet high. He fell in a clump 
of pawpaw bushes and grape vines which 
broke his fall and saved breaking his neck ; he 
then jumped over another cliff twelve feet 
high, and finally escaped, but little worse for 
the wear and tear 

"About this time, the family of Capt. Van 
Bibber was attacked, near the Point ; his 
daughter, Miss Rhoda, was killed and scalped, 
and Joseph, a younger brother, taken prisoner 
to Detroit; he escaped and returned home, in 
1794, soon after Wayne's Victory. Capt. Van 
Bibber, aided by his faithful negro servant, 
Dave, killed two or three Indians during the 
attack above mentioned." 

1 788- 1 789. Daniel Boone and Paddy Hud- 



348 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dlestone caught the first beavers in Kanawha 
valley, at Long shoal. The steel trap is still 
preserved. 

1789. Mad Ann Bailey made her famous 
solitary- ride, through the wilderness, to camp 
Union, for ammunition for the Clendenin fort. 
(Fort Lee.) 

1789. Kanawha, or "Kenhawa,"' county 
was formed. 

"William W'yatt, who lived at the mouth of 
Paint creek, dreamed that he was bitten by a 
snake, and interpreted it to mean that he would 
be shot by an Indian. To quiet his fears, his 
young wife went with him to the field, where 
he was working, and kept watch oxer him; 
but sure enough he was shot and killed by an 
Indian. 

"A party left the Clendenin settlement by 
boat, bound for the new settlements of Mays- 
ville and Lexington, Ky. They consisted of 
John May, after whom Maysville was named: 
Jacob Skyles, a large land operator, and the 
father-in-law of James Rumsey. the original 
inventor of the steamboat; Charles Johnson, 
from Botetourt county, the agent and clerk of 
Skyles; and John Flynn, Jr., once an Indian 
captive, and son of the murdered John Flynn, 
of Cabin creek. At Point Pleasant, they 
picked up the Misses Fleming, two sisters, 
recently from Pittsburgh. The expedition had 
a most thrilling and tragical ending. Descend- 
ing the Ohio river they were attacked by In- 
dians; John May and one of the Misses 
Fleming were killed. Skyles badly wounded, 
and Johnson, Skyles, Flynn and remaining 
Miss Fleming taken prisoners. Skyles and 
Johnson, after enduring great privations and 
tortures, succeeded in making their escape, by 
separate routes, and returned to the settle- 
ments ; John Flynn was burned at the stake ; 
and Miss Fleming was rescued, after being 
sentenced to be burned, tied to the stake and 
wood piled up around her. Charles Johnson, 
after his escape, published in book form a his- 
tory of the personal experiences of each of the 
members of this unfortunate expedition; and 
it is one of the most thrilling narratives of 
early border dangers, sufferings and hair- 
breadth escapes that has ever been published. 

"Matthias (Tice) Van Bibber and his little 



brother, Jacob, were fired on by Indians, near 
Point Pleasant. Tice was struck in the fore- 
head and slightly wounded, but succeeded in 
escaping. Jacob, the lad, was caught and made 
prisoner; he made his escape and got home, 
some two years later. 

"William Carrol and family, of Carroll's 
branch, Kanawha, narrowly escaped being 
murdered ; they escaped, but the Indians 
burned their house. 

1790. Leonard Cooper and William Porter 
made the first settlements on Elk river, about 
Cooper's creek and Porter's island. 

"Squire Staten was killed on his way home 
from court in Charleston, at the mouth of a 
branch which still bears the name of 'Staten's 
Run.' 

"James Hale was killed in the branch op- 
posite the Clendenin fort, which still bears the 
name of 'Hale's Branch." 

"Fleming Cobb poled a canoe, with ammuni- 
tion for the Clendenin fort (Fort Lee), sixty 
miles, up stream, from Point Pleasant, in 
fourteen hours. 

"The Indians killed some cows on a creek 
in the upper end of Kanawha county, and 
hung the bells on swinging limbs, so they 
would ring as the wind blew. When the cit- 
izens went out to bring their cows home they 
were shot down. The creek was named, from 
this circumstance. 'Bell creek.' 

1791. Jerry and Ben Carpenter, and some 
others, from Bath county, settled on the Up- 
per Elk. and. soon after. O'Brien. They had 
not been there long when Ben Carpenter and 
wife were killed, and their house burned; the 
others, being warned by the burning of Ben 
Carpenter's house, fled, secreted themselves 
and escaped. 

"Thomas Lewis established the first ferries, 
at Point Pleasant, across both rivers. Decem- 
ber 9th. 

"In May, a partv of eighteen whites were 
attacked by about thirty Indians, about half 
a mile up the Ohio from the Point Pleasant 
fort, in 1782. He became a chief among the 
killed ; Hampton and Thomas Northup. and 
a black boy belonging to See, were made pris- 
oners. The boy was the son of Dick Pointer, 
who fought so bravely to defend Donnally's 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



349 



fort, in 1872. He became a chief among the 
Indians, and fought with the friendly Indians 
on the side of the Americans, against the Eng- 
lish, in the war of 181 2. 

"Mr. Atkinson, in his 'History of Kanawha,' 
gives an interesting account of the sad fate of 
a Mr. Strange. He came over on to the up- 
per waters of Elk with a surveying party. He 
was not an experienced woodsman, and, be- 
coming separated from the party, soon got 
lost. His companions fired guns to indicate 
where they were, but it is supposed he thought 
the Indians were after him, and he fled for 
life. He was never seen alive again; but 
some years after, his skeleton, portions of his 
shot-pouch, and the remains of his rusted rifle 
were found, forty miles distant from where 
he was lost, at the foot of a beech tree at the 
mouth of a creek emptying into Elk which 
from that time has been called 'Strange creek.' 
Before he finally succumbed to hunger and ex- 
haustion he cut, with his penknife, in the bark 
of the tree, the following lines : 

"Strange is my name, and I'm on strange ground, 
■ And strange it is that I can't be found." 

"Two daughters of Henry Morris, who 
lived on Peters' creek of Gauley were mur- 
dered by Indians. Morris made the Indians 
suffer dearly for it afterward. 

"George Clendenin and Daniel Boone were 
elected to the legislature of Virginia. 

"By a ruse with cowbells, Indians captured 
the Misses Tyler, near the fort at Point 
Pleasant. 

"John Wheeler, with wife and four chil- 
dren, lived opposite the mouth of Cabin creek. 
They were attacked by Indians, all killed but 
one boy, Nat, and their house and the bodies 
burned. 

"Christiansburg, Montgomery county, Va., 
was established (October 10th) and the fol- 
lowing named gentlemen appointed trustees : 
Christian Snydow, Byrd Smith, James Bar- 
nett, Hugh Crockett, Samuel Eason, Joseph 
Cloyd, John Preston, James Charlton and 
James Craig." 

1793. Collins says the first line of packet 
boats established on the Ohio were keel and 
flat-bottomed, making one round trip between 



Cincinnati and Pittsburg per month, passing 
the mouth of Kanawha river. Passengers 
were allowed to work their passage if short 
of cash. There was one boat fortnightly, soon 
increased to one weekly ; they each carried 
six one-pound guns. The cabins were bullet- 
proof and had port holes to fire from. There 
was a separate cabin for ladies. 

1794. Shedrach Harriman, then living at 
the mouth of Lower Vanable branch, two 
miles above Charleston, on the south side, was 
the last person killed by Indians in the Ka- 
nawha valley. 

"Gen. Wayne's crushing defeat of the In- 
dians, at "Fallen Timbers," August 20th, gave 
after peace and security to this region. 

"December 19th, the legislature of Virginia 
established the town of 'Charlestown.' 

"The legislature enacted 'the forty acres of 
land, the property of Thomas Lewis, at the 
mouth of Kenhawa, and in the said county of 
Kenhawa, as they are already laid off into lots 
and streets, shall be established a town by the 
name of Point Pleasant, and Leonard Cooper, 
John Van Bibber, Isaac Tyler, William 
Owens, William Allyn, Allyn Pryor, John 
Reynolds, George Clendenin and William 
Morris, gentlemen, appointed trustees thereof. 
December 19, 1794." 

1796. Volney, the distinguished French 
author and infidel, was in the valley. 

1797. The late Gen. Lewis Ruffner was 
born October 1st, in the Clendenin block house, 
probably the first white child born within the 
present limits of Charleston. 

"Elisha Brooks erected a small kettle fur- 
nace and commenced the manufacture of salt, 
above Campbell's creek. 

1798. Peter Bowyer, father of the late 
Col. John Bowyer, of Putnam county, made 
the first settlement in the New river gorge, 
and established a ferry at Sewell. 

"Daniel Boone made his last survey in Ka- 
nawha (September 8th) and probably the last 
he ever made. 

1799. He left Kanawha for the Spanish 
Missouri territory. 

1808. David and Tobias Ruffner bored the 
first salt well and erected a larger furnace for 
the manufacture of salt. 



350 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



1809. William Whitteker bored the first 
salt well and built the first salt furnace on the 
south side of Kanawha. 

1810-12. Audubon, the naturalist, was 
here. 

"Hon. Thomas Ewing, the elder, boiled salt 
and studied law and Latin here." 

181 5. Capt. James Wilson, boring for salt 
water, struck the first natural gas well of 
America. 

"Last buffalo killed in the Kanawha valley. 

1817. David and Tobias Ruffner first dis- 
covered and used coal here. 
^1819. The steamboat Robert Thompson, 
the first ever in the river, came as far as Red- 
House, but could not get farther up. 

1820. The failure of the Thompson to get 
up induced the State of Virginia to direct the 
James River and Kanawha Company to im- 
prove the navigation of Kanawha river so as 
to give three feet of water from the mouth to 
Kanawha falls, all the year, and to construct 
a turnpike road across the mountains to the 
Kanawha falls. 

"Last elk killed in the Kanawha valley. 

1820. The Andrew Donnally was the first 
steamboat to reach Charleston. 

1823. The Eliza was the next steamer to 
ascend the river as high as Charleston. 

1838. Ingles' bridge built; the first bridge 
across New river or Kanawha. 

1840. Billy Morris invented the "slips."' 
or "jars," a simple tool which made deep well 
boring possible. It is now used wherever deep 
well boring is done, and its great utility and 
value entitle him to be ranked, among in- 
ventors, as a great public benefactor. 

1841. William Thompson "struck" natural 
gas near the burning spring, and used it for 
boiling salt. He was the first person in Amer- 
ica to utilize natural gas for manufacturing. 

1843. Dickinson & Shrewsberry got na- 
tural gas on the Burning spring tract orig- 
inally taken up by Generals Washington and 
Lewis. Messrs. D. & S. also used the gas in 
the manufacture of salt, as did several others 
in the neighborhood soon after. 

1845. McAdam turnpike constructed from 
Buchanan, on James river, to the Tennessee 
line, crossing New river. 



1846. Sutton Matthews discovered, on 
Railing Rock creek of Elk, the first cannel 
coal known in the Kanawha palley; perhaps 
the first in America. 

1855. The Virginia & Tennessee, now 
Norfolk & Western railroad, was opened — 
the first railroad to cross the New river. 

1855-6. The first commercial shipments of 
coal from Kanawha commenced. 

"The first coal oil works (Cannelton) 
erected in this valley. 

1861. The battle of Scary, one of the first 
during the late Civil War, was fought, July 

"1 he highest water in Kanawha since the 
settlement of the valley — September. 

"The southern forces, under Gen. Henry A. 
Wise, retired from the valley, and it was oc- 
cupied by the federals, under Gen. J. D. Cox, 
July 24th. 

"Battle of Cross Lanes and Carnifex's 
ferry, on the Gauley. Gen. Lytle wounded, but 
not killed, as generally stated — September. 

1862. The confederates, under Gen. Lor- 
ing, re-entered the Kanawha valley; the fed- 
erals, under Gen. Lightburn, retiring — Septem- 
ber. 

"Gen. Loring retired from the valley and 
Gen. Cox again came in — October. 

1863. Virginia divided, and West Virginia 
established as a separate state — June 20th. 

1864. Battle of Cloyd's mountain, Pulaski 
county. May 9th ; Gen. A. G. Jenkins, killed ; 
Col. T. L. Broun and Col. Tom Smith 
wounded. 

1873. Chesapeake & Ohio railroad opened. 
"L nited States government commenced im- 
proving Kanawha river. 

"The Quinnemont company established the 
first iron furnace and the first coke works on 
New river. 

1874. Centennial celebration of the battle 
of Point Pleasant, at the Point. 

1878. William Wyant established the first 
coke works on Kanawha river. 

1883. The New river branch of the Nor- 
folk & Western railroad opened to Pocahontas. 

1883-4. The late Col. P. W. Norris, who, 
it is claimed, was the original suggestor of the 
Yellowstone National park, and through whose 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



351 



efforts, largely, the government was induced 
to reserve and set apart that wonderland as 
a national pleasure park and who was, for 
several years, the government superintendent 
of the park, made several visits to this ( Kana- 
wha ) valley, under the auspices of the Smith- 
sonian institution, to examine and explore the 
numerous and extensive earthworks, stone 
cairns and other interesting remains of the pre- 
historic mound-builder race, which, at some 
early period, seems to have been very populous 
in this valley. Col. Norris opened and ex- 
plored many of the mounds, cairns, graves, 
fortifications, etc., and collected and forwarded 
from here to the Smithsonian institution sev- 
eral thousand relics of this ancient, interesting 
and mysterious people. 

The Bettie Black-band Iron Furnace, the 
first in the immediate Kanawha valley, and the 
Davis' creek railroad, were constructed. 

1884. The most disastrous mine explosion 
at Pocahontas (in March) that has ever oc- 
curred in America, causing the loss of over one 
hundred lives. 

The Ohio Central, now Kanawha & Michi- 
gan, opened to Charleston. 

1885. The railroad bridge across the Ohio 
river, at Point Pleasant, completed. 

"The state capital of West Virginia per- 
manently established at Charleston, and the 
new capitol building occupied. 

1887. Ohio River R. R. built, and bridge 
over Kanawha river at Point Pleasant. 

1890. Steel bridge erected across Kanawha 
at Charleston. 

"Peace, health, plenty, and a fair degree of 
prosperity prevail in the New-river-Kanawha 
valley, and throughout the borders of West 
Virginia generally." 



WEALTH OF CHARLESTON AND KANAWHA, AS 
SEEN BY DR. J. P. HALE 

Within a circle described by a radius of one 
hundred and fifty miles around Charleston as 
a center is an emparrassment of riches which 
in variety, extent and value is not equalled by 
any other locality of equal area on the conti- 
nent. 

We have the Great Kanawha coal fields, the 
immense water power of the Kanawha and 
New River, the vast forest of timber, the great 
iron deposit of the Alleghenies, the prolific 
manganese mines of the valley of Virginia, the 
rich tin and zinc lodes of south-west Virginia, 
the historic lead mines of upper New River, 
the gold and copper belt of south-west Vir- 
ginia, the salt brines of Virginia, West Vir- 
ginia and Ohio, the vast plaster beds of south- 
west Virginia, the Petroleum fields of West 
Virginia and Ohio ; the natural gas fields of 
West Virginia and Ohio, the great abundance 
of tile clays, pottery and fire clays and stones, 
the rich alluvial bottom lands of the Ohio and 
Kanawha rivers, the fine blue grass grazing 
lands, and the rich agricultural lands of West 
Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio." 

The Doctor does not stop even with all this, 
he says we have water and railroad connec- 
tion, the greatest medicinal springs and health 
and pleasure resorts, scenery that is not 
equalled, where one's health, happiness and 
personal comfort, are among the best, our death 
rate the very lowest and our longevity among 
the highest. 

What more does the ordinary mortal desire 
in this world?* Does he not know, if he does 
call for more, he will never get it? If not, 
such desires are evidence of his being fit for 
the lunatic asylum; and even these are all 
ready and convenient! 



EEV. JOHN C. BARE, 



Representative Citizens 



REV. JOHN C. BARR, DD., for more than 
fifty years a minister in the Southern Presby- 
terian church, and for many years a highly es- 
teemed resident of Charleston, W. Va., was 
born November n, 1824, in Washington 
county, Pa., son of John and Mary (Cannon) 
Barr. His parents were members of the church 
of Dr. McMillen, the well known pioneer of 
education and Presbyterianism in western 
Pennsylvania. When Centre church was built 
in later years they became members of that 
church, John Barr being made a ruling elder. 
They were intelligent, godly people, kept the 
Sabbath according to the scriptures, and trained 
up their children in the standards of the church. 
Of their five children two became Presbyterian 
ministers, one of them an intelligent ruling 
elder, and two daughters devoted members of 
the church. 

John Calvin Barr was reared on his father's 
farm and followed agriculture until reaching 
his twenty-fourth year, attending the local 
schools as opportunity was afforded him. He 
then entered Jefferson College at Canonsburg, 
where he was graduated B.A. in the class of 
1855. In September of that year he began his 
preparation for the ministry in the Western 
Theological Seminary at Allegheny, where he 
continued his studies until 1858, although he 
had been licensed to preach in January of the 
previous year. 

In the spring of 1857 he went to Pocahontas 
county, Virginia (now West Virginia), and 
commenced his labors there as a home mission- 
ary. In his Sabbath school work and in build- 



ing up the churches of Liberty and Baxter, he 
had much encouragement. In April, 1858, he 
was ordained to the full work of the ministry, 
and now added to his field the beautiful Pisgah 
valley in Highland county, Va., making fre- 
quent journeys over Cheat Mountain to preach 
at Huttonsville and Beverly. In all these 
mountain regions his labors were so much ap- 
preciated that he would gladly have spent his 
days preaching to the pure minded people there. 

In the spring of 1859 Rev. John C. Barr was 
married to Miss Maria Smith, the daughter of 
Joseph Smith, D.D. This change of relations 
required a more settled life than that which he 
had been leading over a wide evangelistic field. 
At the same time a pressing call came to him 
from the church at Lewisburg, Va. (now West 
Virginia), to become the assistant pastor with 
Dr. McElheney. After due deliberation, he 
accepted the call and entered upon his labors in 
May, 1859. He found Dr. McElheney a very 
delightful and profitable colleague. The two 
men labored together like father and son with- 
out a discordant note for nearly ten years. The 
junior pastor took the responsibility of preach- 
ing in the town church and the senior pastor 
preached at two points in the country. During 
this period of collegiate labor, there were two 
precious revivals of religion, one just before the 
war in which about thirty were added to the 
church and another just after the war in which 
ninety were added to the church. 

Dr. Barr's labors were much blessed while 
he was at Lewisburg by assisting his brethren 
in holding evangelistic meetings at their respec- 



356 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tive churches. In 1866 and 1867 ne was 
troubled so much with his throat that he was 
compelled to resign his pastorate in 1868, and 
take charge of the school which had recently 
been established at Charleston, W. Va., namely, 
the Charleston Institute, of which he had the 
control for several years, became a feeder of 
the church. He afterwards taught in a house 
that stood on part of the grounds now occupied 
by the Charleston Hardware Company, and 
later in the old lecture room. 

Dr. Barr was a ripe scholar and a most suc- 
cessful teacher, in which capacity he did a work 
for great good at a time prior to the develop- 
ment of our excellent public school system. 
Those who are not conversant with the facts 
can hardly apprciate the benefit derived by the 
church from Dr. Barr's connection with the old 
Charleston Institute. It is to be hoped that 
Christians will never forget that the school 
should be the handmaiden of the church, and 
that there must be something wrong about the 
school that does not, at least indirectly, achieve 
this relation. 

After a few months' rest from preaching, his 
throat recovered, and he felt ready to supply 
the pulpit as well as manage the school. The 
church was divided between the two sections 
North and South, and as a compromise meas- 
ure it was agreed that they would not recog- 
nize presbyterial control on either side. The 
church became vacant, and Dr. Barr took 
charge first of the Sabbath school, which was 
large and flourishing, and during the year took 
charge of the pulpit. After a few months a 
gracious revival of religion followed, in which 
thirty of the older scholars of the school united 
with the church. The gospel was faithfully 
preached, with no allusion to any differences 
existing between the people. In three years a 
majority of the congregation longed to return 
to their old presbyterial relations. They made 
a friendly separation from those who desired 
to go to the northern branch of the church. Dr. 
Barr was regularly installed pastor of the First 
Presbyterian church, Dr. Stewart Robinson 
and Rev. John Brown conducting the installa- 
tion service. From that time the church with 
its surrounding missions has grown until it 



is taking its place with the largest and most 
powerful churches in the synod of Virginia. 

Dr. Barr tried to exemplify in his life the 
scriptural lessons of Faith, Hope and Charity, 
and to advance his Master's kingdom in so far 
as it lay in his power. His efforts were largely 
blessed and on his way through life he made 
many warm friends who are bound to him in 
ties of love. Despite his advanced years he 
still possessed to the end a fairly good share of 
his old time vigor and never felt so contented 
as when in the harness doing his Master's 
work. He had a comfortable residence at No. 
809 Ouarrier street, Charleston. 

On Friday night September 8, 191 1, he 
quietly breathed his last and entered upon the 
life eternal. He had lived a long life of faith 
and untiring fidelity, winning the esteem and 
love of a host of friends, and the confidence and 
honor of the whole city. The Southern Presby- 
terian Church of Charleston, W. Va., has set a 
fine example to the whole southern church in 
the splendid way in which they have taken care 
of the aged pastor and his wife since 1908, 
when he became disabled. He is survived by 
his wife and one son, a niece and two nephews. 

HON. JAMES O. JACKSON, who con- 
ducts a mercantile business at Clendenin, W. 
Va., and is additionally interested in numerous 
successful enterprises of this section, was born 
January 18. 1873, at Osborn's Mills, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., and is a son of Almarine B. 
and Rosanna (Atkinson) Jackson. 

Almarine B. Jackson was born in Virginia, 
seventy-four years ago, and during his active 
period followed fanning and was in the lumber 
business, but now lives retired. His father was 
Thomas H. Jackson. To Mr. and Mrs. Jack- 
son the following children were born: O. J. A., 
of Clendenin. W. Va.. J. T., of Clendenin; 
Flora D., widow of W. H. Orton: Rose F.. 
wife of John T. Campbell, of Clendenin; Sarah 
Pearl, wife of William Kelly, of Roane Coun- 
ty; J. O. ; Laura, wife of J. Hendershot, of 
Clendenin ; and Myrtle, wife of W. Kinder, of 
Roane County. 

After his school days were over, James O. 
Jackson engaged in farming and at the same 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



357 



time taught school one term and afterward em- 
barked in a mercantile business in Roane and 
Clay Counties. In 1899 he came to Clendenin. 
He is manager, secretary and treasurer of the 
King Hardware Company ; is a director of the 
Clendenin Oil & Gas Company, and is second 
vice president of the Koontz Oil and Gas Com- 
pany. While his business interests are numer- 
ous, Mr. Jackson handles them with ease, hav- 
ing much practical knowledge and a fine sense of 
business. 

Mr. Jackson was married to Miss Florence 
G. Taylor, who was born May 11, 1876, a 
daughter of B. J., and Lucy J. (Woodey) Tay- 
lor. The father of Mrs. Jackson, who is de- 
ceased, was formerly a member of the state leg- 
islature from Roane County. The mother re- 
sides with Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. The latter 
have one daughter, Lucy Atkinson, who was 
born November 18, I899. The family belongs 
to the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in 
which Mr. Jackson is secretary and recorder. 
In politics he is a Democrat and in 1909 he 
served as mayor of Clendenin. 

CHARLES K. PAYNE, president of the 
Payne Shoe Company, Charleston, West Vir- 
ginia, was born in Giles County, Virginia, No- 
vember 27, 1859, a son of Charles Henry and 
Kezia (Kinzer) Payne. He was reared on a 
farm in his native county until he was thir- 
teen years of age, at which time he accepted 
a position as clerk with his brother-in-law, Capt. 
T. A. Roberts, in a general store at Blacks- 
burg, Virginia. Later he attended the Vir- 
ginia Agricultural and Mechanical College at 
Blacksburg. After several years at this col- 
lege, he again on his own responsibility began 
his industrial life as one of the firm of Black 
& Payne at Blacksburg, Virginia. This part- 
nership was continued for seven years and was 
a happy and profitable combination. 

Mr. Payne sold his interest to his partner, 
Mr. Alex. Black, in 1889, and coming to 
Charleston, associated himself with Arnold, 
Abney & Company, and established the whole- 
sale business of Payne Shoe Company which 
commands a large wholesale trade throughout 
this region, extending into Ohio and Kentucky. 
The large six-story building now occupied by 



the company was built and completed in 19 10. 
This firm employs from ten to fifteen salesmen, 
and has had a successful and prosperous busi- 
ness from the beginning. 

Mr. Payne was not only the organizer of 
this large business, but has been president of 
the company since its organization. He has 
also been a director of the Charleston National 
Bank for eighteen years, and is a director in 
the firm of Noyes, Thomas & Company, one of 
the largest wholesale dry goods houses in this 
section. He has taken an active part in the de- 
velopment of the city of Charleston, having 
erected quite a number of substantial business 
blocks, besides his handsome residence proper- 
ty on Kanawha Street. Mr. Payne is a Mason 
of many years standing, and has occupied a 
prominent position in that fraternity. He has 
been trustee of the Masonic Temple for the 
past fifteen years. Mr. Payne is also Past Po- 
tentate of Beni-Kedem Temple, Past Eminent 
Commander of Kanawha Commandery and 
Past Master of Kanawha Lodge. He has been 
an extensive traveller, having visited most of 
the principal countries on the globe, and last 
winter returned from an extensive trip to South 
America, visiting all the principal republics 
and capitals of that country. 

Mr. Payne was married in 1883, at Blacks- 
burg, Virginia, to Miss Emma Edmondson, 
formerly of Memphis, Tenn. She as well as 
Mr. Payne are both members of the First Pres- 
byterian church, of Charleston, and are both 
active workers, Mr. Payne being Chairman of 
the Board of Deacons. Mr. and Mrs. Payne 
are the parents of two living children — Henry 
E. and Marguerite. Henry E. is associated 
with his father as vice president of the Payne 
Shoe Company. His daughter Marguerite has 
just finished her school life, having graduated 
at Madam Lefebvre's school (Edgeworth), at 
Baltimore. Henry E. Payne married Miss 
Lucy Couch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George 
S. Couch, of this city. 

WILBER S. NORTON, who is a represen- 
tative of a family that settled at Maiden, W. 
Va., before that town was laid out, has spent 
almost his entire life in Maiden District and is 
well known as a business man and citizen. He 



358 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was born at Maiden, January 15, 1865, and is 
a son of Moses and Emily M. (Reed) Norton 
and a grandson of Moses and Mary (White- 
cotton) Norton. 

Grandfather Norton came to Mason County, 
Va., from Ohio, and from there came to Mai- 
den, Kanawha County, when his son Moses, 
was a child, the birth of the latter taking place 
January 25, 1816, in Mason County. He spent 
his life in Maiden District and was interested 
in the coal and salt industries. He was 
married first in 1849, to Frances Putney, who 
died in 1862. They had three children; Mary 
Ellis, James Henry, and Mary Frances. He 
was married secondly on August 29, 1863, to 
Emily M. Reed, who died May 13, 1868, sur- 
vived by their one child, Wilbur Springs Nor- 
ton. Moses Norton survived his second wife 
for many years, his death occurring January 
13, 1896. 

Wilbur S. Norton was educated in the public 
schools and a business college in Cincinnati. 
He has been identified with the Campbells Creek 
Coal Company since 1880, being employed first 
as a clerk in the company's store and later be- 
coming bookkeeper, having charge of this part 
of the business since 1904. 

Mr. Norton casts his vote with the Demo- 
cratic party but takes no very active interest in 
politics, being no seeker for office. He belongs 
to several fraternal organizations including the 
Knights of Pythias and the Red Men, both at 
Maiden. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
church, in which he is a deacon. 

HUGH G. NICHOLSON, M. D., proprie- 
tor and managing head of the Barber Sanito- 
rium and Hospital at Charleston. W. Va., is a 
native of Warren county, N. C. He acquired a 
high school education there and subsequently 
took his M. D. degree from the University Col- 
lege of Medicine at Richmond, Va., graduating 
in the class of 1897. He afterwards took a 
post-graduate course at the New York Polycli- 
nic and since then has been an annual visitor 
and attendant at Mayo's Clinic at Rochester. 
Minn. In 1898 he took the management of the 
Sheltering Arms Hospital at Hansford, this 
county, an institution established in 1886 and 



conducted by the Diocese of West Virginia, of 
the Episcopal church, and which is now one of 
the most complete hospitals in the state, com- 
paring favorably with the best to be found in 
the country. He had much to do with estab- 
lishing its enviable reputation, greatly promot- 
ing its efficiency, by improving its equipment 
and service, and increasing the number of pa- 
tients three-fold. It is now in charge of Dr. J. 
Ross Hunter, a worthy successor of our subiect. 

On leaving this institution in 1901, Dr. 
Nicholson engaged in medical practice in the 
city of Charleston and continued thus engaged 
for some eight years, building up a very suc- 
cessful practice. The Barber Sanitorium and 
Hospital, of which he became proprietor in 
December, 1909, was established in 1904 by 
Dr. T. L. Barber and conducted by him until 
his death in 1910. It is designed for the treat- 
ment of all kinds of drugless cases, including 
those requiring treatment by the various kinds 
of baths, electricity, Pasteur treatment and sur- 
gery. For these purposes it is admirably 
equipped with all necessary apparatus, in the 
management of which the Doctor and his as- 
sistants are thorough experts, possessing not 
merely the technical and manipulative skill, but 
that higher knowledge necessary to successfully 
direct it. Under Dr. Nicholson's management 
it is enhancing its reputation and increasing its 
sphere of usefulness to a large extent. Dr. 
Nicholson is a member of the county, state and 
national medical Associations. He is also a 
prominent Mason, belonging to all the various 
branches of that order up to and including 
Beni-Kedem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He 
belongs also to the Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks. 

Dr. Nicholson was married in Charleston to 
Miss Roberta Coleman, who was born in this 
city and acquired her education in Chicago, 111. 
Her parents, Robert A. and Nancy (Venable 
Noyes) Coleman, were natives and lifelong res- 
idents of Kanawha county, Mr. Coleman being 
engaged in business in Charleston for many 
years. Both died here. Dr. Nicholson and his 
wife are members of the First Presbyterian 
church. Thev have two children. Hugh G. and 
Mildred. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



359 



WILLIAM and GEORGE KEELY are 
among the well known and honored citizens of 
Kanawha county, both reside in Loudon dis- 
trict on their home farms opposite Charleston; 
both were born in Haverhill, Mass., — George 
in 1839 and William in 1842, and were sons of 
Rev. Josiah Keely, A. M. and Eliza (Bradley) 
Keely. 

Rev. Josiah Keely was born in Northamp- 
ton, England; landed in America in 181 8 and 
located in Haverhill, Mass., where, later, he en- 
gaged in mercantile trade, and was one of the 
forty shoe manufacturers of the town in 1837. 
It was then the custom for the young man who 
put up his first business sign, to "wet his sign;" 
Keely, Chase & Co., were the first business firm 
in the town who did not "wet his sign," — being 
active in the great temperance movement that 
had been started in the country. In 1840 Rev. 
Keely entered the ministry. In 1843 ne settled 
in Wenham, Mass. ; in 1852 he settled in Saco, 
Me., pastor of the Main Street Baptist church, 
and for a number of years was also supervisor 
of the public schools of the town and township ; 
in 1.863 ne was appointed chaplain of the Thir- 
teenth Maine Infantry, then doing duty in the 
Department of the Gulf, and he joined the regi- 
ment at New Orleans, saw active service during 
the whole Red River campaign, was com- 
mended by Major-General N. P. Banks for his 
care and devotion to the soldiers, was placed in 
charge of the Hospital Steamer "Natchez" with 
the sick and wounded for New Orleans, and 
shortly after, was stricken with malarial fever 
and died (June, 1864), aged 58 years. 

Mrs. Eliza (Bradley) Keely, his wife, was 
the daughter of Enoch and Abigail (Hildreth) 
Bradley. Enoch was a drum-major in the war 
of 18 12, and after the war returned to his farm 
in Haverhill, Mass. ; later, as his nine children 
became of age, he built cottage homes for each 
on different sections of his large estate, — to 
provide against possible need. Enoch's wife 
was a near relative of the Hildreths who settled 
Marietta, Ohio; their descendants are among 
the most estimable of the present residents of 
Marietta. 

William Keely entered early in life upon 
duties of a public nature: at 16 years, was li- 



brarian of the Saco Athenaeum (Public Li- 
brary) ; at 17, teaching a rural school; at 17, 
was graduated from the Saco (Me.) High 
School, and entered Colby (Waterville) Col- 
lege. Later, the Civil War was claiming the 
young patriots of the Country, and he enlisted 
as a private in the 13th Maine Vol. Infantry, of 
which Gen. Neal Dow was the Colonel; and 
while in camp, at Augusta (Me.) was Adju- 
tant's Clerk at Headquarters. His regiment 
was ordered to Ship Island, Miss., where he 
performed his share of guard duty and of load- 
ing and unloading, and coaling U. S. Trans- 
ports, preparatory to the capture of New Or- 
leans. This regiment was sent to cut off the 
retreat of the Confederates, and two companies 
were ordered to garrison Fort Macomb, La. 
Later, Mr. Keely is commissioned a Lieuten- 
ant, and Acting Post Quartermaster and Com- 
missary at this fort. Later, civil government 
being restored in Louisiana, he and other offi- 
cers are ordered to await assignment of duty 
in the regular army. Not desiring to enter the 
regulars, he resigned and was honorably dis- 
charged in October, 1864. Soon after arriving 
home he was appointed principal of the Peaks 
Island School, — a part of Portland, Me. Clos- 
ing his school work, he accepted position as 
bookkeeper, and, later, as superintendent of the 
Cannelton (W. Va.) Branch of the Union Coal 
and Oil Co., of Maysville, Ky. This company 
mined cannel and bituminous coal, made oil 
from the cannel coal, shipped the crude oil in 
barrels and an oil boat to Maysville to be re- 
fined, and, also, shipped cannel coal to Cincin- 
nati and New York for gas purposes. The pay 
rolls and expenses of the company were about 
$30,000 per month. When, in 1865, Mr. 
Keely was appointed postmaster at Cannelton, 
he and his two sureties had to go horseback 
fourteen miles on to Cabin Creek to the nearest 
magistrate, Matthew P. Wyatt, Esq., to 
qualify. 

Upon the discovery of Rock Oil, the cost of 
making oil from cannel coal became prohibi- 
tive ; and, in 1868, Mr. Keely was instructed to 
close up the business of the Canneltown Branch. 
In 1869 he moved to Fayette County, on to 
the William Buster farm, where the town of 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Mount Carbon now is ; later, he rents the Hogue 
farm below Charleston, and in the winter 
months we find him working fire and life insur- 
ance in Kanawha, Boone and Logan Counties, 
representing the Coldwell & Moore Agency. 
At the same time, he is looking about for some 
place on which to permanently locate. In the* 
meanwhile, he is business manager of the Bap- 
tist Record at Charleston, and, later, is local 
editor of the Kanawha Daily, — the FIRST 
Daily paper printed in Charleston, and also re- 
porting the proceedings of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1873; later, this Daily, with its 
good-will, was merged into the Daily Courier, 
of which Hon. H. S. Walker was proprietor. 

Mr. Keely now accepts a position as Secre- 
tary, Bookkeeper and General Manager of the 
Anchor Stove Works Co., of which Colonel T. 
B. Swan was the President, — succeeding Secre- 
tary Randolph, of the firm of Boggs & Ran- 
dolph. This stove company was composed of 
local capitalists, and made a brave fight to com- 
pete with the larger and stronger stove com- 
panies on the Ohio River, but having assumed 
the debts of a former company, it was "quit 
or lose more money." 

For a year or more Mr. Keely was accoun- 
tant for Mr. Charles Ward and The Charleston 
Gas Co., of which Mr. Ward was the efficient 
superintendent, but stringency in money mat- 
ters compelled curtailment in office force. 

From 1874 to 1876, business was very dull in 
Charleston, and, for the first time since coming 
to the Kanawha Valley, Mr. Keely retired for 
a livelihood to his mountain home on the 
wooded hills of the south side of the Kanawha 
River, — this site having been purchased in 
1870. He supplemented his poultry and dairy 
operations by devoting his spare time to copy- 
ing "Briefs," and by occasional bookkeeping. 

In August, 1876, through the kindness of 
friends, and unbeknown to Mr. Keely. he was 
recommended to Dr. J. P. Hale, President of 
the Snow Hill Salt Co., who was planning to 
start the old Snow Hill Salt Furnace, the larg- 
est in the Kanawha Valley ; Dr. Hale wrote for 
an interview. Mr. Keely had never met Dr. 
Hale. but. following the first interview, he ac- 
cepted the position of storekeeper, bookkeeper 
and general manager. He was able to handle 



the work in the store for a while with the young 
men who were assisting, but other duties de- 
manded more of his time, and he secured the 
services of Mr. B. F. Mays of Charleston, who 
proved faithful and trustworthy in every re- 
spect. Mr. Keely made a thorough study of 
the process of salt making, and demonstrated 
that the business could be made a success. The 
furnaces were running every hour of the six 
week days and Sunday, and he ascertained, bv 
experiments, that he could make as much Salt 
without running on Sunday, and so give the 
men who were "Kettle-tenders" a needed rest: 
and the furnace was run for three vears on this 
plan: — until 1882, when all the furnaces of the 
Kanawha and Ohio rivers were closed out and 
shut out by the cheaper grades of salt from 
Michigan and New York States, which mo- 
nopolized the markets. — the Dickinson Fur- 
nace, only, running on the Kanawha, by hold- 
ing the Kentucky trade over the Chesapeake & 
Ohio RR. ; and one or two furnaces on the 
Ohio having their own market. 

During his stay at Snow Hill. Mr. Keely was 
road commissioner, Sunday school superinten- 
dent and school trustee ; he also opened a read- 
ing room for the men, which was well patron- 
ized and much appreciated : he had, also, Mrs. 
Keely as his valued assistant in keeping up the 
bookkeeping and office work. 

In 1882. Mr. Keely. having closed up the 
business of the Snow Hill Salt Co., moved to 
his mountain home : and. again, accepted posi- 
tion with Mr. Charles Ward, whose business 
as inventor and manufacturer of the Ward 
Water-tube Marine Boiler was becoming firmlv 
established : and Mr. Keely, as accountant and. 
later, as secretary of The Charles Ward Engi- 
neering Works has continued with this firm for 
a period of thirty years. During this time, he 
has. also, through the courtesy of this firm, 
been able to accept the position of president of 
the Board of Education of Loudon Magisterial 
District, for four years, and. later, for seven 
years, he has been the secretary of the same 
Corporation. 

He has been active in religious work since his 
conversion at fifteen years : was superintendent 
of the Union Sunday School when at Cannel- 
ton. and after taking his letter to the Charles- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



361 



ton Baptist Church in 1870, he was clerk and, 
later superintendent for ten years, of the Sun- 
day School of this Church, also a Deacon of 
the Church since 1876; also, clerk of the Kana- 
wha Valley Baptist Association for thirty-two 
years, and West Virginia Transportation 
Leader for the Conventions of the International 
Baptist Young Peoples' Union of America 
since 1895. 

He is awake to all matters of public interest, 
— especially of good schools, of good roads 
and of good farming. For a number of years 
he has been County Correspondent of and Re- 
porter for the U. S. Department of Agriculture 
at Washington, under a commission from the 
secretary of agriculture. At all the general 
elections he is either a clerk or an election com- 
missioner, and has been a notary public for 
twelve years. He is a Prohibitionist in princi- 
ple and practice, and a Republican in politics : 
— an upright, active, useful and appreciated 
citizen. 

In 1865, he married Miss Lucy Stacy of 
Saco, Me., whose ancestry, as well as that of 
Mr. Keely, is traced back to the seventeenth 
century. Their six children, all now in active 
callings, are Elizabeth and Madeline, teachers 
in the City Schools ; Josiah, for ten years prin- 
cipal of the State Preparatory Schools at Mont- 
gomery, now superintendent of the Ownings 
Mine of the Consolidated Coal Co., near 
Shinnston ; John, a former bookbinder, now a 
settled pastor in Massachusetts ; Urania and 
Abby, teacher and accountants. 

George Keely, when quite a youth, was sent 
for a prolonged visit to an uncle in Haverhill, 
who had a private school at his residence ; and 
George combined farming with a course of 
study. Returning to Saco, he continued his 
school work, — his summer vacations being 
given to farming and harvesting for the parish- 
ioners of the Rev. Keely; later, he was a stu- 
dent at Colby Institute (Waterville, Me.). He 
was graduated from the Saco High School and 
entered Colby (Waterville) College in 1859. 

During his high school course he gave part 
time to medical study, while employed as 
apothecary clerk; he taught school the winter 
of 1859 at Charleston, Me., about 20 miles 
from Augusta, the capital of the State. The 



neighborhood was primitive, and the 26 
scholars had 24 different kinds of readers, — 
requiring 24 recitations each day ; his salary- 
was meagre, and he "boarded round." Fail- 
ing health in college compelled Mr. Keely to 
seek more active employment ; and going to the 
Aroostook country in the Northern part of 
Maine, he engaged as clerk in a village store. 
Later, the Civil War being already in progress 
and many of his student friends having enlisted, 
he returned to Saco in the fall of 1861, and en- 
listed as a private with his brother William in 
Co. K, 13th Maine Volunteer Infantry. In 
1863, the hospital steward of the regiment was 
made a surgeon, and Mr. Keely was recom- 
mended for the position, and was hospital stew- 
ard during the remainder of his term of service 
in the Red River campaign and after the regi- 
ment was transferred to the Shenandoah Val- 
ley of Virginia. He was honorably discharged 
January 6, 1865, — having served more than his 
three years' term. 

Mr. Keely again took up his studies, — enter- 
ing the New Hampton (Vt.) Theological Insti- 
tute, and, later, completing at Hamilton Semi- 
nary; he preached during the time to the small 
adjacent village churches in New York State. 
Completing his studies he returned to the 
Aroostook country, and engaged in colporteur 
and pastoral work at Linneus, Linden and 
Smyrna, Me., and remained in the county 
preaching and farming until March, 1876. 

In 1868 he married Louisa J. Adams, an 
efficient and prominent school teacher and 
teacher of music in Aroostook County. Her 
sister, Miss Marada Adams of Portland, Me., 
has been principal for years of the Emerson 
Grammar Schools of that city, and is a woman 
of remarkable tact and ability as superinten- 
dent and instructor. 

The experience of Mr. Keely and wife among 
the people as they went from place to place re- 
vealed a primitive condition of things in some 
of the homes, — both in want of culture and the 
the proper conception of pastoral support ; so 
that the pastor was often found without money 
or material to keep the wolf from the door in 
the long severe winters in the Aroostook. 
Wonderful dreams began to trouble the wife, 
and she had a vision of mysterious meaning, in 



362 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



which she saw the words of'Scripture recorded 
in the Revelation, "Come out from among 
them, and be ye separate," — which decided 
their action in leaving the Baptist faith, and 
they sought for new light. 

An uncle learning of their extreme financial 
straits and of their environments, and who had 
taken a deep interest in the two "boys" (George 
and William) since the death of the father in 
the army, proffered help; George also wrote 
his brother William about his decision religi- 
ously; later, the brother taking up the matter 
and the situation with the uncle, it was decided 
that Mr. Keely and his family should move to 
West Virginia. They arrived in March, 1876, 
remaining on the farm of his brother William 
during the management of the Snow Hill Salt 
Furnace, when he occupied his adjoining prop- 
erty of 34 acres, which had been purchased, — 
on which the family of eight living children 
have since resided. In their religious searching 
for new light they were led to choose the faith 
of the Society of Friends. The children were 
all matriculated at the Friend's School at W est- 
town, Pa., except Frank, deceased, who was 
graduated from the Charleston High School, 
and was fitting himself for forestry. George, 
the eldest, married, and is with a Leather Belt 
manufacturer at Wilmington, Del. ; Louisa and 
Jennie are at home; Mary, married, and has a 
nice home at Patten, Me.; Faith, a teacher; 
Mercy and Truth are efficient graduate trained 
nurses ; Thomas, married, and is a truck- 
gardener; the wife and mother still teaches at 
the home, and many of the neighbors' children 
and grandchildren are pleased to say that they 
went to school to "Aunt Louisa." 

As the years have gone by, either the father 
or the mother have alternated in attending the 
Yearly Meeting of Friends at Philadelphia. 
The influence from this good family is widely 
felt and appreciated. 

ALFRED L. MORRIS, M. D., a member of 
the Kanawha County Medical Society and a 
leading physician and surgeon at Clendenin. 
W. Va., was born March 30, 1869, at Blue 
Creek, Elk District, Kanawha County, and is a 
son of James H. and Mary C. (Johnson) 
Morris. 



James H. Morris was born in Bedford 
County, Va., and died in March, 191 1, aged 
seventy-six years. He was nine years old 
when he accompanied his parents to Kanawha 
County, and later in life often told his children 
of the journey by wagon and of the primitive 
log cabin his father built which had, at first, 
no door, and of the danger to which they were 
subjected at night from the unwelcome visits 
from the forest wolves. He grew to manhood 
there and followed an agricultural life. He 
married Mary C. Johnson, who survives, a 
daughter of Hiram and Mary (Shelton) 
Johnson, natives of Virginia. Of their chil- 
dren, Dr. Morris is the second oldest, the oth- 
ers being: Virginia, who resides at No. 15 19 
Virginia Street, Charleston, is the widow of J. 
C. Rippetoe; a babe that died in infancy; Bet- 
tie, who is the wife of John Smith, residing in 
Fayette County; Effie, who is the wife of C. J. 
Pearson, of St. Albans ; and James Elbert, who 
carries on the home farm. Stephen Morris, the 
grandfather, was a native of Bedford County, 
Va. He was a farmer and stock dealer and 
lived into old age, his death occurring in 1901, 
when he had reached his eighty-ninth year. 

Alfred L. Morris attended the local schools 
and for four years afterward was associated 
with his brother-in-law in the lumber business 
and in the meantime prepared to enter the Ken- 
tucky School of Medicine, where he subse- 
quently spent four years, graduating in 1902. 
He practiced medicine for nine years at An- 
stead, in Fayette County. W. Va., coming from 
there to Clendenin in 1910, where he is now in 
the enjoyment of a substantial practice and is 
one of the valued citizens of the village. 

Dr. Morris was married to Miss Rouena C. 
Koontz. who was born in 1872 and died in 
1910, a daughter of John Koontz. She was a 
devoted member of the Episcopal church. Dr. 
Morris is a member of Clendenin Lodge, No. 
126, A. F. & A. M., and of Sewell Chapter at 
Sewell, W. Va., and belongs also to the Odd 
Fellows, at Anstead. 

FREDERICK G. KLOSTERMEYER, who 
is engaged in the drug business at Charleston, 
W. Va., where he is a representative citizen, 
was born May 28, 1875, at Marietta, O.. and is 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



363 



a son of Henry J. and Anna (Fluscher) Klos- 
termeyer. 

The parents of Mr. -Klostermeyer were born 
and reared at Bremen, Germany, where they 
subsequently married. After the birth of two 
of their children, they decided to emigrate to 
America and in 1865 set out on a sailing vessel 
which subsequently safely landed them at 
Castle Garden, New York. Their objective 
point was Marietta, Ohio, and there Henry J. 
Klostermeyer followed his trade, that of car- 
penter, and also his profession as architect. 
There are yet many substantial and stately 
buildings standing at Marietta which are testi- 
monials of his skill and ability. His death oc- 
curred in 1907 when he was eighty years of 
age. He cast his vote with the Democratic 
party. His widow died March 2, 191 1, being 
in her seventy-seventh year, and had continued 
to make her home at Marietta. She was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was 
her husband. They had eight children, namely : 
Mary, who is the wife of Prof. George Lennon, 
a well known musician in Philadelphia, Boston, 
and London, England; Anna, who is the wife 
of A. E. Price, an attorney at law at Athens, 
Ohio; Louise, who is the wife of E. C. Hun- 
singer, who is in the wholesale cigar business at 
Chicago; Augusta, who is the wife of W. D. 
Bedillion, who is manager of a glass plant at 
Marietta, Ohio; Henry D., who resides in Ohio, 
and married Isabella Sylvester; Frederick G., 
the direct subject of this sketch; Wilhelmina, 
who is the wife of Howard Paul Taylor, of 
Indianapolis, Ind. ; and one son who was acci- 
dentally drowned in the Muskingum River. 

Frederick G. Klostermeyer was educated in 
the public schools of Washington County, Ohio, 
and when he had made his choice of profession, 
entered the Northern Ohio University at Ada, 
where he was graduated in pharmacy in the 
class of 1895. In 1896 he came to Charleston 
and for four years served as a drug clerk and 
then purchased the interest of George Ort and 
has continued to conduct a first class drue store 
ever since, and enjoys the full confidence of 
the public in every way. 

On February 14, 1900, Mr. Klostermeyer 
was married to Miss Carrie L. Wooton, who 
was born in 1876, in Kentucky and was edu- 



cated in Huntington, Cabell County, W. Va. 
They have one son, Howard R., who was born 
January 29, 1904.. Mrs. Klostermeyer is a 
member of the First Presbyterian Church. In 
politics Mr. Klostermeyer is a Republican. He 
is a Mason of advanced standing, belonging to 
the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery at 
Charleston, and to Beni-Keedem Temple, 
Mystic Shrine. 

WILLIAM B. CALDERWOOD, post- 
master at Cedar Grove, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., and a member of the general mercantile 
firm of Calderwood Brothers, was born May 6, 
1878, at Dana, Kanawha County, and is a son 
of William B. and Anna (Wilkinson) Calder- 
wood. 

William B. Calderwood, Sr., who was born 
in Scotland and was brought to America by his 
parents, who located at Middleport, Ohio, where 
he grew to manhood and engaged in coal min- 
ing. Shortly after his marriage he came to 
Kanawha County, W. Va., as foreman for the 
Campbell Creek Coal Company and resided at 
Dana, continuing with that company many 
years and resigning but a short time prior to his 
death, May 24, 1906, at the age of sixty-two 
years. He was married in Ohio to Anna Wil- 
kinson, who was born in England and is at 
present a resident of Maiden, W. Va. The fol- 
lowing children were born to them : Elizabeth, 
who is the wife of John F. White, of Mont- 
gomery, W. Va. ; Henry, who lives at Leon, 
W. Va. ; Agnes, who lives in West Charleston ; 
Anna, who is in partnership with her brother 
William B., in the store enterprise at Cedar 
Grove; William B. ; Andrew, who Jives at Put- 
ney, W. Va. ; Robert and Edward, both of 
whom are residents of Charleston. 

William B. Calderwood attended the public 
schools of Dana through boyhood and then be- 
came his father's assistant for two years at the 
Campbell Creek mines, after which he came to 
Cedar Grove as a clerk for his brother, Henry 
Calderwood, who, in partnership with J. F. 
and C. F. White, started the present mercantile 
business. On February 1, 1906, Mr. Calder- 
wood with his sister Anna, and his brother An- 
drew, bought Henry Calderwood's interest, 
who had succeeded the original firm of White 



364 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



& Caldenvood. A good general stock is car- 
ried and the firm is prospering. Mr. Calder- 
wood is a Republican and in April, 1906, was 
appointed postmaster at Cedar Grove. 

HON. ADAM ROBERT SHEPHERD, 
judge of the Kanawha county court, is a man 
who has rendered much useful public service. 
He was born in Charleston, W. Va., April 7, 
1868, a son of John and Louise (Aultz J Shep- 
herd, and is a grandson of Robert Shepherd, 
who was born in Salem, Va., of English par- 
ents. The latter settled in the American colo- 
nies just prior to the Revolutionary War. 
Their son Robert, who was born just after the 
close of that war, came with his family to w hat 
is now West Virginia, some time previous to 
the Civil War, settling in the Charleston dis- 
trict. He subsequently purchased a farm in 
Union district and became a successful farmer 
and stock raiser. His death took place about 
twenty-two years ago, when he was 79 years 
old. He was a member of the M. E. church. 
He married Mary Good, who came of a promi- 
nent Virginia family, and who, like himself, was 
affiliated with the M. E. church. She died six 
years after her husband, having attained the 
same age — 79 years. They were the parents 
of three children: John, father of our subject ; 
B. King, and James Robert. B. King Shep- 
herd, who is a retired farmer residing in 
Charleston, was born at New Salem and was 
there reared and educated. He married Louisa 
Aultz, of Kanawha county, who died in 1809 
without issue. They were both affiliated with 
the M. E. church. James Robert Shepherd was 
born in Salem, Va., and now resides on the old 
homestead in Union district. He married Eliza, 
daughter of Robert Young, an early settler in 
Charleston. She is still living and she and her 
husband belong to the M. E. Church. They 
have no children. 

John Shepherd was born in Prince Edward 
county, Va., in 1833. When a young man he 
came to West Virginia, finding employment as 
a teacher in the public schools and later teach- 
ing in private schools. He was very successful 
as an educator, and in his latter years was 
recognized as one of the best informed men in 
the state. He was a resident of South Charles- 



ton and devoted much of his spare time to ac- 
quiring knowledge in regard to the history of 
the Kanawha Valley, a subject on which he was 
very thoroughly informed. He was an active 
member of the Methodist church and an un- 
compromising Prohibitionist. His death oc- 
curred March 17, 191 1, when he was aged 
seventy-seven years, five months and twenty- 
one days. 

John Shepherd married Miss Louise Aultz, 
who was a sister of the wife of his brother, 
B. King Shepherd. She was born in Kana- 
wha county about 1841 and was educated 
in the public schools. She died April 6, 1907. 
She was a good wife and mother, and a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church. His father was 
Adam Aultz, who came of an old family of 
Rock Bridge county, Va. He came to Charles- 
ton about the year 1800 just after his marriage 
to a Miss Shamules, there being at that time 
but one house standing here. He could have 
bought the entire section for 25 cents per acre, 
but instead purchased a tract of eleven hundred 
acres of new and unbroken timber land about 
nine miles from the site of the present city. Wild 
game was then abundant and he had to protect 
his family and stock from the bears and wolves, 
which were frequent if not welcome visitors. 
He died at the age of 79 years, after having 
cleared off some four hundred acres of his pur- 
chase. He was well and favorably known in 
his district, being in fact a man of sterling and 
temperate habits. In religion he was a Metho- 
dist and in politics a Republican. His wife, 
who survived until 1890, died in Charleston at 
the home of her daughter, aged 88 years. 

The children of John and Louise (Aultz) 
Shepherd were five in number — Clark W., L. 
Ella, Adam Robert, J. King, and Mattie. 
Clark W., born in 1863, was educated in the 
public schools and at the Wesleyan University 
of Ohio, where he was graduated. He was 
subsequently graduated from the medical col- 
lege at Baltimore with the class of 1888, receiv- 
ing the degree of M.D., and since that time has 
been practicing as a physician at Spring Hill. 
He married Lucy Tisdale, of Lennenburg 
county, Va., and has one son, Tisdale, now 
aged 20 years, a student in the Charleston 
High School. L. Ella Shepherd was born in 



HON. ADAM E. SHEPHEED 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



367 



Charleston in 1865 and was well educated in 
public and private schools. She is unmarried 
and is now a teacher in the public schools. J. 
King Shepherd, born in 1867, was educated in 
Charleston, where he now resides. He holds 
the office of deputy sheriff. He is unmarried. 
Mattie, born in 1869, is the wife of C. L. Pau- 
ley of the Raleigh Coal Company, of Raleigh 
county, W. Va. 

Adam Robert Shepherd, our direct subject, 
was educated in the public schools of Charles- 
ton and was variously occupied until 1894, 
when he engaged in mecantile business, as pro- 
prietor of a general store, which he now owns. 
He was appointed postmaster by President Mc- 
Kinley, June 15, 1897, and ably administered 
the business of the postoffice until 1900, when 
he was elected to the office of assessor for a 
term of four years. In 1906 he was elected to 
the legislative branch of the general assembly, 
serving two years. In 1908 he was elected 
president of the county court, this making him 
a county commissioner to serve six years, his 
term as president of the court being three years. 
His record as commissioner is one for which he 
deserves the highest commendation. When he 
took office the credit of the county was at a very 
low ebb. Its indebtedness was $178,000 and 
its bonds sold for only 60 cents on the dollar. 
He has succeeded in reducing the indebtedness 
to $32,000 and the bonds are now selling at 
par. It has been provided, moreover, that the 
indebtedness shall be wholly cancelled by Janu- 
ary 1, 1912. For his work in this connection 
Mr. Shepherd has been highly praised, and his 
fellow citizens have congratulated themselves 
that they made no mistake in judgment when 
they elected him to his present office. 

Judge Shepherd is a Republican politically, 
and has served as representative to county and 
state conventions. He is also secretary for the 
Eighth Senatorial district. He is a Mason, be- 
longing to Washington Lodge No. 58, A. F. & 
A. M, of St. Albans; also to Spring Hill Lodge 
No. 140, I. O. O. F., of wihch he has been 
treasurer for fifteen years. 

Judge Shepherd was married June 30, 1899, 
in Richmond, Va., to Miss Elizabeth F. Ellett, 
who was born in that city in 1878, a daughter 
of Robert Ellett, and was there educated. Our 



subject and wife are the parents of (me son, El- 
lett Northcott, born January 5, 1900, who is at- 
tending public school in Charleston. Mrs. 
Shepherd is a member of the First Baptist 
church of Richmond, Va. 

CHARLES W. GOOD, a prominent mem- 
ber of the Kanawha County bar, who has also 
taken a conspicuous part in public affairs, was 
born at Raymond City, Putnam County, W. 
Va,. Sept. 8, 1874, a son of John Wesley and 
Elizabeth (Archibald) Good. His paternal 
grandfather, Dr. John Good, was born in Rock- 
bridge County, Va., nearly 100 years ago, and 
was of German ancestry. He resided in that 
locality many years, carrying on agriculture 
and practicing medicine when called upon. 
After his marriage he removed to what is now 
Jackson County, W. 'Va., and later to Kanawha 
County, settling in Union District, where he 
carried on farming until a few years before his 
death. He died about 1848 or '49, on a farm 
he had purchased in Jackson County. He was 
a Democrat in politics and a Methodist in reli- 
gion. His wife, whose name has not been as- 
certained, but who was a Virginia girl, died in 
Jackson County in 1878, being then about 70 
years of age. She had married a second hus- 
band, who died in this state. By her first mar- 
riage to Mr. Good there were one son and three 
daughters, namely : John Wesley, father of 
the subject of this sketch; Mary J., widow of 
Dennis Burns, a, native of this state who died 
in Iowa in 1886, she now residing at What 
Cheer, Iowa ; Catherine, who became the wife 
of John Lanham, but is now deceased, together 
with her husband ; and Jenetta, who died after 
her marriage to a Mr. Kidd, who survives her. 

John Wesley Good was born in Jackson 
County, W. Va., Aug. 6, 1841. He became a 
miner and silversmith and followed those occu- 
pations in various localities for thirty years, 
finally returning to his home in Jackson 
County, where he still lives, devoting his entire 
attention to farming, in which he has been very 
successful. Early in 1862 he enlisted in the 
Union army as a member of Company A, 13th 
W. Va. Vol. Infantry, under Capt. Greenbury 
Slack. He served until after the close of the war, 
becoming a sergeant, and receiving his dis- 



368 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



charge in the latter part of 1865. He had a 
fortunate experience, being never wounded or 
captured. He is a member of Blunden Post, 
G. A. R., at Charleston. Since his earliest vot- 
ing days he has been a staunch Republican. 
His religious affiliations are with the Metho- 
dist church. 

John Wesley Good was married in Kanawha 
County, W. Va., to Elizabeth Archibald, who 
was born near Liverpool, England, about 1846, 
and who came to this country with her parents. 
John and Jane Archibald, they settling in West 
Virginia in 1865. They are both now deceased, 
as is also their daughter, who passed awav in 
1882. She was one of four children, of whom 
there are now living: Mary A., widow of 
Robert Smith and residing in Raymond ; and 
Edward G., a farmer in the Poca district, who 
married Julia A. Samuels. The children of 
John Wesley Good and wife were as follows: 
Margaret H., born in 1866, who is the wife of 
Dr. H. F. Asbury, of Putnam County, W. Va. ; 
Ella Jane, born in 1868, who is the wife of 
Daniel Baumgardner of Jackson County, and 
has a family of four children; Mary Ann, born 
in 1870, who is the wife of William Creamer 
of Charleston; John E., born 1872, now resid- 
ing in Denver, Colo., who married Molly 
Humphreys and has a daughter; Charles Wes- 
ley, whose name begins this sketch ; E. Kather- 
ine, born 1876, who is the wife of F. S. Ran- 
som, resides in Putnam County, W. Va., and 
has two children: Hattie, born in 1878, who is 
the wife of James Baumgardner, and has two 
sons; Daisy, wife of F. M. Monday, residing 
in Jackson county, who has one son ; and 
Thomas F., born 1882. who married a Miss 
Monday and has two children. By a later mar- 
riage of John Wesley Good with Rebecca 
Samuels three children were born, namely: 
Lula E., who married Griffin Clendennen, and 
died in 1909 leaving two children; William B., 
a farmer residing in Jackson County, who mar- 
ried a Miss Newhouse and has one son; and 
Mamie, who is unmarried and resides at home. 

Charles W. Good, after attending the public 
schools, began the study of law and, having 
passed the bar examination in 1901, was ad- 
mitted to practice that year. He had previously 
had some experience in mining and has fol- 



lowed the occupation of a school teacher for 
some seven years. In 1900 he was elected from 
Jackson County, on the Republican ticket, as 
representative to the West Virginia legislature. 
He made a good record in the Assembly and 
was again elected, from Kanawha County, in 
1908, not being subsequently a candidate for 
re-election. While in the legislature he served 
acceptably on the Judiciary and other important 
committees. 

He was married in Charleston, in 1902, Nov. 
12, to Ahvilda Abigail Thomas, who was born 
in Kanawha County in 1878, a daughter of 
Jesse A. and Mary (Shanahan) Thomas, both 
now deceased. Mrs. Good's parents were old 
settlers in this county; they were consistent 
members of the Methodist church and people 
highly esteemed. Mr. Thomas died June 25, 
19 10, aged 70 years. He had survived his 
wife but a few months, her death having oc- 
curred February 12, 1910, when she was 65 
years old. By occupation he was a stone con- 
tractor. Their daughter, Mrs. Good, and her 
husband, are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. They have no family. 

E. C. FISHER, general farmer and .stock- 
raiser in Poca District, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., where he owns a farm of 14054 acres, was 
born December 15, 1850, in Jackson County. 
Va., three-fourths of a mile west of his present 
farm. His parents were Greenberry and Juli- 
etta Fisher, and of their nine children, he and a 
sister, Mrs. Emma Belle Rose, of Charleston, 
are the only ones residing in Kanawha County. 

E. C. Fisher was educated in Tackson, Roane 
and Kanawha Counties, attending the High 
School at Walton, in Roane County. For 
twelve years he taught school and at the same 
time kept up an interest in farming, timbering, 
milling and surveying, and for the past ten 
years has been concerned, with his son, in a 
planing, saw- and grist-mill on Poca River, 
near Sissonville. After marriage he settled first 
on a farm across the river from the one now 
occupied, where he remained for four years 
and then came to his present property where he 
has made many improvements. In addition to 
fencing 100 acres of his land, he has erected 
the substantial buildings in evidence, and here 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



369 



carries on his agricultural operations with satis- 
fying results. He has been a Republican since 
casting his first vote, and gives hearty support 
to the candidates of his party. Very appro- 
priately his fellow citizens have made him a 
school trustee. 

Mr. Fisher married Miss Melissa Rose, who 
was born in Kanawha County and is a daugh- 
ter of William S. Rose, and the}' have the fol- 
lowing children : Everett, who is interested with 
his father in the milling business, resides at the 
mill ; he married Ella Wines and they have one 
daughter, Mary M. May. who is the wife of 
Joseph Miller, lives in Poca District, and they 
have had seven chldren, six of whom survive. 
Lloyd, who lives in Poca District, married a 
Miss Eastys, and they have one son, Seebert. 
Irvin resides in Charleston. William A. is in 
business at Detroit, Mich. Albert is employed 
in Charleston. Myrna E. was educated in 
Kanawha county and also attended high 
school at Ripley, Jackson County, and Marshall 
College in Huntingdon. She taught in the com- 
mon schools four years and is now a stenog- 
rapher in the employ of a law firm in Charles- 
ton. Ruby and Delpha are residing at home. 
Mr. Fisher and family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He is a stock- 
holder in the Arbuckle Telephone Company. 

GEORGE W. McCLINTIC. a representa- 
tive member of the bar at Charleston, W. Va., 
was born January 14, 1866, in Pocahontas 
County, W. Va.. and is a son of William H. 
and Mary (Mathews) McClintic. 

The McClintic family is of Scotch extraction 
and its earliest members in America settled first 
in Pennsylvania and moved from there to the 
Valley of Virginia. The family record tells 
that Robert McClintic served in the Revolu- 
tionary War and died from the effects of a 
wound received at the battle of Guilford Court 
House. 

William H. McClintic was born in Bath 
County, Va.. in 1825, and died January 20, 
1892. He was a son of Moses and Mary 
(Daggs) McClintic, both of whom were natives 
of Virginia, where their lives were spent. 
They belonged to the Presbyterian church. In 
his political views Moses McClintic followed 



the lead of President Jefferson. Of their fam- 
ily of five sons and three daughters, two of the 
latter yet survive. William H. McClintic fol- 
lowed an agricultural life. He served during 
the Civil War as a soldier in the 19th Virginia 
Volunteers, Confederate Army, his first colonel 
being W. L. Jackson, and his second, Col. Wil- 
liam P. Thompson, of Wheeling. Mr. McClin- 
tic participated in much hard fighting but fortu- 
nately was never either captured or wounded. 
He was married in Pocahontas County, to Miss 
Mary Mathews, who was born there and be- 
longs to one of the old settled families of the 
Virginia Valley. 

The Mathews line of descent from the im- 
migrant, John Mathews, who came to the 
American colonies in 1737, to the mother of 
George W. McClintic, included : Sampson ( 1 ) , 
Sampson (2), and Sampson (3), the last 
named being the father of Mrs. McClintic. 
Sampson Mathews, Jacob Warwick, and 
Thomas Edgar, all of whom were men of mili- 
tary prowess in early days, were grandsires of 
George W. McClintic. 

To William H. McClintic and wife the fol- 
lowing children were born : Lockhart, who is 
a graduate of the University of Virginia, is en- 
gaged in the practice of law at Marlinton; 
Edgar D., who attended a Virginia college, and 
is now connected with the Government Assay 
office at Seattle, Wash.; Hunter H., who died 
in early manhood ; Withrow. who follows farm- 
ing in Pocahontas County; and George W. of 
Charleston. 

George W. McClintic was graduated from 
Roanoke Colloge with his B. A. degree, in the 
class of 1883, and in the class of 1886, from 
the law department of the University of Vir- 
ginia, with his B. L. degree, but as he was yet 
under age despite his unusual advancement in 
his studies, he was obliged to wait until 1887 
before he could secure admittance to the bar. 
During 1888 he practiced at Pueblo, Colo., 
after which he came to Charleston and since 
then has been identified with one of the leading 
law firms of the city which now is Mollohan. 
McClintic & Mathews. This firm does a large 
general practice and has clients from all parts 
of the state. 

In 1907 Mr. McClintic was married at 



370 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charleston to Miss Ethel Knight, who was 
reared in this city but was educated at other 
points. She is a daughter of Edward Board- 
man Knight. Mr. and Mrs. McClintic attend 
the Presbyterian church. He is prominent in 
Masonry, being past high priest of Royal Arch 
Chapter, No. 13; past commander of Kanawha 
Commandery; past potentate of the Beni- 
Kedem Temple, and past grand master of the 
Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of West Virginia. 

IRVIN WOODRUM, who is proprietor of 
the best general store on Joplin Branch, Lou- 
don District, Kanawha County, W. Va., was 
born May 17, 1877, in Boone County, W. Va., 
a son of Green and Man- Frances (Estep) 
Woodrum. 

Green Woodrum was also born in Boone 
County and has followed farming all his life 
and is one of the older residents of his neigh- 
borhood, having reached his seventy-first year. 
Fie was married first to a Miss Griffith and they 
had three children, William. Robert and Letha, 
the last named being deceased. He married sec- 
ondly Mary Frances Estep. who was born in 
Boone County and was a daughter of James 
Estep, once a well known fanner there. Six 
children were born to this marriage, namely: 
Victoria, who married John Kissinger; Olive, 
who married Albert Hill ; James B. ; T- C. 
Mary Ella, who married E. W. Belcher; and 
Irvin of the present record. Mr. Woodrum 
married for his third wife, Louisa H. Dolan. 
and they have had eight children, as follows : 
J. Mc. the only son living; Bertie, Sarah and 
Isaac, all of whom are deceased; Belle, who 
married Nicholas Dolin ; Virginia C. who 
married Olie Dolin: Geneva, who married 
William Miller: and Loria. who married Wil- 
liam Triplett. 

Irvin Woodrum went to work on the rail- 
road after he was through with his school 
books and was in the employ of the K. & M. 
road for three years. In 1904 he embarked in 
the mercantile business at this point and carries 
a large and well selected stock, including gen- 
eral merchandise and groceries and draws trade 
from the entire district. He owns his building 
and also has property on Roane Street. West 



Charleston. Mr. Woodrum may be justly 
styled a self made man and what he possesses 
he has honestly earned through his energy, 
temperance and industry and well deserves his 

prosperity. 

Mr. Woodrum married Mary Frances Hol- 
stein. a daughter of L. D. Holstein, a farmer 
of Boone County, and they have four children, 
born as follows: Virgie May, Feb. 19, 1903; 
Annie Marie. Feb. 28, 1905: Margie Elsie, 
Nov. 4. 1907; Clarence Irvin, May 11, 1911. 
Mr. Woodrum is identified with the Odd Fel- 
lows and the American Mechanics. 

J. SHIRLEY ROSS, city recorder of 
Charleston, W. Va.. who is now serving his 
third term in that office, was born in this city 
August 31, 1883. a son of John Tyler and 
Hannah (Creel) Ross. 

John Tyler Ross, the father of J. Shirley, 
was born in Patrick County, Va., in 1841, and 
died at Charleston in 1896. He was reared and 
educated in Patrick County, where his parents 
spent their lives. They had a family of six 
sons and three daughters, all of whom are now 
living, except John T.. and all having families of 
their own. Some are residents of Virginia and 
others of New York state. All of the broth- 
ers served in the Confederate army, one of 
them, Capt. D. Lee Ross, being a captain in the 
5 1st Virginia Infantry, under whom his 
brother, John Tyler, served. The subject of 
this sketch has lately looked up his father's war 
record in the War Department at Washington, 
D. C. and received therefrom the following 
communication : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, 

Washington, July 21, 19 10. 
Respectfully returned to 
Mr. J. S. Ross, Department of Records, 
Charleston. West Virginia. 
The records show that one John T. Ross 
was a corporal and a private in Company C, 
afterward Company D (Captain D. Lee Ross 
and later Captain Wm. T. Akers). 51st Vir- 
ginia Infantry. Confederate States Army, and 
that he enlisted May 1. 1862. On the roll of 
the company dated October 31, 1863, last on 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



371 



file, he was reported, "Absent, detailed as shoe- 
maker since Nov. 10, '62." The Federal rec- 
ords of prisoners of war show that he was ar- 
rested in Roanoke County, Virginia, December 
19, 1863, and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, and 
that he was transferred thence to Fort Dela- 
ware in March, 1864, at which place he was 
released June 15, 1865, on taking the oath of 
allegiance. 

(Signed) W. P. Hall, 

The Adjutant General. 

Though John T. Ross was never wounded 
in action, he caught the small pox while in the 
Federal prison, so may be regarded as having 
had his share of disagreeable experieces — to a 
greater extent, perhaps, than many who saw 
harder field service. After his return from the 
war he came to Kanawha County and, settling 
near the present limits of the city of Charles- 
ton, engaged in the manufacture of brick. It 
was through his suggestion that this material 
was used in street construction in Charleston, 
this being the first instance also of its utiliza- 
tion in this way in any city. In 1873 a hand- 
made brick pavement was laid on Summer 
street, and the result was so satisfactory that 
the city has used this material extensively ever 
since. Mr. John T. Ross was a man of ac- 
knowledged business ability and of sterling 
personal qualities. He was a staunch Demo- 
crat politically and was affiliated fraternally 
with the Odd Fellows and other secret orders. 

John Tyler Ross was married in Kanawha 
County, W. Va., to Hannah Creel, who was 
born at Davisville, that county, in 1848, and 
who survives him, being now a resident of 
Charleston. Her father was Bushrod W. 
Creel, her paternal grandfather being also 
named Bushrod, while her mother was in 
maidenhood Alcinda Kinchelo, a member of one 
of the old Methodist families of what is now 
West Virginia. She was the third youngest 
born of her parents' children, the others being 
John, Bush, George, Henry, Bettie, Lucy, 
Clara, and Ella, all of whom survive and have 
families of their own. The brothers of Mrs. 
Ross served in the Confederate army during 
the Civil war. 

J. Shirley Ross, our direct subject, was the 



only child of his parents. He was educated in 
the public schools and for some years was con- 
nected with his father in the brick industry. 
He is identified with a number of fraternal or- 
ganizations, including the Odd Fellows, the 
Knights of Pythias; the Elks, the Eagles, and 
others. In politics, like his late father, he is a 
Democrat. He has given good satisfaction in 
the office of city recorder, as is evidenced by his 
election for a third term and is personally es- 
teemed and his family respected throughout 
this section. He is a member of the Baptist 
church. Mr. Ross resides with his widowed 
mother in Charleston. 

JOHN H. PRYOR, bookkeeper for the 
Coalburg-Kanawha Coal Company, and a 
member of the Board of Education of Cabin 
Creek District, was born February 10, 1859, at 
East Bank, W. Va., and is a son of W. P and 
Bettie ( Shelton) Pryor. 

John H. Pryor was educated in the public 
schools and at the age of sixteen years entered 
the employ of Stuart M. Buck & Co. at Coal- 
burg as office boy. When the firm changed 
he remained with their successors, the Robin- 
son Coal Company in the same capacity, while 
in their employ holding the positions of post- 
master and bookkeeper. Later he was asso- 
ciated with Neil Robinson and still later with 
George W. McClintic, subsequently coming to 
the Coalburg-Kanawha Coal Company. The 
president of this company, W. S. Edwards, is a 
son of W. H. Edwards, who was one of the 
original land owners at Coalburg. Mr. Pryor 
is an active citizen of this section and owns 
valuable real estate including his handsome resi- 
dence of twelve rooms at East Bank, W. Va. 
He served for eight years as postmaster at 
Coalburg under two administrations, that of 
Presidents Cleveland and Harrison. 

Mr. Pryor was married June 20, 1888, to 
Miss Dora Johnson, a daughter of C. F. John- 
son, and they have four children, Gypsy, Lil- 
lian. William and Julia. He is very active in 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belong- 
ing to Morning Star Lodge No. 63, at East 
Bank and to the Encampment. He belongs also 
to Kanawha Lodge No. 16, Knights of Pythias. 
In 1910, on the Democratic ticket, he was 



372 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



elected president of the Board of Education. 
In very way Mr. Pryor is a reputable and rep- 
resentative citizen. 

NOYES S. BURLEW, a leading business 
man at Charleston, W. Va., conducting a gen- 
eral hardware store, was born at Sheldrake, 
Seneca County, N. Y., and is a son of James 
A. and Sophia (Wood) Burlew. The parents 
of Mr. Burlew were natives of New Jersey and 
came of French stock. They moved to Seneca 
County, N. Y., and there the father died at the 
age of seventy-five years. They were active 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
liberal supporters of the same. The father 
even went to the extent of erecting a church 
edifice in his own neighborhood at his own 
expense. Ten children were born to James A. 
Burlew and wife, six of whom survive and two 
sons are residents of Charleston, Noyes S. and 
Abraham, the latter of whom is a well know n 
attorney here. 

Noyes S. Burlew remained on the home farm 
until he was twenty-one years of age. He was 
educated in the local schools and at Cazenovia 
College and afterward practiced dentistry for 
seven years at Ovid and other points in New- 
York state. In 1872 he came to Charleston and 
engaged in the lumber business for two vears 
and then was appointed a revenue collector, an 
office he resigned in 1876 in order to engage in 
business. He established himself in the hard- 
ware line, first on Capitol Street, and in 1877 
came to his present location, No. 712 Kanawha 
Street. He has made many property invest- 
ments since he became a resident of Charleston, 
and some twenty-one years since erected the 
Burlew Opera House, of which he has been 
owner and manager ever since. In politics he 
has been quite active, early identifying himself 
with the Republican party. In his first admin- 
istration, former Governor Dawson appointed 
Mr. Burlew adjutant-general of the state, and 
he was reappointed later by Governor Glass- 
cock, and continued in office until 19 10, when 
he resigned and has accepted no public office 
since. 

Mr. Burlew was married at Charleston to 
Miss Lizzie Rand, who was born and reared 
here, and is a daughter of William J. and Ella 



(Noyes) Rand, who spent their long lives at 
Charleston. They were members of the Pres- 
byterian church, to which religious body Mr. 
and Mrs. Burlew also belong. Mr. Burlew is 
very prominent in Masonry and for the past 
ten years has been high priest and prophet of 
Beni-Kedem Shrine, at Charleston, of which 
he is also Past Potentate. 

ADDISON MOFFAT SCOTT— The sub- 
ject of this sketch, Addison M. Scott, civil en- 
gineer, the son of Chauncey L. Scott, a New 
York farmer, was born in Dryden, Tompkins 
county, N. Y., February 20, 1843. He is of 
mixed Scotch-Irish and English ancestry. His 
mother, Margaret L. Moffat, was a daughter of 
Samuel Moffat, a man of considerable promi- 
nence in the early history of Dryden, N. Y. ; 
his father, the Rev. John Moffat, was a Pres- 
byterian minister. This reverend ancestor of 
our subject graduated from the College of New 
Jersey (later Princeton College) in 1749: he 
was settled for a time at Middlesex. N. J., and 
later in Ulster and Orange counties, N. Y. 
Samuel Moffat, the grandfather of the Rev. 
John Moffat, was a Scotch Covenanter and 
fought at the battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679. 
After this historic defeat he fled to Ballylig. 
Ireland, afterwards emigrating, with his fami- 
ly, to America and settling in New Jersey. 

Mr. Scott's grandmother, nee Ann Shaw, on 
the maternal side, was also Protestant Scotch- 
Irish. Her parents, John and Isabella Shaw and 
family came from County Antrim, Ireland, in 
1800, and settled in Cayuga county. N. Y., 
Mrs. John Shaw was Isabella Tennent. daugh- 
ter of a member of Parliament and owner of 
large landed estates in northern Ireland. 

The subject of this sketch in his boyhood 
worked on his father's farm in Dryden and 
went to the district school. At about sixteen, 
and for several years after, he attended the 
Ithaca Academy, at Ithaca, N. Y., directing his 
studies in large part to mathematics and sur- 
veying. While attending the academy he gene- 
rally taught school during the winters. 

In the spring of 1866 he made a trip to the 
Northwest and at St. Paul joined a party then 
organizing there under Gen. G. K. Warren of 
the U. S. Corps of Engineers, for a survey of 




ADDISON M. SCOTT 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



375 



the upper Mississippi river. Upon the disband- 
ing of this party at St. Louis late in 1866, Mr. 
Scott returned home and renewed his studies 
at the Ithaca Academy. While at school in the 
fall of 1867, General Warren offered him a po- 
sition as assistant engineer on the improvement 
of the upper Mississippi, then getting under 
way. This position he accepted with much hes- 
itation, as it broke in on his plan of study, 
which included a course at college. He re- 
mained on the Mississippi work for several 
years. The latter three years of the time he was 
employed as assistant engineer on the construc- 
tion of a large railroad and highway bridge 
built by the United States across the Mississippi 
river at Rock Island and Davenport. He was 
on this work from the first survey for the loca- 
tion of the bridge until its completion in the 
spring of 1873. On the completion of the 
bridge General Warren, who had been trans- 
ferred to the East with headquarters at New- 
port, R. I., tendered Mr. Scott a position under 
him there. This would have been accepted but 
for another, and what appeared a more prom- 
ising offer, made about the same time. 

In that year, 1873, the United States Gov- 
ernment undertook the improvement of the 
Great Kanawha river, which was in the Ohio 
River Department, then in charge of Col. Wil- 
liam E. Merrill, Corps of Engineers, with head- 
quarters at Cincinnati, and Mr. Scott was placed 
in local charge as resident engineer. Through 
the several changes that took place in the organ- 
ization of the river improvement force, Mr. 
Scott was continuously retained in his position 
as chief assistant or resident engineer. 

During his long service here, he devoted him- 
self with persevering zeal and energy to the 
duties of his professional position, mastering 
thoroughly the theory and practical details of 
the Chanoine movable dams which the Govern- 
ment adopted in the improvement of the Great 
Kanawha river. The first movable dams in 
America were built in this river. For a full 
description of the Chanoine dams and a history 
of the improvement of the Great Kanawha 
river, see a separate article elsewhere in this 
volume. 

To all his subordinates Mr. Scott was always 
courteous and kind, winning their respect and 



esteem, while he himself possessed the un- 
bounded confidence and kind regards of supe- 
rior officers. In his profession he has achieved 
an enviable reputation for capacity, skill, 
and executive ability. In his general inter- 
course with the public Mr. Scott is a modest, 
unassuming, courteous gentleman. He is ac- 
curate, prompt, and thoroughly reliable in all 
business engagements and transactions. 

Mr. Scott remained in local charge of the 
Great Kanawha River Improvement until the 
fall of 1 90 1, when he resigned, making a con- 
tinuous sendee of over twenty-eight years on 
that work and of thirty-four years as civil en- 
gineer in the U. S. Corps of Engineers. A ref- 
erence to his professional service should not 
omit the following tribute paid him by the dis- 
tinguished engineer officer, the late Gen. Wil- 
liam P. Craighill under whom he served for 
twenty-one years, a period embracing the be- 
ginning and nearly the entire completion of the 
lock and dam system of the great Kanawha. 
As noted elsewhere, Gen. Craighill gave up 
command of the Baltimore Division of River 
and Harbor works, which included the Great 
Kanawha Improvement, in 1895, when pro- 
moted to the highest office in his corps, the 
Chief of Engineers of the Army. In an article 
on the Kanawha Improvement, that appeared 
in the "Engineering Record" of June 17, 1899, 
General Craighill says : "I desire also to call at- 
tention in the most emphatic way to another 
member of the American Society of Civil En- 
gineers, who has for more than twenty-five 
years been connected with this important im- 
provement which has been most successful from 
a commercial as well as an engineering stand- 
point. I refer to Mr. A. M. Scott, who was 
principal engineer on this work when I took 
charge of it for the United States in 1874; he 
has remained on it up to the present time when 
it is completed. The conduct of the work has 
been most economical, wise and excellent in 
every way. Mr. Scott has exhibited an unusual 
degree of skill as a designing and constructing 
engineer in the management of the improvement 
and in dealing with the many perplexing prob- 
lems, which have presented themselves for solu- 
tion in its progress. To him is due, more than 
to any other person, the success of this work. 



376 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



I say what I know, and it gives sincere pleas- 
ure thus to bear record to the merit of a most 
faithful and deserving man." 

Mr. Scott has continued to make Charleston 
his home since giving up active work in the 
river improvement. He had faith in the future 
of the city and valley from the first, and proved 
it by early and judicious investments of his sav- 
ings in real estate here, that have made a fair 
provision for his declining years. He has been 
a member of the American Society of Civil En- 
gineers since 1886; and is Vice President of the 
Charleston Chamber of Commerce ; he is a 
Mason of long standing — past High Priest of 
Royal Arch Masons, and past Eminent Com- 
mander of Knights Templar of the Charleston 
Commandery. Though not a member of any 
church, he has been identified with the Kanawha 
Presbyterian since first coming to Charleston, 
and is a member of the board of trustees of 
that church. 

He was married in 1907 to Miss Florence 
L. Jeroloman, a daughter of Judge John Jerol- 
oman of New York City. 

Mr. Scott has always been a democrat, and 
though never prominent in politics, he takes a 
real interest in all public matters, and, as indi- 
cated above, is active in various lines of civic 
duty. 

Note: The above sketch is made up. in part, 
from extracts taken from the pen of the late 
Dr. John P. Hale (History of the Great Kan- 
awha Valley 1891). and others as noted in the 
text. W. S. L. 

FRANK MAYER, fanner in Elk District. 
Kanawha County. W. Va., was born in Beaver 
County, Pa.. November 20. i860, and is a son 
of Felix and Dorothy (Ryder) Mayer. 

Felix Mayer was born in Wurtemberg. Ger- 
many, and came to the United States when a 
voivng man and found work at his trade, that 
of a painter, at Cincinnati, Ohio. From there 
he went to Economy. Pa., and there married 
Dorothy Ryder, who had also been born in 
Germany and had been brought to America by 
her parents when she was five years old. In 
1 87 1, Felix Mayer with his family moved to 
what is now called Mink Shoal. Elk District, 
and was one of the earliest settlers. The coun- 



try at that time was wild and uncleared, but he 
possessed the industry; energy and thrift that 
enabled him to clear his land and develop it 
into one of the most productive farms of this 
section. He died May 30. 1892, at the age of 
sixty-four years. His widow survives and lives 
with her son Frank. Eleven children were 
born to Felix Mayer and wife and Frank is the 
eldest of the nine survivors, the others being: 
Minnie, wife of W. Broadhag. of Charleston; 
Louisa, wife of John Alman, of Seattle, Wash. : 
Bertha, wife of M. Gatewood, of Charleston: 
William, a farmer in Elk District: Anna and 
Clara, both at home; Ida. widow of J. Wil- 
liams ; and Lottie, wife of Edward Lorv. of 
Charleston. 

After his school days were over, Frank 
Mayer assisted his father and soon became man- 
ager of the farm, and after the father's death 
he bought the interests of the other heirs and 
now owns the whole estate. He carries on 
general farming and stock raising and is one of 
the most prosperous agriculturists of this dis- 
trict. He is a charter member of the Lutheran 
church at Charleston. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat but has never been willing to accept office. 

PETER YOUNG, grocery merchant at 
Charleston. W. Va., and one of the repre- 
sentative business men of the city, was born 
in what is now Union District. Kanawha 
County, W. Va., April 2, 1843, an( l IS a son 
of Rev. Robert Young and a grandson of 
Mathias Young. 

Rev. Robert Young was born in Green- 
brier County. Ya., April 11. 1816. and died 
at Charleston, November 19. 1892. He was 
a son of Mathias Young, who was of Ger- 
man parentage, but was reared in Green- 
brier county, what is now Fayette County. 
Ya. He there married a Miss Hickman, 
and later moved into what is now Roane 
County, W. Va., where his wife died at the 
birth of their youngest child, who is Rev. 
Henry Young, the only survivor of a fam- 
ily of seven sons and six daughters. All of 
the thirteen children married and all but 
one daughter had children, the family being 
a prolific and vigorous one. although the 
mother died when about forty-three years 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



377 



of age. At a later date Mathias Young 
moved to Kanawha County, settling in 
Union District and was there married to 
Maria Tate, who survived him and married 
again, dying at the age of sixty-five years. 
Mathias Young was fifty-seven years old at 
the time of his death and had four children 
born to his second marriage. He was a 
Whig in politics and his business life was 
entirely agricultural. 

Robert Young was the fifth in order of 
birth in the family of thirteen children. He 
became the owner of 700 acres of excellent 
farm land and for twenty-five years was in- 
terested with his son in the grocery trade 
at Charleston, being a silent partner. At 
the age of thirty-five years he became a 
Baptist minister and continued in unity 
with that religious body during the remain- 
der of a long and eminently useful life. He 
married Anna Wallace, a daughter of Alex- 
ander Wallace, Esq., the latter of whom 
was a justice of the peace for sixteen years 
in what is now Poca District, Kanawha 
County, and was very prominent in other 
ways. He laid out one of the first roads in 
Kanawha County, and for years was fore- 
man for the Ruffner's, early gardeners in 
the Kanawha Valley. Mrs. Young was born 
April 23, 1823, and she still survives, re- 
taining all her faculties. Her memory is 
quite remarkable. She is a devoted mem- 
ber of the Baptist church and has always 
been beloved and esteemed for her wo- 
manly virtues. To Rev. Robert Young 
and wife ten children were born, three sons 
and seven daughters, all of whom married 
and nine of whom survive. Mrs. Young re- 
sides with her widowed daughter, Mrs. 
Mary Duley, No. 242 Kanawha Street, 
Charleston. 

Peter Young was the eldest born of his 
parents' family and he remained on the 
home farm until 1867, when he came to 
Charleston and in association with his 
father opened a grocery store at No. 247 
Kenawha Street, he being the active mem- 
ber of the firm. The business was contin- 
ued at the above stand until 1905, when re- 
moval was made to the present commo- 



dious brick building at No. 233 Virginia 
Street, where a large stock of staple and 
fancy groceries is carried. 

Mr. Young was married in Union Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County, W. Va., to Miss 
Lorena Casdorph, who was born there 
March 14, 1846, a daughter of Ezariah and 
Mary Casdorph, natives of Kanawha and 
Monroe County respectively. Both of them 
died in Union District, the father at the age 
of eighty-four years and the mother aged 
sixty-seven years. They had thirteen chil- 
dren, all married but one and all are de- 
ceased but two. One brother of Mrs. 
Young, William Harrison Casdorph. who 
was a private in the Federal Army, serving 
as a faithful soldier in the 7th W. Va. Cav., 
was captured by the Confederates in the 
Lynchburg, Va., raid, and died in Libby 
Prison. 

Mr. and Mrs. Young have had eight chil- 
dren: Anna Laura, who married Henry 
Cohers, and dies at the age of thirty-two 
years ; David, who resides at home ; Walter, 
who is associated with his father, married 
Anna Smith and they have a son, Law- 
rence; Alvin, who is associated with his 
brothers in operating a laundry; Minnie, 
who is the wife of Mordica Wallace, a drug- 
gist at Ft. Worth, Tex., and has two chil- 
dren; Clarence, who is in the laundry busi- 
ness at Charleston, and is also money-order 
clerk in the post-office ; and Cora and 
Charles. Mr. Young is a Republican in pol- 
itics and is serving as councilman of the 
Third Ward. He belongs to Kanawha 
Lodge No. 25, Odd Fellows. 

JOHN GARNES, a representative citi- 
zen and general farmer in Poca District, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., where he owns 
sixty-five acres of excellent land which is 
watered by Allen's Fork Branch Creek and 
lies twenty-one miles west of Charleston, 
was born in this district, November 4, 1847, 
and is a son of George and Nancy (Crane) 
Games. 

George Games was reared and attended 
school in Jackson County, Va.. and came to 
Kanawha County when thirty-five years 



378 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



old. He married Nancy Crane, a daughter 
of Nathan Crane and they had the follow- 
ing children: Peyton, Hannah, Amanda, 
Emezey, James, Mary, A. Jackson and 
Mary. In addition to Jackson and Ka- 
nawha Counties, George Games lived for 
some time in both Nicholas and Putnam 
Counties, his death occurring in Poca Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County, at the age of sixty- 
six years, and his burial was on Miner Sla- 
ter's farm on Allen Fork. For a short time 
he served as a trustee of Poca District. He 
improved his farm of fifty acres in Poca 
District, which was sold at a later date. His 
wife was in her forty-eighth year at time of 
her death. 

John Games attended school in boyhood, 
although his advantages were rather mea- 
ger, and afterward engaged in farming and 
lumbering and became a lumber contractor. 
During the Civil War he served as a soldier 
in the Federal Army, as a member of Co. 
D, 7th W. Va. Cav., and was mustered out 
at Charleston and honorably discharged at 
Wheeling, W. Va. He is a strong Repub- 
lican but has never been willing to accept 
public office. He is a stockholder in sev- 
eral telephone companies and is a substan- 
tial and reliable citizen. 

Mr. John Games was married first to Miss 
Melissa J. Boggess, a daughter of William 
Boggess, of Poca District, and who was 
survived by two children: Peter B., who 
lives on the home farm; and James E., who 
resides in North Dakota. Mr. John Games 
was married the second time to Miss Kath- 
erine Page, a daughter of Ormes and Jane 
Page. 

ABRAHAM BURLEW, a well known 
member of the Kanawha County bar, who 
came first to Charleston, in a professional 
capacity, in 1865, has been a resident of this 
city for the past forty-six years and is iden- 
tified thoroughly with its people and lead- 
ing interests. He was born in Seneca 
County, N. Y., and is a son of James and 
Sophia (Wood) Burlew, the latter being a 
daughter of Wynant and Mary Wood. The 



Burlew ancestry is French and Dutch. The 
grandparents apparently spent their lives in 
New Jersey. The names of three of their 
children have been preserved — Katherine, 
Stephen and James. 

James Burlew was a young married man 
when he moved to Seneca County, N. Y., 
where he acquired a fine farm that has been 
kept in the family. Both he and wife died 
on that place, their ages approximating 
seventy-five years. They were devoted 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and very liberal supporters of the same. 
Ten children were born to James and So- 
phia Burlew, all of whom survived to ma- 
turity and six are still living. The family 
record is in part as follows: James B., the 
eldest, died in Cayuga County, and is sur- 
vived by a widow and three children, and 
they live in Cayuga County; Cornelia, who 
is now deceased, was the wife of Charles 
Rose and a surviving son, Charles R., is an 
attorney in New York City ; Sarah, who is 
now deceased, married Lawrence Hillyard, 
also now deceased ; Noyes S., who is a hard- 
ware merchant at Charleston ; Anna, who is 
the widow of Henry Hill; Sophia, who is 
the wife of Henry Cleveland ; Kate M., who 
lives on the old homestead in Seneca 
County; Mary, who is the widow of Charles 
White, lives in Seneca County; and Abra- 
ham, who is of Charleston, W\ Va. 

Abraham Burlew attended the local 
schools and grew up on his father's farm. 
He began his law studies with Judge Knapp, 
at Hackensack, N. J., and later was a stu- 
dent in the office of the prominent law firm 
of Slossen, Hutchinson & Piatt, where he 
completed his course and was admitted to 
the bar in 1864. He came to Charleston 
in 1865 in the interest of a body of New 
York capitalists and while attending to 
their business became pleased with the town 
and foresaw its possibilities as a field for his 
professional work. Mr. Burlew has been 
identified with much of the important law 
business in the Kanawha County courts for 
many years. He is a Republican in politics, 
as was his father. He attends the Episco- 
pal church. Mr. Burlew has never married. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



379 



VINTON Z. COPEN, a retired farmer 
residing in Elk District, Kanawha County, 
W. Va., and the only surviving ex-sheriff, 
occupies his comfortable, newly-erected res- 
idence on his fine estate of 200 acres. He 
was born in Elk District on Elk River, July 
3, 1822, and is a son of John and Rebecca 
(Cobb) Copen. 

John Copen was a farmer all his life, the 
greater part of which was spent in Elk Dis- 
trict, where he died in 1877, at the age of 
eighty-five years. He married Rebecca 
Cobb, who belonged to one of the pioneer 
families of Big Sandy District. Of their 
large family there are two survivors : Vin- 
ton Z. and Nancy, who is the wife of Wil- 
liam Moles, a resident also of Elk District. 

Vincent Z. Copen had but meager educa- 
tional opportunities in his youth, the coun- 
try being comparatively unsettled near his 
father's home and school-houses far apart. 
When eleven years old he became useful as 
a helper in clearing up the place and in 
farming and subsequently worked at lum- 
bering. When he reached manhood he pur- 
chased his present farm. It was known as 
the ''old King homestead,'' its original 
owner having been the first settler in Elk 
District, and the log cabin remained for 
many years the oldest landmark of civiliza- 
tion in this region. Mr. Copen occupied it 
for many years and finally assisted in tear- 
ing it down and on the site erected his com- 
fortable modern residence. During his ac- 
tive years he carried on farming and stock 
raising. There was a period of many years 
during which Mr. Copen was one of the 
prominent politicians of the county, an ac- 
tive Republican, and holding many offices of 
responsibility. He was one of the early 
sheriffs and performed his public duties in 
that position when only a brave and un- 
usually resourceful man could have success- 
fully coped with conditions then existing. 

Mr. Copen married Miss Sarah Ann 
Sands, and the following children were born 
to them*: Perry, who is a farmer on the 
home land, married Mary Tully, and they 
have four children and one grandchild; 
Henry, who is a farmer in Elk District, mar- 



ried Agnes Miller and they have eight chil- 
dren and three grandchildren; Nancy, who 
is deceased, was the wife of C. King, and 
they had eight children; Martha, who mar- 
ried E. O'Daniell, a farmer on 2-Mile Creek, 
and they have five children ; Alice, who is 
the wife of M. Haines, a farmer on 2-Mile 
Creek ; Ida May, who is the wife of B. 
Edens, a farmer on Elk River; Frances, 
who lives at home; Rachel, who is the wife 
of L. Edens, a farmer on Cooper's Creek ; 
and Camos, who resides on the home farm, 
and married Lula Marion. Mr. Copen has 
never identified himself with any fraternal 
organization. 

GEN. EDWARD LANGLEY WOOD, 
sergeant-at-arms of the West Virginia 
House of Delegates and formerly adjutant- 
general and also state librarian, is one of 
Kanawha County's best known citizens. 
He was born on Brown's Creek, January 30, 
1846, a son of Augustus W. Wood, who re- 
moved with his family to Ohio in 1848. 

Edward L. Wood completed his educa- 
tion at Gallipolis, O., and then returned to 
his native county, locating at Charleston, 
W. Va., in 1869. He studied law under the 
supervision of Mollihan & Nash but before 
he was ready to apply for admission to the 
bar, other interests entered into his life and 
he never engaged in the actual practice of 
this profession. On September 1, 1875 he 
was appointed state librarian and, as the 
legislature of West Virginia, in the follow- 
ing year, passed a law making the incum- 
bent of this office also adjutant-general, Mr. 
Wood was called on to serve in both capa- 
cities. On Novemlber 1, 1881 he resigned his 
offices but was immediately reappointed ad- 
jutant-general and served some years 
longer when he retired somewhat from pub- 
lic life but was recalled when he was ap- 
pointed sergeant-at-arms of the Wesi Vir- 
ginia Legislature on January 11, 191 1. 
General Wood resides at No. 1520 Kanawha 
Street, Charleston. For some years he has 
been interested in the real estate business. 
January 28, 1880 he married Nannie T. 
Smith, daughter of Snelling Merideth and 



380 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Elizabeth Stockton Trimble Smith, natives 
of this county. One child, Margaret L., is 
the fruit of this marriage. 

CHARLES E. KREBS, of the well 
known firm of Clark & Krebs, civil and min- 
ing engineers, at Charleston, W. Va., was 
born May 19, 1870, in Wetzel County, W. 
Va., and is a son of John W. and Elizabeth 
(Hubacher) Krebs. 

John W. Krebs was born in Monroe 
County, O., in 1840, and died in Wetzel 
County, W. Va., in 1908. He was a farmer 
and also followed the carpenter's trade in 
Wetzel County, to which he came in 1869. 
In politics he was a Republican. He was a 
member of the Lutheran church. He was 
a son of Nicholas Krebs, who was born in 
Alsace Lorain, then in France, and served 
as a soldier under the great Napoleon, tak- 
ing part in the battle of Waterloo. In 1816 
Nicholas Krebs left France for America 
and after spending eight months on the 
journey, settled in Ohio, where he died in 
1855, aged seventy years. His widow sur- 
vived him many years, dying in Monroe 
County. They had eight daughters and one 
son and four of the daughters still survive. 
The son, John W. Krebs, married Elizabeth 
Hubacher, who still resides in Wetzel 
County, being now in her sixty-eighth year. 
The following children were born to them : 
Emma, who was born in August, 1868, is 
the wife of A. L. Sidell and they live in 
Wetzel County and have seven children ; 
George R., who was born March 17, 1872, 
is a graduate of the W^est Virginia State 
University and is a member of the firm of 
Clark & Krebs, married Lettie Carr and 
they have five children ; Mary Ella, who 
was born in 1874, died in April, 1894; Le- 
nora B., who was born October 1, 1876, 
married G. H. Farmer of Wetzel County, 
and they have five children; Jesse D.. who 
was born July 7, 1878, is assistant superin- 
tendent of a coal company in Raleigh 
County, married Elizabeth Smith and they 
have one son ; John A., who was born in 
1880, is a farmer in Wetzel County; Leslie 
W., who was born March 20, 1883, is a 



teacher in Wetzel County; and Charles E., 
who is the second in order of birth. 

Charles E. Krebs taught school for three 
years after completing his High School 
course and in this way provided the capital 
necessary to carry him through his course 
in the West Virginia University, where he 
studied engineering and in 1894 he was 
graduated from the technical department 
with his degree of B. S. C. E. He went to 
work in the engineering department of what 
is now the Coal & Coke Railroad and after 
three years became associated with his pres- 
ent partners in business, locating as civil 
and mining engineers in the New River coal 
field, with headquarters at Kanawha Falls, 
in Kanawha County. The company spent 
some ten years in Fayette County, in 1908 
coming to Charleston. In 1909 Mr. Krebs 
was appointed assistant to the West Vir- 
ginia State geologist, for the southern sec- 
tion and being a thoroughly competent man, 
may naturally look for further honors. The 
main business of the company is mining en- 
gineering and they are well known in this 
branch all through West Virginia, Virginia 
and Kentucky. 

Mr. Krebs was married first in 1898, in 
Clay County, W. Va., to Miss Dornie Carr, 
who died in April, 1902, at Hot Springs, 
Ark., when aged twenty-six years. Mr. 
Krebs was married secondly in 1905, to 
Miss Josephine Stephens, of Wetzel County, 
and they have one son, Gregory C, who 
was born December 12, 1906. Mr. and 
Mrs. Krebs are members of the Presbyte- 
rian church. He is identified politically 
with the Republican party. His Masonic 
connections are with the higher branches of 
the fraternity and he is a member of Beni 
Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Charles- 
ton. 

WILLIAM M. WELSCH, superinten- 
dent of the Monarch Mines at Monarch, 
Cabin Creek District, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., is a native of Germany, born there 
April 5, 1876, and is a son of Nicholas and 
Theresa (Leipertz) Welsch. 

Nicholas Welsch was born in one of the 



FREDERIC K S. THOMAS, M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



383 



Rhine Provinces in Germany, where he 
married Theresa Leipertz and in 1888 the 
family came to America and located at 
Ford City, Pa., moving- from there to Ohio 
in the following- year, and the father secur- 
ing work in the coal mines at Jacksonville. 
He took out his first citizen's papers imme- 
diately after coming to this country, at Kit- 
tanning, the county seat of Armstrong 
County, Pa., and his second papers in 1893, 
at Athens, the county seat of Athens 
County, Ohio. While living there his wife 
died. He survived her and now resides with 
his son, William, at Monarch. There were 
many children beside William in the fam- 
ily, he being the eldest, namely: Hubert; 
Nettie, the wife of William Heiser; Harry; 
Gertrude, the wife of John L. Mandt ; and 
others who died in infancy. 

William M. Welsch attended school in 
Germany for seven years before coming to 
America and for a short time afterward — 
long enough to learn the English language 
— and in 1889 became a miner at Jackson- 
ville, O., where he was rapidly advanced, 
being appointed a mine foreman in 1901. 
In that capacity he came to Kanawha 
County in 1904, for the same company, the 
Ohio Sunday Creek Coal Company, and 
continued in their employ until July, 1910, 
when he came to the Monarch people. Mr. 
Welsch has been a hard working man all 
his life and has exercised prudence and 
forethought and is in comfortable circum- 
stances. 

On December 31, 1901, Mr. Welsch was 
married to Miss Mary Hatfield, a daughter 
of Theodore and Mary Hatfield, and they 
have two children, William and Dorothea. 
He is a member of three important frater- 
nal organizations : the Red Men, the For- 
resters of America and the Woodmen of 
the World. 

FREDERICK S. THOMAS. M.D., who for 
a number of years was well known as one of 
the leading medical men in the southwestern 
part of the state, and as proprietor and physi- 
cian in chief of the Thomas Private Hospital, 
at Charleston, was born near Sissonville, in 



Poca district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
August 18, 1850. He was a son of George D. 
and Sarah (Jones) Thomas, the former of 
whom was born in Virginia and the latter in 
the district of Columbia. The mother died in 
Roane county, W. Va., in August, 19 10, at the 
remarkable age of 102 years. George D. 
Thomas and wife were early settlers in Sis- 
sonville, where for some years he followed the 
occupation of teacher and later that of a far- 
mer. The family is of Scotch origin, belonging 
to the clans Campbell and Sausria and its mem- 
bers have the coats of arms belonging to those 
families or clans. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject was exiled from his native land for some 
cause, probably political, and, coming to this 
country, settled in Virginia. Both he and his 
son George were Presbyterians. 

Frederick S. Thomas was only twelve years 
old when his father died, and, being the eldest 
son, a heavy responsibility fell upon his shoul- 
ders in the care of his widowed mother and the 
other members of the family. Among the lat- 
ter was a brother, P. S. Thomas, who is now a 
physician and surgeon conducting a sanitarium 
in Kansas, who is married and has two chil- 
dren. A sister also is still living — Mrs. Mary 
Whitney, of Roane county, W. Va., who has 
four children. Energetic and ambitious, our 
subject faced his responsibilities bravely and 
did all that could have been expected of him in 
caring for the family. He also managed to at- 
tend private and select schools and finally 
worked his way through Marshall college at 
Huntington, W. Va. He taught school for a 
time and later read medicine under Dr. T. P. 
Carpenter, of Poca, W. Va. In 1878 he was 
graduated from the medical department of the 
University of Maryland, Baltimore, and later, 
from Bellevue Hospital, New York City — this 
in 1887. He also had the additional benefit of 
a post-graduate course in the New York Med- 
ical and Baltimore Medical colleges, and for a 
number of years subsequently he took post- 
graduate courses annually, both in Baltimore 
and New York in order to keep in close touch 
with the progress of medical science. 

In 1878 Dr. Thomas took up his residence at 
Maiden, W. Va., his work lying largely among 
the mining population of that locality. Coming 



384 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to Charleston in 1884, he entered into practice 
here, and was for a time interested in a drug 
business, in partnership with Mr. Potterfield, 
under the style of Thomas & Potterfield, but in 
1892 he sold out his interest to his partner. He 
then devoted his main attention to the practice 
of medicine and surgery and soon built up a 
wide reputation as one of the leading members 
of his profession. It was he who introduced 
the bath treatment for typhoid fever, since 
adopted by many other able physicians. But 
perhaps Dr. Thomas was more widely known 
as the proprietor of the Thomas Private Hospi- 
tal at Charleston, a noble institution, in which 
the residents of the city take a just pride. The 
fine and commodious building was erected by 
the city during 1896-97 at a cost of $30,000 and 
was under lease to Dr. Thomas, who with a 
corps of able assistants conducted the institu- 
tion in a most efficient manner, reflecting credit 
upon him and his confreres and making it of 
great value to the southwestern part of the 
state. Among his assistants were able special- 
ists upon every disease or class of diseases to 
which human flesh is heir. The hospital is con- 
ducted on broad lines and is admirably 
equipped. Not only are the dangerously sick 
provided for, but provision was made for those 
who merely sought rest and restoration from 
the strain of either business or social life. 

Dr. Thomas was regarded as at the head of 
his profession for some years before his death, 
which event took place January 7, 1908. He 
had been influential in the establishment of 
other hospitals and sanitariums and belonged 
to the American and State Medical Associa- 
tions and the County Medical Society. Aside 
from his profession, he was interested in sev- 
eral important business enterprises, being pres- 
ident of the Charleston Ice & Coal Company, a 
stockholder in the Charleston National Bank, 
and being interested also in coal mining opera- 
tions. He was a member of the First Presby- 
terian church and was a man of high-minded 
and charitable disposition, giving freely of his 
means to worthy causes. In politics he was a 
Republican. 

Dr. Thomas was married, Oct. 7, 1879, in 
Maiden, W. Va., to Ruth Lee Putney, who was 



born in Maiden, March 19, 1856, a daughter of 
Dr. James and Mary E. (Reed) Putney. Mrs. 
Thomas is a great-granddaughter of Ellis Put- 
ney, a native of England who, coming to this 
country settled in Virginia and married Fannie 
Fearn. He and his wife resided in Bucking- 
ham county. Their son, Dr. Richard Ellis 
Putney, born in Virginia, March 13, 1774, was 
a physician, and about 1812 or 1814 settled in 
Maiden, Kanawha county, where he died May 
12, 1862. He was a man of considerable local 
prominence, both as a physician and in politics, 
serving as magistrate for 25 or 30 years. He 
was also engaged in the manufacture of salt. 
He married Oct. 11, 1815, Ann, the daughter 
of David Ruffner. She was born in 1792 and 
died some years before her husband, who sub- 
sequently contracted a second marriage, of 
which there was no issue. By his first mar- 
riage Dr. R. Ellis Putney had several children, 
including Dr. James Putney, father of Mrs. 
Thomas. Dr. James Putney was a graduate 
of the Cincinnati (O.) Medical College and an 
active physician in Maiden for some years, 
where he died in 1876, being then in his 61st 
year. He was married May 7, 1850, in Farm- 
ington, Iowa, to Mary E. Reed, who was born 
in Palmyra, Mo., April 13, 1830, and was 
reared and educated in Farmington. She- is 
still living and although advanced in years, is 
bright and active both mentally and physically, 
and keeps well informed on current events. 
She is, indeed, one of the intellectual women of 
her day and her interest in the progress of hu- 
manity, the advancement of her sex, the puri- 
fication of politics and other weighty subjects, 
is deep and keen. Her father, Samuel C. Reed, 
was government Indian agent in Iowa from 
1836 until his death in 1848. He was also 
elected more than once to the Iowa state legis- 
lature. Born in Pennsylvania in 1798. he was 
reared in Ohio, and married in Charlston, W. 
Va. to Maria Slaughter. She was born in 
1799, a daughter of Goodrigh and Hannah 
(Van Bibber) Slaughter, pioneer settlers in 
Kanawha county. At the time of Mrs. Mary 
E. Putney's residence in Iowa, there were many 
Mormons settled in that state with whom, ow- 
ing to her father's official position, she was 
brought more or less into contact, thus obtain- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



385 



ing a familiar knowledge of their religious, so- 
cial and political ideas. 

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas have been the parents 
of two children : James Putney and Ruth Mary. 
James Putney Thomas, born July 13, 1880, was 
educated in a military school and at the Uni- 
versity of West Virginia, and is now an elec- 
trician residing in Los Angeles, Calif. He 
married Miss Drusilla Bolin of Ohio. Ruth 
Mary, born 25 years ago, is a graduate of Lew- 
isburg college (W. Va.), class of 1906. She 
married R. W. Edmunds, of a Farmville, Va. 
family, but now residing in Charleston, W. Va. 
He is a graduate of Hamden-Sidney college, a 
civil engineer by profession, and is also engaged 
in the coal business. 

HON. WALTER LEWIS ASHBY, a 
member of the Charleston bar, is senior of the 
well known law firm of Ashby & Woodroe, and 
is associated in business with E. T. Crawford, 
the firm name being Crawford & Ashby. He is 
prominent in politics, and in 1898 was elected 
a member of the state senate of West Virginia. 
He was born November 3, 1862, in Norborn 
County, Mo., and accompanied his parents to 
Boone County, W. Va., in 1865, and four years 
later to Kanawha County. 

Walter L. Ashby attended the public schools 
at Charleston and subsequently Rock Hill Col- 
lege, Maryland. After deciding upon the study 
of law, he entered the office of his half-brother, 
the late Senator John E. Kenna, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar, January 30, 1885. A short 
time afterward Mr. Ashby entered into part- 
nership with Hon. C. C. Watts, who was later 
attorney-general of West Virginia, with whom 
he was associated until 1900. Since then Mr. 
Ashby has practiced alone and also with part- 
ners, his present firm having been established 
in 1905. Public matters have interested Mr. 
Ashby ever since he attained manhood, when 
he identified himself with the Democratic party, 
and through that medium has been tendered 
public positions. While serving as state sena- 
tor he was a member of committees that had 
much to do with important legislation, and on 
account of his legal ability he was extremely 
valuable in that position. He is one of the rep- 
resentative citizen of Charleston, where he 



has invested in property and for the past 
twenty-five years has identified himself with the 
leading interests of the city. 

HON. GRANT P. HALL, a member of the 
Charleston bar, and a leading factor in Repub- 
lican politics in Kanawha County, has served 
with honor and credit in a number of public 
positions. He was born in Roane County, W. 
Va., December 21, 1865, a son of William and 
Isabel (Guinn) Hall. 

Grant P. Hall was afforded exceptional edu- 
cational advantages. From the common schools 
of Kanawha County he entered the Ohio Wes- 
leyan University, going from there to Marshall 
College, Huntington, W. Va. For some years 
prior to 1893 he was engaged in teaching 
school and in that year was elected superinten- 
dent of the schools of Kanawha County and 
served in that office for two years. In the 
meanwhile he prepared for the bar, to which 
he gained admission in 1895, and he imme- 
diately began the practice of his profession. 
In 1896 he was elected clerk of the Circuit 
Court of Kanawha County, and served with 
credit and efficiency in that office for a term of 
six years. He then went into the real estate 
business which he has since followed, not hav- 
ing resumed his profession. Although he is 
active and zealous in the support of his own 
political party, he is a man of character and his 
work is done openly and honorably. 

Mr. Hall was married in the fall of 1895, to 
Miss Anna Steele, and they enjoy a beautiful 
home which is situated at South Side, a prop- 
erty which was formerly owned by J. W. Daw- 
son. Mr. Hall maintains his offices in the Al- 
derson-Stephenson building, Charleston. 

ROBERT D. RAY, manager of the Elk 
Shoe Company, at Charleston, W. Va., and a 
member of the city council, has been a repre- 
sentative business man in this section for a 
number of years, mainly identified during this 
time with merchandising. He was born May 
31, 1866, at Buffalo, Putnam County, W. Va., 
and is a son of Arthur T. and Mary J. 
(Raines) Ray. 

Arthur T. Ray was born in what is now 
West Virginia and died in his sixty-ninth year, 



386 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



at Gallipolis, Ohio, in May, 1890, for some 
years previously having been an exhorter and 
preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. 
During the Civil War he served three years as 
a member of Co. L, 7th W. Va. Vol. Cav., and 
participated in many hard fought battles and 
won promotion, at the time of his honorable 
discharge being an orderly sergeant. He was 
seriously wounded on one occasion, receiving a 
fracture of his arm. His second marriag-e took 
place in Ohio County, W. Va., to Mrs. Mary J. 
Raines, who still survives, being now in her 
seventy-sixth year. She is a member of the 
Presbyterian church. 

Robert D. Ray obtained his education in the 
free schools and entered into business at the 
age of twenty-two years and has always been 
a merchant since then. For seven years he was 
associated with C. Pickens, in the dry goods 
business and before that connection was with 
Albert J. Humphrey. The Elk Shoe Com- 
pany was established at No. 320 Charleston 
Street, in April, 1910, and Mr. Ray has been 
interested in and manager of the same ever 
since. In politics he is a Democrat, and is now 
serving in his second term as a member of 
the council from the Second Ward, repre- 
senting South Charleston, or Elk City, and 
to the advancement of this section he has 
been particularly devoted. 

Mr. Ray was married at Charleston, in 189 1, 
to Miss Maud Harrold, who was born, reared 
and educated in Kanawha County. They have 
five children, namely : Ruby H., who was born 
August 19, 1893 ; Irene, who was bom in 
1896: Mary Helen, who was born in 1903; 
Robert D. Jr.. who was born in 1906; and 
Jessie V., who was born in 1909. Mr. and 
Mrs. Ray are members of the Baptist church. 

R. T. LAYNE, one of the leading men of 
Union District, Kanawha County, W. Va., re- 
sides on his well cultivated farm of no acres 
which lies eleven miles north of Charleston. 
He was born on this farm, October 20, 1841, 
and is a son of Robert and Mary (Milam) 
Layne. 

Robert Layne was born in Botetourt County, 
Va., and was brought to Kanawha County by 
his parents when small and was early made 



fatherless by an accident. He remained on the 
home farm until he was twenty years of age 
and then settled on the farm which is owned 
by his son, R. T. Layne, and spent the remain- 
der of his life here, dying at the age of eighty- 
two years. In politics he was a Democrat and 
for some years he served as school trustee in 
Union District. He married Mary Milam, of 
Bedford County, Va., who died at the age of 
eighty-three years. Both she and husband 
were buried on their own farm. They were 
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church south. Eight children were born to 
them, namely: Christopher C, Franklin W., 
Benjamin W, Timothy S. and William F. 
Layne, all five being now deceased, the three 
survivors being Julia Ann, Robert T. and Mary 
Elizabeth Layne. Julia Ann and Mary Eliza- 
beth became the wives respectively of James 
Thaxton and Martin Dooley. 

R. T. Layne obtained his education in the 
schools of Union District, which he attended 
with more or less regularity until he was 
twenty years of age. He then enlisted in the 
Union army, joining Co. A, 7th \V. Va. Cav., 
which was organized at Charleston. He was 
with his regiment in all its marches and battles 
for three and one-half years, becoming cor- 
poral of his company. He was mustered out 
at Wheeling, having escaped all the dangers of 
war, and returned to the home farm until his 
marriage in 1867. He bought and operated the 
first circular sawmill on the waters of Tup- 
per's Creek, and also ran a grist and sawmill 
for a time in Jackson County. He then re- 
turned to the homestead and has remained here 
ever since. Mr. Layne is a Democrat and has 
frequently been elected to office by his party, 
having served two terms as justice of the peace 
in L T nion District, one term as constable, and 
one term as President of the Board of Educa- 
tion, and one term as a member of the County 
Board of Supervisors. He has also served sev- 
eral terms as district trustee. 

Mr. Layne was married October 22. 1867, to 
Miss Man' F. Carney, who was born in Jack- 
son County, W. Va., May 15, 1845, an d died 
January 29. 191 1. She was a noble Christian 
woman, a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south, and had a wide circle of attached 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



387 



friends. She was the beloved mother of the 
following children : Mahala Jane, who married 

B. F. Matthew, residing in Fayette County, 
they having six children — Minerva, Hazel, 
Pansy, Thomas, Roland and Mildred; J. E., 
who was born in Union District, married Me- 
lissa J. Mairs, and has had two children — Elsie, 
who is a bright school girl, and William, who 
died February 22, 1903, aged one year; Robert 

C, who lives in Poca District, married Eliza- 
beth Derrick; John S., who married Gertrude 
Jenkins, and lives in Charleston District, they 
having five children — Cecil, Masil, Russia, 
Olive and Thomas; Julia, who is the wife of 
Enoch Shamblin, of Fayette County, and has 
five children — Rome, Mary F., Lizzie, May 
and Bessie; Rhoda, who married Rawley Jo- 
seph, lives in Putnam County, and has two 
children — Ida and Roger E. ; O. F., who mar- 
ried Cora Milam, lives at Charleston and has 
three children — Robert, Carl and Arvil ; and 
E. F., who lives on the home farm and married 
Clara Milam. Mr. Layne is a member of 
Lodge No. 147, Odd Fellows, at Sissonville. 

HON. LOUIS E. McWHORTER, jun- 
ior member of the well known law firm of 
H. C. & L. E. McWhorter, at Charleston, 
W. Va., is one of the representative mem- 
bers of the Kanawha County bar and a cit- 
izen of public worth. He was born No- 
vember 30, 1856, at Spencer, Roane County, 
Va., and is a son of Hon. J. M. and Julia A. 
(Stalnaker) McWhorter. 

Judge J. M. McWhorter, father of Louis 
E., has long been identified with public life 
in this section, in 1863 representing Roane 
County in the state legislature, and serving 
as the first auditor of West Virginia, from 
1865 until 1869. Later he removed to 
Greenbrier County, and in 1870 was ap- 
pointed circuit judge of the Seventh Judi- 
cial Circuit; again, in 1896, he became cir- 
cuit judge of the Tenth Judicial District. 
He was married first to Julia A. Stalnaker, 
who died in 1869, having been the mother 
of ten children. Judge McW r horter was 
married secondly in 1870, to Julia Kinsley. 

Louis E. McWhorter was educated first 
in the public schools of Greenbrier County 



and later at Lewisburg Academy. He then 
entered upon the study of the law, under 
the supervision of his father and also under 
that of Hon. H. C. McWhorter, afterward 
entering the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Virginia, at Charlottesville. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1882 but did not en- 
ter actively into practice until four years 
later, when he formed a partnership with 
Judge H. C. McWhorter, which continued 
until 1897, when Judge McWhorter retired 
from practice in order to assume the duties 
of judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals. 
Shortly afterward, Louis E. McWhorter be- 
came associated in practice with Isaac 
Loewenstein, and this partnership lasted 
until May 31, 1909. In the meanwhile 
Judge McWhorter had retired from his 
high public office and on August 1, 1909, 
again resumed private practice in partner- 
ship with L. E. McWhorter, under the old 
firm name of H. C. & L. E. McWhorter, 
with offices in the Alderson-Stephenson 
Building. 

Mr. McWhorter was married June 27, 
1883, to Miss Emma M. Champe, a daugh- 
ter of Sewall and Almeda Champe. Five 
children were born to them, four daughters 
and one son: Julia, Almeda, Lou Emma, 
Louis Edwin and Ruth Annette. Julia, the 
eldest, died April 17, 1904. They are mem- 
bers of the State Street Methodist Episco- 
pal church. In politics Mr. McWhorter is 
a Republican, and he represented Kanawha 
County in the House of Delegates in 1905, 
and w r as city attorney for the city of 
Charleston, from April, 1905, to April, 1907. 
His residence is at No. no Bradford Street, 
Charleston. Mr. McWnorter is a liberal 
and public spirited citizen. He lives up to 
the demands of the day and takes an earn- 
est interest in the institutions and enter- 
prises which promise to build up the pros- 
perity of this section. 

WILLIAM B. DONNALLY, a well 
known business man of Charleston, where 
he is engaged in the transfer and freighting 
business, and is also a dealer in grain and 
feed stuffs, was born in the Salines, on Ka- 



388 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



nawha river, this county, in 185 1, a son of 
Van Bibber and Mary B. (Waggoner) Don- 
nally. 

He is a great grandson of Col. Andrew 
Donnally, born in the north of Ireland, who 
came to this country about the middle of the 
eighteenth century, at which time there was 
a large Scotch-Irish emigration to the Val- 
ley of Virginia. This early ancestor soon 
became a prominent man in his locality, 
serving as high sheriff and county lieuten- 
ant, or military commander of Botetourte 
County. This office of county lieutenant, 
or military commander, was a very impor- 
tant one at that day and was borrowed from 
the Mother Country, where it was usually 
held by a person of rank. It carried with it 
also the title of colonel. Col. Donnally 
may have been one of the officers of Bote- 
tourte County at its formation in 1770. The 
fort called Donnally's was built in 1771 in 
that county. The colonel or county lieu- 
tenant was the person to communicate with 
the governor and the secretary of the col- 
ony, commanded the militia and presided 
at the county courts. He was appointed by 
the governor with the advice of the council 
and was generally the most prominent citi- 
zen. The office was held during good be- 
havior. Col. Donnally was subsequently 
made county lieutenant of Greenbrier 
County and continued in that office under 
Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, the 
two first governors of Virginia. There is 
a story current in the family that he was 
with Washington's army at Valley Forge 
during the severe winter of 1777-78 and par- 
ticipated in the awful suffering of that pe- 
riod, but, however this may be, there is no 
further evidence of his being again with the 
Continental army. 

About this time, however, he had his ex- 
perience of Indian warfare. The murder of 
the famous Chief Cornstalk by the whites, 
or rather, by some white men, for it was an 
act denounced by the best men on the fron- 
tier, had greatly exasperated the Indians 
and they retaliated viciously on the unpro- 
tected settlers. In the spring of 1778 they 



attempted to surprise and capture Fort 
Randolph at Point Pleasant, but failing in 
that, they turned their attention to Fort 
Donnally. The occupants of the fort were 
apprised of their danger in time by two men 
from Fort Randolph, who succeeded in 
eluding the savages. Col. Donnally, who 
had been absent, returned to the fort at 
night just as the enemy were investing it, 
but succeeded in entering it without being 
noticed. The attack which followed was 
disastrous to the Indians, who departed 
after suffering considerable loss. Four 
white men in all were killed, two while on 
their way to the fort. Among the defend- 
ers, Col. Donnally's daughter Catherine 
took a conspicuous part, though then but a 
young girl of twelve years. Another daugh- 
ter, Katie, helped to mould the pewter plate 
and spoons into bullets and poured hot wa- 
ter through the puncheons on the heads of 
the savages. With perhaps one exception, 
this was the last raid of the Indians to the 
Greenbrier. Says a writer in the West Vir- 
ginia Historical Magazine (Quarterly) for 
July, 1901 : "The responsibilities of Col. 
Donnally's position were very great and the 
work heavy. He felt personally accounta- 
ble for the lives of the people in the wilds 
of the Greenbrier, Meadow Creek and 
Kanawha rivers and their tributaries. The 
duties of his office called him constantly 
from home, but it seems that he was ever 
at hand when emergencies arose. That he 
was a man of great executive ability, history 
proves. Stories of his personal courage and 
great physical strength are too well known 
to admit of a doubt and his racy repartees 
became proverbial. . . He had only 
550 men in the militia at his disposal, for 
the defense of this western frontier. Gov- 
ernor Jefferson was now asking for some of 
these men to be sent to General George 
Rogers Clark to aid in his expedition against 
his Indians of the West. The Assembly also 
required of him more men for the Contin- 
ental army * * * The public credit was 
at so low an ebb that no one would advance 
money. Ammunition was scarce. The mili- 
tia must depend upon the corn tax levied on 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



389 



the settlers. Yet these brave men struggled 
on and fought for their country." 

Col. Donnally resigned his commission as 
military commander on September 19, 1781. 
It was not accepted evidently, as he writes 
officially to Gov. Patrick Henry in 1785. 
Col. Donnally was one of the trustees of 
Lewisburg at its establishment in 1782. He 
did not come to reside on the Kanawha until 
after the battle at Fort Donnally. He went 
directly to the mouth of the river and lived 
just above the present town of Point Pleas- 
ant for a year or more. He was one of those 
who denounced the murderers of Cornstalk, 
and on one occasion meeting with a man 
who boasted that he had fired the fatal shot 
that brought such desolation to the frontier 
settlements, he knocked him senseless with 
a stanchion, so that when he recovered he 
hastened away from the locality and was 
never more heard of. Colonel Donnally 
owned many negroes, one of whom, Dick 
Pointer, distinguished himself in the fight at 
Donnally's Fort in 1778. A son of the latter 
was taken prisoner by the Indians in 1790 
and was made a chief by them. He subse- 
quently aided the Americans in the war of 
1812. 

Col. Donnally lived a short time at the 
mouth of the Elk after leaving Point Pleas- 
ant. Kanawha county was formed in 1789 
and he was chosen the first representative. 
The population at this time however, was so 
sparse that but thirteen votes were cast, al- 
thought the polls were open for three days. 
He again served his county as representative 
in 1803. From the mouth of the Elk he 
moved to his permanent home, about five 
miles above Charleston, on the south side of 
the Kanawha, where he lived in comfort and 
prosperity for many years. He died about 
1825. He had one brother, whose descend- 
ants reside in New Jersey and Ohio. 

Of his own immediate family he had sev- 
eral daughters, who are represented by the 
Slaughters, Hendersons and Wilsons, now 
living here and elsewhere, and are promin- 
ently married and represented in the differ- 
ent professions and trades. There has 
scarcely been a period in the last century 



that this state, county or town was not rep- 
resented by one of Col. Donnally's descend- 
ants, either directly or indirectly through 
marriage. The renowned Daniel Boone was 
neighbor for years to Colonel Donnally, re- 
siding on his place up to the time that he 
left for Spanish Missouri in 1799. Daniel's 
son, Jesse Boone, who was Colonel Don- 
nally's brother-in-law, resided in his father's 
home until 1816, when he also went West. 

Colonel Donnally- was one of the early salt 
manufacturers of the county, this industry 
being an important one at that time on the 
frontier, as salt, while one of the most neces- 
sary articles for the pioneer, was also one of 
the most difficult ones to obtain, except in 
the immediate vicinity of salt springs, where 
the salt was manufactured by the tedious 
process of boiling and evaporation. The 
Colonel and his wife were Presbyterians in 
religious faith. They died when between 60 
and 70 years of age and were buried in what 
is now the old family plat, where many of 
their descendants have found a last resting- 
place. They had a family of four or five 
children. 

Andrew Donnally (2d), son of the fore- 
going and grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, was born in Fort Donnally, ten miles 
west of Lewisburg and, like his father, in 
turn became a prominent man in his com- 
munity, owning about 100,000 acres of land 
together with 150 slaves. Together with a 
Mr. Ruffner, as the firm of Ruffner and 
Donnally, he owned and controlled the en- 
tire salt output of the county, this being the 
first commercial monopoly known in the his- 
tory of the county. At one time he lived in 
Charleston, where he owned valuable prop- 
erty, though he and his wife resided for 
nearly half a century on the old homestead, 
which they improved and greatly enlarged 
in area. A Whig in politics, he was twice 
high sheriff, was clerk of the courts, and 
magistrate and a representative in the Vir- 
ginia legislature. His death took place in 
1849 when he was about 70 years of age. In 
1802 he had married Marjory, daughter of 
Captain John Van Bibber, and they had six 
sons that arrived at maturity, besides two 



390 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



daughters. The sons married into promin- 
ent old families of the valley, and all were 
engaged conspicuously in business interests. 
The two daughters married respectively, 
Henry Fry, great grandson of Col. Joshua 
Fry, who commanded the Colonial army in 
1754, and who had been prominent in Vir- 
ginia history for thirty years or more, and 
Col. John Lewis, grandson of Gen. Andrew 
Lewis, the Indian fighter, and Colonial and 
also Revolutionary officer of renown. The 
members of this family, which numbered 
nine children in all, are all now deceased. 

Van Bibber Donnally, father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was the eldest child of his 
parents. He was born in Charleston, W. 
Va., in 1809 and grew to manhood in Kana- 
wha county. His literary education was ob- 
tained in a college at Athens, Ohio. Like 
his father, he engaged in the salt business and 
continued in it most of the time until the 
breaking out of the Civil War. He was an 
active member of the Democratic party and 
in religion a Presbyterian. His death took 
place in Buffalo, W. Va., when he had at- 
tained the age of 72 years. He had married 
in Mason county, W. Va., Mary B. Wag- 
goner, a native of that county. She was born 
a little later than her husband and died later, 
at the age of 75 years. Like him she was a 
Presbyterian in religion. Their family num- 
bered ten children, of whom there are five 
still living, one daughter being a widow and 
two of the children being yet unmarried. 

William B. Donnally, the date and place of 
whose nativity has been already given, was 
educated in the public schools, but endowed 
with a good brain and an energetic nature 
he has since largely increased his mental 
equipment in the domain of practical know- 
ledge. Coming to Charleston in 1885 he 
established here the freighting and transfer 
business, of which he is now the head, and 
which has since grown to large proportions, 
giving employment to 25 people. A Demo- 
cratic in politics, he was nominated for the 
office of sheriff and twice for county clerk, 
but this being a strong Republican district, 
he was defeated. 

Mr. Donnally was married in this county 



to Sallie Ashton Cotton, who was born in 
Charleston in 1858, daughter of Dr. John T. 
and Sarah (Fitzhugh ) Cotton, one time resi- 
dents in Ohio, but who were for many years 
prominent in the business and social life of 
Charleston, Va. Of this union there have 
been ten children, of whom two died young. 
The living are as follows : Sarah is the wife 
of L. L. Sheets and has one son, Donnally. 
John C, who was educated at Phillips- 
Exeter Academy, graduating also from the 
law department of the University of Virginia 
in the class of 1903. Frank W oodman died 
at the age of 9 years. William B. Jr., who is 
a well educated young man, is associated 
with his father in business. The other chil- 
dren, Henry Fitzhugh, Van Bibber, Doro- 
thy, Fitzhugh and Robert, are attending the 
high school. Mr. Donnally adheres to the 
religious faith of his ancestors, being a Pres- 
byterian, while Mrs. Donnally is an Episco- 
palian. 

NOANE SNYDER, one of the younger 
business men of Berrien Creek, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., where he is engaged in the 
mercantile line and since 1907 has been assist- 
ant postmaster, was born at Queen Shoals, Big 
Sandy District. Kanawha County, July I, 1886, 
and is a son of John F. and Nancy (Lynch) 
Snyder. The mother of Mr. Snyder died in 
1 89 1. leaving three children, Elmer, Noane and 
Bessie. 

After the death of his mother and his fath- 
er's second marriage., Noane Snyder was rear- 
ed in the home of his grandparents until he was 
twelve years old. He attended school and after- 
ward spent two years as a coal miner and later 
worked with his father as a carpenter until 
1905. He then came to Berrien Creek, where 
he embarked in the general mercantile business. 
Mr. Snyder is a Republican in his political sen- 
timents. He married Miss Ella Stump, who 
was born in Kanawha County and is a daugh- 
ter of George W. Stump, Esq., of Clendenin. 
Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have one son, Russell, 
who has reached the age of two years. They 
both belong to'old families of this section and 
are prominent in the pleasant social life of Ber- 
rien Creek. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



393 



JOSEPH POPP, who enjoys the distinc- 
tion of being the oldest dealer in and manufac- 
turer of harness, retail and wholesale, at 
Charleston, W. Va., has been a resident of 
Kanawha County for thirty-nine years and dur- 
ing all this time has been a busy, useful and re- 
spected citizen. He was born in the village of 
Konigsofen, Baden, Germany, his mother's 
birthplace, September 25, 1854, and is a son of 
Charles and Mary E (Goetz) Popp. 

Charles Popp spent his entire life in Ger- 
many and was born at Lauda, in Baden, about 
1800, dying there in 1874. He was a maker 
of window frames, a profitable trade at that 
time. He married Mary E. Goetz, who was 
about three years his junior, and her death oc- 
curred in 1886. They were members of the 
Roman Catholic church. Six children were 
born to them, all of whom married, but the 
only one to come to America was Joseph, who 
left his native land at the age of eighteen years. 

Joseph Popp obtained a good public school 
education and then learned his father's trade. 
He was more enterprising than the other mem- 
bers of his family and decided to cross the At- 
lantic Ocean and seek fortune in America. He 
sailed from Bremen-haven, in the steamer 
Leipsic, which landed him safely at Castle Gar- 
den, New York, seventeen days later, and from 
there he went to Pittsburg and from that city 
came to Kanawha County in 1875. He fol- 
lowed cabinet making and farming for some 
years but in 1885 learned the trade of harness- 
maker with F. E. Perry. Subsequently he em- 
barked in business for himself on Kanawha 
Street, Charleston, where he carried on a re- 
tail business for some years and then added 
wholesaling and now has both retail and whole- 
sale connections that make him a leader in his 
line of business in this section. 

Mr. Popp was married at Charleston to Miss 
Minnie Schafer, who was born in 1859, in 
Allegheny City, Pa., a daughter of Conrad and 
Pauline Schafer, the former of whom was born 
in Wertemberg and the latter in Bavaria, Ger- 
many. They came to America on a sailing ves- 
sel and were married at Allegheny City and 
lived there until 1880, when they moved to 
Kanawha County, where the father was a 



farmer in Elk District and died there at the 
age of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Schafer had 
six children born to them, all of whom are liv- 
ing and four married. Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Popp: Rose Mary, 
who lives with her parents, was educated in 
the parochial schools; Joseph, who was born 
April 13, 1892, was afforded good educational 
opportunities and is in business with his father; 
and Mary F., who is a student in a church 
school. Mr. Popp and family are members of 
the Catholic church. They have occupied their 
comfortable and attractive residence erected by 
Mr. Popp at No. 613-15 Kanawha Street, for 
some five years. He is an active citizen and is 
serving in his second term as a member of the 
city council. Politically he is a Democrat. 
Since 1905 he has been a member and treasurer 
of Lodge No. 771, Knights of Columbus, at 
Charleston. 

JUDGE LEROY HARLESS. now super- 
intendent of the Kanawha County Infirmary, 
located eight miles west of Charleston, W. Va., 
was born in what is now Boone county, W. Va., 
August 23, 1842, and is a son of James H. and 
Spicey (Barker) Harless. 

James H. Harless was born in Giles countty, 
Va., where he was educated. At the time and 
some time after his marriage, he lived in that 
part of Kanawha county that now makes up 
Boone county, W. Va., where he owned about 
300 acres of land, which has passed into the 
possession of his heirs. His death occurred 
when he was seventy years of age. He mar- 
ried in Kanawha county and his widow sur- 
vived him some years, passing' away in her 
eightieth year. Ten children were born to 
them, namely: Martha, Silas E., James B., Le- 
roy, Rachel, Mary, Nancy, Willa, William and 
Virginia. The survivors are: James B., Leroy, 
Rachel, Willa, William and Virginia. The 
parents of the above family were members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. In early man- 
hood the father was a Whig and later became a 
Republican and on the ticket of that party was 
elected to a number of district offices. 

Leroy Harless was scarcely through school 
before he joined a volunteer military company, 



394 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



becoming a member of Co. B, 8th Va. Vol. Inf., 
recruited for the Union Army. After the ter- 
mination of his first period of enlistment, he re- 
enlisted in the 7th W. Va. Cav., with which he 
remained connected until the close of the war. 
He saw much hard fighting and bravely faced 
danger on a hundred occasions or more, but 
fortunately escaped all serious injury and when 
the war ended gladly resumed a life of peace. 
He came back to Kanawha county and for a 
number of years was engaged in a mercantile 
business on Coal river, near Fort Peytona. 
After this he went into the lumber and timber 
business which he continued until 1892, when 
he was elected deputy sheriff on the Republi- 
can ticket. He served in this capacity for four 
years under Sheriff Silman, and four years 
under Sheriff Copenhaver, and two more 
years under Sheriff John Jarrett. He was then 
elected a county commissioner in Kanawha 
county, and after serving six years returned to 
private life for two years, when he was ap- 
pointed to his present responsible office, in 19 10. 
He has always been a Republican and a strong 
party man. He has a beautiful residence at 
No. 1 00 1 Bigley avenue, Charleston, which is 
the family home, but six days in the week he is 
found at the Infirmary, where all the duties 
pertaining to this institution are faithfully and 
efficiently considered, both as to the best inter- 
ests of the county charges and of the tax pay- 
ers. He owns a farm of 153 acres, situated in 
Washington district, Kanawha county, on 
which his son-in-law lives as a tenant. 

Mr. Harless was married first on February 
25, 1869, to Miss Lethia Keeney, a daughter 
of Foster and Eliza Keeney, of this county. 
She died February 7, 1907, and her burial was 
on Allen Creek in Kanawha county. She is 
survived by five children : Elmer E., Cora Ollie, 
Carrie O., Gertrude and Wesley. Mr. Harless 
was married second, December 24, 1909, to 
Mrs. Rufiny (Foster) McLane, a daughter of 
James Foster, of Kanawha county. Mrs. Har- 
less married first Charles Hanna, and they had 
one child, Minnie. No children were born to 
her second marriage to Charles McLane. Mr. 
Harless and wife attend the Bowman Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. He belongs to Blundon 



Post, G. A. R., at Charleston, and also 10 the 
Odd Fellows. 

JAMES KENNEDY, mine foreman for 
Mine No. 101, of the Sunday Creek Mine 
Company, in Cabin Creek District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., is a well known resident of 
this county, where he has lived for thirty-five 
years, and an experienced and reliable miner. 
He was born October 5, 1856, in Pendleton 
County, Ky., and is a son of James and Mary 
(McKenna) Kennedy. 

James Kennedy, the father, was born in Ire- 
land where he learned the trade of brick and 
stone mason. He then came to America and 
located at Hamilton, O., where he married 
Mary McKenna, Who was born at Pottsville, 
Pa., of Irish parentage. From Ohio Mr. Ken- 
nedy and wife moved to Pendleton County, 
Ky., and there he bought a farm, but in 1861 
on account of the war, he moved back to 
Ohio and engaged in mining near Pomeroy. 
He continued to live in Ohio until his sons 
brought him to Kanawha County, where he 
died in 1888, at the age of sixty-five years. 
His wife had died three years before. Eight 
children were born to them: Charles, John, 
James, Margaret, Stephen. William, Edmund 
and Mary, the last named being the wife of 
C. P. McCafferty. During the labor troubles 
of 1876, the sons scattered, each seeking a 
home where prospects seemed more favorable, 
Charles going to the West and John and James 
coming to Kanawha County, W. Va., from 
which locality they subsequently sent for the 
family still remaining in Ohio. 

James Kennedy was thirteen years of age 
when he accompanied his father to the mines 
where he was set to work at tasks suitable to 
his age and inexperience, but he soon became a 
regular miner and worked as such until his 
marriage. About that time, in partnership 
with John Barrett, he opened a general store 
at Shrewsbury, in Kanawha County, and they 
operated it for seven years under the name of 
Kennedy & Barrett. After they closed the 
store Mr. Kennedy went back to mining and 
was for a time in the employ of J. D. Harris 
at Monarch and later at Shrewsbury, and was 
made mine foreman and served in that capacity 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



395 



for three years before coming to the Winifrede 
Mines, where he was foreman for one year, 
when he again came back to Shrewsbury and 
worked as tracklayer for several years. On 
March I, 1910, he took the responsible office 
he now so satisfactorily fills. 

On June 24, 1879, Mr. Kennedy was mar- 
ried to Miss Anna Rodgers, a daughter of 
John and Ann Rodgers, and eleven children 
have been born to them, namely : Thomas, who 
is a mine boss under his father's supervision; 
Mary, who is the wife of M. T. Long; Anna; 
Rose, who is the wife of T. J. Malone; and 
James, Lawrence, William, Margaret, Edward, 
Raymond and Helen. Mr. Kennedy and fam- 
ily are members of the Good Sheperd Roman 
Catholic church. He is a Democrat in poli- 
tics and at one time was his party's candidate 
for county commissioner. He belongs to the 
Ancient Order of Hibernians. 

GEORGE H. SHREWSBURY, a member 
of the Kanawha County bar, is a native of 
West Virginia and since 1894 has been a resi- 
dent of the capital city. He was born July 23, 
1872, at Point Pleasant, in Mason County, 
and is a son of Columbus and Cynthia (Jar- 
rett) Shrewsbury. 

Columbus Shrewsbury was born in West 
Virginia, where he became a man of public im- 
portance and large estate. He served in the 
office of deputy United States marshal under 
several Republican presidents and later was 
elected sheriff of Mason County, W. Va. He 
commanded his own steamboats on the Ohio 
and West Virginia great waterways. His 
death occurred in 1902, he having survived his 
wife since 1882. 

George H. Shrewsbury was educated at 
Point Pleasant and in the Normal schools at 
Lebanon and Ada, O. At the former place he 
studied law and was graduated there in 1893, 
in which year he was admitted to the bar in 
West Virginia and then — in 1894 — located at 
Charleston. For some years he was associated 
with other attorneys in practice, but later open- 
ed an office of his own in the Charleston Na- 
tional Bank Building. His practice is a general 
one. Politically he is a Republican. He takes 
a citizen's interest in all civic movements of im- 



portance and belongs to that class of profes- 
sional men who, while not desirous of political 
office for themselves, have high ideals and are 
willing to give support to those candidates only 
who have proved both their honesty and ca- 
pacity. 

Mr. Shrewsbury was married July 30, 1895, 
to Miss Carrie H. Seiker, a native of Lebanon, 
O., and they have one child, Ruth H. Mr. 
Shrewsbury and wife are members of the Pres- 
byterian church. He is a Mason and member 
of other fraternal societies. The family resi- 
dence is on Quarrier Street, Charleston. 

VALENTINE FRUTH, a representative 
business man of Charleston, W. Va., conduct- 
ing a first class grocery at No. 202 Kanawha 
Street, where he has been established for 
twenty-two years, was born November 5, 1858, 
at Pomeroy, O., and is a son of Abraham and 
Anna M. (Mees) Fruth. 

Abraham Fruth was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
many, in 1832, and died in Mason County, W. 
Va., May 20, 1885. He was seventeen years 
old when he came to the United States and 
with his parents settled at Pomeroy, O., where 
he became a miller and millwright and carried 
on milling from 1845 unt ^ i860, afterward 
conducting a general store. He moved to Ma- 
son County, W. Va., where he lived retired for 
some years before his death. He was a strong 
Democrat but was in sympathy with the Fed- 
eral Government during the Civil War. On 
May 2, 1 85 1, he was married at Pomeroy, O., 
to Miss Anna M. Mees, who was born in Ger- 
many in 1834, and was brought to the United 
States by her parents in 1836. They settled 
at Pomeroy, O., and later moved to Mason 
County, W. Va., where they died in old age. 
They reared a large family. Abraham and 
Maria (Ohlinger) Mees, maternal grandpar- 
ents of Valentine Fruth, were worthy and re- 
spected people and were members of the Luth- 
eran church. To Abraham and Anna M. 
Fruth the following children were born : Eliza- 
beth, who died when aged nine years ; Henry, 
who died after marriage; Matilda, who also 
died after marriage; Abraham, who is the 
junior member of the wholesale and retail 
meat firm of Fisher & Fruth, at Charleston, 



396 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



married Elizabeth Fisher and they have one 
son and three daughters : Valentine ; Anna, 
who is the wife of George Fisher, of the firm 
of Fisher & Fruth; Emma, who is the wife of 
Taylor Robinson, now living in Mason Coun- 
ty, and has one son and one daughter. 

Valentine Fruth attended the public schools 
of Pomeroy, O., in boyhood, and when six- 
teen years of age accompanied the family to 
Mason County, W. Va. He started to work 
as a mule driver in a coal mine and continued 
mine work, in various capacities, until he was 
experienced enough to be appointed a mine 
boss. In 1889 he came to Charleston. He had 
worked hard all his previous life but had been 
able to save little and had a very small amount 
of money to invest when he started his grocery 
store, at his present stand. Close attention, 
prudence and excellent judgment have contri- 
buted to Mr. Fruth's business success and he 
now has one of the largest grocery stocks in 
the city and is a very substantial citizen finan- 
cially. He is a strong Democrat and has fre- 
quently been tendered public offices and is a 
member of the school board. He has served 
also in the city council where his advice on pub- 
lic business was of great practical value. 

Mr. Fruth was married at Pomeroy, O., No- 
vember 28, 1883, to Miss Emma M. Joachim, 
who was born at Pomeroy, October 25, 1859, 
and is a daughter of George and Elizabeth 
(Rasp) Joachim. Mr. Joachim was born in 
Obenheimer, Germany, and came to America 
with his parents, and was reared and married 
at Pomeroy, O. In 1895 he came to Charles- 
ton and died February 4, 191 1, at the age of 
seventy-five years. His wife passed away 
June 12, 1899, when aged sixty-three years. 
They were members of the Lutheran church. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Fruth: Bertha E., Elbert A., and Clifford T. 
Bertha E., born November 11, 188=;, was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Charleston. She 
married Clem R. Edgar, who is connected with 
the Bauer Meat and Fish Company. Elbert A., 
born January 24, 1886, after graduating from 
the Charleston High School, entered the Uni- 
versity of Virginia and was graduated as an 
electrical engineer in the class of 1907. He is 
connected with the electrical Underwriters of 



Chicago Company at Milwaukee, Wis. Clif- 
ford J. was born November 28, 1895, and is 
a student in the Charleston High School. Mr. 
Fruth and family are members of the First 
German Evangelical Church of Charleston. 

C. C. SLATER, postmaster at Track 
Fork, W. Va., on Trace Fork Creek, which 
is a branch of Allen's Fork, in Poca District, 
Kanawha County, twenty-one miles north 
of Charleston, owns 12^/2 acres of farm land 
in this district, in which he was born Novem- 
ber 7, 1854, a son of William A. and Miriam 
(Fisher) Slater. 

William A. Slater was born in Kanawha 
County and spent his life here, his death oc- 
curring in 1890, and his burial was on the 
home farm. A large portion of his life was 
devoted to agricultural pursuits, but during 
the last two years he conducted a small 
grocery business. He was a Democrat in 
politics and for some years served as over- 
seer of the poor in Poca District. He mar- 
ried Miriam Fisher, who died in 1900. They 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church south. 

C. C. Slater attended school in Poca Dis- 
trict and when twenty-two years of age 
engaged in fanning with his father and after 
the death of the latter, when the homestead 
land was divided, his portion was his pres- 
ent farm, which adjoins the other part. He 
has erected the substantial buildings on the 
place and carries on general farming, includ- 
ing the raising of stock and cattle. On 
November 16, 1909, he was appointed post- 
master of Track Fork and is the successor 
of J. W. Harris, who is deceased. Mail is 
delivered and sent out from this point three 
times a week. In politics he is a Democrat. 
He is a member of the Postmasters' 
League of Kanawha County. 

Mr. Slater married Miss Sophia A. Hart, 
who was born in Mason County, Va., a 
daughter of Columbus and Sidney Hart, and 
they have had the following children : Pey- 
ton, who resides on Frog Creek, Poca Dis- 
trict, married Mary Lovejoy and they have 
three children — Romie, Masil and Naomi; 
Mary Mamy, now twenty years old is the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



397 



wife of W. C. Higginbotham ; Ary Amy, a 
twin sister of Mary M., is unmarried; G. 
W., who resides on Hammond's Creek, 
Union District, married Visa Higgin- 
botham, and they have two children; Will- 
iam V., who died at the age of six months; 
Delilah, who is deceased; Daniel D., who 
lives in Poca District, married Zella Fields, 
and they have one daughter, Delilah; and 
Leff., Thomas, Estel and Sidney Marian, all 
of whom live at home. Mr. Slater is presi- 
dent of the Allen Fork extension of the Big 
Four Telephone Company. 

HON. R. S. CARR, a representative busi- 
ness man of Charleston, W. Va., and one 
who has been highly honored by his city, 
county and state at various times, is now 
largely interested in realty in this section, 
and through his enterprise and foresight has 
been the means of bringing much capital to 
the Kanawha Valley. He was born Nov- 
ember 17, 1845, i n Guernsey County, O., 
and is a son of James and Margaret (Stuart) 
Carr, both natives of Ireland. 

From Guernsey County, O., the parents 
of Mr. Carr moved to Point Pleasant, in 
Mason County, Va., when he was ten years 
old, where he attended school and resided 
until 1865, when the family came to Charles- 
ton. Here he was employed as a clerk in 
mercantile establishments until 1877. He 
then embarked in the mercantile business 
for himself, in which he continued until 
^1882, when he turned his business energies 
in another direction. In that year he or- 
ganized a tow-boat company, of which he 
became president, and later he became iden- 
tified with other business interests of the 
city and section. 

Although but indifferently educated, hav- 
ing had but few opportunities for improve- 
ment during his youth, Mr. Carr was gifted 
with a quick and receptive mind and devel- 
oped into a close thinking and intelligent 
man in regard to public affairs. He has not 
always been identified with the same politi- 
cal party, his actions having been guided by 
principal rather than by party affiliation. 
Hence, from 1878 until 1880, he was con- 

24 



nected with what was known as the Green- 
back party, having many of the finest types 
of men in the country as his co-thinkers and 
associate workers. Later he became a 
Democrat but shortly afterward he gave up 
allegiance to that party in order to work in 
the interests of what was known as the 
Labor party. It requires no little courage 
for a public man to thus change his political 
attitude, but Mr. Carr has always had the 
support of a large body of progressive men 
like himself. In the spring of 1879 he was 
elected a member of the city council of 
Charleston, serving three years in that body, 
and in 1882 was elected a county commis- 
sioner, and served as president of the board. 
He was elected in 1886, on the Labor ticket, 
a delegate from the Ninth West Virginia 
District, in which election he overcame the 
normal Democratic majority of 1200 votes. 
He was still further honored in the session 
of 1889, when he was elected president of 
the state senate, serving as such through 
two sessions. In connection with Mr. 
Carr's public services a unique situation 
may be mentioned. At the close of his last 
term, by simply taking the oath of office, 
peculiar conditions then existing in the 
state, he had the chance of ever afterward 
being numbered with the governors of West 
Virginia. The honor would have been but 
a temporary one — of but three days dura- 
tion — but not every man, when retiring from 
public life, would have refused even this 
transient honor, as did Senator Carr. 

In 1869 Mr. Carr was married to Miss 
Julia E. Wilson, a daughter of John and 
Elizabeth Wilson, of Charleston, and they 
have one son, Frederick N. Carr. Although 
no longer very active in politics, Mr. Carr 
continues to be a foremost citizen and few 
movements of public importance are carried 
out in his city without his judgment being 
consulted. He maintains his office in the 
National Bank Building, Charleston. 

ROBERT M. BLACKBURN, who, for a 
number of years was a valued and esteemed 
citizen of Charleston, W. Va., was born in 
Guilford County, N. C, not far from Hills- 



398 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dale, April 5, 1850, and died at Charleston, 
May 14, 1901. He was a son of Robert and 
Martha (Washburn) Blackburn. 

Robert Blackburn and wife spent their lives 
in North Carolina, he dying at Greensboro, at 
the age of seventy-eight years, and his wife at 
Hillsdale, when aged forty years. The Black- 
burns and Washburns were both old settled 
families of the Old North State, where, for 
generations they were slave and plantation 
owners and were vitally concerned in all those 
things that made up the business and social 
life of the South in ante-bellum days. To 
Robert and Martha Blackburn fourteen chil- 
dren were born and those who survived in- 
fancy were the following: Robert M., the eld- 
est ; D. Luther ; James ; Walter, who was ac- 
cidentally killed by the kick of a horse, at the 
age of sixteen years; Newton, who also died 
at the age of sixteen years ; Martha, who is the 
wife of William A. Scott, of Greensboro, N. 
C. ; Minnie, who is the wife of John Cook, ex- 
sheriff of Guilford County, N. C. ; Clifford, 
who is dead ; and Jasper, who resides at 
Greensboro, N. C. 

Robert M. Blackburn was reared in Guil- 
ford County. He was mainly educated by tu- 
tors as was the frequent custom in the homes 
of planters at that time, although the outbreak 
of the Civil war. while he was young, pre- 
vented his enjoying advantages that might 
otherwise have been his. When eighteen years 
of age he became overseer on the estate of his 
maternal grandfather, Joseph Washburn, 
where he remained for some years, after 
which, in association with George Bennett, he 
entered into the tobacco trade and in the busi- 
ness of dealing in horses, a partnership that 
lasted for some years. In 1876 Mr. Blackburn 
became a resident of Charleston, where he em- 
barked in the mercantile business which he suc- 
cessfully conducted until the close of his life. 
He was a man well and favorably known, hon- 
orable in all business transactions, and ever 
loyal to his friends and his convictions. Al- 
though no politician in the general meaning of 
the term, and at no time a seeker for office, he 
was an ardent Democrat and lent support to 
the candidates of the Democratic party and up- 
held its principles as long as he lived. He was 



d valued member of the Odd Fellows and the 
Knights of Pythias at Charleston. 

On June 28, 1876, at Charleston, Mr. Black- 
burn was married to Miss Margaret Lane, who 
was born in Nicholas County, W. Va., in 1856, 
but was reared and educated in this city. She 
is a daughter of Henry Clay and Hannah 
(Dunbar) Lane, who were born in West Vir- 
ginia and lived in Nicholas County until just 
before the outbreak of the Civil War, when 
they moved to Charleston. Mr. Lane went out 
as a volunteer in the Mexican War, and when 
the Civil war broke out his services as a 
trained military man were gladly accepted by 
the Federal government, as were those, for the 
same reasons, of Captain Grant, of Illinois, 
who later became the commander-in-chief of 
the Union army. Major Lane served as mili- 
tary instructor with the rank of major. Both he 
and wife were members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church — good, kindly people, who gave 
of their sympathy and means to all who needed 
help, within the circle of their acquaintance. 
Of their children, Mrs. Blackburn was the only 
daughter to reach maturity. One son, John 
Clay Lane, is a cotton grower in Oklahoma. 
Harvey E. Lane is connected with a lumber 
company at Charleston. William Lane resides 
in West Charleston. Sherman Lane and 
Spicer P. Lane both live in this city, while the 
youngest son, Henry M. Lane, is lumber in- 
spector for a company at Crestmont, W. Va. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn the following 
children were born: Robert E., who died at the 
age of two and one-half years; Walter, who 
was born in North Carolina, died aged five 
months; William M., who died at Charleston 
when almost twelve years old; George Ben- 
nett, an educated, brilliant and popular young 
man, city auditor of Charleston, who died Oc- 
tober 31, 1908, aged twenty-seven years; Lyda 
B., who resides with her husband at Spring- 
ton, W. Va., was married to Earl Oscar Har- 
rah, a timber dealer, March 8, 191 1 ; Amy V.. 
who died aged two years; Margaret, who died 
aged nine days ; and Lillian Lane and Fay, the 
last named dying in infancy. Lillian Lane, the 
second youngest daughter, was born at Charles- 
ton nineteen years ago, and her marriage took 
place June 28, 191 1, her parents' wedding an- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



399 



niversary, to William Cline Alexander. Mr. 
Alexander was born in Virginia and is the 
leading florist at Charleston. Mrs. Blackburn 
and her daughters are active members of the 
Baptist church. 

J. B. HARLESS, proprietor of a general 
store at Marmet, Kanawha County, W. Va., 
a representative citizen of this section, was born 
February 27, 1840, in what was then Kanawha 
County, Va. His parents were James H. and 
Spisey (Barker) Harless. 

James H. Harless was a native of Virginia 
and was a farmer in his native State for prac- 
tically all his life, his death occurring when 
aged sixty-eight years. His wife was also 
born in Virginia and she outlived him, dying 
near her seventy-second birthday. They had 
eight children, J. B. being the third in order of 
birth. The others were : Martha and Silas, 
both of whom are deceased; Mary and Nancy, 
who are also deceased; Rachel, who is the 
wife of M. Snodgrass; Willard Harold, who 
is the wife of Albert Harold; and Virginia, 
who is the wife of L. N. Perry. 

J. B. Harless describes the schoolhouse, in 
which he studied his first lessons, as a log 
structure with very primitive furnishings, with 
sessions lasting but three months in the year. 
On many occasions it became his duty to get 
up before daylight and find wood with which 
to build the schoolhouse fire, that being in the 
contract with the teacher. Mr. Harless then 
became a farmer and also worked in the tim- 
ber and continued until he was forty-five years 
of age, when he discontinued those lines and 
went into merchandising. He purchased his 
present store which is favorably located for 
trade, near the C. & O. Railroad depot, and he 
carries a large and well selected stock and does 
a prosperous business. He owns other prop- 
erty and is one of the substantial men of the 
place. During the Civil War he served in the 
Union Army, enlisting in 1861, in the 8th and 
later the 7th Va. Cav., under Col. Lozier, and 
served two years, during which time he par- 
ticipated in the second battle of Bull Run, the 
battle of Cedar Mountain and many other en- 
gagements. He returned from the army prac- 



tically uninjured and resumed his former busi- 
ness activities. 

Mr. Harless was married to Miss Mary E. 
Barker, who was born in Kanawha County, 
Va., and they have had three sons and one 
daughter, namely: Wyatt, who is deceased; 
Watson B., who married a Miss Price and 
they have four children; C. D., who works for 
his father, married Alma Grass and they have 
one child, Reba; Flora, who is the wife of 
Thomas Evans, and has four children, the old- 
est Sybil who is an adopted son of Mr. Har- 
less. In his political opinions, Mr. Harless is 
a Republican. 

HON. PETER SILMAN, president of 
the Glenwood Bank, of Charleston W. Va., 
has served efficiently and acceptably in 
many public positions and is one of the rep- 
resentative business men of the Kanawha 
Valley. He was born in Kanawha County, 
now in West Virginia, July 15, 1859. 

Although Mr. Silman had no other educa- 
tional advantages than those offered by the 
public schools, he early acquired the solid 
knowledge that made him acceptable as a 
teacher and followed educational work as an 
instructor for nine years. To be an active 
and useful citizen in almost any line, it be- 
comes necessary for a man to interest him- 
self more or less vitally in public matters, 
and Mr. Silman was not slow in recognizing 
this fact. He won the attention and confi- 
dence of his co-workers in the Republican 
party, and in 1892 was elected sheriff of 
Kanawha County. The attitude of his fel- 
low citizens regarding his administration 
may be judged by the fact that when he was 
a candidate for state treasurer, in 1900, he 
was elected to that office by a majority of 
over 20,000 votes. In both his public life 
and private business Mr. Silman has dis- 
played the practical, sensible qualities which 
ever mark the strong and successful man, 
combining with these a large measure of 
conservatism that is particularly desirable in 
financial undertakings. In 1908 Mr. Silman 
became president of the Glenwood Bank, 
of which his son, Robert Emmett Silman, 
is cashier, while John J. Melton is vice presi- 



400 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dent. Mr. Silman is also a director in the 
Capital City Bank. He is identified with a 
number of other successful enterprises at 
Charleston which rely on his advice and 
judgment and seek his cooperation. 

Mr. Silman was married in 1883, to Miss 
Minnie C. Jenkins, and they have had five 
children, namely: Alphonso B., a sign 
painter; Robert Emmett, cashier of the 
Glenwood bank; Everett W., who died age 
20 years; Hazel, wife of L. J. Higgon- 
botham ; and Helen Lucile. 

The family residence is at No. 1213 Ana- 
conda Avenue, Charleston. The family attend 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

WALTER B. BROOKS, a well known bus- 
iness man and citizen of Charleston, W. Va., 
was born in Kanawha county, May 1, 1846, a 
son of William Chauncey Brooks. He is a de- 
scendant in the fifth generation of John Brooks, 
a native of Connecticut, who spent his life in 
that state engaged in agriculture. This John 
was a son of the immigrant ancestor of the 
family, who came from England about the year 
1700. John Brooks married a Connecticut girl 
who lived to the great age of ninety-six years, 
and who, it is said, on one occasion was hon- 
ored by dancing with General Washington, at 
an entertainment in Boston, shortly before the 
Father of his Country was elected to the Pres- 
idency. She was then a young woman. John 
Brooks and wife were the parents of four sons, 
Charles, Chauncey, Frederick and John Jr., the 
last mentioned of whom, after marrying, re- 
mained with his widowed mother on the home 
farm. 

Chauncey Brooks, who is the next in direct 
line to the subject of this sketch, left his native 
state and settled in Baltimore, where he became 
a very wealthy man, leaving at his death over 
six millions of dollars. He was the first pres- 
ident of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and 
the head of four large wholesale houses in Balt- 
imore, in which city he was a noted character. 
He was twice married and had a large family, 
seven children being born of the first marriage. 
Two of his sons served in the Confederate 
army. Charles, one of the three who emi- 



grated settled in New York city, married and 
had a family. 

Frederick, son of Chauncey and grandfather 
of our subject, when a young man set out for 
Tennessee, intending to go into business there, 
but at Manasses Junction, Va., meeting a young 
lady named Frances Oden, he fell in love with 
and married her. remaining in that place for a 
time, where he conducted a store. In 1816 he 
came to the Kanawha Valley, bought salt prop- 
erty and in 18 18 settled at the Salt Licks four 
miles east of Elk, on the north side of the Kan- 
awha river. Here he engaged in the salt man- 
ufacturing business, but after residing a few 
years in this locality he came to the site of the 
present city of Charleston and bought a block 
log house on the spot that now marks the cross- 
ing of Brooks and Kanawha streets. Some 
years later and previous to the war, he pur- 
chased a large plantation in Kentucky, on which 
he lived throughout that protracted struggle. 
Though like other members of the Brooks fam- 
ily, he was the owner of slaves, his sympathies 
were with the Union cause, and when victory 
finally declared for the North, he felt it no 
hardship to surrender the right to his human 
chattels, or, if it proved a hardship, he at least 
made the sacrifice willingly. Some of the other 
members of the Brooks family were supporters 
of the Confederacy and slave holders on prin- 
ciple. Frederick Brooks died on his plantation 
in Kentucky, in 1869, aged seventy-seven years. 
He was an active man of affairs, and was an 
elder in the Presbyterian church, to which 
belonged most of the Brookses. In politics he 
was Whig. His wife died in Kanawha county, 
some years later at the venerable age of ninety- 
four. She was a daughter of James and Fran- 
ces (Skinner) Oden, her mother being a daugh- 
ter of Gen. Skinner, prominent as a soldier in 
the Revolutionary army. She lived to the age 
of ninety-six years. Her youngest son, Maj. 
James Oden, was born when she was fifty-eight 
years old, and was noted for his daring cour- 
age as displayed in the Revolutionary war. 

Frederick Brooks and wife had seven sons 
and one daughter, all of whom grew to matur- 
ity. Five married and four of them had large 
families. All seven are now deceased, together 
with their wives. The subject of this sketch 




WALTER B. BROOKS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



403 



is the only one of their descendants now resid- 
ing in Charleston. 

William Chauncey Brooks, the second son 
and child of Frederick and Frances Brooks, was 
born in Loudon county, Va., in October, 1820. 
He was educated for the law at Princeton col- 
lege, but later became a salt maker, in which 
occupation he continued for many years. He 
became the owner of two boats, the "Blue 
Wing" and "Blue Ridge," that carried salt to 
Louisville, Ky., where he did a large business 
as a commission merchant and spent an active 
life, until his death in Kanawha county, near 
Charleston, September 30, 1881. He was a 
Whig in his political principles, but never cared 
to be called either a Republican or a Democrat. 
He was an elder in the Presbyterian church and 
often spoke in meeting. 

William Chauncey Brooks was married in 
Charleston to Lavinia Virginia Patrick Brig- 
ham, who came of a family resident in Virginia 
for many years but which came originally from 
Boston, Mass. Her father, William Brigham, 
settling in Kanawha county, became interested 
here in salt making, at which he made a fortune. 
William Chauncey Brooks gave employment to 
a large number of people and at his death 2,000 
salt makers and employes followed him to the 
grave in funeral procession — a notable con- 
course for those days in this locality ; and show- 
ing the great respect in which he was held. 

William Brigham's daughter, Lavinia, who 
became Mrs. William C. Brooks, was born in 
Kanawha county, W. Va., in 1825, and died in 
Denver, Colo., in October, 1894. She and 
her husband were the parents of thirteen chil- 
dren, seven of whom died in infancy. The 
others were as follows: (1). Walter B., 
whose name appears at the head of this article 
and who will be further referred to herein. 
(2). Aletha B., now deceased, who was the 
wife of Charles Small, of Denver. She left 
two children, Lavinia and Charles. (3). Fan- 
nie, who became the wife of B. J. James, of 
Denver, Colo. She and her husband have an 
adopted child, Phebe Janis. (4). William is 
a mine owner residing in Mexico and has been 
very successful there. He is unmarried. (5). 
Nona is unmarried and resides in Denver. (6). 
Henry F. is also a resident of Denver, Colo., 



where he is connected with a large manufac- 
turing company. He married Lulu Mc- 
Namara, belonging to a prominent family of 
that city. They have no children. 

Walter B. Brooks, whose nativity has been 
already given, was educated in a college at 
Louisville, Ky., in which place he afterwards 
engaged in the tobacco business, remaining thus 
occupied for five years. He was then for ten 
years connected with the salt manufacturing 
industry in Kanawha. At the end of that time 
the business had become unprofitable and he re- 
engaged in the tobacco business at Danville, 
and also at Greenborough, N. C. After seven- 
teen years more spent in this manner, he came 
to Charleston, of which city he has since been 
a resident. He is executor of the Dr. Hale 
estate, and secretary, treasurer and general 
manager of the Rosin Coal Land Company, 
owning 1800 acres of land adjacent to this city. 
He has been a magistrate of Charleston but is 
independent in politics. Both in Danville and 
Charleston he has served as an elder in the Pres- 
byterian church. He was married at Mays- 
ville, Ky., to Mary E. Blatterman, a cultured 
and well educated young lady, who was born in 
that city, a daughter of George W. Blatterman 
and his wife Elinor, the latter in maidenhood 
Elinor P. Collins, daughter of Judge Lewis 
Collins. Her father, George W. Blatterman, 
was born in London, Eng., ninety-one years 
ago, and is still living, now residing with his 
daughter, Mrs. Brooks. For one of his years 
he is remarkably well preserved and is still men- 
tally active. His wife, Mrs. Brooks's mother, 
died eight years ago at the age of seventy-six 
years. She came from an old Kentucky 
family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are the parents of six 
children, as follows : ( 1 ). George B., born June 
17, 1877, is an accountant residing in Charles- 
ton; married Mary Hasell McCoy of Wilming- 
ton, N. C. ; no issue. (2). Edward S., born 
August 25, 1878, died in infancy. (3). Elinor 
Collins, born November 21, 1880, is unmar- 
ried. (4). William Chauncey, born February 
9, 1883, died in infancy. (5). Walter Booth, 
born March 26, 1884, is now with Cabin Creek 
Consolidated Coal Co. (6). Goldsborough R., 
born November 22, 1887, died in infancy. Mrs. 



404 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Brooks and her surviving children are affiliated 
religiously with the Presbyterian church. Air. 
Brooks is a Free Mason, belonging to the Com- 
mandery. 

ANDREW C. CALDERWOOD, gen- 
eral contractor and builder at Cbarleston, 
W. Va., of which city he has been a resident 
since the spring of 1881, is vice president of 
the City National Bank and was one of its 
incorporators. Mr. Calderwood is of Scot- 
tish birth and ancestry and the thousands 
who yearly make the pilgrimage to the 
birthplace of Robert Burns, in Ayreshire, 
Scotland, doubtless pass the little cottage, a 
few miles distant, in which he was born, 
March 12, 1856. His parents were James 
and Mary (Kerr) Calderwood, both natives 
of Ayreshire, where the mother died in the 
prime of life and the father survived to the 
age of eighty-four years. Of their seven 
children, six survive and five of these still 
live in Scotland. 

Andrew C. Calderwood learned his trade 
under the supervision of his father, who was 
also a contractor and builder, and before 
Andrew was of age he had become superin- 
tendent of large contracts in his native sec- 
tion. ' He was ambitious and after succeed- 
ing so well in his own country felt that in 
America, where better labor conditions pre- 
vailed and larger opportunities could be 
found, he could undertake still greater 
tasks. After considerable preparation he 
left the shores of Scotland for the United 
States, taking passage on a steamship, the 
Achovia of the Anchor line which took 8 
days to make the trip, Mr. Calderwood land- 
ing safely in the city of New York. From 
there he went to Baltimore, Md., where he 
was engaged for some months and came 
from that city to Charleston, having been 
engaged to work on the construction of the 
State Capitol building. He was given a 
position of authority as superintending fore- 
man, and before the completion of that con- 
tract he had determined to make this city 
his home and had commenced the building 
of the Kanawha Presbyterian church. He 
built also the Roman Catholic church, the 



Ruffner Hotel and innumerable private res- 
idences and many public buildings and the 
time has come when the volume of his busi- 
ness amounts to more than $100,000 an- 
nually. His reputation as builder is by no 
means confined to Charleston but extends 
all through the state. Mr. Calderwood is 
justly proud of his success, it having been 
honestly won. He is especially proud of the 
fact that in the larger number of his con- 
tracts at the present time he is given carte 
blanche, his reputation for business integrity 
being well understood. He is an active and 
public spirited citizen, a supporter of honest 
civic government and a promoter of educa- 
tion and religion. 

Mr. Calderwood was married to Miss 
Belle Wilson, who was born and reared at 
Charleston, a daughter of John and Eliza- 
beth (Neal) Wilson, both of whom were 
born in the Kanawha Valley. Mr. and Mrs. 
Calderwood attend the Presbyterian church. 
He belongs to Kanawha Lodge No. 20, F. 
& A. M., Chapter and Commandery at 
Charleston and is also a Shriner. He is 
identified also with the Odd Fellows and 
with other local organizations. In politics 
he is a Democrat. 

FRANK WOODMAN, who is interested 
in and also officially connected with many of 
the great industries which make Charleston, 
W. Va., a point of considerable business im- 
portance, has been a resident since 1875. He 
is of New England ancestry, but was born at 
Mineral Point, Wis., September 26, 1846, a 
son of Cyrus and Charlotte (Flint) Woodman. 

Cyrus Woodman and wife were both born 
in Maine, of old Puritan stock. A graduate 
of Bowdoin College and an able member of the 
bar, Cyrus Woodman seemed particularly well 
fitted to enjoy and take part in the intellectual 
life of the East, but in early manhood he turn- 
ed his back on these surroundings and, as a 
pioneer, ventured into the West, locating in 
Illinois, where he lived for man)'' years and 
then moved to Wisconsin. In the latter state he 
subsequently entered into partnership with C. 
C. Washburn, later a member of Congress and 
governor of Wisconsin, in purchasing and de- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



405 



veloping lands. After the close of the Civil 
War, however, he returned east and settled at 
Cambridge, Mass., where the remainder of his 
life was passed, in most congenial surround- 
ings. His death occurred in 1889, his widow 
surviving him. 

Frank Woodman was sixteen years old when 
his parents removed from Wisconsin to Mass- 
achusetts, and following this removal he was 
afforded exceptional educational advantages. 
During a visit of three years made by the fam- 
ily in Germany and France, he was instructed 
in the languages of those countries. After three 
years at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H., he 
entered Harvard College, where, in 1869, he 
was graduated with the degree of B. A., 
acquiring other degrees in the course of years. 
He then entered the Cambridge Scientific 
School and studied civil engineering, afterward 
spending three years in practical work on rail- 
roads in the northwestern part of the country. 
In 1 87 1, Mr. Woodman returned to Europe, 
where he visited many sections and also per- 
fected himself in civil engineering by taking a 
course in the great polytechnic school at Paris, 
France. 

In 1875 Mr. Woodman chose Charleston, W. 
Va., as his home, immediately investing and 
identifying himself with the city's varied in- 
terests. To name all the successful enterprises 
with which he is connected would be to recite 
those which are of major importance to this 
section. He is president of the Vulcan Iron 
Works; president of the Donaldson Lumber 
Company, of Monroe County; secretary and 
treasurer of the Kanawha Woolen Mills and 
of the Daveley Furniture Company, and is 
also connected with the Kanawha Brick Com- 
pany. 

In 1884 Mr. Woodman was married to Miss 
Nannie Cotton, a daughter of Dr. John Cot- 
ton, a well known physician of Charleston. 
They have two children, Ashton Fitzhugh and 
Charlotte. The family residence is No. 12 10 
Kanawha Street, Charleston. 

MAJOR JOHN MOULTON, who is a 
resident of South Side, Charleston, W. Va., 
and for years a prominent citizen of Kanawha 
County, in which he served for six years as a 



member of the board of county commissioners, 
is a veteran officer of the great Civil War. He 
was born in 1835, i n Oxford County, Me., and 
is a son of John and Jane (Coffin) Moulton, 
both of whom spent their long lives in the Pine 
Tree State and survived to be eighty years of 
age. Major Moulton was the third born in a 
family of three children, both his elder broth- 
ers, James C. and Moses S., being now de- 
ceased. 

John Moulton attended both public and pri- 
vate schools and when he reached maturity 
went to the State of Minnesota, where he lived 
for twenty years. In June, 1861, he enlisted 
for service in the Civil War, as a private in the 
2d Minn. Vol. Inf. and continued in the army 
during the war, at the close of which he held 
the rank of major. He then resumed his lum- 
ber interests in Minnesota and remained there 
until 1876, when he transferred his business to 
West Virginia and continued active until 1901, 
when he retired. 

Major Moulton married Miss Ella V. Shee- 
ley and they had three children: Arthur and 
Annie, both of whom live in North Carolina; 
and Roscoe, who is deputy county clerk, his 
father having previously been county clerk for 
four years. In politics Major Moulton is a 
Republican. He belongs to the Grand Army 
of the Republic. 

OTIS COLWELL BLAKE, for a number 
of years was a well known citizen of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., identified with the city's business 
interests, and prior to his death was connected 
with the Bradford-Noyes china store. He was 
born November 24, 1858, in Fayette County, 
W. Va., and died at Charleston, July 24, 1904. 
His parents were McDowel and Lizzie (Win- 
sor) Blake. 

Both the Blakes and Winsors are old fami- 
lies of the state, generations of the Blakes hav- 
ing lived and died at Hill Top, in Fayette 
County. McDowel Blake and wife are both 
deceased but a sister of Mrs. Blake survives, 
Mrs. Minerva (Winsor) Richards, who is the 
wife of William Richards, of Oak Hill, W. 
Va. They are probably the most venerable of 
all t'he residents of this section, Mrs. Richards 
being ninety-one years old and Mr. Richards 



406 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



being one year older. They are members of 
the Christian church and both are actively in- 
terested in all that goes on in the neighborhood 
despite their advanced age. A large family 
was born to McDowel Blake and wife, of which 
the late Otis Colwell Blake was one of the in- 
termediate members. Those who still survive 
are : Thomas, who is a substantiial citizen of 
Fayette County ; Edgar, who is in the contract- 
ing business and lives in California; and Mrs. 
Mintie Brown, a widow, who resides at Cin- 
cinnati. 

Otis Colwell Blake was married at Charles- 
ton to Miss Ella Rand Means, who was born 
in this city, March 10, 1859, and was reared 
and educated here; and with the exception of 
an absence of eight years in Fayette County, 
following her marriage in February, 1883, 
Mrs. Blake has spent her whole life here. She 
is the only daughter of Joseph and Fanny 
(Craig) Means, natives of Kanawha County. 
Mr. Means was a well known business man of 
Charleston. During the Civil War he was a 
Unionist in his attitude on public questions, 
and was always a highly respected citizen. He 
married Fanny Craig, who was born in Kana- 
wha County in 1845 and still survives. They 
had two children : William and Ella Rand. 
William Means was born in 1861 and died in 
1898. He was a stationary engineer and fol- 
lowed his profession at Charleston. In poli- 
tics he was a Democrat and he belonged to the 
fraternal organization, the Red Men. He never 
married. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Blake three children were 
born, namely: Gaston, who died at birth; Mil- 
dred, who was born in June, 1884, at Hill Top, 
W\ Va., and is the wife of Stephen Harmon; 
and Allan McDowel, who was born in Octo- 
ber, 1887. He was educated at Charleston and 
lives with his mother. He is an energetic and 
succesful young business man and is agent for 
an automobile company. 

The late Otis C. Blake was reared on a farm 
in Fayette County and when he came first to 
Charleston he followed the carpenter's trade 
and later became a salesman for the above 
named china company i He was identified with 
the American Mechanics. In politics he was a 



Republican. He was a consistent member of 
the Presbyterian church, always active in its 
work, and his widow and children belong to 
the same religious organization. 

WILLIAM HUBBARD GOODWIN, 
general merchant and representative citizen 
of Maiden, W. Va., was born in this place, 
April 16, 1872, and is a son of George A. and 
Sarah E. (High) Goodwin, both of whom 
are living and are highly respected people 
of Maiden. The father was born in Rock- 
bridge County, Va., and came to Kanawha 
County in 1871, with the C. & O. Railroad, 
where he shortly afterward was married to 
Miss Sarah E. High. They have four chil- 
dren : William Hubbard; Cammie, who is 
the wife of H. O. Ruffner; Hall G. ; and 
Anna, who is the wife of H. J. Harbey, of 
Charleston. 

William H. Goodwin learned the car- 
penter's trade with his father after he had 
attended the public schools and his first 
business position was a clerkship in the 
Pioneer Coal Company's store at Dana Sta- 
tion. He then took a business course at 
Staunton, Va., after which he returned to 
Maiden as clerk for E. L. Rooke and later, 
in partnership with this employer, opened 
up a general store at Cedar Grove, Kana- 
wha County, subsequently selling his inter- 
est and coming back to his birthplace. In 
May, 1910, he bought his present store 
building from W r allace Averill, put in a first 
class stock and has been quite prosperous, 
being numbered with the successful business 
men. 

In September, 1894, Mr. Goodwin was 
married to Miss Lottie L. Scott, a daughter 
of James and A. E. Scott, and they have one 
child, Gladys R. Mr. Goodwin is an active 
citizen and is particularly interested in the 
public schools. He served four years on the 
Board of Education and was reelected and 
served as president of that body for four 
years more. He is prominent in several fra- 
ternal orders, belonging to Lodge No. 87, 
Knights of Pythias at Maiden, and has been 
deputy grand chancellor; and has been col- 
lector of wampum, in Lodge No. 26, Red 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



407 



Men, also at Maiden. In politics he is a 
Democrat. 

SOLOMON LOEWENSTEIN, who 
founded in Charleston, W. Va., the hard- 
ware and saddlery business now carried on 
by his sons, Isaac, Joe and Abe, was born in 
1834 near Berlin, Germany, and came to 
America in i860, locating at Columbus, 
Ohio. At the time of the Civil war he en- 
listed for service in the Union army, as a 
private in the 23d Ohio Vol. Infantry, and 
was honorably discharged after a military 
service of three years. He then came to 
Charleston and opened a harness shop, hav- 
ing learned his trade in Ohio, and conducted 
the business alone until 1890, when he took, 
his two elder sons, Louis and Moses, into 
partnership, and the business developed into 
a wholesale and retail hardware, harness 
and saddlery concern. In 1903 the eldest 
son, Louis Loewenstein, died at the age of 
thirty-five years. He left a widow, Ida 
(Hananer) Loewenstein, who now resides 
in Pittsburg, Pa. The father and other son 
continued the business until 1909, when 
both died and the younger sons succeeded, 
these three brothers being Isaac, Joe and 
Abe the present proprietors of the business. 
They have a dozen men on the road, besides 
numerous other employees. The business, 
which is very large and is both wholesale 
and retail, utilizes five floors and a basement 
at Nos. 223-225 Capitol Street, Charleston. 

Mrs. Solomon Loewenstein, whose maid- 
en name was Henrietta Fecheiner, was born 
in Ohio, of German parents, and was mar- 
ried to Mr. Loewenstein at Cincinnati, 
Ohio. She still survives and makes her home 
with her sons. She has three married 
daughters, namely: Amelia, who married 
Samuel Hess and resides at Charleston, hav- 
ing one son, Morton; Mamie, also a resi- 
dent of Charleston, who married David Bear 
and has two children — Howard and Louis; 
and Bella, who is the wife of Arthur Isaacs, 
of Columbus, Ohio. 

SIDNEY S. STAUNTON, M. D., a well 
known member of the Kanawha County medi- 



cal profession, who is engaged in practice in 
Elk District, was born August 2, 1846, at Elli- 
cottville, Cattaraugus County, N. Y, and is 
the son of Jacob Galusha and Julia A. (Pres- 
cott) Staunton. 

John Warren Staunton, the grandfather of 
Dr. Staunton, was a native of Massachusetts 
and the son of a Revolutionary soldier, and at 
the age of eight years he began to help support 
his father's family. Later he located in Catta- 
raugus County, N. Y., where he became promi- 
nent in public matters and served for sixteen 
years as county clerk. He was married to Sa- 
rah Brewster, who was descended from Elder 
Brewster, of the Mayflower. Jacob Galusha 
Staunton was born on the old family homestead 
in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and at the age 
of eighteen years began teaching school, in the 
meanwhile carrying on his studies for a legal 
career. He was admitted to the bar at the 
age of twenty-one years, but on account of ill 
health was compelled to embark in another oc- 
cupation and chose the lumber business, with 
which he was identified until twenty-four. 
Later he became interested in the real estate 
business and was made manager for a large 
concern, but in 1858 he closed out his interests 
and came to Kanawha County, where with his 
brother, Dr. Joseph Marshal Staunton, he en- 
gaged in the manufacture of Cannell coal oil. 
During the Civil War, Mr. Staunton became 
interested in the transportation of meat, and 
was one of the first promoters of the coal stor- 
age system of transportation at Buffalo, N. Y., 
and also during the latter years of his life, 
evinced much interest in inventions and patents. 
His death occurred in July, 1887. He was a 
member of the Episcopal church. He was a 
stanch Whig, and later an Independent, and 
some of his speeches are still held in public 
memory, although he never cared for office 
and on one occasion declined the nomination for 
Congress. In August, 1845, Mr. Staunton was 
married to Julia A. Prescott, who was born 
June 21, 1826, at Plattsburg, N. Y., a daugh- 
ter of Alexander H. and Lucinda (Herrick) 
Prescott. 

Sidney S. Staunton was but twelve years of 
age when he entered the office of his uncle, 
Doctor Jonathan Brewster Staunton, and after 



408 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



completing his education, at the age of eigh- 
teen years entered the medical department of 
the University of Buffalo under the preceptor- 
ship of Dr. Sanford Eastman. After his 
father's failure, he was thrown on his own re- 
sources, and during his last year in college kept 
books in order to pay his expenses. In 1866 
he commenced practice as assistant to his uncle, 
Jonathan Brewster Staunton, and in 1868 he 
came to Kanawha County, W. Va., and lo- 
cated at his present home, where he has been 
engaged in the practice of his profession, in 
conjunction with operating a farm, to the pres- 
ent time. He has also been somewhat inter- 
ested in the lumber business. For a full gen- 
eration Dr. Staunton devoted himself to a hard 
country practice, but at the end of forty-five 
years of such work, with increasing age and 
diminishing strength, he is gradually relin- 
quishing active practice, and devoting more 
time to domestic and social duties, to reading; 
and to the writing of reminiscences and fiction, 
a pastime of which he is very fond. He is a 
member of the State and County medical asso- 
ciations. In political matters he is a stanch 
Republican, and served as justice of the peace 
of the county court, from 1873 to T ^77, and 
was appointed to fill a vacancy as county com- 
missioner during the years from 1887 to 1889. 

On February 19, 1872, Dr. Staunton was 
married to Miss Mary Lucinda Staunton, the 
eldest daughter of Dr. Joseph Marshal and 
Mary Elizabeth (Wilbur) Staunton, and to this 
union there have been born the following chil- 
dren: John Galusha, who is engaged in busi- 
ness at Charleston-Kanawha; Julia Lee. who 
married Madison T. Davis, Jr., president of 
the Kanawha Mine Car Co., and has two chil- 
dren, Sidney Prescott and Madison Thenton ; 
Mary Marshal, who married E. A. Palmer, a 
shoe merchant, and has one child, Mary Eliza- 
beth; and Warren Brewster, who is in the in- 
surance business, and resides at Charleston- 
Kanawha. 

JAMES N. CARNES. cashier of the Citi- 
zens National Bank of Charleston, and inter- 
ested additionally in a number of other busi- 
ness enterprises in Kanawha County, also in 



Colorado and Ohio, is a representative business 
man of this city. He was born at Lancaster, 
Ohio, in 1858, and is a son of Arthur and a 
grandson of Col. Robert Carnes. 

The Carnes family is of Scotch-Irish origin 
and the name of Carnes appears among the 
Scottish and Irish nobility, being particularly 
prominent before the Restoration. In more re- 
cent times, Lord Carnes, Scotch-Irish noble- 
man, was a member of Parliament. Col. Rob- 
ert Carnes, the grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch, came to America from Ireland 
about 100 years ago, settling in Fairfield Coun- 
ty, Ohio, where he spent his subsequent life on 
a farm. In his native land he married Nancy 
Stewart, an admirable woman in his own sta- 
tion of life, who lived to be quite aged. Nine 
children were born to them, of whom Arthur, 
the father of James N. Carnes, was the young- 
est. All the sons became farmers, with the ex- 
ception of James, who was a military man and 
was killed at New Orleans during the Civil 
War. 

Arthur Carnes. who followed an agricul- 
tural life, died when he was about forty years 
of age. He was a man of sterling character 
and religious temperament and he and his wife 
were members of the Presbvterian church. He 
married Caroline M. Miller, a daughter of 
Martin and Annie C. Miller, who came direct 
from Germany, their native land, to Fairfield 
County, Ohio, in which locality Mrs. Arthur 
Carnes still resides — at Lancaster, O.. bearing 
well her weight of seventy-eight years. They 
were the parents of three children — Anna, El- 
len and James N. Anna, who married W. H. 
Keller, is now deceased. Ellen resides with her 
mother at Lancaster. 

James N. Carnes was offered excellent edu- 
cational advantages, including a business course 
at Painesville, Ohio. Prior to April, 1879, 
w hen he came to Charleston, he was engaged 
in business in his native state. After remov- 
ing to Kanawha county, he became associated 
with George Davis, a well known citizen in the 
hardware business and their business relations 
continued until failing health made it necessary 
for Mr. Davis to remove to Colorado. Mr. 
Carnes then came to the Citizens National 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



409 



Bank, of which he is now a director, having 
continued with this institution since 1896, first 
as assistant cashier and later as cashier. 

On February 24, 1904, Mr. Carnes was 
married at Wilson, N. C, to Miss Elizabeth 
Crowell, who was born and reared in that place 
and who is a daughter of Jonas Williams and 
Virginia (Vick) Crowell, and a descendant of 
Oliver Cromwell. In 1674 John and Edward 
Cromwell, two brothers of the House of Crom- 
well, sold their estates in England and emi- 
grated to America to escape the persecutions 
visited on the family under the Stuart dynasty 
after the Restoration. While on board ship 
they decided to change their name, and this 
was done with solemn ceremony by writing the 
name in full, and then cutting out the "m" and 
throwing it into the sea, thus making the name 
"Crowell." They first settled in Wpodbridge, 
N. J. Afterwards John Crowell went south 
and settled in Halifax county, N. C, at a place 
now known as Crowells, and which is the orig- 
inal home of the North Carolina Crowells. 
The family became planters and large slave 
holders, several of them were active in the 
Revolutionary war, and in general they have 
been closely identified with the growth and de- 
velopment of North Carolina. 

Col. James B. Crowell, the great grandfath- 
er of Mrs. Carnes, was born and reared there ; 
also Col. John Crowell, who in early life re- 
sided in Georgia and was for many years a 
congressman from that state. Col. James B. 
Crowell was a large slave holder. He married 
Miss Tabitha Williams, by whom he had two 
sons — the late Jonas Crowell, who went to Ala- 
bama and became a wealthy manufacturer of 
that state, and William Crowell, the grand- 
father of Mrs. Carnes, who remained in east- 
ern North Carolina and married Miss Mary- 
Ellen Hamilton, whose family was a branch 
of the noted English family of that name. He 
had one son, Jonas Williams Crowell, the 
father of Mrs. Carnes. 

Jonas Williams Crowell was born in Nash 
county, N. C, and was attending school at the 
Southern University, at Greensboro, Ala., at 
the outbreak of the Civil War. He thereupon 
enlisted in the Fifth Alabama regiment. After 



two years with that regiment he secured a 
transfer to the Thirtieth North Carolina regi- 
ment, which was composed of so many of his 
old friends, and with this regiment he remain- 
ed until the surrender at Appomattox. He 
then returned to eastern North Carolina, and 
engaged in the dry goods business. He married 
Miss Virginia Vick. After following mercan- 
tile business for several years, he became a 
prominent politician and for many years was 
known and loved throughout eastern North 
Carolina. He was a Knights Templar Mason. 
He died in Wilson, N. C, January 23, 1904, 
universally beloved and esteemed. 

On the maternal side Mrs. Carnes is de- 
scended from the Von Veekes of Holland and 
the Bailies and Whiteheads of Scotland, who 
settled in eastern North Carolina about two 
hundred years ago, and became large planters 
and slave holders. Members of these families 
have married and intermarried with some of 
the most prominent and representative people 
of North Carolina. Col. Asel Vick, of Nash 
county, N. C, the grandfather of Mrs. Carnes, 
was one of the most prominent men in his sec- 
tion of the state and one of the largest slave 
holders. Mrs. Jonas W. Crowell still survives 
and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Carnes. 

Mrs. Carnes was carefully educated ; she 
was instructed by private tutors and for sev- 
eral years was tutored by an ex-member of the 
faculty of Yale — who in consequence of failing 
health was sojourning in the South. 

Later she attended school at the Convent of 
Mt.-de-Sales near Baltimore, Md., from which 
institution she was graduated. 

From childhood Mrs. Carnes has been a 
great reader and an enthusiastic lover of good 
books. She is an active member of the oldest 
and most exclusive literary club in the city. 

She and her husband are moving spirits in 
much of the pleasant social life of Charleston. 
They have no children. In his political senti- 
ments Mr. Carnes is a Republican, but is not 
actively interested in politics. He has long 
been identified with the Masonic Order, and 
is serving as treasurer of Kanawha Lodge No. 
20, A. F. & A. M., Tyrian Royal Arch Chap- 
ter, No. 13, Kanawha Commandery No. 4, and 



410 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY* 



Beni-Kedem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic 
Shrine. He is Past High Priest of Tyrian 
Royal Arch Chapter No. 13 and Past Eminent 
Commander of Kanawha Commandery No. 4. 
He is a man of business ability and one who 
takes a practical interest in whatever is calcu- 
lated to promote the moral and material wel- 
fare of the community in which he resides, 
while ample means enable him to enjoy life by 
the gratification of refined tastes. 

MAJOR WILLIAM A. BRADFORD, de- 
ceased, for many years after the close of his 
honorable service as a soldier in the Confed- 
erate Army, was a foremost business man of 
Charleston and led in many of the enterprises 
which contributed to the advancement of this 
city. He bore an ancestral name that was dis- 
tinguished even in colonial days but needed no 
luster from by-gone forefathers to establish his 
place in the world. Major Bradford was born 
May 13, 1830, at Earlysville, Albemarle coun- 
ty, Va. His father was William Ashton Brad- 
ford (2) and his mother was Eliza Mildred 
Lewis (Clarkson) Bradford. 

It is well established in the Bradford family 
that the immigrant settler, John Bradford, who 
reached the shores of America as early as 1600, 
coming from Scotland, was the uncle of William 
Bradford, who, twenty years later became gov- 
ernor of the Pilgrim colony in Massachusetts. 
John Bradford left descendants in Albemarle 
county, Va. One son, Alexander Bradford, 
was born there July 22, 1729. He married 
Jemima, a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
Jones, and they passed their lives in Virginia, 
his death being recorded in 1828 and hers in 
1802. Fourteen children were born to them, 
seven sons and seven daughters. 

William Ashton Bradford was the sixth son 
and the thirteenth child of Alexander and Je- 
mima Bradford. He was born in Albemarle 
county, March 13, 1774. He served with the 
rank of Major in the War of 1812 and dis- 
tinguished himself as a soldier. Like other 
members of his family he lived in lavish style, 
maintained great plantations and owned hun- 
dreds of slaves and he was also influential in 
public affairs in Albemarle county. His death 
took place in 1859. He married Mrs. Ann 



Coleman (Slaughter) Fry, a sister of Rev. 
Philip Slaughter, who was rector of St. Mark's 
Parish, Richmond, Va., and a niece of Capt. 
Philip Slaughter, of Revolutionary War fame. 
She was the widow of Capt. Reuben Fry. who 
was captain of a company in the Revolutionary 
War, a man of such military ability and so 
highly considered by the army, that at one time 
it seemed possible that he would be selected as 
commander-in-chief in place of George Wash- 
ington. To Major William Ashton Bradford 
and wife four children were born. 

William Ashton Bradford (2), son of Ma- 
jor William Ashton Bradford and father of the 
late Major William Ashton Bradford, the third 
inheritor of the name, was the only son of his 
parents and was born in Albemarle county, Va., 
and died there June 25, 1830, when only twen- 
ty-two years of age. He was a man of culture 
and education and had made something of a 
name for himself in letters although his life 
was so early ended. He married Miss Eliza 
Mildred Clarkson, who was born in Marlbor- 
ough county, Va., in 181 1, and died in 1842. 
They had but one child, William Ashton (3). 

William Ashton Bradford (3) was educated 
in private schools and by tutors. In 1861, when 
the Civil War became a fact, he was much in- 
terested and not only raised but also equipped 
a company made up of elderly men for tempo- 
rary service and after it was disbanded rejoined 
a regiment of cavalry that was raised at Rich- 
mond. Shortly afterward he was assigned to 
the staff of Gen. Humphrey Marshall, with the 
rank of major, and when General Marshall 
was sent to Congress, he transferred to Gen. 
Preston's staff, and when the latter was sent 
on an important mission to Spain, Major Brad- 
ford, who it might appear, carried good luck 
with him, was placed on the staff of General 
Breckenridge and remained until the latter was 
appointed secretary of war. Major Bradford 
participated in the battles of Wyandot, Jones- 
ville, Chickamauga, Cold Harbor, Lynchburg, 
Fredericksburg and Winchester. Subsequently 
he was taken ill with fever and was sent to a 
hospital at Wythesville, Va., and was still con- 
fined there when Generals Lee, Kirby Smith 
and Johnson surrendered. After sufficiently re- 



MAJOR WILLIAM A. BRADFORD 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



■413 



covering he secured his parole and then returned 
to Charleston. 

Major Bradford's subsequent life was, as be- 
fore indicated, one of usefulness and activity. 
He was interested in many lines and for years 
was one of the city's leading bankers. He was 
also the patentee of a valuable steam gauge. 

Major Bradford was married to Miss Eliz- 
abeth Johnston McChesney, who was born in 
Bath county, Va., and accompanied her parents 
to Charleston in 1871, where she was reared and 
liberally educated and fitted for the social cir- 
cles in which she has always been a figure. Her 
parents were Dr. Alexander Gallatin McChes- 
ney and Sallie Gatewood (Moffett) McChes- 
ney, the former of whom died in 1877 while 
on a visit to his daughter in Virginia and was 
buried in Virginia ; the mother died in 1881. Dr. 
McChesney was a graduate of Jefferson Med- 
ical College, Philadelphia and became a prom- 
inent physician. His father was James Mc- 
Chesney and his grandfather was Robert Mc- 
Chesney, who was born in Scotland. James 
McChesney married Frances McNutt, a sister 
of Governor McNutt, of Mississippi, a niece of 
General McNutt of Nova Scotia. She was a 
woman of noted beauty and of great force of 
character. After her husband had been killed 
by a maniac, she reared the children and pro- 
vided them with collegiate advantages and also 
managed a large plantation with its many 
slaves. 

To Major and Mrs. Bradford five children 
were born : Elizabeth Ashton, Mildred Lewis, 
Mary Walker, Sallie Moffett, and Robert War- 
wick. Elizabeth Ashton was graduated with 
honors from the National Park Seminary at 
Forest Park, Md., and afterward became the 
wife of J. Edmund Price, a well known attor- 
ney of Charleston. Mildred Lewis, who is a 
graduate of Hollins Institute, A^a., is the wife 
of Daniel Kingston Flynn, a well known lum- 
berman of Charleston. Mary Walker is a stu- 
dent of Sweetbrier College, Va. Sallie Mof- 
fett died at the age of six years. Robert War- 
wick, the youngest of the family, is making 
excellent progress in the Charleston schools. 
Mrs. Bradford takes a great deal of interest'in 
the society of the Daughters of the Confed- 



eracy and holds an official position in this or- 
ganization. 

Major Bradford passed away at his home in 
Charleston, on February 13, 1907. He had 
been reared in the Episcopal church. To its 
various objects of benevolent care he was con- 
tinuously generous, while his broad mind and 
kind heart responded to calls for charity when- 
ever made. His ancestry, rearing, surround- 
ings and convictions made him a Democrat but 
the mere holding of office offered little attrac- 
tion to a man of his habit of thought and busy 
mode of life. For many years he had been 
identified with the Masonic fraternity. His 
personal character was without reproach and 
his memory is held in reverent regard. 

REV. FR. LEWIS, O. M. Cap., pastor of 
the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 
Charleston, W. Va., was born at Pittsburg, 
Pa., June 30, 1876, and is one of the five sur- 
vivors of a family of six children born to his 
parents, who were Joseph P. and Mary 
(Snyder) Centner. 

Father Lewis attended the parochial 
schools of Pittsburg and then entered St. 
Fidelis College, at Herman, Butler County, 
Pa., where he made his classical course as 
preparation for the priesthood and was 
graduated in 1895. After a year's novitiate 
at Herman he continued his stulies, enter- 
ing St. Peter & Paul's Monastery, at Cum- 
berland, Md., where he remained until 1901, 
in December of which year he was ordained 
by Cardinal Gibbons. His first work was 
educational in character, as he became pro- 
fessor of Latin, mathematics and the natural 
sciences, at his alma mater. In July, 1910, 
he was called to Charleston, W. Va., to take 
charge of the parish of the Sacred Heart, 
and here he has continued, accomplishing 
much both in the way of advancing the ma- 
terial as well as the spiritual interests of his 
people. 

Father Lewis has a fine parochial school 
in operation, under the charge of seven Sis- 
ters of the Order of St. Francis. The school 
proper is free, but a boarding department is 
conducted in connection with it in order to 
accommodate pupils from a distance. The 



414 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



building- was erected by the late Rev. Joseph 
E. Stenger. At present a high standard is 
maintained, both in regard to moral and in- 
tellectual training. The church has its own 
burial ground named Mt. Olivet Cemetery. 

JAMES A. WINES, merchant and farmer 
and well known resident of Poca District, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., where he owns 
eighty-two acres of excellent land, situated 
on the main Poca River, twenty-three miles 
north of Charleston, was born February 14, 
1868, in Poca District, and is a son of Will- 
iam and Mary Ann (Dolton) Wines. 

William Wines was reared in Roane 
County, now West Virginia, and was 
brought to Poca District by his parents in 
his youth. They owned 190 acres that lay 
along Leatherwood Creek, and he became a 
farmer and lumberman. After his marriage 
he settled on the home farm, one-half of 
which was his portion, which he improved and 
devoted to general farming and stock and cattle 
raising. During the Civil War he served in 
Co. F, — W. Va. Inf., and escaped all injury 
while in the service. He now resides one- 
quarter mile south of the old farm, where 
he owns no acres. He is a Republican in poli- 
tics. William Wines married Mary Ann Dol- 
ton, who was born in Carroll County, now 
Virginia, a daughter of Robert and Rachiel 
(Reynolds) Dolton, who had four children, 
the two survivors being: Mary Ann. Mrs. 
Wines ; and Vina, the wife of a brother of 
William Wines. Robert Dolton was born in 
Carroll County, ninety-three years ago and 
now resides in Poca District, Kanawha 
County. During the Civil War he was a 
soldier in Co. A, 7th W. Va. Cav., but was 
neither captured nor wounded during his 
period of service. To William Wines and 
his wife the following children were born: 
Frank, James A., John, Edgar, Albert, Pleas 
M., Victoria and Eleanor. The parents of 
the above family are members of the Ad- 
vent church. 

James A. Wines obtained his schooling in 
Poca District and afterward engaged in 
farming and lumbering. After marriage he 
settled at the head of Camp Creek, where 



he followed farming for two years and then 
moved to Leatherwood Creek and for two 
years there combined farming with lumber- 
ing, afterward coming to his present farm, 
which is a part of the old John Haynes farm. 
Here he carries on general farming and 
since 1905 has also kept a stock of general 
merchandise and is doing a satisfactory 
business. 

Mr. Wines married Miss Lethia Haynes, 
who was born in Poca District and is a 
daughter of A. H. Haynes, and they have 
twelve children, namely: Lewis, Fred, 
Minnie, Dexter, Lena, Delbert, Bev, Emma, 
Bessie, Blvia, Lucy and Goldie. The eldest 
son married Sadie Shaffer, a daughter of 
Edward Shaffer. Mr. Wines has been a Re- 
publican since he cast his first vote. He has 
served as trustee of his district and has al- 
ways concerned himself with the best inter- 
ests of his section. 

ROBERT G. LINN, one of the leading 
attorneys of Kanawha county, W. Va., re- 
siding in Charleston, was born at Glenville. 
Va., (now W r . Va.). April 6, 1849, son °f 
Robert and Sophronia (Newcomb) Linn. 
The following facts in regard to the genea- 
logy of the Linn family have been ascer- 
tained and may prove of interest to mem- 
bers of the family. 

The Linns are of Scotch-Irish origin. 
Joseph Linn was born in 1725 and died 
April 8, 1800. He married Martha Kirkpa- 
trick, who was born at Belfast, Ireland, in 
1728, and died March 7, 1791. She was the 
daughter of Andrew Kirkpatrick. Joseph 
was adjutant in the 2d regiment of Sussex 
militia during the Revolutionary war. Aaron 
Hankison being colonel. Joseph and Mary 
Linn had four sons and four daughters, 
namely: Alexander (born Dec. 6, 1753), 
David, Andrew, Margaret, Mary, Ann, 
Martha and John. David, Margaret and 
Andrew are buried at the Yellow Frame. 

(1) . Andrew married Hannah, daughter 
of Nathan and Uphamy (Wright) Arm- 
strong. 

(2) . David married Sarah, daughter of 
Brig. Gen. Aaron Hankison, and they had 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



415 



eight children: Alexander married and 
went to Ohio. Mattie married Jacob Shep- 
hard. Polly never married. Margaret mar- 
ried a Mr. Shephard. The Shepards settled 
in Ohio. Aaron married Eliza Hankison, 
and settled in Finleyville, Pa. 

(3) . Andrew was born in 1759, and died 
April 9, 1799. He studied medicine under 
Dr. Samuel Kennedy at Log Goal. He mar- 
ried Ann Carnes of Blandensburg, Md., and 
had five children, namely: Robert married 
Elizabeth Ryerson, and settled at Hamburg, 
N. J. Margaret became the wife or Major 
William T. Anderson of Newton. Mary 
married David Ryerson. Martha married, 
first, Hugh Taylor, and second, Richard R. 
Morris, of New York. Alexander settled at 
Easton, Pa. 

(4) . Margaret married Hon. Joseph 
Gaston, who was paymaster of Sussex mili- 
tia during the Revolutionary war. 

(5) . Mary. 

(6) . Ann married Jacob Hull. 

(7) . Martha married, first, Isaac Schaef- 
fer; second, Joseph Desmond. Martha died 
in 1830 and was buried at Sandusky, Ohio. 
The Rev. Isaac Desmond was her son. 

(8) . John married, May 19, 1791, Martha 
Hunt, a daughter of Lieut. Richard Hunt. 
They had a large family of children, namely: 
Elizabeth married Rev. Edward Allen. 
Sarah married Nathan Armstrong Shafer. 
Andrew married Isabella Beardslee. Mary 
Ann married Rev. Benj. I. Lowe. Caroline 
married Dr. Roderick Byington. Alexan- 
der was a physician at Deckertown; he mar- 
ried Julia Vibbert. William H. was also a 
physician. 

John Linn was appointed to the Court of 
Common Pleas of Sussex in 1805, and 
served until his death in 1823. He was twice 
elected to Congress, and died of typhoid 
fever at Washington, D. C, during his sec- 
ond term. He was an elder in the Presby- 
terian church of Hardyston. 

The following facts have also been gath- 
ered in regard to other branches of the 
family. 

Joseph came into the Hardwick Patent 
from Lamington, Somerset county, N. J. 



In the churchyard at Lamington there is a 
tombstone with this inscription: "Alexan- 
der Linn Esq., who departed this life in the 
64th year of his age, A. D. 1776." This 
Alexander, it is said, was for many years in 
the commission of the peace; he was an 
elder in the church, and for some time be- 
fore his death, one of the judges of the 
Court of Common Pleas. Another head- 
stone marks the grave of Sarah Linn, 
daughter of Alexander and Sarah Linn, 
who departed this life Sept. 12, 1755, aged 
two years, three months and 15 days. A 
third stone is in memory of Sarah Linn, 
daughter of James Linn, who departed this 
life Oct., 1773, one year and six months of 
age. Mr. Mellick, in his "Story of an Old 
Farm," says that Judge James Linn was one 
of Somerset's aristocrats, and a citizen 
highly esteemed throughout the country; 
that he lived on a well improved plantation 
of 600 acres, which he had inherited from 
his father; that he kept a retinue of servants 
and 20 slaves, and that he was elected in 
May, 1776, a deputy from Somerset to the 
Provincial Congress of New Jersey. 

From another source it is learned that 
James Linn was a nephew of Joseph Linn 
and that James was a representative in Con- 
gress, 1799-1801, from New Jersey. When 
the Jefferson-Burr contest for President 
-was thrown into the House and the ballot- 
ing had been so prolonged without result, 
James Linn broke the deadlock in the New 
Jersey delegation, thereby throwing the 
vote of the delegation for Jefferson and 
electing him President. 

John Linn of Knowlton township, War- 
ren county, N. J., came from Virginia, 
fought in the Sussex militia during the 
Revolution, and was an elder in the Pres- 
byterian church, and died at the age of 102 
years. His will is recorded in the Sussex 
office, and is dated June 2, 1817. It names 
as his' children, James, John, Elizabeth, 
Jean, David, Joseph, Robert, Margaret and 
Cathering. Among other property the will 
disposes of land in Greene county, Ky. The 
birth dates of the three earliest Linns herein 
named are as follows : Alexander Linn of 



416 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Laming-ton, 1712; John Linn of Knowlton, 
1715; Joseph Linn of Hardwick, 1725. 

Tradition says that the Linns of New 
Jersey and the Linns of Missouri were re- 
lated, and that their common home was in 
Virginia and West Virginia. 

To return to our subject's direct line, — 
Robert Linn (grandfather of Robert G. 
Linn), born April 20, 1781, came to Virginia 
probably from Pennsylvania about 100 
years ago, settling at Linn's Mills, in what 
is now Marion county, W. Va., where he 
died Sept. 9, 1834. He was a farmer and 
miller. He married Catherine Lyon, who 
was born in Pennsylvania Oct. 18, 1788. 

Robert Linn, Jr., son of the afore-men- 
tioned, was born in Marion county (now in 
W. Va., but then in Harrison county, Va.), 
Dec. 27, 1813, and died Dec. 7, i860. He 
studied law in the office of Hon. Edgar C. 
Wilson, of Morgantown, and was later ad- 
mitted to the bar at Pruntytown, Taylor 
county, W. Va., in 1846. He subsequently 
practiced his profession in Gilmer county, 
W. Va. He was elected for four successive 
terms to the office of prosecuting attorney, 
by the Whig party, and was serving as such 
at the time of his death. At different times 
he held other responsible offices, in which 
he served with marked capacity, and was 
one of the best known and most popular 
citizens in Gilmer county. He was an elder 
in the Presbyterian church. He was mar- 
ried in Fairmont, W. Va, to Miss Sophronia 
S. Newcomb, who was born at Greenfield. 
Mass., in 1816, a daughter of Ebenezer, Jr., 
and Sophronia (Smith) Newcomb. She 
came of the old New England family of that 
name, a brief sketch of which will be found 
subjoined to the present article. She was 
a lady of refinement and culture, and was 
all her life a strong working member of the 
Presbyterian church. Almost her entire 
life was spent in West Virginia, her parents 
settling in Fairmont when she was but two 
years old. She died August 31, 1890. 

The children of Robert Linn, Jr., and his 
wife Sophronia, were as follows : Mary S., 
born Sept. 21. 1841. married Newton B. 
Bland, who died in March, 1896. She died 



January 28, 1910, leaving a son, Robert 
Linn Bland, now a lawyer at Weston, W. 
Va., who is married and has three children. 
Nancy Catherine Lyon, born May 3, 1849, 
married Marion T. Brannon, of Glenville, 
W. Va., and has three children, namely: 
Hon. Linn Brannon, ex-judge of the Circuit 
court of Gilmer, Calhoun, Jackson, Lewis 
and Clay counties; Alice, who is married 
and lives at Fairmont, W. Va. ; and Howard 
R. Brannon, who is cashier of a bank at 
Glenville. Robert G., whose nativity has 
been already given, is the direct subject of 
this sketch. Sarah L., born July 26, 1853, 
is unmarried, and resides at Glenville. 

Robert G. Linn, in October, 1866, while in 
his eighteenth year, became assistant clerk 
in the circuit clerk's office at Clarksburg, 
where he remained three years. In 1869 he 
entered the Cincinnati (O.) Law School, 
from which he was graduated in the Class 
of 1870, with the degree of B.L. While in 
college he had for instructors Ex-Governor 
Hoadley and Bellamy Storer. After his 
graduation he practiced his profession in 
Glenville, W. Va., where he became prose- 
cuting attorney, later holding that office for 
three successive terms — four years in Gil- 
mer county and eight years in Calhoun 
county, W. Va. Returned to Glenville, Gil- 
mer county, in March, 1884, he remained 
there until 1890, being associated with Hon. 
John S. Withers, and in 1900 he came to 
Charleston, having been associated in part- 
nership here with George Byrne, now of the 
Baltimore "Sun," and with W'illiam E. R. 
Byrne, with whom he is still thus connected, 
as also is his son, Robert Linn. He has also 
a law office at Sutton, Braxton county, W. 
Va.. with Cary C. Hines and W. F. Morri- 
son, Jr., as partners; another at Weston, 
Lewis county, the firm name being Linn, 
Brannan & Lively ; and a third, or rather 
fourth, at Glenville, the firm being Linn, 
Brannon & Hamilton. From 1873 until 
1907, also he had as partner, Hon. John M. 
Hamilton, present Congressman from the 
Fourth district, with their office at Grants- 
ville. Calhoun county. Mr. Linn stands high 
in his profession and much of the important 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



417 



litigation in the county passes through his 
hands and those of his partners. He is a 
Democrat in politics, and is fraternally con- 
nected with the Odd Fellows' lodge at Glen- 
ville. In religion he is a Presbyterian. 

Robert G. Linn was married at Weston, 
W. Va., to Mary Hamilton, who was born, 
reared and educated in that place. Her par- 
ents were Dr. J. M. and Mary M. (Lorentz) 
Hamilton, her mother being a daughter of 
John and a granddaughter of Jacon Lor- 
entz. The latter, an early settler in this sec- 
tion, was a farmer and merchant. He mar- 
ried a Miss Stalnaker, who died at an ad- 
vanced age. John Lorentz married Mary 
Regerboth, and both died when well along 
in years. Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Linn have 
been the parents of eight children, of whom 
the following is a brief record : 

Ernest died young. George died June 
22, 1908, while a law student at the Uni- 
versity of Virginia. Edna, born June 25, 
1878, was educated at Wilson college, Pa., 
and was for some time a teacher in the nor- 
mal school. She resides at home. Mary, 
born April 25, 1880, was educated in the 
normal school at Glenville and at Hollins, 
Va., and is also at home. Harriet, born 
March 30, 1884, graduated from the Glen- 
ville Normal school, and as a trained nurse 
from Washington, D. C. Robert, born July 
25, 1882, graduated in law at Morgantown, 
W. Va. University in the Class of 1906, 
with the degree of B.L., was admitted to the 
bar in the same year and has since been a 
member of the firm with his father. He is 
unmarried. Ruth, born Oct. 25, 1886, is now 
taking a course in nursing at Washington, 
D. C. John Hamilton, born Dec. 6, 1892, is 
now attending the city high school. The 
family attends the Presbyterian church. 

The Newcomb Genealogy : — Francis 
Newcomb, born in England in 1605, came to 
the American colonies in 1635, with his wife 
Rachel. Their son Peter, born in Braintree, 
Mass., March 16, 1648, married in April, 
1672, Susanna Cutting, daughter of Richard 
Cutting, of Watertown. 

Jonathan, of the third generation, born in 
Braintree, Mass., March 1, 1685, had wife 



Deborah, whose family name has not been 
ascertained. Their children included Ben- 
jamin, born in Braintree, Mass., April 9, 
1719, who on coming of age removed to 
Norton, Mass., and died in 1801. He mar- 
ried, Nov. 24, 1743, Mary, daughter of John 
and Mercy Everett, of Dedham. She was 
born March 8, 1720-21. 

Rev. Ebenezer Newcomb, fifth in line of 
descent, and maternal great grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch, was born at Nor- 
ton, Mass., in November, 1754. He followed 
the various occupations of carpenter, joiner, 
and farmer, and was also a Baptist minister. 
He fought for American independence in 
the Revolutionary war, being a member of 
Capt. A. Clapp's company. His death oc- 
curred Feb. 13, 1829. He married Wealthy 
Willis, Feb. 23, 1779, who died May 11, 
1818. 

Ebenezer Newcomb, Jr., son of the fore- 
going, and grandfather of Robert G. Linn, 
was born Oct. 22, 1785. He was a carpen- 
ter, joiner and cabinet maker. He moved 
from Greenfield, Mass., to Fairmont, Va., 
where he died in 1859. He married So- 
phronia Smith, who was born April 24, 
1792. Their daughter Sophronia, born Dec- 
6, 1816, died Aug. 30, 1890. A native of 
Deerfield, Mass., she came with her parents 
to Fairmont, Va., when two years old, and 
as before stated, she became the wife of 
Robert Linn, and the mother of Robert G. 
Linn, the direct subject of this sketch. 

W. E. MERRICK, whose farm of forty 
acres lies two and a half miles from Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was born September 14, 1857, 
in Patrick County, Va., and is a son of Edward 
and Mary (Dodson) Merrick. 

Edward Merrick was born in Virginia and 
came to Kanawha County in 1875, living here 
for thirty-seven years. He was a mason by 
trade and was also a farmer. His death oc- 
curred on the present farm when he was eighty- 
three years of age. He married Mary Dod- 
son, who was born in Virginia, and outlived 
him, she being eighty-eight years old at the 
time of her death. Of their children, eight in 



418 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



number, those living are : Elisha, Martha, Ber- 
ry, Affie, W. E., and Jennie. 

W. E. Merrick accompanied the family when 
removal was made from Patrick to Kanawha 
County, and has been engaged in general farm- 
ing during the greater part of his life. His 
land is well managed and is very productive. 
He married Miss Nancy Edwards and they 
have six children living, two — Lonie and Oz- 
ella, the second and eighth born— having died. 
The others are : Walter Bowen, who has a 
family of four children ; Harry and Lizzie, 
both of whom live in Iowa ; and Lena, Ida and 
Lottie, all of whom live at home. In politics 
Mr. Merrick is a Democrat. 

HON. WILLIAM GUSTAVUS CON- 
LEY, attorney general of West Virginia, and 
a citizen of that state who has been prominent 
both in professional and public life for many 
years, was born in Preston County, W. Va.. 
January 8, 1866, and is a son of Major Will- 
iam and Mary (Freeburn) Conley. 

Major William Conley, who was an officer 
in the state militia, was born also in Preston 
County, but the naother was a native of Scot- 
land. She came to America with her parents 
at the age of eight years, resided with them in 
Philadelphia, and later accompanied them to 
West Virginia, where her death occurred in 
1896. her husband having passed away when 
their son, William G., was quite young. Major 
William Conley was a man of local promi- 
nence, and at one time was deputy sheriff. He 
was a school teacher and was also engaged in 
business as a contractor. 

William Gustavus Conley was educated in 
the public schools of Preston County, and the 
West Virginia University at Morgantown. and 
was graduated there from the department of 
law, in 1893, and in the same year was admit- 
ted to the bar. On April 2, 1903, Mr. Conley 
had conferred on him the honorary degree of 
Doctor of Laws, by the Nashville College of 
Law, at Nashville, Tenn. From 1893 until 
1903, he was engaged in the practice of law at 
Parsons, W. Va., during the closing six 
months of this period being in partnership with 
Charles D. Smith, under the firm name of 
Conley & Smith. He was an active and useful 



citizen there, serving in the city council and 
also as mayor. From Parsons he came to 
Kingwood, W. Va., where he is a member of 
the law firm of Hughes & Conley, and where 
he has his residence. Mr. Conlev has filled 
many important political positions. In 1896 
he was chosen assistant secretary of the Re- 
publican National Convention that nominated 
the late President McKinley. Subsequently 
he was twice sent to the convention of the Na- 
tional Republican League Club; for six years 
was chairman of the Republican Executive 
Committee, and for several years was a mem- 
ber as well as assistant secretary of the Repub- 
lican Congressional Committee. On May 9. 
1908, Mr. Conley was appointed attorney gen- 
eral, by Gov. W illiam M. O. Dawson, to serve 
until his successor was elected and qualified, 
and was elected for both short and long term, 
expiration being March 4. 191 3. This posi- 
tion is one befitting one of his talents, connec- 
tions and achievements. Attorney General 
Conley maintains his office on the first floor 
of the Capitol Building, Charleston. 

Mr. Conley was married in 1892, to Miss 
Bertie I. Martin, who was born in 1873, near 
Kingwood, W. Va., and they have three chil- 
dren living. Mrs. Conley is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, while he was 
reared a Presbyterian. He is identified with 
the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Knights 
of Pythias. 

ALENANDER RUFFNER. a representa- 
tive member of the old Ruffner family of West 
Virginia, which has been prominently identi- 
fied with Kanawha County since the days of 
Joseph Ruffner, eldest son of Peter, the emi- 
grant settler who came here in 1794, taking up 
vast tracts of land. In the same year he made 
some improvements and in the following year 
brought his family from Virginia and ever 
since the name has been one of high standing 
in this section. 

Col. Joel Ruffner, father of Alexander Ruff- 
ner, was born in Kanawha Count}'- near the 
present city of Charleston, December 11. 1802, 
and died here September 8. 1882. He was a 
well known man both in private and military 
life and when only eighteen years of age be- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



419 



came a colonel in the state militia. He married 
Diana Marye, who was born October 21, i8og, 
in the Shenandoah Valley and was of French 
ancestry on the paternal side. Her death oc- 
curred October 23, 1881. They were parents 
of sixteen children, thirteen of whom grew to 
maturity, and seven daughters and three sons 
yet survive, of this family, Alexander being 
the sixth in order of birth. 

Alexander Ruffner was born April 4, 1837, 
at Charleston. He attended the early schools 
which were meager in their advantages as com- 
pared to the present day, and has devoted the 
greater part of his life to farm pursuits but in 
earlier years also followed surveying and helped 
to make the survey for the old C. & O. 
Railroad in 1868. During the Civil War he 
remained at home to look after the affairs, but 
two of his brothers, Daniel and Joel, lost their 
lives while serving in the Confederate Army. 
Since October, 1858, he has been a voter and 
his ballot has always been cast in support of 
Democratic principles and candidates. No citi- 
zen of Charleston is better known than Mr. 
Ruffner, although he has never been willing to 
accept any public office. 

Mr. Ruffner was married October 30, 1883, 
in Poca District, Kanawha County, to Miss 
Mary V. Wallace, who was born in Poca Dis- 
trict, October 29, 1857, a daughter of an early 
settler, Peter Wallace. The latter lost his life 
from the foul gas generated in an oil well that 
he was assisting a companion to dig. His wife, 
Rachel (Aults) Wallace, also met death 
through accident, being fatally burned, with 
one of her sons, Simon, in a fire that swept 
what is now the south side of this city. Mrs. 
Ruffner has never been able to get over this 
great bereavement, having been much attached 
to her mother and brother. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ruffner have no children. She is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, while Mr. 
Ruffner comes of a long line of Presbyterians. 

ROBERT DUNLAP, who conducts a gen- 
eral store at Mammoth, was born in Washing- 
ton District, Kanawha County, March 5, 1864, 
and is a son of Frank and Sarah (Davis) Dun- 
lap, and a grandson of Rev. Thomas Davis, 



who, at one time owned the valley of Davis 
Creek. 

Frank Dunlap was a well known farmer on 
Davis Creek, in Loudon District and owned the 
property that now belongs to his son, Rome E. 
Dunlap. His death occurred in 1891, at the 
age of fifty-four years. He married . Sarah 
Davis, who survived to the age of seventy- 
three years. They had the following children 
born to them : Peter C. ; Emma E., who is the 
wife of Leonard Holstein; and Robert,. Stan- 
hope F., Andrew J., Rome E., Golden H., Alice 
and James B. Alice married Hubert Martin. 

Robert Dunlap remained on the home farm 
until he was sixteen years of age, in the mean- 
while attending the local schools. He then be- 
came a miner for the Black Band Iron and 
Coal Company, which work he followed for 
ten years on Davis Creek. From there he went 
to the Winifrede Coal Company for four 
years, and from there to the Campbell's Creek 
Coal Company, with which he continued until 
1897, when he opened a store, on a small scale, 
at Mammoth, his bill of goods amounting to 
$82. Later he moved his stock to Campbell's 
Creek, but in October, 1907, returned to Mam- 
moth and bought his present store building 
and subsequently erected his comfortable resi- 
dence. He also owns stock in some coal and 
timber land in Maiden District on Campbell's 
Creek, which is very valuable. He is one of 
the prosperous business men of the place. 

Mr. Dunlap was married July 2, 1892, to 
Miss Mary Stone, a daughter of William M. 
and Ursly (Nelson) Stone, both of whom are 
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have one son, 
Marcus Talmadge. In politics Mr. Dunlap is 
a Republican. He is a member of Lodge No. 
242, Odd Fellows, at Mammoth, and Haddoth 
Lodge No. 170, Knights of Pythias, at Put- 
ney, W. Va. 

GEORGE P. ALDERSON, a well known 
member of the Kanawha County bar, residing 
in Charleston, was born at Sulphur Springs, 
Texas, in 1879, and is a son of Irving N. Al- 
derson, whose death occurred in our subject's 
childhood. The latter has since then resided 
with his uncle, Col. J. Coleman Alderson, for- 



420 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



merly of Wheeling, W. Va., but now a promi- 
nent citizen of Charleston. Irving N. Alder- 
son was born in Amherst County, Va., in 1845, 
a son of Rev. Louis A. Alderson. 

George P. Alderson in his boyhood attend- 
ed a preparatory school in Garrett County, Md. 
He then entered Columbia College and was 
subsequently a student at George Washington 
University, both institutions of Washington, 
D. C. Graduated with his degree in law in 
1905, he was admitted to the bar in Washing- 
ton, D. C, on January 1st of the following 
year and later became a member of the bar of 
Kanawha County, W. Va., and is now located 
in the Alderson-Stevenson Building. He is a 
man of recognized ability in his profession, a 
good citizen having at heart the interests of his 
adopted city, and in politics is a Democrat. 

SAMUEL STEPHENSON, vice president 
of the Kanawha Valley Oil and Gas Company, 
and one of the proprietors of the Holley Coal 
and Coke Company, is largely interested in 
coal, gas and lumber and land enterprises in 
this part of the country. He was born March 
10, 1859, in Nicholas county, W. Va., and 
was reared in Clay county, a son of Andrew J. 
and Mary Jane (Forsythe) Stephenson, the 
former of whom was born in Nicholas county 
and the latter at Staunton, Va. 

Andrew J. Stephenson was a son of David 
and Nancy (Rader) Stephenson, and was born 
April 29, 1829. David Stephenson was also a 
native of Virginia and died in Nicholas county 
at the age of fifty years, and his widow at the 
age of seventy years. They were members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. Andrew J. 
Stephenson spent his life in Nicholas and Clay 
counties, Virginia, was a lifelong Democrat 
and for thirty-two years was clerk of the county 
and circuit courts. His death occurred Octo- 
ber 31, 1903, at the age of seventy- four years. 
He married Mary Jane Forsythe, a daughter of 
Abraham and Jane (Whight) Forsythe, who 
were prominent people near Staunton. Va. 
Abraham Forsythe was a man of large estate 
before the Civil War and owned many slaves, 
but his fortune was much depleted on account 
of his having signed bonds for a county officer, 
which were invalidated. With his wife he be- 



longed to and liberally supported the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Seven sons and two daugh- 
ters were born to Andrew J. Stephenson and 
wife, namely: Glendora, who married T. B. 
Stephenson, a distant relative, residing in Clay 
county, and they have three daughters; For- 
sythe, who is a lumberman, residing at Charles- 
ton ; Samuel ; Elijah L., who is a merchant and 
miller residing at Clay Court House, married 
Missouri Young and they have one son and 
tw o daughters ; Albert, who is a farmer in Clay 
county and holds the office of assessor, married 
a Miss Salisbury, now deceased ; Florence, who 
is the wife of John E. Carden, a merchant at 
Covington, Va., and has six sons and two 
daughters ; Homer, a wholesale dealer in feed 
residing at Clendenin, Kanawha county, also 
a fanner and miller, who married Lydia Nich- 
ols and has two sons and three daughters ; Ben- 
jamin L., who died when aged six months; and 
Eston Byrne, who is a retired physician. Dr. 
Stephenson is a member of the State Board of 
Control, having been appointed by Governor 
Glasscock in 19 10. He married Lydia 
Downey. 

Samuel Stephenson is one of the representa- 
tive and able business men of Kanawha county 
but he enjoyed only public school educational 
advantages. He has been a resident of 
Charleston for ten years and prior to that time 
was engaged in a timber and lumber business in 
Clay county. He also engaged in the lumber 
business for some eight years in Boone county. 
In association with other capitalists he is con- 
cerned in many large enterprises, is an extensive 
operator in oil, coal and gas in West Virginia. 

Mr. Stephenson was married in Boone coun- 
ty, W. Va., to Mrs. Cynthia Dell (Vickers) 
Savers, widow of the late Ira G. Sayers, who 
was survived by two children: Ira G., who re- 
sides at Charleston; and Nona B., who is the 
wife of Dr. Sharp, of Charleston. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stephenson have two children, Byron 
Jackson and Rebie Dell, both of whom are stu- 
dents in the public schools. Mrs. Stephenson 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
south. 

Mr. Stephenson is not only an influential 
man in the business circles of Charleston and 
Kanawha county, but he is also efficient and 



SAMUEL STEPHENSON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



423 



valuable as a citizen. In 1893 he was ap- 
pointed deputy revenue collector for the 
southern district of West Virginia,' and per- 
formed the duties of this office for two years 
and then resigned. He has served in his sec- 
ond term as a member of the city council, elected 
on the Democratic ticket, of which party he is 
a leading factor in this section. He is a Ma- 
son of advanced degree, belonging to the Blue 
Lodge, at Clay, W. Va., the Chapter, Com- 
mandery and Consistory at Charleston and also 
to Beni-Kedem Shrine, at Charleston. 

S. G. BACKUS, M. D., physician and sur- 
geon in active and successful practice at South 
Charleston, W. Va., was born in 1874, in 
Nicholas County, W. Va., a son of B. F. and 
Albina (Dorsey) Backus. The father of Dr. 
Backus was twice married, first to a Miss 
Carolina Grose and three of their four chil- 
dren survive. Mr. Backus died on his farm in 
Nicholas County at the age of seventy- four 
years. Eight children were born to his second 
marriage. 

S. G. Backus attended the public schools and 
then commenced the study of medicine, com- 
pleting his medical course in the Eclectic Medi- 
cal College at Cincinnati, O., where he was 
graduated in 1904. He immediately engaged 
in practice at Summersville, in Nicholas Coun- 
ty and remained there until 1909, when he 
came to South Charleston, where he built his 
present well equipped office near the C. & O. 
Railroad depot. His practice comes from a wide 
surrounding territory. He is special surgeon 
for the South Charleston Crusher Company. 

Dr. Backus married Miss Araminta S. May- 
nor, a native of Fayette County, and daughter 
of John A. and Martha Maynor, the former of 
whom is deceased. They have one daughter, 
Juanita Frances, who is now five years old. 
They attend the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Dr. Backus is a Republican in politics, and he 
belongs to the fraternal order, Knights of Py- 
thias. 

HENRY PLATT BRIGHTWELL, who 
holds the responsible position of secretary to 
the Hon. William E. Glasscock, governor of 



West Virginia, is one of the rising young pub- 
lic men of the state. He was born in Prince 
Edward County, Va., about thirty-five years 
ago, and is a son of Henry C. and Elizabeth 
(Pollard) Brightwell. His father died in 
1888; his mother is now over sixty years of 
age and is a resident of Bedford City, Va. 
Their children were as follows : Carrie B., who 
is the wife of J. W. Hopkins, resides in Bed- 
ford, Va., and has three children; Maude, the 
wife of Robert Lee Quarles, is also a resident 
of Bedford City, and has three children; Hen- 
ry Piatt, who is the direct subject of this 
sketch ; and Edward Walker, cashier of the 
Capital City Bank, of Charleston, who is a 
graduate of Randolph Macon Seminary, and is 
unmarried. 

Henry Piatt Brightwell was reared and 
acquired his early education in Bedford City, 
Bedford County, Va. He completed his lit- 
erary education in the Randolph-Macon Acad- 
emy, which he entered while yet in his "teens," 
and soon afterwards became identified with the 
banking interests of his native state, being 
thus engaged there from 1893 to 1896, and 
acquiring a good knowledge of financial meth- 
ods. In the year last mentioned he came to 
Charleston, W. Va., becoming associated with 
the Charleston National Bank of Charleston. 
A few years later he organized the Richwood 
Bank and Trust Company, at Richwood, W. 
Va., which was the first bank in that place, he 
becoming its cashier and manager. This in- 
stitution proved a success and has since pros- 
pered. After three years, however, Mr. Bright- 
well resigned his position with the bank to be- 
come assistant cashier of the Kanawha Bank- 
ing and Trust Company of Charleston, W. 
Va., which position he resigned in January, 
19 10, to become assistant banking commission- 
er of the State of West Virginia, the duties of 
which office are to make periodical examina- 
tion of the condition of the various state banks, 
making it a very responsible position. After 
filling it capably for six months, he resigned in 
order to become bank examiner of national 
banks for the United States government, mak- 
ing his reports directly to the comptroller of 
currency at Washington, D. C. In this posi- 



424 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tion also he proved his ability and gained more 
valuable experience in financial matters. He 
resigned as national bank examiner December 
i, 19 10, to assume the duties of secretary to 
the governor. In this position he has once 
more proved himself equal to high responsi- 
bility, handling intricate situations with the 
skill of a real diplomat, showing ever-ready 
tact and efficiency, and relieving the Governor 
of much arduous labor. 

Mr. Brightwell was married in Morgan- 
town, W. Va., December 3, 1903, to Frances 
Russell White, who was born in that place. 
Mrs. Brightwell was educated in her native 
town, at LaSalle Seminary, Boston, Mass., and 
at National Park Seminary. Washington, 
D. C. With her husband, she is prominent in 
the social circles of Charleston and is affiliated 
religiously with the Episcopal church. Mr. 
and Mrs. Brightwell are the parents of two 
children — Frances Pollard, born December 29. 
1905, and Elizabeth Morehead. born January 
28, 1907. 

JOHN THOMAS JACKSON, a member 
of one of the well known families of Kanawha 
County, is a representative business man of 
Clendenin, W. Va. He was born at Osborne's 
Mills, October 12. 1867. and is a son of Al- 
marine and Rosanna (Atkinson) Jackson, and 
a grandson of Thomas H. Jackson, the father 
now living retired at the age of seventy-four 
years. 

After his school days ended, John Thomas 
Jackson, then eighteen years old, started to 
teach school, and taught for thirteen terms in 
Roane and Kanawha Counties, where he was 
also engaged in farming for five years. In 1903 
he came to Clendenin, where he conducted a 
grocery store for three years, when he lost his 
stock by fire. Since 1907 he has been associ- 
ated with his brother in the feed business and 
is also considerably interested in oil and gas in 
this vicinity. He is one of the solid and repre- 
sentative men of the town, taking a good citi- 
zen's interest in everything but desiring no po- 
litical office. He is a Democrat. 

Mr. Jackson was married to Miss Effie B. 
Young, who was born in 1879, a daughter of 
James A. and Josephine (Swan) Young, and 



they have two children : Glenn ajid Clair, aged 
respectively eight and six years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jackson are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 

EDWARD BOARDMAN KNIGHT, for- 
merly a prominent member of the Charleston 
bar and a citizen held in high esteem, was born 
in Hancock, N. H.. August 22, 1834, son of 
Asa and Melinda (Adams) Knight. He grad- 
uated at Dartmouth college in the class of 
1 861. He was admitted to the bar in Septem- 
ber. 1863, and practiced for a short time in 
New London, N. H., and also in Dover. 
N. H. In March or April, 1865, he came to 
Charleston. W. Va., and entered into a part- 
nership for the practice of the law with Col. 
Benjamin H. Smith under the firm name of 
Smith & Knight. In a very few years Col. 
Smith retired and his place in the firm was 
taken by his son, Mr. Isaac N. Smith, the firm 
name remaining as before. Mr. Isaac N. 
Smith died in the fall of 1883, and in 1884 
Mr. Knight and Mr. George S. Couch entered 
into a partnership under the firm name of 
Knight & Couch, which continued until Mr. 
Knight's retirement from practice January 
1, 1892. Mr. W. S. Laidley says of him: 
"From almost any point of view Mr. Knight 
was a strong lawyer, and when he knew he 
was right always succeeded in impressing the 
court and jury with the fact, and generally 
distinguished himself in important cases by his 
clear-cut. forceful and convincing argument, 
sticking very closely to the evidence and the 
truth and therefore to the point. With an ap- 
parent seriousness of mind withal he had a 
remarkable vein of wit and humor when oc- 
casion called for an expression of this tempera- 
ment and was a favorite master of ceremonies, 
or toastmaster at bar association meetings." 

Speaking of his strong manly and moral 
character, his old law partner. Isaac Smith, 
said that he was the purest-minded man with 
the highest moral ideas he ever knew. Mr. 
Knight was very fond of out-door life and 
spent his summers mostly in the beautiful hills 
around Sunnipee Lake, New Hampshire, and 
was an enthusiastic fisherman. Mr. Knight 
was a member from Kanawha County of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



425 



Constitutional Convention of 1872, but never 
held any other political office. He was, how- 
ever, for a number of years city solicitor of 
Charleston. In politics he was always a Demo- 
crat. 

He married on September 15, 1864, Han- 
nah Elizabeth White, of Newport, N. H., who 
died November 14, 1878. On February 13, 
1882, he married Mary Elizabeth White, who 
with three children by his first wife — Edward 
Wallace, Harold Warren, and Mary Ethel 
(now Mrs. George W. McClintic) — survived 
him at his death on December 16, 1897. 

Edward Wallace Knight, son of Edward B. 
and Hannah Elizabeth Knight, was born 
April 30, 1866. He graduated from Dart- 
mouth college in the class of 1887, read law in 
the office of Knight & Couch, and was admit- 
ted to the bar in May, 1889. January 1, 1892, 
he entered into a partnership for the practice 
of law with Messrs. James F. Brown and Mal- 
colm Jackson, who had theretofore been in 
partnership under the name of Brown & Jack- 
son, the style of the new firm being Brown, 
Jackson & Knight. The present members of 
the firm, in addition to those named above, are 
Messrs. V. L. Black, John Wehrle, Angus W. 
McDonald, George S. Couch, Jr., and Oscar 
P. Fitzgerald, Jr. Mr. Knight has been gen- 
eral counsel of the Deepwater, Tidewater and 
Virginian Railways since 1902. He served in 
the common council of the city of Charleston 
from 1 89 1 to 1894, but has held no other of- 
fice. He married, January 25, 1893, Mary 
Catherine, daughter of J. E. Dana, and they 
have three children — Edward Dana, born 
March 23, 1894; Elizabeth Swift, born August 
3, 1897, and Mary Ethel, born July 22, 191 1. 

J. WILIAM PRITT, postmaster at Der- 
rick, W. Va., and manager of his father's 
farm of 256 acres, which is situated on Der- 
rick Creek, Poca District, Kanawha County, 
W. Va., was born in this district, May 8, 
1871, and is a son of John H. and Mary E. 
(Samuels) Pritt. 

John H. Pritt was born February 14, 
1853, m Virginia, and was reared to agri- 
cultural pursuits. After marriage he set- 
tled first at Sissonville on Poca River, where 



he lived with his brother, J. M. Pritt two 
years and then moved to what is known as 
Dave Dick's Branch, above Sissonville. 
From there he moved to Beane Bridge, on 
the Poca River, and from there to the farm 
above mentioned. He married Mary E. 
Samuels, who is a daughter of John G. and 
Nancy Emeline Samuels, natives of Kana- 
wha County, and the following children 
were born to them : J. William ; Henrietta, 
who is the wife of R. S. Pritt, who resides at 
the head of Derrick Creek, and they have 
five children — George, Susa, Alice, Ethel 
and Esther; T. F., who married Roxie Witt, 
a daughter of R. F. Witt, and they have five 
children — Herman D., John Fletcher, Will- 
iam Roy, Atlee and Clara Ethel; Julia Ann, 
who is the widow of Frank C. Miller, has 
three children — Opa, Emmazetta and Ott- 
mer; Edward G., who resides on Derrick 
Ridge between Derrick and Allen Fort 
Creek, married Ora Witt, and they have 
three children — Hazel, Oran and Lillie ; J. 
M., who is deceased; Lizzie Jane, who is the 
wife of Vallie Older, resides on Poca River 
above the mouth of Kelleys' Creek; E. C, 
who lives at home; D. B., who resides on 
Froggs' Creek, married Chlora Jones and 
they have one child, Ruby; and E. A., who 
is deceased. 

The Pritt men are all Republicans and are 
leading factors in the political life of Poca 
District. J. William Pritt is the only one, 
however, who is filling any political posi- 
tions having been appointed postmaster at 
Derrick on April 8, 1907. Mail arrives at 
this point from Sissonville, every Tuesday, 
Thursday and Saturday. 

COLUMBUS JACKSON TURLEY, gen- 
eral merchant, doing business on the south 
side, Charleston, W. Va., was born April 13, 
1862, in Washington District, Kanawha Coun- 
ty, and is a son of Christopher Columbus and 
Susan (Glispie) Turley, and a grandson of 
John Turley, who was one of the earliest set- 
tlers of Washington District. 

When John Turley came to Kanawha Coun- 
ty and settled in what is now Washington Dis- 
trict, he found a wilderness which was but 



426 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



little changed from its virgin state. After se- 
lecting his land he erected a log cabin and 
began to clear up his property. It was the cus- 
tom of that time for other settlers to unite and 
assist the newcomer and John Turley found 
this neighborly sentiment prevailing as men 
came on horseback, a distance of thirty miles, 
to help him in his log-rollings, some of them 
having to travel for two days in order to reach 
the place. Subsequently he performed the 
same kind service for others. John Turley 
was a cooper and a boat builder and was able to 
construct his own boats on which he would 
convey his barrels down the Coal River to the 
Kanawha, and thence to the Licks, now Mai- 
den. He died in 1865, at a goodly age, and 
had been a Union man throughout the Civil 
War. Three of his sons served in a northern 
regiment. He was one of the founders of the 
Baptist church in his neighborhood and his 
descendants have continued in the same faith. 
He married a sister of A. M. Smith, who was 
once a large land owner and a prominent man 
of his day in Kanawha County. A large fam- 
ily was born to this marriage and three of 
their sons — John H., Jackson B., and Chris- 
topher Columbus, served in the Federal Army 
during the Civil War. 

Christopher Columbus Turley was born 
April 30, 1829, in Washington District, Kana- 
wha County, where he still resides, his home 
being with a son, Oscar B. Turley. During 
his active years he was a farmer and also a 
river man, working both flat-boats and steam- 
boats for a number of years. During the Civil 
War he served for one enlistment in the 7th 
Vol. Cav., of West Virginia. He is a strong 
supporter of the Republican party and still 
takes a deep interest in its affairs and keeps 
posted concerning the leading events of the 
times. He was married in Washington Dis- 
trict to Susan Glispie, who was born in 1843 
and died in 1899. She was a devoted member 
of the Baptist church and a wise and tender 
wife and mother. They had seven children, 
all of whom reached maturity, married and 
had children. Francis M., John C, and George 
S. are deceased. The survivors are: William 
H., who has charge of an ice plant at Mont- 
gomery, W. Va., married twice; Jennie, who 



is the wife of Cornelius Pickens, a general 
merchant at Charleston; Columbus Jackson; 
and Oscar S., who is a general merchant in 
Washington District, and married Jennie 
Chandler. 

Columbus Jackson Turley has been looked 
upon as a successful man. prosperous and well 
informed, for many years, but it required a 
hard struggle in his boyhood and youth to se- 
cure an education and to gain a foothold in 
business. He recalls conditions as they were at 
that time, with the old log school buildings 
separated many miles from each other and as 
many from the homes of the pupils. He was 
very ambitious as a student and held a fore- 
most place in his class one winter when he was 
obliged to walk two miles to school. On one 
ocassion his father bought him a pair of bro- 
gan boots, but they did not fit and the father 
had to make a week's trip in order to change 
them for another pair. Snow was on the 
ground but nevertheless the lad attended school 
even when it necessitated his going back and 
forth in his bare feet. This spirit of courage 
and perseverance continued with Mr. Turley 
and has been a useful asset. In 1887 he began 
work as a mechanic in railroad construction in 
the southern states, becoming a contractor, and 
continued in this line until 1892, when he re- 
turned to Kanawha County and engaged in 
merchandising at the Forks of Coal River, re- 
maining there until 1896. He then went to 
Danville, Boone County, W. Va., where he 
conducted a mercantile business under the firm 
name of Pickens & Turley, also engaged in 
milling and operated the only planing mill in 
the county. In 1901 Mr. Turley purchased 
his present business from John A. Carr, who 
was formerly a partner in a produce company 
and built the store building, in 1897. Mr. Tur- 
ley has made many substantial improvements 
since he became owner and has put in a large 
stock of goods. He carries on a general store 
trade and deals in the wholesale line in feed 
and flour, and retails groceries and vegetables. 
He also deals in corn, ship-stuff, middlings, 
salt, lime, straw, meal, bacon, etc. 

Mr. Turley was married January 30, 1890, 
at Birmingham, Ala., to Miss Almeda Byers, 
who was born August 16, 1866, at Sterrett, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



427 



Shelby County, Ala., a daughter of Robert 
and Ann H. Byers, who reside at Sterrett. As 
was Mr. Turley, Mrs. Turley was reared in the 
Baptist faith. They reside in their beautiful 
residence which is so situated at Charleston 
as to overlook the Kanawha Valley. In poli- 
tics Mr. Turley is a Republican. He is identi- 
fied fraternally with the Masons and Odd Fel- 
lows, also being a Shriner. 

WILBUR F. SHIRKEY, M. D., physi- 
cian and surgeon at Maiden, W. Va., where 
he is an honored member of his profession, 
belongs to one of the old families of Kana- 
wha County, it having been established 
early by his grandfather, David Shirkey, 
who came from old Virginia. The parents 
of Dr. Skirkey were John G. and Martha 
(Matheny) Shirkey. His great grand- 
father came from Ireland about 1790 and 
settled in Virginia. He spelled his name 
"Sharkey." The name was changed to 
Shirkey by his grandfather. The father of 
Dr. Shirkey was born near Sissonville, 
Kanawha County, in 1832, and he died on 
his farm on the Elk River, in Elk District, in 
1887. He was a farmer and also a school 
teacher. He married Martha Matheny, 
who was reared at Pinch, in Elk District, 
and still survives. They had five children, 
namely: Wilbur F. ; David W., who is an 
attorney at law; Sherman, who is manager 
of a company store in this section; Mar- 
garet, who died at the age of eight years ; 
and Susan. 

Wilbur F. Shirkey was a child when the 
family moved to the farm in Elk District 
and there his boyhood was spent. He at- 
tended the public schools and also had ad- 
vantages at Carbondale Academy, and at- 
tended medical lectures at the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, at Baltimore, 
Md., beginning his practice at Jarrett Ford 
and later returning to the medical college to 
graduate with the class of 1894. Subse- 
quently he took a post graduate course at 
the New York Polyclinic, and a second one 
at the Chicago Post Graduate College, at 
Chicago, 111. In 1890 Dr. Shirkey came to 
Maiden, where he has ever since been es- 



tablished, and here, through professional 
ability and sterling traits of character, he 
has won his way to success in his profession 
and to the esteem of his fellow citizens. He 
keeps fully abreast with the times and is a 
member of the Kanawha County Medical 
Society, the West Virginia State Medical 
Society, and the American Medical Assoc- 
iation. 

Dr. Shirkey was married April 14, 1881, 
to Miss Sarah Woody, a daughter of Flem- 
ing Woody, and they have five children: 
Ethel, who is accomplished in music, which 
she teaches; Wilma, who has turned her 
talents in the direction of teaching; Sidney, 
who is a mining engineer; and Wilbur F. 
and Sarah, twins, who are still in school. In 
his political sentiments Dr. Shirkey is a Re- 
publican and is active in party councils, be- 
ing a member of the County Republican 
Committee. He is identified fraternally 
with the Red Men at Maiden and to the Ma- 
sons, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 27, at 
Maiden and to the higher branches at 
Charleston, being a "Shriner." 

GUSTAV B. CAPITO, M.J)., of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was born in this city in 1878, a 
son of Charles and Sophia (Bentz) Capito. 
His paternal grandparents were Godfrey 
and Catharine (Miller) Capito, the former 
a native of Germany, who in 1856 set- 
tled with his family at Mason City, Va., where 
he was a well known business man for many 
years, first as a blacksmith and later being en- 
gaged in the brewing trade. 

Charles Capito, who was seven years of age 
when the family settled in Mason City, was 
there reared and partly educated, subsequently 
being a student for six years at Concordia Col- 
lege, at Fort Wayne, Ind. He then returned 
home and engaged in the drug business at Ma- 
son City, later becoming a grocer. In 1872 
he came to Charleston, where he has since re- 
sided. For eleven years he conducted a fancy 
grocery and vegetable business here, after 
which he went into the wholesale liquor busi- 
ness, which he followed until 1905, when he 
retired. Subsequently he became identified 
with the city's banking interests, and since 



428 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



September i, 19 10, has been president of the 
Kanawha National Bank, of which he is also 
a director. He has also been officially con- 
nected with the Kanawha Valley Building 
and Loan Association and other important 
enterprises. He is one of the leading busi- 
ness men of the city and for eleven years 
has been president of the Charleston Cham- 
ber of Commerce. 

Charles Capito was married in 1877 to Miss 
Sophia Bentz and they have four children — 
Gustav, Bertha, Henry and Kate. Henry 
Capito is also a prominent business man of 
Charleston, being superintendent of the Dia- 
mond Ice and Coal Company. 

Gustav B. Capito was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Charleston and at the Washing- 
ton-Lee University, where he was graduated 
in 1899 with the degree of B.A. Later he 
entered the medical department of the college 
and was graduated M.A., M.D. in the class 
of 1905. He also pursued medical studies in 
1904 and 1906 at St. Luke's Hospital, New 
York City, and later in Berlin, Germany. 
Then returning home he began medical prac- 
tice in his native city and has already achieved 
a good professional reputation. He is inter- 
ested in hospital work and is a close student of 
medical science. He belongs to the county, 
state and national medical associations. Per- 
haps few men of his age could be found better 
equipped for his profession, and with the ex- 
cellent beginning he has already made, it may 
be confidently expected that his future will be 
one of still more honorable achievement. 

HON. WILLIAM MERCER OWENS 
DAWSON, ex-governor of West Virginia, was 
born at Bloomington, Md., within a few hun- 
dred yards of the Virginia (W r est Virginia) 
line, May 21, 1853, son of Francis Ravens- 
croft (sometimes written Ravenscraft) and 
Leah (Kight) Dawson. He is descended 
on the paternal side from martial an- 
cestors who accompanied Oliver Cromwell 
to Ireland and fought to subdue the 
insurrectionary forces in that unhappy island. 
One of them came to this country quite early 
m the history of the colonies. At a later date 
we find a branch of the family residing in Alle- 



gheny county, Maryland, where John Dawson, 
our subject's grandfather, was born. The lat- 
ter was a blacksmith by occupation and locally 
a well known and respected citizen. He mar- 
ried a Miss Ravenscroft. who was born and 
lived and died in Maryland, in or near Dawson. 
John Dawson and wife had seven children, 
most of whom grew to maturity, married, and 
reared families of their own. The members 
of the family generally were Methodists in their 
religious affiliations. The youngest son of 
John Dawson, the Rev. Samuel R. Dawson, 
was for many years a well known and popular 
preacher in the M. E. church, North, and died 
in 1892 at an advanced age, at Ellenboro, 
Ritchie county, W. Va. Another son of John, 
Hanson B. Dawson, was clerk of the Circuit 
Court of Romney, Hampshire county. W. Va. ; 
he died September 6, 1876. He married a Mrs. 
Shabe, widow of Daniel Shabe and daughter 
of James Parsons, whose wife was a sister of 
General Fairfax. They had no issue. 

Francis Ravenscroft Dawson, father of our 
subject, was the eldest child of his parents, and 
was born near Dawson, Md.. in 1809. He 
learned his father's trade of blacksmith, and 
later became clerk for Samuel Brady, a wealthy 
man who owned a large plantation and a num- 
ber of slaves. Later Francis R. Dawson took 
up the mercantile business at Piedmont, W. Va., 
and at Bloomington, Md. He died in July, 
188 1. at the age of almost eighty years. He 
was a class leader in the M. E. church, and a 
very hospitable man. During the Civil War 
period, his sympathies were with the Union 
cause. One of his sons, Frank M.. was a sol- 
dier in the 17th W. Va. Volunteers, enlisting 
as a private and serving from 1863 until the 
close of the war. 

Francis R. Dawson married, in 1832, Leah 
Kight, who was born in Virginia in 181 1. 
Her father, John Kight, and her mother, whose 
maiden name also was Kight, were both Vir- 
ginians. They were active members of the 
Methodist church and both attained an ad- 
vanced age. The children of Francis R. and 
Leah Dawson were Penelope. John H., Nancy 
C, Mariam, David Shoaf, Frank M.. and Wil- 
liam Mercer Owens. Of those other than our 
subject, the record in brief is as follows : Pen- 




HON. WILLIAM M. O. DAWSON 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



431 



elope, who is the widow of E. Clark Jones, but 
has no children, resides in Terra Aha. W. Va. 
John H., who was a well known steamboat cap- 
tain on the Ohio river, died at Parkersburg, 
W. Va., in 1879. He married Miss Jennie 
Shaffer, who resides at Parkersburg. W. Ya. 
Her only son. Harry H. Dawson, of Norfolk, 
Ya.. died in the fall of 1910. Nancy C, widow 
of George E. Guthrie, resides with her son. the 
Rev. Charles E. Guthrie, pastor of the First 
M. E. church at Wilkesbarre. Pa. Other 
children of hers are D. S. Guthrie, of Chicago; 
Wade H., state printer at Charleston. W. Va., 
and William AY publisher of "The Methodist," 
of Baltimore. Md. Mariam, the fourth child 
of Francis R. and Leah Dawson, married Jo- 
seph Goodrich, and died leaving several chil- 
dren. David Shoaf. the fifth child, if now 
living, is probably in South America. No news 
has been received from him for a considerable 
time. Frank M., whose military history has 
been already referred to. is a machinist, and 
resides in Toledo. Ohio. He married Miss 
Cole of Grafton, AY. Va., and they have sev- 
eral children. 

William M. O. Dawson, with whose history 
we are more directly concerned, had the misfor- 
tune to lose his mother when he was a child of 
less than four years, and he resided successively 
with his father at Cranberry (now Terra Alta), 
Bruceton Mills, and Ice's Ferry. In 1863 he 
began to learn the cooper's trade at Cranberry, 
where also for a time he attended public school, 
subsequently continuing his education in a pri- 
vate school at Terra Alta. During this period 
he also worked for some time as a clerk and 
taught school. In 1873 he became a resident 
of Kingwood, the county seat of Preston coun- 
ty, and became editor of "The Preston County 
Journal." a Republican newspaper, for which 
he had previously been a correspondent, as 
well as for the "Wheeling Intelligencer." Two 
years later he became the owner of the "Jour- 
nal"' which under his management became a po- 
tent factor in state politics. In 1874, though not 
seeking the position, he was elected chairman of 
the county Republican committee, and was twice 
re-elected, serving for thirteen years, at the 
end of which time he retired. In 1880 he was 
unanimously nominated as the Republican can- 



didate for state senator from Tenth district, 
composed of Monongalia and Preston coun- 
ties, and was elected. He was the youngest 
member of the body, and the only Republican 
member except his colleague. At the end of 
this four-year term, he was again nominated 
without opposition, and re-elected to the state 
senate. In 1888, at the end of his second term, 
he declined to be again considered as a candi- 
date though he could have been nominated for 
the third time without opposition. When he re- 
tired in 1888 the Senate was nearly equally di- 
vided between the two political parties. Dur- 
ing his career as senator Mr. Dawson rendered 
valuable service as a member of the committee 
on banks and corporations, on finance, on the 
joint committee on finance, on the joint sub- 
committee on finance to prepare the appropria- 
tion bills; on counties and municipal corpora- 
tions, on the penitentiary, on mines and mining, 
on public printing, and was the only Republi- 
can member of a special committee to investi- 
gate the public printing, his report being 
adopted by the Democratic senate. The decided 
stand he took for the protection of the school 
fund is still well remembered and is a matter 
of public record. He also advocated the regu- 
lation of railroad charges on the lines after- 
wards adopted by the Federal government in 
the creation of the inter-state commerce com- 
mission. He is also the father of the first mine 
inspection law of the state, and he initiated and 
carried through much other beneficent legisla- 
tion. His name has been since associated with 
the "Dawson Corporation Law." enacted by the 
legislature in 1901, while he was secretary of 
state, and which made much needed and benefi- 
cent alterations in the corporation laws of the 
state, adding over a quarter of a million dol- 
lars to its revenues from the tax in corpora- 
tion charters. 

In 1 89 1 Mr. Dawson was unanimously elect- 
ed chairman of the Republican State Commit- 
tee, a position to which he was twice re-elected. 
When he took charge West Virginia was Dem- 
ocratic by a majority of 5,000 to 6,000, and had 
been in complete control of the Democratic 
party since 1871. His conduct of the campaign 
of 1892 wrought a great change in the polit- 
ical situation and was a surprise to all the party 



482 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



leaders of the state, and particularly so to the 
enemy. Under his management the Republi- 
can party won the great victories in West Vir- 
ginia of 1894, 1896, 1898 and 1900. Since 
1896 the state has been Republican in all 
branches of the government, having a majority 
in both houses of the Legislature. Mr. Daw- 
son resigned the office of chairman in 1904. 

In 1897 he was appointed secretary of state 
by Governor Atkinson, and was reappointed to 
that office in 1901 by Governor White, being 
the only man who has served two terms in that 
important office. His administration of its af- 
fairs was marked by personal integrity, effi- 
ciency, and devotion to the public welfare that 
won for him universal commendation and com- 
pelled the respect even of his political enemies, 
having the legislature pass the "Dawson Cor- 
poration Law," referred to above. 

Every one remembers the great political cam- 
paign of 1904 in West Virginia. The all-ab- 
sorbing issue was "tax reform." It was based 
on the recommendations of the tax commission 
of 1 90 1, which made its report to the legisla- 
ture of 1903. The body refused to consider 
the bills to amend the tax laws proposed by 
that commission. On the question of their con- 
sideration Mr. Dawson became a candidate for 
the Republican nomination for Governor. It 
was a fierce, hot campaign. Mr. Dawson was 
nominated; and the campaign that ensued, re- 
sulting in his election, was probably the most 
hotly contested in the history of the state. Mr. 
Dawson served as Governor of West Virginia 
from March 4, 1905, to March 4, 1909, and 
during his administration he succeeded in hav- 
ing "tax reform" enacted into laws, now often 
referred to as the "Dawson Tax Laws." 

As the incumbent of this high office, he again 
justified his party's choice and his record as 
governor is one that will bear close comparison 
with that of the ablest of his predecessors. It 
is sufficiently well known to the people of the 
state to need no detailed recapitulation here. 
Among minor offices that have been held by Mr. 
Dawson are those of clerk of the House of Del- 
egates, in 1895, and mayor of Kingwood. He 
is a member of the Masonic order belonging to 
Preston lodge, No. 90, A. F. & A. M. of King- 
wood, and is past chancellor of Brown lodge, 



No. 32, also of Kingwood. He is a member of 
the Presbyterian church and has been active in 
Y. M. C. A. work. 

Mr. Dawson was married in 1879 to Luda, 
daughter of John T. Neff, of Kingwood, W. 
Va. She died in 1894, leaving a son, Daniel; 
and in 1899 Mr. Dawson married Maude, 
daughter of Jane Brown, of Kingwood, of 
which union there is a daughter, Leah Jane, 
born April 4, 1901, and now attending the pub- 
lic schools. The son Daniel, who was born 
January 13, 1881, was educated in the Charles- 
ton schools, including the high school, and sub- 
sequently entered the University of West Vir- 
ginia at Morgantown. where he was graduated 
in 1904. He then took a one year course at 
Harvard University, and later graduated from 
the law school of West Virginia University. 
He is now engaged in the practice of law at 
Huntington, W. Va. Ex-Governor Dawson 
is a printer by trade and a lawyer by profes- 
sion. He is now engaged in the practice of law 
at Charleston, the capitol of West Virginia. 

JOHN R. WALKER, M. D., one of the 
older members of the medical profession at 
Marmet, formerly known as Brownstown, 
Kanawha County, W. Va.. was born in this 
county. June 19. 1832, and is a son of Albert 
G. and Mary (Sims) Walker, and a grandson 
of John Walker and John Sims, and a great- 
grandson of Charles Hunter. 

John Walker was born in England and was 
a young man when he came to America and 
settled in Essex County, Va., where he mar- 
ried Lucy Kock. Their children were: Liv- 
ingston, Jane May. James H., Harriet W., 
Thomas and Albert G. 

Albert G Walker, father of Dr. Walker, 
was bora in Essex County, Va. He became a 
farmer and in 1850 embarked as one of the 
pioneer merchants at Brownstown, where he 
continued in business for many years, finally 
retiring and his death took place here when he 
had almost reached his seventy-sixth birthdav. 
He married Mary Sims, a daughter of John 
Sims, who was a farmer below Charleston. 
The Sims family as well as the Walkers and 
Hunters were all old and prominent people in 
Virginia. Col. Charles Sims was a member of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



433 



the U. S. Congress, from California, being a 
native of Nicholas County, where the family 
at one time was rich and prosperous. William 
Sims of Nicholas County, was sheriff, and an- 
other William Sims became a judge in Cali- 
fornia. John Sims lived to the age of eighty- 
four years, spending his last days in the home 
of Albert G. Walker. Sixteen children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Walker, the survivors 
being John R., Lucy Hill, Mildred Brazee, Mil- 
lie Rose Grant, Hattie Scott and Josie Mathews. 
The mother of Dr. Walker died at Brownstown 
when aged eighty-two years. 

John R. Walker obtained his early education 
in an old log schoolhouse with slab benches and 
puncheon floor. Later he became a clerk in his 
father's store, and while still selling goods, 
studied his medical books, but before an oppor- 
tunity came for him to complete his professional 
education, the Civil War broke out and he be- 
came a soldier, enlisting in 1861 in the 8th Va. 
Cavalry, Confederate Army, in which he served 
for three years, participating during this time in 
many warm engagements. He was fortunate 
enough to escape capture and wounds and after 
a short period at home entered the Eclectic 
Medical College at Cincinnati, where he was 
graduated in 1867. For eight years Dr. Walker 
then practiced medicine at Logan Court House, 
coming then to Brownstown, where he has been 
a very busy general practitioner until quite re- 
cently and has been the oldest practicing physi- 
cian in Kanawha County. He still consents to 
a little office practice, but in the main passes 
over his heavier professional responsibilities to 
younger shoulders. 

Dr. Walker married Mrs. Fanny (Powell) 
Walker, at that time a widow. Her parents 
were Charles and Lucinda Powell, who owned 
several plantations in Virginia prior to the Civil 
War. Dr. and Mrs. Walker had two children, 
Albert G. and Powell Edward. The former, a 
railroad man, married Lizzie Lewis and they 
have one daughter, Margaret Elizabeth. The 
younger son died at the age of two years and 
Mrs. Walker passed away on May 23, 1895. 
Dr. Walker is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, south. Politically he has always 
been a Democrat. When Winifrede was first 
made a post-office, Mr. William O'Connor, 



who was the owner of the Winifrede Coal 
Mines there was made postmaster and Dr. 
Walker became assistant ; and later, for about 
twenty years served as postmaster at Browns- 
town. 

BUCKNER CLAY, attorney-at-law, and 
member of the law firm of Price, Smith, 
Spilman & Clay, of Charleston, West Vir- 
ginia, was born in Bourbon County, Ken- 
tucky, December 31, 1877. His mother, 
Mary Woodford, was the daughter of John 
T. Woodford and Elizabeth Buckner — both 
descendants of Virginia ancestors. Through 
his father, Ezekiel Field Clay, he is des- 
cended from John Clay, who came to Vir- 
ginia from Wales in 161 3. From the three 
sons of John Clay were descended all the 
Kentucky Clays, including Henry Clay. 

The first of his Clay ancestors to come to 
Kentucky was General Green Clay, a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War and the War of 
1812. Green Clay settled in Madison 
County, Kentucky, near the present town 
of Richmond. His home has later become 
better known as "Whitehall," the home of 
his son, General Cassius M. Clay, who first 
became known as a zealous advocate of the 
Abolition of Slavery, having freed his own 
slaves, of whom he had quite a number. 
When but thirty-two years of age his 
speeches in advocacy of this cause were 
published by Horace Greeley. He was a 
graduate of Yale College and studied law; 
served for several terms in the Kentucky 
Legislature; was a soldier in the Mexican 
War, and was commissioned Major Gen- 
eral in the Civil War; he edited the True 
American, an anti-slavery paper; and later 
served as Minister to Russia under Presi- 
dents Lincoln, Johnson and Grant. 

Brutus Junius Clay, the grandfather of 
Buckner Clay, was another son of Green 
Clay. He settled in Bourbon County, Ken- 
tucky; was a farmer and breeder of blooded 
stock, He represented the Ashland Dis- 
trict, made famous by Henry Clay, in the 
38th Congress. He was twice married. His 
first wife was Amelia Field, and his second, 
her sister, Anne Field. To his first wife 



434 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



were born four children: Martha, Christo- 
pher Field, Green and Ezekiel Field, and to 
his second, Cassius Marcellus, Jr. 

Martha married Henry B. Davenport, of 
Jefferson County, West Virginia. One of 
their sons, Henry B. Davenport, is an at- 
torney-at-law of Clay, West Virginia. 

Christopher Field Clay was a farmer, who 
lived and died in Bourbon County, Ken- 
tucky. 

Both Green and Cassius were graduates 
of Yale College. The former served as sec- 
retary to his uncle at St. Petersburg, and 
later as Secretary of Legation to Minister 
Marsh in Italy. For many years he owned 
and cultivated a plantation in Mississippi, 
and now resides on his farm at Mexico, 
Missouri. 

Cassius M. Clay, Jr., served for several 
terms in the Kentucky Legislature and was 
President of the last Constitutional Con- 
vention of Kentucky. He is also a farmer, 
having inherited "Auvergne," the home 
place of his father, near Paris, Bourbon 
County, Kentucky. However, he has al- 
ways devoted much time to the study of 
public questions. 

Ezekiel Field Clay, the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was educated at Bacon 
College, Harrodsburg, Kentucky ; served in 
the Confederate army first as Captain and 
then as Colonel of Cavalry — for the most 
part under General Humphrey Marshall. 
He was twice wounded, and the second time 
taken prisoner and imprisoned at Johnson's 
Island. Since the war he has devoted his 
attention to farming and breeding thor- 
oughbred horses, at his home "Runny- 
mede," in Bourbon County, Kentucky. 

Buckner Clay is the fourth of six chil- 
dren; Ezekiel Field, Jr., Woodford, Brutus 
J., Buckner, Amelia and Mary Catesby. 

Ezekiel Field, Jr., a graduate of Yale Col- 
lege in the Class of 1892, is. like his ances- 
tors, a farmer in the good old County of 
Bourbon. 

Woodford and Brutus J. Clay were both 
graduates of Princeton College, the for- 
mer in 1893 and the latter in 1896. The 
former has devoted his attention to the 



breeding and racing of thoroughbred horses 
— the latter studied law at the University 
of Virginia and is now a practicing lawyer 
of Atlanta, Georgia. 

Amelia married Samuel Clay, who is de- 
scended from a different branch of the Clay 
family. Mary Catesby is unmarried and 
lives at the home place. 

Buckner Clay graduated at Kentucky 
University in the Class of 1897; farmed for 
one year; graduated in law at the Univer- 
sity of Virginia in 1900; practiced law at 
Paris, Kentucky, for about two years ; went 
to Atlanta in January, 1903, and was later 
admitted to practice in Georgia; in June, 
1903, he came to Charleston to enter the 
law office of Flournoy, Price & Smith. In 
January, 1907, he became a member of that 
firm, which became Price, Smith, Spilman 
& Clay. He is a Democrat. 

JAMES M. THACKER. whose valuable 
farm of 208 acres lies in Union District, Kana- 
wha County, W. Va., one mile east of the divid- 
ing line from Putnam County, has been a resi- 
dent of the county since he was twelve years of 
age. He was born in Putnam County, W. Va., 
and is a son of Dilla and Jane Thacker. His 
parents moved into Kanawha County in 1861 
and resided here until 1865, when they returned 
to Putnam County, where both died. One of 
their sons, A. L. Thacker, was a soldier in the 
Confederate Army and was taken prisoner by 
the Union forces and confined in Lookout mili- 
tary prison but after the end of the Civil War 
he returned to Putnam County. 

lames M. Thacker obtained his education in 
Putnam Count)' - and later attended school for a 
time in Kanawha County. Farming has been 
his main business all his life and since his mar- 
riage he has resided on his present farm, 175 
acres of which he has brought to a high state of 
cultivation. This is the old Lilly homestead, 
which has been in the Lilly family for four gen- 
erations. Mr. Thacker assisted in the erection 
of the farm buildings while the property was 
still under the control of N. B. Lilly, and since 
then has built the present commodious and com- 
fortable residence. 

Mr. Thacker married Miss Elizabeth J. Lilly, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



435 



who was born on this farm in Union District, 
Kanawha County, a daughter of N. B. Lilly, 
and they have three living children: Sallie, 
who is the wife of J. L. Goff ; Annie, who is the 
wife of W. M. B. Williams, of Union District ; 
and Everett, who is his father's assistant. He 
married Cora E. Francis, a daughter of 
Thomas P. Francis, of Putnam County. Both 
Mr. Thacker and his son are Democrats in 
politics but neither have ever been willing to 
accept office. Everett belongs to Poca Grange, 
No. 312, and is an Odd Fellow, belonging to 
Putnam Lodge No. 85 at Poca, to Buena Vista 
Encampment, No. 80, and Forest Rose Re- 
bekah Lodge No. 143, I. O. O. F. Both fami- 
lies are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. They are men of excellent 
standing and representatives of the best citizen- 
ship of the district. 

FRANK LIVELY, who holds the import- 
ant office of assistant states attorney general of 
West Virginia, was born in Monroe County, 
this state, November 18, 1864. His parents 
were Colonel Wilson and Elizabeth (Guwyinn) 
Lively, and he is a grandson on the paternal 
side of Cottrell Lively, who was of English 
ancestry but who was born and died in Alber- 
marle County, Va., where he followed fann- 
ing. This paternal ancestor of Mr. Lively's at- 
tained the advanced age of ninety years. He 
and his wife were the parents of eight children, 
of whom Wilson, our subject's father, was the 
youngest. 

Col. Wilson Lively was born in 1802 and 
grew up on the farm, being trained to agri- 
culture by his father. He became a prominent 
man, served several terms in the office of 
sheriff, and later became colonel of a Virginia 
regiment that formed a part of the Confede- 
rate army. At the same time he served as a 
member of the state legislature. In the spring 
of 186.S, while en route to Richmond to attend 
to his duties as representative, he heard that 
that city had been evacuated by Lee and that it 
was in possession of the Union forces. This 
nev s proved so great a shock to him that it 
cause- 1 his death. He was a man much re- 
spected, v ho did his duty as he saw it and in 
accordance with the precepts and principles of 



his early training, and was a consistent member 
of the Methodist church. He was married in 
Monroe County, his place of residence, to Eliza- 
beth Guwyinn, who was born and reared in 
that county. She survived her husband many 
years, dying in 1894 at the age of sixty-eight 
years. She was a daughter of Andrew Guwy- 
inn, who was of Irish descent, and like her hus- 
band she belonged to the Methodist church. 
They were the parents of ten children, all of 
whom are now living and are married, with 
families of their own. 

Frank Lively, who was his parents' young- 
est child, was educated in the public schools 
and subsequently at the normal college at 
Athens, Mercer County, where he was gradu- 
ated in the class of 1882. For a short time 
subsequently he followed the occupation of a 
teacher, in this manner earning enough to pay 
his way through the University of West Vir- 
ginia, at Morgantown, where he was gradu- 
ated with the degree of A. B. in 1885, receiv- 
ing also diplomas from other departments. In 
1886 he became principal of the Hinton High 
School. He had already been admitted to the 
bar — in 1885 — and in 1887 he began the prac- 
tice of law, following his profession in Sum- 
mers and other counties, and being entitled to 
practice in any of the courts of the state. By 
force of ability he soon came into public notice, 
and, having identified himself with the active 
work of the Republican party, was appointed 
in 1898, by Governor Atkinson, as game and 
fish warden, two years later being elected as 
prosecuting attorney. After serving three 
years in the latter office, he resigned to become 
state game and fish warden, having a great in- 
terest in the preservation of the game and fish 
of this region. This office was created in 1897, 
being filled the first year by Capt. E. F. Smith, 
who resigned it to perform military service as 
captain in the Second Regiment of West Vir- 
ginia Volunteers in the Spanish- American war. 
Mr. Lively is the second incumbent of this of- 
fice. In 1904 our subject was the Republican 
nominee for judge of the Ninth Judicial Cir- 
cuit but was defeated at the election. In the 
following year he accepted the position of as- 
sistant attorney general under C. W. May, re- 
signing it a year later to become pardon attor- 



436 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ney and confidential assistant to Governor 
Dawson, in which capacity he served until the 
close of the administration. He was then ap- 
pointed to his present office of assistant Attor- 
ney General, his term ending in 1913. He has 
been active generally in local and state politics, 
serving usually on the regular committee of his 
party to prepare the platform. In all these 
various positions he has shown excellent capac- 
ity and proved himself an able man of affairs, 
besides maintaining a high standing in his pro- 
fession. He belongs to Blue Lodge No. 62. 
F. & A. M., at Hinton, in which he has filled 
all the chairs, being now past master. 

Mr. Lively was married in 1890, at Hinton, 
to Miss Anna Prince, who was born forty 
years ago in Raleigh County, W. Va., her par- 
ents being wealthy and influential residents of 
that section. She was educated at a private 
school in Kentucky, and is a ladv of culture and 
refinement. Mr. and Mrs. Lively are the par- 
ents of children as follows: William, who 
graduated from the high school in 1910, and is 
now a student at the University of West Vir- 
ginia, class of 1914; James, now attending the 
city high school; Frank W., Jr., who is also 
attending the high school ; Frederick and Jen- 
nie Hill, who are students in the common 
schools. Mrs. Lively is a member of the Meth- 
odist church. 

IRWIN C. STUMP, M. D., physician, en- 
gaged in the practice of his profession at Clen- 
denin, W. Va., was born in Roane County. W. 
Va., September 24, 1871, and is a son of Dr. 
C. E. Stump, one of the representative medical 
men of this section, now retired. 

Irwin C. Stump attended the public schools 
and was reared in a professional atmosphere, 
his father having been prominent as a physician 
for many years. He was graduated at the Ken- 
tucky School of Medicine at Louisville, Ky., in 
March, 1894, and has practiced in Roane, Clay, 
Kanawha and Calhoun Counties. For eiefht 
years he was physician for the Queen Shoals 
Coal Company and the Queen Coal and Coke 
Company, and also the Clay Coal Company of 
Berrien Creek, making his headquarters at 
Queen Shoals. At present he is the only prac- 
ticing physician in Big Sandy District. Dr. 



Stump is identified with both the Masons and 
Odd Fellows at Clendenin. He is unmarried. 

JOHN SLACK who is now living in 
Charleston, was born November 1st, 1834, in 
Elk District, this County, which was then a 
part of the State of Virginia. His parents were 
Greenbury and Amelia (Triplett) Slack. 

The Slack family of West Virginia is of Ger- 
man origin. At an early day Philip Slack and 
wife came to Elk District from Pennsylvania, 
and here passed the rest of their lives. Of their 
children no record has been preserved, save of 
their son John, the grandfather of our subject, 
who was already a young man when he left 
Pennsylvania. He resided for some time on 
Elk River, but 'ater moved to what is now 
known as Slack Branch of Blue Creek in the 
same district. This region was then quite a 
wilderness. He was a man of much native 
ability, became one of the early justices of the 
peace of Kanawha County, serving under the 
old Constitution of Virginia in operation prior 
to 18=0-51. He acquired a small farm on Elk 
River, which propertv is now owned by one of 
his granddaughters. Mary Wingfield. He was 
a staunch supporter of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and was a personal friend of Rev. Mr. 
Bascum. afterwards Bishop Bascum of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South; who was 
recommended by Henry Clay to be Chaplain 
of the United States Congress and was ap- 
pointed. By virtue of the office of justice of 
the peace he became the high sheriff of Kana- 
wha County at some period earlv in the forties 
and lived to the age of eighty years. He mar- 
ried Comfort Samuels and their children were 
Greenbury, John. Benjamin. Polly. Nancv and 
Martha. Pollv died in Charleston in middle 
life the wife of John Atkinson. She was sur- 
vived by a son and daughter. The son died 
young and the daughter became the wife of the 
Rev. T. B. Feather of the Methodist Church. 

John Slack (2nd) was born in Kanawha 
Countv and in early manhood came to Charles- 
ton. He was deputy sheriff under his father 
and became the purchaser of the office of sheriff 
as was the custom of that dav; and later in the 
year 185.1 being regularly elected sheriff. The 
first sheriff elected under the Constitution of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



437 



1850-51 was J. H. Fry; Slack being- the second 
sheriff. Was elected for two terms, two years 
each. Also prior to the war he carried on salt 
manufacturing as a business, and also steam- 
boating, being captain. He married Sarah 
Porter and they reared a family. He was 
county and circuit court clerk of Kanawha 
County for several years, commencing with the 
date June 20th, 1863. 

Benjamin Slack was a teacher and farmer. 
He married twice, first to Martha Phillips and 
secondly to a Miss King, and had children by 
both wives. Nancy Slack married Charles 
Bryant, a carpenter; they resided in Charleston 
and were survived by children. Martha Slack 
married Edward High and lived to advanced 
age in Kanawha County, and they left children. 

Greenbury Slack, father of the subject of this 
sketch, was born in Elk District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., in 1810, and died at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., in 1874. He was identified with 
public matters both in the county and state for 
many years. After the Constitution of 1850- 
51 became effective he was elected a justice of 
the peace. At the time the State of Virginia 
seceded he was an earnest supporter of the 
Union ; and was later a member of the Consti- 
tutional Convention that brought about the ad- 
mission of West Virginia to statehood in 1863. 
He also took an active part in the organization 
of the state government at Wheeling called the 
restored government of Virginia. Afterwards 
he was elected to the West Virginia Senate, and 
was also at one time collector of tolls on the 
river for the State. Always a strong anti- 
slavery man, he naturally allied himself with 
the Republican party ; and although not an apt 
public speaker, he was a strong and forcible 
writer. He was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church* and at one time wrote and 
published in pamphlet form a history of the 
early Methodist and Presbyterian Church in 
the Kanawha Valley. 

Greenbury Slack was married in Nicholas, 
now Braxton County, W. Va., to Miss Amelia 
Triplett, who was born on an island in the 
Ohio River, and who was a daughter of Hedge- 
man and Mary (McClanahan) Triplett, natives 
of Virginia. Mrs. Slack's father died from a 

26 



gunshot wound received in the early border 
wars with the Indians. They had quite a fam- 
ily of children, one of whom was Marshall, 
the youngest of the family, and who was for 
many years a prominent politician and a leader 
in public affairs in his county, being the first 
Representative in the Legislature of Vir- 
ginia from what is now Braxton County. He 
was also a soldier in the Confederate Army, 
was twice imprisoned and died subsequently at 
his home in Webster County. 

To Greenbury Slack and wife four sons and 
one daughter were born, the latter being the 
youngest of the family. She is the widow of 
John Wingfield, who died at Fort Worth, 
Texas. The eldest son, Hedgeman Slack, died 
May 1 8th, 1908, on his farm near Charleston. 
He married Mary Jacobs and they had one son, 
Greenbury, who is now deceased. During the 
Civil War Hedgeman Slack was a soldier in 
the Union Army, raising a company which be- 
came part of the famous 7th W. Va. Cavalry, 
and of this regiment he was made major, after 
participating in many engagements including 
the second battle of Bull Run. After being 
honorably discharged he was appointed U. S. 
Marshal for West Virginia by President John- 
son and again by President Grant, and capably 
filled that office for some years. 

Greenbury, the third son, was a soldier in 
the Civil War and was killed in battle Septem- 
ber 19th, 1864, near Winchester, Va. He was 
then captain of his company, which was a part 
of the 8th W. Va. Vol. Infantry. His supe- 
rior officer, Col. John Hall, was killed in the 
same valley just a month later. The fourth 
son, Marshall, who was born July 12th, 1838, 
died August 23d, 1851. 

John Slack, whose name appears at the head 
of this sketch, was the second born of the above 
mentioned family. From 1852 to 1861 he was a 
deputy sheriff of Kanawha County, and under 
the new State of West "Virginia was elected first 
sheriff of Kanawha County, and entered upon 
his duties in June of the year 1863. He has 
also held other minor offices, both State and 
Federal. Mr. Slack married Miss Harriet 
Young, who was born in Elk District. Her 
grandfather, John Young, came to this section 



438 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



as a scout for settlers from the Virginia Valley, 
and, it is said, killed the last Indian — one of a 
band that had stolen a boy. A white man was 
also killed and was acting with the Indians. 
The place bears the name of White Man's Fork 
on the Little Sandy Creek. He attained a ripe 
old age. John D. Young, father of Mrs. Slack, 
and son of John and Mary (Tackett) 
Young, was a farmer in Kanawha County 
and died in Charleston. When the Civil 
War broke out he raised a company for the 
8th W. Va. Vol. Infantry, of which he was 
Lieutenant. He married Elizabeth James, 
who also died at Charleston. 

Mr. and Mrs. Slack had five children born 
to them, namely: Nellie Amelia, who died at 
the age of five years; Norman H., who is a 
member of the wholesale grocery firm of 
Hubbard, Slack & Lewis of Norfolk, Va., and 
who married Miss Lillian D. Kensett ; Liz- 
zie S., who is the wife of \V. T. Williamson, 
manager of the Bell Telephone Company at 
Charleston, they having a twelve-year-old 
daughter, Harriet Viola; John M., who is 
employed by Lewis, Hubbard & Co., whole- 
sale grocers of Charleston ; and Charles 
Marshall, who is in the employ of the Bell 
Telephone Company and who married Miss 
Dora Supple. 

J. D. GARDNER, who is engaged in the 
mercantile business at Snow Hill, Maiden 
District, is a native of this county, born in 
Loudon District, March 27, i860, and is a 
son of T. J. and Catherine Gardner. 

J. D. Gardner went to school in earlv boy- 
hood but was not yet very old when he 
went to work in the mines. He thus con- 
tinued for a number of years, filling almost 
all the mine positions before he retired from 
that industry. Some sixteen years ago he 
started a grocery store and continued there 
until 1903, when he came to his present 
place and embarked here in a general mer- 
cantile line. He and wife have a small farm 
and he cultivates that in connection with 
his other business. He is a well known and 
respected citizen of his section and is a mem- 
ber of the Democratic District Committee 
of Maiden District. 



Mr. Gardner married Miss Susan M. Rob- 
erts, a daughter of James Riley and Ada- 
line (Leftivich) Roberts. Mr. Roberts was 
one of the pioneers in the salt industry in 
Kanawha County. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner 
have children and grandchildren and all are 
residents of Kanawha County. Charles A., 
the eldest son, married Willie Woolvine 
and they have four children — Sterling Reed. 
Hazel, Margaret and Charles Wellington. 
They reside at Maiden. Howard C. the 
second son, married Helen Winnel and they 
live at Dana, W. Va. Nannie S., the eldest 
daughter, married James H. Skiles and re- 
sides at Dana, W. Va. They have three 
children — Ruth Alma, Charles Ira, and 
Mary Susan. The two younger children, 
Camille and Julius S., still live at home. Mr. 
Gardner is a member of the Red Men and 
the Knights of Pythias, both at Maiden. 

E. LESLIE LONG, state treasurer of 
West Virginia, who was elected to his pres- 
ent office from McDowell County, W. Va., 
in 1908 for a term of four years, was born 
in Tyler County, W. Va., July 23, 1874. a 
son of L. H. and Martha (Henthorne) 
Long. His paternal grandfather, who was 
a native of Tyler County, died in the prime 
of life when his son, our subject's father, 
was a child. The paternal great grandpar- 
ents of Mr. Long were from Pennsylvania. 

L. H. Long was born in West Virginia in 
May, 1847. He resides in Alma. Tyler 
County, where he formerly carried on a 
mercantile business and was postmaster for 
some fifteen years. In April. 1863. he en- 
listed in the nth West Virginia Volunteer 
Infantry, although not then quite sixteen 
years of age, and subsequently took part in 
many engagements, but escaped unhurt. 
His commander was Col. Bukey of Parkers- 
burg, W. Va. His brother-in-law, Capt. Eli 
C. Henthorne. was captain of Company C. 
7th W T . Va. Regiment in the Federal army, 
and died from a gunshot wound received at 
the battle of Spottsylvania. Mrs. Martha 
Henthorne Long, our subject's mother, was 
a daughter of James Henthorne, a native 
of Ohio, and Matilda ( Conaway) Hen- 



LEWIS PRICHABD, M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



441 



thorne, a native of West Virginia. James 
Henthorne died in Ohio at the age of forty- 
one years. His widow married for her sec- 
ond husband a Mr. Davis, of which mar- 
riage there was no issue. She died in West 
Virginia in 1897. 

E. Leslie Long began his education in 
the public schools of Tyler County and was 
subsequently graduated from the West Vir- 
ginia Wesleyan College at Buckhannon, W. 
Va., in the Class of 1898. He was later 
graduated from the law department of the 
University of West Virginia at Morgan- 
towji, Class of 1901, and being admitted to 
the bar the same year, began the practice 
of his profession at Welch, McDowell 
County, this state. He early became inter- 
ested in politics as a member of the Repub- 
lican party, and has been a delegate to every 
state and county convention since 1896 and 
is chairman of the judiciary committee of 
the 8th Judicial District, consisting of Mc- 
Dowell, Mercer and Monroe Counties. In 
1908 he was elected, as above noted, to his 
present responsible position as state treas- 
urer, this being the first public office he has 
held in the state. Since assuming its duties 
he has justified the choice of his party, hav- 
ing capably administered the business per- 
taining to the office. As may be inferred, 
he stands high in the councils of his party 
in this state. Mr. Long belongs to the Ma- 
sonic order, being" a member of the Blue 
Lodge, No. 112, Welch, W. Va. ; the Con- 
sistory of West Virginia and of Beni-Ke- 
dem Temple, M. S.. of Charleston; also of 
the Pi Kappa Psi college fraternity. He 
is unmarried. 

LEWIS PRICHARD. M. D., president of 
the Charleston National Bank, at Charleston, 
W. Va., belongs to an old and prominent family 
that has been established in America since be- 
fore the War of the Revolution. 

From that acknowledged authority, "Burke's 
Landed Gentry of Wales," it is learned that the 
Prichard family can be traced many hundred 
years back in that land before any of its ven- 
turesome members crossed the Atlantic ocean 
to the American colonies. Prior to this dis- 



tinctive national annal, the name seems to have 
been known in different parts of New England. 
The branch of the family to which Dr. Lewis 
Prichard belongs, names William Prichard as 
the first American ancestor, claiming that he 
left Wales when a boy of fourteen years, ac- 
companied by his brother John Prichard. The 
lads, according to family tradition, had ven- 
tured from land on board an Italian vessel, 
carrying wool, probably with the expectation of 
selling it, and the vessel sailed while they were 
on board; whether through design, or careless- 
ness of their captors, may never be known. 
At any rate they were taken across the sea and 
were left on the shores of Virginia, about 1745. 
William Prichard was next discovered in Rus- 
sell county, Va., in 1800, and in 181 1, in what 
was then Greenup county, but is now Boyd 
county, Ky., where he died in 1819. His burial 
was on the shore of Big Sandy River, in Boyd 
county. 

• William Prichard was married, perhaps while 
living in Russell county, Va., to Dorcas Luns- 
ford, or possibly her name was Glover. After 
the death of Mr. Prichard she was married a 
second time, to Solomon White, and lived to be 
an aged woman. To the first marriage the fol- 
lowing children were born : John ; James ; 
Lewis ; and Elizabeth, the latter of whom mar- 
ried Samuel White, of Boyd county, Ky. 

Lewis Prichard, Sr., was born November 23. 
1800, in Russell county, Va., and died in No- 
vember, 1879. From the age of eleven years 
he was reared in Boyd county, Ky., where he 
owned a large tract of land and was a well 
known and respected citizen. He was long re- 
called for his keen wit and also his abounding 
good nature, for his kindly beneficence and 
willing charities. In Kentucky he was mar- 
ried to Lucy Toler, who was born in 1801, in 
Virginia, and died in the old Kentucky home- 
stead, December 30, 1883. She was the mother 
of twelve children, nine of whom were sons and 
three were daughters. She was an unusual 
woman, possessing great executive ability and 
remarkable grasp of the ordinary affairs of 
life. She not only undertook and completed 
the educating of her husband, who had had no 
educational opportunities, but of her sons as 
well. She reared this large family, with one 



442 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



exception, to the age of maturity, setting an 
example of womanly virtue, courage and re- 
sourcefulness. Of this family four yet sur- 
vive. 

Lewis Prichard, Jr., son of Lewis and Lucy 
Prichard, was the eighth in order of birth in 
the family of twelve children. He was born 
near Big Sandy River, in Boyd county, Ky., 
near Buchanan postofhce, twelve miles above 
Cattlesburg, Ky., January 19, 1839, and grew 
up on the homestead. His educational oppor- 
tunities were but meager but the devotion of 
his mother supplied what was lacking and he 
became an acceptable school teacher before he 
was twenty-one years old. Later he was able 
to complete his education, being under the in- 
struction of the well known educator, Prof. 
Holbrook, at Lebanon, O. He pursued his 
medical studies in the University of Michigan, 
at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated with his 
medical degree in the class of 1867. Subse- 
quently he became a physician and surgeon of 
eminence in Northeastern Kentucky, where he 
first became interested in banking, having there 
organized the Grayson Banking Company of 
which he was president. 

In 1884 the present The Charleston National 
Bank was organized and Dr. Prichard was one 
of the original stockholders, became prominent 
in its affairs, and has continued his connection 
since its incorporation. Its first president was 
his brother-in-law, Charles P. Mead, and when 
Mr. Mead died, in July, 1888, Dr. Prichard 
became president and has been at the head of 
this institution ever since. The original cap- 
italization of this bank was $50,000, but from 
time to time it has been increased as business 
has warranted, and at present the bank is cap- 
italized at $500,000, with an equal surplus. 

Dr. Prichard was married near Ironton, O., 
on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river, Jan. 7, 
1868, to Miss Sarah Belle Mead, a daughter of 
Henry Armstead and Elizabeth (Powell) 
Mead. The Mead family has been one of 
prominence in Greenup county, Ky., for years 
and is especially noted for its beautiful women. 
The father of Mrs. Prichard died in that county 
at the age of ninety-four years, his wife having 
passed away aged seventy years. They had 
eight children, four of whom survive, Mrs. 



Prichard having been the fourth in order of 
birth. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Prichard three children were 
born: Henry Lewis, Frederick C. and Arm- 
stead Mead. 

Henry Lewis Prichard was born December 
25, 1868. He is a graduate of Notre Dame 
University, Ind., where he was a member of 
the class of 1890, and there received his de- 
gree of B. C. His entire business life has been 
connected with banking and he has been con- 
tinuously identified with the Charleston Na- 
tional Bank since 1890 and is its cashier. It 
is not too much to say that Undoubtedly much 
of the success that attends this institution is 
due to his watchfulness, together with his cour- 
teous treatment of customers. He has long 
been regarded as one of the city's safe business 
men. In 1895 he was married to Miss Emma 
E. Walker, a daughter of Henry S. Walker, 
who was distinguished all over West Vir- 
ginia as an orator. To Mr. and Mrs. Prichard 
two children have been born, Henry Lewis-, Jr., 
born September 9, 1903; and Frederick Walker, 
bom December 26, 1906. 

Frederick C. Prichard was born March 1, 
187 1, and was educated at Notre Dame Uni- 
versity. After completing his education he 
entered into business as a coal operator and at 
present is one of the owners of much property, 
including one-half interest in the Robson- 
Prichard Concrete Building, at Huntington, 
where he lives, and is vice president of the 
Huntington Banking & Trust Company. He 
married Miss Alice Clare Wilson, of Laporte, 
Ind. 

Armstead Mead Prichard was born Septem- 
ber 9, 1875, at Grayton, Ky. Like his elder 
brothers he entered Notre Dame University, 
becoming a student there in 1889, but before 
completing his course entered the law depart- 
ment of the University of West Virginia, where 
he was graduated in June, 1897, with his de- 
gree of A. B. L., and was immediately admitted 
to the bar and engaged in law practice until 
1910, since when he has been associated with 
his father in the banking business. He was 
married at Charleston, January 7. 1902, to 
Miss Lydia B. Robson, who was born Novem- 
ber 1, 1880, in Fayette county. W. Va., a daugh- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



443 



ter of James S. and Laura B. (Nugent) Rob- 
son. Mrs. Prichard died June 19, 1910. She 
was a member of the Baptist church. Two lit- 
tle daughters survive her : Belle Mead, who was 
born August 15, 1905; and Lydia Robson who 
was born January 4, 1908. 

Dr. Prichard brought his family to Charles- 
ton in October, 1889. He is one of the men of 
independent fortune in Kanawha county. In 
addition to his financial interests already men- 
tioned, he is a stockholder in fifteen other banks 
and a director in three, and he owns a large 
part of 20,000 acres of rich coal and timber 
lands in this state. Dr. Prichard has been an 
admirable citizen. He has helped to promote 
almost every important interest in the city and 
lends of his ability and means to foster all en- 
terprises of substantial worth. In politics he 
is a Democrat but has never sought nor held a 
public office. Many years ago he united with 
the Masonic fraternity. He is also a member 
of the First Presbyterian church of Charleston, 
W. Va. 

CHARLES C. GROFF, general manager 
of the barreling station at South Ruffner, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., for the Standard 
Oil Company, with which corporation he 
has been identified for twenty years, was 
born October 9, 185 1, in Maryland, and is 
a son of John and Elizabeth (Barr) Groff. 

John Groff was born in Pennsylvania, 
probably of German parents. He followed 
farming all his life ant owned a farm in Bal- 
timore County, Md., on which he died "at 
the age of fifty-two years. He married 
Elizabeth Barr, who was also born in Penn- 
sylvania, and she survived him many years, 
passing the closing ones at the home of her 
son, Charles C, where she lived to be 
eighty-seven. Five children were born to 
them, namely: Ida M., who married 
Joshua Francy; Anna E., who married J. 
K. Gies; Charles C. ; William B., who is a 
resident of Philadelphia; and a daughter 
who is deceased. 

Charles C. Groff obtained his education 
in Maryland and then assisted his father on 
the farm and after the latter's death con- 
ducted it for his mother until he came to 



South Ruffner. In July, 1891, he became an 
employe of the Standard Oil Company, at 
first as foreman of the shops and gradually 
advancing until he secured his appointment 
and promotion to his present responsible 
position. He resides at the plant and thus 
keeps a careful eye on all business opera- 
tions including the barreling and shipping 
from this point to others all over the coun- 
try. He is justly considered one of the most 
reliable and trustworthy employes of the 
company. 

Mr. Groff married Miss Mary R. Fisher, 
a daughter of George W. Fisher, and they 
have had four children, as follows : G. 
Fisher, who is in charge of the store of the 
Nuttleburg Coal Company, married Grace 
Malcolen and has three children — Charles 
Malcolen, Forrest Barr and Mazie Hunter; 
Forrest C, who has been with the Charles- 
ton National Bank and also the Pine Lum- 
ber Company of St. Albans; Benjamin B., 
who is in the hardware business in Oregon, 
married a Miss Veach ; and Charles C, who 
died when aged one year. Mr. and Mrs. 
Groff are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. He is a man of strict tem- 
perance and votes according to his convic- 
tions, with the Prohibition party. 

IRA P. CHAMPE, M. D., an able physi- 
cian and well-to-do citizen of Charleston, 
was born in Kanawha County, near this 
city, July 17, 1866, son of Sewell Preston 
and Almeda (Eastwood) Champe. The 
Champes are an old Southern family, hav- 
ing had many representatives who have 
honored the name in their respective com- 
munities and whose influence has always 
been exerted for good. Sewell P. Champe 
was born in that part of Virginia that is 
now Craig County and was a farmer by oc- 
cupation. He was a Whig in politics and 
sympathized with the Union at the time of 
the war. His death took place September 
21, 1866, a few months after the birth of 
his son Ira, he being then forty-seven years 
old. His wife died June 30, 1901, at the age 
of sixty-nine. She was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. She was the 



444 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



mother of eleven children, of whom eight 
are still living-, all the survivors being mar- 
ried. Two died in infancy. Those who grew 
to maturity were as follows: Elizabeth is 
the wife of Rev. A. J. Compton, M. D., a 
Presbyterian minister, and now resides in 
San Diego, Calif. George W. is a mer- 
chant residing in Montgomery, W. Ya. He 
married Mrs. Anna Allen, of Lexington. \Y 
Va. William F. also resides in Montgom- 
ery, W. Va., being now retired from active 
business life. He married Anna Montgom- 
ery, of the same place. J. B., who is a re- 
tired contractor of Montgomery, where he 
has also served as justice of the peace, he 
married Jesse Handley, of Winfield, W. Va. 
Anna, now deceased, was the wife of M. 
Gilchrist. Her husband, who is still living, 
resides in Charleston. Ellen married a Mr. 
Rand and resides at Elsnore, Calif. Charles 
E., a retired merchant, resides in Charles- 
ton. Emma is the wife of L. E. McWhor- 
ter and resides in Charleston. The remain- 
ing child was Ira P. 

Ira P. Champe was the youngest of trie 
nine children of his parents that grew to 
maturity. After acquiring a good elemen- 
tary schooling, he entered the University 
of West Virginia, at Morgantown. where 
he continued his literary education but did 
not graduate, leaving before the completion 
of his course in order to take up the study 
of medicine in the College of Physicians at 
Baltimore, Md., where he graduated with 
the degree of M. D. in 1892. He then took 
a post-graduate course at the New York 
Polyclinic College. He then began the 
practice of his profession in the city of 
Charleston, W. Va., where he has since re- 
mained, having met with marked success. 
He is a member of the county and state 
medical societies. Aside from his profes- 
sion. Dr. Champe is interested in various 
business enterprises and is a man of large 
landed possessions in the Kanawha valley, 
the result of his own thrift and business ac- 
umen. 

He was married in this city, to Margaret 
Wilson Blaine, a member of an old and re- 
spected family and third cousin to the late 



Hon. James G. Blaine, the eminent states- 
man. She was born in Missouri in 1871 
and acquired her education in Charleston, 
\Y. Va. and at the Waynesboro (Virginia) 
Female Seminary. She was the adopted 
daughter of William C. Blaine, now de- 
ceased, whose widow, Elizabeth, subse- 
quently marrying Rev. A. J. Compton of 
California, as above noted. Dr. and Mrs. 
Champe are the parents of three children, 
as follows: Elizabeth Blaine born Novem- 
ber 21, 1894, who is now attending the high 
school in the class of 1910; Ira Preston, Jr., 
born March 1, 1896, also a high school stu- 
dent; and Emily Rebecca, born May 1, 
1899, who is attending the public schools. 
Dr. and Mrs. Champe are affiliated with the 
Presbyterian church. 

F. L. DERRICK, who resides on his fine 
farm of 203 acres, which lies on Poca River, 
in Poca District, Kanawha County, W. Va.. 
fourteen miles north of Charleston, was 
born on this farm November 5. i860, and 
is a son of Michael and a grandson of Jon- 
athan Derrick. 

Jonathan Derrick was born in Botetourt 
County, W. Va.. and came from there to 
what is now Poca District, Kanawha 
County, in the year 1810 and was the first 
man to settle on the stream which later was 
named Derrick Creek in his honor. He 
married Mary Haynes and they had thirteen 
children : Betsey, Mary, Catharine. Rachel, 
Martha, Agnes, Andrew, John. George. Le- 
roy. Michael. Nancy and Amanda. Jona- 
than Derrick acquired 2,572 acres in Poca 
District and all of it at that time was cov- 
ered with timber, and also a vein of coal in 
the hills, seven feet thick. He cleared a 
road from his farm and made improvements 
on the land and in addition to his other in- 
terprises. followed the trade of blacksmith. 
He made bells which were hung on the 
necks of the cows to keep them from getting 
lost in the forest and some of these are still 
in existence showing a large measure of 
mechanical skill. His death occurred in 
1846 and his burial was on his own land, as 
was the custom of that day. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



445 



Michael Derrick was born in what is now 
Kanawha County, Vest Virginia, February 
9, 1818, on the farm now owned by E. C. 
Crane. He attended school at Pocotaligo, 
in Poca District. He married Julia Ann 
Dawson, who was born near Sissonville, 
Kanawha County, and they had seven chil- 
dren, namely: S. W.. who died on April 11, 
1910; Addison B., who died at the age of 
nineteen years; Letha M., who died aged 
seventeen years ; Adna A., who died March 
14, 1908 (was twice married, first to Emory 
Aultz, and second to John Dawson) ; El- 
mina, who is the wife of Joseph B. Mairs; 
Elmore M., who was married first to Sidney 
Clinton, and secondly to Nancy E. Hack- 
ney; F. L., the subject of this sketch. After 
marriage Michael Derrick and wife settled 
on the farm now owned by E. C. Crane and 
then moved to the farm under considera- 
tion, erecting his buildings on an elevated 
portion, on which site his son F. L. Derrick 
has rebuilt. He was a man of industrious 
habits and exemplary life, both he and wife 
being regular attendants of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. He took a good citizen's 
interest in politics, not caring for office, but 
never failed to vote, and was a Republican. 
His estate consisted of 1 59^ acres of the 
present farm and of a second farm of 350^ 
acres across Poca River. He died at the 
age of sixty-two years and his wife died fif- 
teen years later; their burial was on the 
home land. 

F. L. Derrick obtained his early educa- 
tion in the Derrick Creek schoolhouse. after 
which he became a farmer and has lived on 
the farm of 15924 acres, to which he has 
added a few acres, ever since his marriage. 
He cultivates all his land with the assist- 
ance of one tenant. Mr. Derrick is inter- 
ested in the Kanawha & Putnam Counties 
Telephone Company. 

Mr. Derrick married Miss Anna Johnson, 
who was born in Poca District, a daughter 
of "William Johnson, and they have had 
seven children : Dora, John, Newman, Ju- 
lia, James. Ivy and Michael S. John died 
when three years old. Mr. Derrick has 
been a Republican ever since casting his 



first vote. He belongs to the lodge of Odd 
Fellows at Sissonville, W. Va. 

PATRICK L. GORDON, M. D.,* physician 
and surgeon, is one of the younger men of 
science at Charleston, W. Va., but is recog- 
nized as a thoroughly representative mem- 
ber of his profession. He was born at Cam- 
den, N. C, November 24, 1873, and is a son 
of Thomas George and Mary E. (Lamb) 
Gordon. 

The Gordon family is of Irish extraction. 
Thomas Gordon, the great-grandfather of 
Dr. Gordon, came from Ireland to the 
United States about the close of the Revo- 
lutionary War. He settled in North Caro- 
lina and was one of the early merchants at 
Camden. His death occurred September 
26, 1825, while he was on his way to Phila- 
delphia to purchase merchandise. He was 
twice married, first to Mary Guilford and 
second to Frances Richardson. A son of 
the second marriage, Samuel Gordon, be- 
came the grandfather of Dr. Gordon. He 
married Ellen Brite, who survived him, liv- 
ing until she had seen all their children es- 
tablished in life. With her husband she be- 
longed to the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Thomas George. Gordon, the eldest son 
and second child of Samuel and Ellen Gor- 
don, was born in 1839, at Camden, N. C, 
and died June 25, 1910, in Camden County. 
He was a farmer and stock dealer and was 
also in public life, and after his military 
service was over, was elected sheriff of 
Camden County. Mr. Gordon served in the 
Confederate Army under General Beaure- 
gard, in the Civil War, and was wounded in 
the first battle of Bull Run, which entitled 
him to a furlough. In his political views he 
was a Democrat. He was married in Cam- 
den County, N. C. to Miss Mary E. Lamb, 
who died in 1889, a woman of many virtues 
and a devoted member of the Baptist 
church. Of the seven children born to this 
marriage but two survive : Samuel O., who 
resides at Norfolk, Va., and Patrick L. 

Patrick L. Gordon was educated in the 
public schools of Norfolk, Va.. and private 
schools in the same city, and when prepared 



446 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to enter upon the study of medicine, became 
a student in the College of Medicine, at 
Richmond, Va., where he was graduated 
with the class of 1898, afterward spending 
one year in hospital work in that city. Dr. 
Gordon then entered into practice at 
Thomas, W. Va., and later for several years, 
was surgeon for several coal companies on 
Cabin Creek, with headquarters at Carbon, 
Va. After taking a post-graduate course 
in Chicago, 111., in 1906, and a second course 
in New York, in 1909, he came to Charles- 
ton. 

Dr. Gordon was married at East St. 
Louis, 111., to Miss Alice Zimmerman, who 
was born in 1880, at St. Louis, and was ed- 
ucated in Missouri. She is a daughter of 
Benjamin W. and Eleanor (Carr) Zimmer- 
man, the former of whom belonged to an 
old family of Virginia and the latter of Mis- 
souri. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman reside at 
St. Louis, where he is engaged in the lum- 
ber business. Dr. and Mrs. Gordon have 
three children: Ellen Waters, born March 
17, 1905; Thomas George, born July 24, 
1906; and Benjamin YV. Z., born July 22, 
1908. Dr. and Mrs. Gordon are members 
of the Episcopal church. He is a Mason of 
high degree and a Shriner. 

ROBERT LEE MASSEY. who is en- 
gaged in business at Big Chimney. Ka- 
nawha County, W. Va., as a miller and 
wholesale feed merchant, was born in Ral- 
eigh County, W. Va., September 5, 1879, 
and is a son of George W. and Lydia 
(Acord) Massey. 

William Massey, the great-grandfather 
of Robert Lee Massey, was born in Virginia 
and moved, during the Civil War, to Ral- 
eigh County, where he died in 1885, in ad- 
vanced age. He reared a large family and 
his eldest son, Steel Massey, was the grand- 
father of R. L. Massey, and he. like his 
father, spent his life in the pursuits of agri- 
culture. He married Caroline Cantley, a 
native like himself, of Raleigh County and 
they had the following children born to 
them : George W., Henry and Mary, Henry 
being the only survivor. 



George W. Massey was born in Raleigh 
County, in 1851, spent his life in the same 
neighborhood and there his death occurred 
in November, 1895. He was a farmer and 
was the owner of considerable land which 
is still retained by his family. He was quite 
prominent for many years in local politics 
and was noted for his generous hospitality, 
keeping up many of the old customs which 
are particularly southern in character. He 
married Miss Lydia Acord, a native of 
Charleston, W. Va., and to them the fol- 
lowing children were born : Romanza, who 
is the wife of Louis H. Pettry, of Raleigh 
County; L. Christopher, who is county 
clerk of Kanawha County ; Robert L. and 
Mary J., twins, the latter of whom is the 
wife of Robert A. Hopkins, of Summers 
County, W. Va. ; Laura B., who is the wife 
of R. L. Williams, of Masseyville ; Calvin 
W., who is postmaster at Masseyville; Vir- 
ginia A., who resides with her mother, at 
Masseyville ; and Ettie, who died in child- 
hood. Mrs. Massey married for her second 
husband, William G. Daniels, a member of 
one of the old and substantial families of 
Raleigh County. 

Robert Lee Massey attended school until 
he was fourteen years of age when he fell a 
victim to an epidemic of typhoid fever that 
swept through this section and caused the 
death of his father. His recovery was slow 
and he did not return to school. His first 
work was done as a clerk for the Blackland 
Coal Company, with which corporation he 
continued for four years, after which, for 
one year, he was associated with his brother 
in the Cabin Creek Mercantile Company, in 
Cabin Creek District, and then went back 
to Masseyville, where he engaged in a gen- 
eral store business. Two years later his 
stock was destroyed by fire and he then 
turned his attention in another direction, in 
1910 coming to Big Chimney where, in 
partnership with Grant Copenhaven, he is 
doing a large flour and feed business, under 
the firm name of Copenhaven & Massey. 
They have a well equipped plant situated 
on the Elk River, and use all kinds of mod- 
ern machinery in producing their first class. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



447 



products. Although the business is a com- 
paratively new one, great progress has been 
made and the future looks bright for the 
firm. 

Mr. Massey was married first, on Febru- 
ary 1 8, 1902, to Miss Lucy Snodgrass, who 
died August 1, 1906, aged twenty years, five 
months and twenty days. She was a daugh- 
ter of C. F. and Mary (George) Snodgrass, 
natives of -Virginia, who now reside near 
Charleston. Mr. Snodgrass was formerly a 
mine superintendent and is now engaged in 
farming. One child was born to the above 
marriage, Arizona, who is now six years 
old. Mrs. Massey was a lady of beautiful 
character, a devoted member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and was beloved by 
all who knew her. 

Mr. Massey was married secondly to Miss 
T. A. Pringle, who was born in West Vir- 
ginia, June 20, 1889, and is a daughter of 
F. E. and Mary (Puckett) Pringle, the for- 
mer of whom, now deceased, was formerly 
a teacher of penmanship at Ravenswood. 
Mrs. Massey was reared by her grandpar- 
ents, John and Sarah (Stainer) Puckett, the 
former of whom is an old Civil War veteran, 
and has reached his ninety-third year. Mrs. 
Massey was carefully educated and is a 
graduate of the Ripley School and prior to 
her marriage, taught one term of school in 
Marsh Fork District, Raleigh County. Mr. 
and Mrs. Massey have one child, Chelya 
Vaughne. Politically he is an active worker 
in the Republican party but has never de- 
sired office for himself. He is identified fra- 
ternally with the Odd Fellows at Spring 
Hill, and the Red Men at Dungriff, W. Va. 
They are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 

BENJAMIN STEPHEN MORGAN, 
who is engaged in the practice of law at 
Charleston, West Virginia, bears a name 
that has been linked with the history of 
West Virginia since the earliest settlement. 
The name has been honorably borne by 
pioneers in different counties, whose de- 
scendants have filled positions in both civic 
and military life, and all, down to the latest 



generation, have been noted for the sturdy 
independence that is characteristic of 
Welchmen the world over. 

Col. Morgan Morgan, the lineal ancestor 
of Benjamin Stephen Morgan, was born in 
the Principality of Wales and received his 
education in London, England. During 
the reign of William III he came to the col- 
ony of Delaware, and during the reign of 
Queen Anne was a resident of Christiana, 
Delaware, moving from there to the colony 
of Virginia, prior to 1726 settling near Win- 
chester. He is credited with having made 
the first white settlement and with having 
built the first church in the territory of 
West Virginia (in the present county of 
Berkley). In "A History of Frederick 
County, Virginia" (now comprising the 
counties of Hampshire, Berkley, Jefferson, 
Hardy and Morgan in West Virginia and 
Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah and Frederick 
in Virginia) by Mr. T. K. Cartmell, and in 
Bishop Meade's "Old Churches, Ministers 
and Families of Virginia," and also in "Rec- 
ords of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
Western Virginia and in West Virginia" by 
Bishop Geo. W. Peterkin, we find such an 
account and record of the public and pri- 
vate life of Col. Morgan Morgan as unmis- 
takably shows that he was a man of splen- 
did character and a high type of christian 
manhood. He married Catherine Garret- 
son and they had eight children born to 
them, namely: Morgan, Jr., Ann, Zackwell, 
David, Charles, Henry, Evan and James. 
Morgan Morgan, Jr., became a minister 
in the Protestant Episcopal church. Ann 
married a man named Springer. Zack- 
well Morgan served with the rank of Col- 
onel in the Continental Army. James Mor- 
gan was a Captain in the Continental Army 
and was captured and shot by a party of 
Tories at a place afterwards called Tory- 
town, Berkley County, Virginia. 

David Morgan, third son of Morgan and 
Catherine (Garretson) Morgan, was born 
in 1721 at Christiana, Delaware, and died in 
1796 and was buried in the family grave- 
yard about one mile below the present town 
of Rivesville, Marion County, West Vir- 



448 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ginia. He was a surveyor and with his 
brother Zackwell moved to the valley of the 
Monongahela. Zackwell settled where is 
now the old town of Morgantown, after 
whom the town was named. David settled 
near where is now the town of Rivesville, 
Marion County. His name is mentioned in 
connection with the Indian border warfare 
in "Wither's Border Warfare," and he is 
the great-great-grandfather of Benjamin 
Stephen Morgan of Charleston. 

In 1887 his descendants and relatives 
erected a monument to him on the spot 
where he had the encounter with the In- 
dians in 1779. 

He was the father of the following chil- 
dren: Morgan, Evan, James, Zackwell, Eliz- 
abeth, Stephen and Sara. Elizabeth mar- 
ried a Mr. Lowe and Sara married a Mr. 
Burris. 

Stephen H. Morgan, son of Zackwell 
Morgan, spent his entire life in what is now 
West Virginia. He was for several terms 
elected to the State Legislature of Virginia. 

Smallwood G. Morgan, son of Stephen 
H. Morgan, and father of Benjamin Stephen 
Morgan, was born in Marion County. West 
Virginia, and on February 9, 191 1, passed 
his ninety-first milestone. He has lived a 
long and busy life, his business interests 
mainly agricultural, and during his active 
years he served as a Justice of the Peace 
and in many public capacities where sound 
judgment and enlightened views were nec- 
essary qualifications. He retains his facul- 
ties to a remarkable degree and continues 
to be interested in all that concerns local 
affairs in his county and also in the great 
outside world, concerning which he is well 
informed. 

Smallwood G. Morgan has been twice 
married, first to Oliza Thorn, and second to 
Mrs. Anary (Windsor) Wilson, the latter 
of whom was the widow of Thomas Wilson. 
The first wife, Oliza Thorn, was born in 
1822, in Monongalia County, now West 
Virginia, and died there in 1866. She was 
a daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Ma- 
gruder) Thorn, who moved from Frederick 
County, Virginia, to the Monongaheia Val- 



ley. He was a large planter and slave 
holder prior to the Civil War. Six children 
were born to this marriage and four of these 
survive, namely: Margaret, who is the wife 
of A. S. Wisman, residing on a farm in 
Grant District, Monongalia County, and 
they have five children ; Sherrard, who is a 
farmer in Grant District ; Benjamin S. ; and 
Eugenie, who is the widow of W. C. Fisher, 
who was a farmer and merchant. He is 
survived by three children and they live 
with their mother near Fairmont, Marion 
Count}-, West Virginia. 

Benjamin S. Morgan was born in 1854 in 
Marion County, Virginia, but was reared 
in Monongalia County. He attended the 
University at West Virginia and graduated 
with the class of 1878, in the classical course 
and military training school, and later from 
the law department of the same institution, 
securing his degree with the class of 1883. 
Prior to the completion of his law course, 
however, he had been prominent in educa- 
tional work and had been superintendent of 
the public schools of Morgantown from 
1878 until 1881 and county superintendent 
of Monongalia County from 1881 till 1885, 
having been tw ice elected. 

In 1884 he was elected State Superinten- 
dent of Free Schools, having been nomi- 
nated on the Democratic ticket. He was 
renominated and elected in 1888. receiving 
each time the largest vote cast for any state 
officer. His work as State Superintendent 
was along broad and constructive lines. 
While County Superintendent of Monon- 
galia County, he prepared and published at 
his own expense an outlined course of study 
for use in the country schools of his county. 
Acting on the fundamental principle that 
the teacher must first possess the qualities 
you desire to put into your schools, he 
sought to improve the teachers' county in- 
stitutes held annually and the State Nor- 
mal Schools. At conveniently accessible 
points, throughout the state, special graded 
institutes, provided with a corps of instruc- 
tors of national reputation, were held each 
year by him under the auspices of the Pea- 
body Education Fund. County institute 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



449 



work, so far as practicable, was graded, thus 
enabling teachers to secure better results 
in the short time given to this work. 

A state teacher's reading circle was es- 
tablished and the building up of public 
school libraries encouraged. He also se- 
cured the enactment of a law providing for 
the preparation by the State Superintendent 
of a graded course of study for all ungraded 
country schools. To this measure he had 
given much attention. 

An Act was also secured for the estab- 
lishment of a State Reform School for boys. 

Taking "The Unification of the Educa- 
tional System of the State" as a rallying 
sentiment, he advocated the extension of 
the Graded and High School work, and 
with the co-operation of the West Virginia 
University, graduates of a number of high 
schools were admitted to the University on 
their diploma. As President of the six 
State Normal Schools, he was present at 
the forty-eighth commencement exercises 
and delivered the diplomas to the gradu- 
ates. 

Mr. Morgan's attention and labors cov- 
ered a wide field during his term. He was 
president of the State Educational Associa- 
tion and prepared the annual program, also 
published and edited the West Virginia 
School Journal during the eight years. He 
superintended the preparation of the State's 
educational exhibit for the World's Colum- 
bian Fair at Chicago in 1893 and in this 
connection with Mr. J. F. Cork prepared the 
first History of Education in West Virginia. 
Ex-officio he was a member of the State 
Board of Public Works, the Printing Com- 
mission and the Board of the School Fund. 

He declined to be a candidate for a third 
term and at the close of his second term, 
again began the practice of law. Charleston 
has profited by securing Mr. Morgan as a 
citizen for his interest has been easily se- 
cured in promoting every public spirited 
movement and every enterprise of deter- 
mined value to his section. He has served 
in the City Council. While being a good 
business man and enjoying his profession. 



he is at the same time a man of scholarly 
and literary tastes. 

Mr. Morgan was married at Wheeling, 
W. Va., to Miss Annie Thoburn, who was 
born and educated at Y\ neeling, and is a 
daughter of John and Jane (Miller) Tho- 
burn, both of whom were born in Belfast, 
Ireland, coming to Wheeling in early life. 
The father of Mrs. Morgan was killed in a 
railroad accident, while still in the prime of 
life. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have two chil- 
dren : John Thoburn and Benjamin Ste- 
phen. The older son was born November 
25, 1889, and after graduating from the 
Charleston High School, entered the engi- 
neering department of the West Virginia 
University at Morgantown. Benjamin Ste- 
phen, the second son, w T as born October 27, 
1 901, and is a student in the public schools. 
Mrs. Morgan was reared in the United 
Presbyterian church, while Mr. Morgan was 
brought up in the Methodist faith. 

JAMES T. KEENEY, building contractor, 
at Eskdale. in Cabin Creek District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., has been a resident of this 
county all his life, and was born at East Bank, 
November 7, 1875, and is a son of Foster and 
Eliza (Gatewood) Keeney. 

The Keeney family was established in Kana- 
wha County in 1823, when Great-grandfather 
William Keeney came and built his log cabin 
with the other three or four on Cabin Creek. He 
died here, leaving four sons, William E.. 
Michael, Stires and Moses. William E. Kee- 
ney, grandfather of James T., spent his entire 
life here and was a prosperous farmer of 
Cabin Creek District. He married Sallie Huff, 
of Kanawha County. They lived to be aged 
people and when she died in August, 1908, was 
said to be over 100 years of age. They had 
seven children : Charles, Foster, Zackariah, 
Samuel. Nannie and two babes that died un- 
named. The only survivor is Nannie, who is 
the wife of L. L. Williams. 

Foster Keeney, father of James T., was born 
where the latter resides at Eskdale, when eigh- 
teen years of age left home to seek employment, 
moving to East Bank, after his marriage, 
where he resided for fifteen years. He then 



450 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



worked at the carpenter's trade in Charleston 
for three years, 1892-93-94 and '95, and lived 
at Eskdale for sixteen years prior to his death, 
which occurred May 10, 1909, when he was 
aged seventy-four years. He married Eliza 
Gatewood, who died at the early age of twenty- 
seven years, the mother of four children : 
Grace, James T., Theodore, and Oakley, who 
died when four years old. 

James T. Keeney attended the public schools 
at East Bank and then learned the carpenter's 
trade with his father, with whom he continued 
to live. He does a very satisfactory business 
and has been concerned in the erection of many 
structures in this section. He is one of the rep- 
resentative men of the town and is a member of 
its board of councilmen. 

Mr. Keeney was married April 13, 1905, to 
Miss Edna Jacobs, a daughter of J. J. Jacobs, 
and they have four children : Lucille, Arthur, 
Elmo and an infant. He is identified with the 
order of Odd Fellows and belongs to the lodge 
at Eskdale. 

VALENTINE L. BLACK, an attorney of 
Charleston, a member of the well known law 
firm of Brown, Jackson & Knight, was born in 
Beaver County, Pa., November 14, 1864, a son 
of Isaac and Sarah (Kay) Black. His first 
American ancestors, including the immigrant, 
settled at an early date in the state of Mary- 
land. John Black, the paternal grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch, removed to Beaver 
County, Pa., where he engaged in farming. 
He died there when past middle age. His wife 
in maidenhood was Mary Smith, or Smyth, 
whose ancestors were from Germany. She 
lived to the remarkable age of 101 years. The 
Smiths were at first Lutherans but afterwards 
became attached to the Presbvterian faith. The 
children of John and Mary (Smith) Black were 
Andrew, John, Adam, Mary and Isaac, the 
father of our subject. 

Isaac Black became a coal and steamboat 
operator on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, 
meeting with varied success in these occupa- 
tions. In April, 1872, he came to Charleston 
with his family, and for the rest of his active 
life he was engaged in business here. His 
death took place in 1888, when he was about 



sixty-three or sixty-four years old. He was a 
Democrat in politics and a member of the Pres- 
byterian church. He married in Pennsylvania, 
Miss Sarah Kay, who was born in Yorkshire, 
England, and was of English parentage and an- 
cestry. She was twelve years of age when she 
accompanied her parents, Henry and Mary 
(Ward) Kay, to America. The Kays are said 
to be chiefly of Norman stock while the Wards 
are Saxon. Mrs. Black's parents on coming to 
this country, settled in Allegheny County, Pa., 
where they lived and died. She herself died in 
Charleston, W. Va., at the age of fifty-three 
years, in December, 1891, having survived her 
husband about three and one-half years. Their 
children were William, Henry, David, Alice, 
Valentine L., Thomas W. and Sarah, whose 
records in brief are as follows : William and 
Sarah died in childhood. David Marcus is a 
printer residing in Charleston. He is married 
and has three children, namely : William, Nel- 
lie, who is married and has a daughter; and 
Alice, who is also married and has two children, 
a son and a daughter. Alice (daughter of 
Isaac and Sarah Black) became the wife of 
James S. Stewart and resides at Newport, Ky. 
She has one daughter. Thomas W. died un- 
married when over thirty years of age. 

Valentine L. Black was about seven years old 
when his parents took up their residence in 
Charleston. He was educated in the public 
schools of this city, became a clerk, and read 
law with his brother. Judge H. K. Black, now 
of the Intermediate Court, but who was then — 
from 1 89 1 to 1896 — circuit clerk of the county. 
Admitted to the bar in 1896, he became in Jan- 
uary of the following year, associated with the 
firm of Brown, Jackson & Knight, and is still 
associated with this firm, which transacts a 
large amount of the important legal business of 
the county. He is a Republican politically, and 
belongs to the Masonic order, being a member 
of Kanawha Lodge No. 20, A. F. & A. M. ; 
Chapter No. 13, R. A. M. ; Kanawha Com- 
mandery. No. 4; and Beni-Kedem Temple, 
M. S. He is also a Scottish Rite Mason, hav- 
ing taken the fourteenth degree; and an Odd 
Fellow, belonging to the Encampment; and a 
member of Glen Lodge of Elks, No. 95. 

He was married in Charleston, W. Va., in 




JAMES B. MEXAGER 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



453 



December, 1899, to Miss Maybell Burdett, who 
was born in this city in 1877, being a daughter 
of Hon. Samuel C. Burdett, judge of the Cir- 
cuit Court of Kanawha County. Mrs. Black 
was given a good education, attending the best 
schools in Charleston. She and her husband 
are the parents of two children : Ruth B., born 
December 9, 1900; and Mildred, born Decem- 
ber 19, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. V. L. Black are 
members of the Episcopal church. 

Henry K. Black was born in Freedom. Pa., 
and was educated in the public schools of that 
place. Coming to Charleston in 1872, he began 
the study of law and was subsequently deputy 
clerk and clerk of the Circuit Court for sixteen 
years. He was admitted to the bar in 1896 and 
was later appointed vice chancellor or commis- 
sioner of chancery. In 1902 he was elected 
to his present position as judge of the Interme- 
diate Court (or Criminal Court) of Kanawaha 
County, being re-elected in 1908. He has 
proved his ability on the bench and has been 
usefully active in many local matters. He was 
a member of the city council for three years, 
being elected in 1899. In politics he is a Re- 
publican. He is a Mason, belonging to the 
Blue Lodge, No. 2Q, of Charleston, and he is a 
charter member also of Elkana Lodge, No. 63, 
K. P. 

Judge Black was married in Denver, Colo., 
to Miss Etta Anderson, a Charleston lady and 
daughter of John P. and Ellen (Irslow) An- 
derson. Her father, who was engaged in the 
brick manufacturing industry in Charleston, 
died some twenty years ago. His widow, Mrs. 
Black's mother, survives him and resides with 
her son, James R. Anderson, in this city. She 
is a member of the Methodist church, South, 
and is an active, intelligent, and well informed 
woman. Her husband was a Presbyterian in 
religion and a strong Democrat in politics. 
Judge and Mrs. Black have been the parents of 
three children, namely: Frances, who is at- 
tending the city high school, being a member of 
the class of 1912 ; and Henry K., Jr., and Har- 
old K., who died in childhood. Mrs. Black and 
her daughter are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South. 

JAMES B. MENAGER, who for many 
years has been a leading member of the West 



Virginia bar, and since the spring of 1903 an 
active and interested citizen of Charleston, 
bears a name that has been one of more or less 
distinction -in America since his ancestors left 
France and Holland for these shores at the time 
of the French Revolution. He was born in 
Mason county, Va., October 23, 1850, and is 
a son of Louis B. and Cornelia (Steenbergen) 
Menager. 

Louis B. Menager, father of our subject, was 
born in Ohio, a son of Claudius R. and Mary 
(Bobin) Menager, colonists from France, who 
left Paris prior to the storming of the Bastile. 
Ohio offered them a home and at Gallipolis they 
spent the remainder of their lives, which were 
worthy in every particular. Claudius Menager 
became one of the men of wealth and influence 
in that town and reared a family that has been 
proud of its American citizenship. The fourth 
son, Louis B., was offered excellent educational 
advantages, and he, in turn, became a man of 
influence in his community. His life was 
mainly devoted to agriculture, although his ed- 
ucation and natural talents qualified him to be- 
come a successful advocate. From Ohio he 
removed to Mason county, Va., where he be- 
came a leading citizen, taking a prominent part 
in public affairs. When the Civil War cloud 
began to loom threateningly upon the political 
horizon, Louis B. Menager went on record as 
a strong opponent of secession. He lived to 
see the triumph of the Union cause, his death 
taking place in June, 1870. He was twice mar- 
ried and was survived by four children. Maria 
M., a child of the first marriage, became the 
wife of Rev. George T. Lyle. The children of 
the second marriage were Ida, who became the 
wife of Dr. L. F. Campbell; James B., and 
Julius L. 

James B. Menager, after attending Bethany 
College, in West Virginia, completed his liter- 
ary education at Washington and Lee Univer- 
sity, where he was a student during the last 
year that Gen. Robert E. Lee was its president. 
Mr. Menager subsequently taught school for 
one year in Mason county and then took up the 
study of law in the office of Hon. C. P. T. 
Moore. He was admitted to the bar of West 
Virginia February 25, 1872, and for thirty- 
eight years has been engaged in the practice of 
his profession in his native state, for twenty- 



454 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



nine years of that time at Point Pleasant and 
since then at Charleston. In 1880 he was 
elected prosecuting attorney and served in that 
exacting office for four years, retiring with an 
honorable record. For a number of years he 
was concerned in much of the important litiga- 
tion in this part of West Virginia, but in re- 
cent years has somewhat lessened his activi- 
ties. In his earlier political life he was a Re- 
publican, casting his first Presidential vote for 
Gen. U. S. Grant. He served as delegate to 
Republican conventions and was an elector on 
the Garfield and Arthur ticket. Differing from 
the majority of his party on the currency ques- 
tion at the time the free coinage of silver began 
to be agitated, he followed the lead of his own 
convictions and identified himself with the 
Democratic party. He has studied the public 
welfare with unprejudiced mind and gives his 
support to men and measures according to his 
own ripened judgment. 

Mr. Menager was married, June 14, 1886. 
to Fannie Sehon Pomeroy, who was born at 
Pomeroy, Ohio, a town that perpetuates the 
name of her grandfather. She was a descend- 
ant on the maternal side of Col. Charles C. 
Lewis, who fell at the Indian battle of Point 
Pleasant, October 10, 1774. Airs. Menager 
died in 1902, survived by four children — 
Charles L., Sibyl C, Frances P. and Louis B. 
Mr. Menager and family attend the Presbyte- 
rian church. He is identified by membership 
with a number of fraternal organizations, in- 
cluding the Masons, Knights of Pythias, < )dd 
Fellows and Elks. 

REV. JOSEPH S. JENKINS, minister of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, now stationed 
at Maiden, Kanawha County. W. Ya., and one 
of the most highly esteemed citizens of this sec- 
tion, resides on a valuable farm of 138 acres, 
which lies three miles from Charleston in Kana- 
wha County, W. Va. He was born May 1, 
1835, in Appomattox County, Va., on the pres- 
ent site of Pamplin City, and is a son of Thomas 
and Martha B. ( Fore) Jenkins. 

Thomas Jenkins was born in 1797, in Prince 
Edward County. Va.. and his death occurred in 
1883, in Kanawha County, W. Va. He was 
educated in the subscription schools and was a 



man of fine natural talent. He learned the 
blacksmith's trade, which he followed until 
1842, when he moved with his family to Kana- 
wha County, where he purchased 330 acres of 
wooded land. The remainder of his active life 
was devoted more or less to the clearing and 
cultivating of his land and he became an exten- 
sive and successful farmer for his day and sur- 
roundings. He was never a politician in the 
strict sense of the term, but cast his vote in 
early days with the Whig party. He was 
widely known for his many sterling qualities. 
Hospitality to strangers he made a duty, and 
many a weary traveler found welcome and re- 
freshment at his fireside. He married Martha 
B. Fore, who was born in 1808, also in Prince 
Edward County, and died in Kanawha County, 
W. Va., in 1881. Both she and husband were 
laid to rest in a private cemetery on their own 
land. They were members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church and all their lives were con- 
sistent Christians. Before coming to Kanawha 
County they had the following children born to 
them: William H., John R.. Martha Susan, 
Robert T., Mary A. B.. Joseph S.. Catherine B., 
Martha J. and L. R. After settling in Kana- 
wha County, three more children were added to 
the family: America Virginia. Plina Annettie 
and G. W. 

Joseph S. Jenkins was seven years old when 
the family moved to West Virginia, and was 
mainly educated in the local schools and later 
at Gallipolis. Ohio, where he was under the in- 
struction of Professor Siears for three vears. 
In 1859 he became a minister in the Methodist 
Episcopal church and has been in active service 
in the ministry ever since, his labors being 
mainly confined to West Virginia, but preached 
some in Kentucky and Ohio. Few men are bet- 
ter known in the section where he labored in 
the ministry, and surely none are more highly 
respected, if preaching of funerals and solemni- 
zation of matrimony are an indication of re- 
spect and appreciation. 

In 1857 Mr. Jenkins was married first to 
Sarah A. Humphrev. who was born in Kana- 
wha County, a daughter of Samuel H. and 
Elizabeth Humphrey of Union District. She 
died in 1887 and her burial was in the family 
cemeterv. Three children survived her. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



455 



namely : Leonidas L., who is a shareholder in 
the 20th Street Bank of Huntington, W. Va., 
and now is a resident and merchant at Ashland, 
Ky. ; Laura V., who was a much beloved teacher 
in Union District, and died at the age of 
twenty-three years; and Leodora B., who be- 
came the wife of Samuel L. Farlley. They had 
one child, Anna Laura, who died when aged 
seventeen months and Mrs. Farlley died shortly 
atferward. Mr. Jenkins was married secondly 
to Mrs. Mary Morgan, who was born in Kana- 
wha County and died in 1906, at Charleston. 
Mr. Jenkins' third marriage was to Mrs. Emily 
C. (Shirkey) Guthrie, who was the widow of 
John Guthrie. Mr. Jenkins is a pronounced 
Prohibitionist in politics. Owing to a defect in 
his hearing he took a Superanuate relation in 
the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in 1900, but has filled four 
pastoral charges since that relation, and is now 
pastor at Maiden, building a new brick church. 
He is active and in the possession of good 
health, preaches from two to three sermons per 
week, and attends to his pastoral labors. 

GEORGE F. COYLE, a member of the well 
known firm of Coyle & Richardson, Charleston, 
W. Va., was born in Berkeley County, Va. 
(now West Virginia), in 1852, a son of Ed- 
ward V. and Mary Winpyglar Coyle. His great- 
grandfather, James Coyle, emigrated to this 
country from Donegal in the North of Ireland 
in the year 1745, settling as a pioneer in what 
is now Jefferson County, West Virginia. A 
part of his original estate is still in the family 
name, being the home of a brother of our sub- 
ject, Jerome B. Coyle. 

Edward V. Coyle, father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Jefferson County Au- 
gust 1, 1800, and died in Berkeley County in 
May, 1890. His sympathies were with the 
South in the war of 61-65; an d although too 
old to serve as a soldier he was active in his aid 
to the Confederacy and was held a prisoner at 
Fort McHenry for several months, not having 
been released until some time after the war was 
over. 

Three of his sons were in the Confederate 
Army, one of them, Joseph C. Coyle, a mem- 
ber of the Twelfth Virginia Cavalry, was killed 



at the age of twenty-two while on a scouting 
expedition with a detachment of Colonel 
Mosby's command, in 1864. The other sons, 
James W. and Jerome B. escaped all serious 
casualties, the former dying at his home in 
Jefferson County some years after the war. 

Mr. Coyle was married in Thomasville, Ga., 
in 1884 to Miss Nannie G. Coyle, no relation, 
though of the same family name. She was born 
in North Carolina, and is the daughter of Dr. 
Thomas Finley and Nancy (Cardwell) Coyle, 
members of prominent North Carolina families. 

Mr. and Mrs. George Coyle are the parents 
of two children, Margaret Lynn and George 
Lacy. The former was educated in the public 
and high schools of Charleston and private 
school in Baltimore. George was educated in 
the public schools and at Fishburne's Military 
School, and Washington and Lee University. 
He now holds a responsible position in the 
Coyle & Richardson store. 

The Coyle family are all active members of 
the First Presbyterian church of Charleston, 
and take an active interest in every movement 
for the moral and material betterment of the 
community. 

The firm of Coyle & Richardson is composed 
of George F. Coyle and J. Lynn Richardson; 
the two partners having been associated since 
boyhood, commenced business in Charleston in 
1884, and now have one of the handsomest, 
largest and best equipped business houses in 
the city, and a business that is second to none 
in the state. Their store is on the corner of 
Capitol and Lee streets, the most prominent and 
accessible part of the city. 

JOHN SMITH, who has been a resident of 
Kanawha County, W. Va., the greater part of 
his life and now conducts a first class meat mar- 
ket at Cedar Grove, was born December 4, 
1869, in Loudon District, Kanawha County, 
and is a son of John and Marjorie (Flayman) 
Smith. 

The parents of Mr. Smith were natives of 
Scotland and they were reared and married 
there and did not start for America until after 
their first child was born. The father came to 
the mining sections of Kanawha County and 
was a very industrious and reliable man, serv- 



456 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ing under Joseph Patterson, a well known con- 
tractor, in tunnel construction. His death oc- 
curred in 1882, in Louden District, at the age 
of fifty-two years. He married Marjorie Flay- 
man, who died in 1896, at the age of fifty-two 
years. Six children were born to them, namely : 
Catherine, who is the wife of O. G. Griffith; 
Jennie, who is the wife of Charles E. Simpson; 
and George L., Frank, John and Joseph P. 

Mr. Smith spent his early boyhood in work- 
ing on the farm on which his parents lived and 
attending the country schools, and later became 
a miner at the Acme mines on Cabin Creek and 
still later at other mines. In 1904 he came to 
Cedar Grove to work at the Sunday Creek 
mines and has remained here ever since, on 
December 1, 19 10, going into partnership with 
C. E. Chandler in the meat business. They 
continued together until June, 191 1, when Mr. 
Smith bought Mr. Chandler's interest and he 
now does a very satisfactory business, having 
a fine local trade and operating a wagon through 
the mining district. 

Mr. Smith was married first to Miss Carrie 
Angel, and after her death was married to 
Miss Augusta Jackson, a daughter of Edward 
Jackson, of Hernshaw, W. Va., and they have 
one child, Virginia. Politically he is a Demo- 
crat. He is identified with the Knights of 
Pythias and the Odd Fellows, both at Marmet, 
W. Va. 

WILLIAM WIRT BRANCH was born 
in Kirtland, Ohio, September 5, 1835, and 
died in Charleston, W. Va., April 12, 1907, 
at the age of seventy-one years, seven 
months and seven days. 

He was descended from Peter Branch of 
Kent County, England, who with his son 
John emigrated to America in 1632. The 
father dying on ship-board, the son landed 
on an island in Massachusetts Bay, which 
was afterwards called Branch's Island. On 
his mother's side, his ancestry traced to 
Roger Williams. His mother, Lucy J. Bar- 
tram, being also a direct descendant of the 
famous botanist of that name. 

William Branch, grandfather of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, enlisted in the Conti- 
nental Army at the age of seventeen and 



served through the entire war, being en- 
gaged in many of the most noted battles, 
Brandywine, Monmouth, Fort Mifflin, and 
others. He was with Washington at Val- 
ley Forge. He was present at the court- 
martial of Maj. Andre, and was one of the 
three guards who removed the body from 
the gallows. Later, in the War of 1812 he 
was commissioned a lieutenant. 

William Witter Branch, the father of 
William Wirt Branch, was a man of much 
prominence in Lake County, Ohio. Being 
a wagon-maker by trade, and later being 
admitted to the bar in 1842, he arose 
through his own efforts, and was elected to 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and 
served capably on the bench for many years. 
He encouraged the building of railroads in 
his section, and it was largely due to his in- 
fluence that the opposition to the construc- 
tion of the Lake Shore and Michigan South- 
ern was overcome. 

William Wirt Branch was the oldest of 
nine children. He had a common school 
education, and after teaching for several 
years, during which time he studied law. he 
was admitted to the bar in Cleveland. His 
tastes and talents led him also to mechan- 
ical pursuits and manufacturing. He in- 
vented and patented several labor saving 
devices, and becoming interested in the 
lumber industry, he finally gave up the law. 
The veneer industry to-day owes much to 
him for the many improvements he made 
in veneer cutting machinery. He was one 
of the pioneers in the industry in this 
country, and was introduced at the first 
meeting of the National Veneer and Panel 
Manufacturers Association as "The Father 
of the Veneer Industry." He established 
the W. W. Branch Veneer and Lumber 
Company, in Madison, Ohio, in 1867, and 
in 1884 moved to Charleston, W. Va., where 
it soon grew to be one of the important 
business concerns of the city. • 

A man of public spirit, he gave active sup- 
port to all movements of a public nature 
that his judgment approved, and was an 
especially ardent advocate of educational 
enterprises. Politically, he was a Demo- 




WILLIAM W. BBANCH 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



459 



crat, but ever lifted his voice in behalf of 
purity and honesty of government. He was 
prominent and active in the Masonic frater- 
nity, having his membership in Kanawha 
Lodge No. 20; Tyrian Chapter No. 13; 
Kanawha Commandery No. 4; and in Beni- 
Kedem Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. In 1876 
he was married to Miss Annie M. Lewis in 
Utica, N. Y. Three children were born to 
them. The wife, two children, two broth- 
ers, and four sisters survived him. 

HENRY E. WEISE, who is head car- 
penter for the Marmet Coal Company, 
at Hernshaw, Loudon District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., is a skilled mechanic, in 
addition to being competent in the carpen- 
ter line, being also a first class blacksmith. 
He was born in the State of New York, Oc- 
tober 5, 1862, and is a son of Charles and 
Susan (Renne) Weise. 

Charles Weise was born in Pennsylvania, 
learned the carpenter's trade in his youth 
and followed it during all his active years, 
passing the closing years of his life at Le- 
banon, Pa., where he died in his eighty-sixth 
year. He married Susan Renne and they 
had eight children. 

Henry E. Weise attended the public 
schools in boyhood and then learned the 
blacksmith's trade which he followed in his 
native state for eight years and then learned 
the carpenter's trade with his father. Prior 
to coming to West Virginia he worked as 
a carpenter in Pennsylvania and later 
worked at the trade for six years at Davis 
Creek. In 1898 he accepted his present po- 
sition, working first as carpenter but soon 
afterward being promoted to be head car- 
penter. He has a large amount of respon- 
sibility resting on him in this position and 
has a number of men in his employ. 

Mr. Weise has a pleasant home at Hern- 
shaw, with wife and children. He married 
Miss Lulu Cotton, and they have two sons, 
Harry and Charles. He is a Republican in 
his political views. 

JAMES M. GATES, who was a prosper- 
ous business man and respected citizen of 



Charleston, W. Va., for many years, was 
born in Gallia County, O., a son of Moses 
and Harriet (Baultzett) Gates, and died at 
his home at Charleston, January 15, 1904, 
aged sixty-eight years. He was a younger 
member of a large family born to his par- 
ents and he is survived by his youngest 
brother, George Gates, who is a retired cit- 
izen of Cincinnati. The father was a black- 
smith by trade and the sons served an ap- 
prenticeship at the forge and anvil. Mr. 
Gates was quite a young man when he came 
to Charleston and shortly afterward en- 
listed for service as a drummer boy in the 
23d Virginia regiment, which was recruited 
in this section for the Civil War. He re- 
mained in the army for four years and after 
the close of hostilities, returned to Charles- 
ton and embarked in the grocery business, 
but a few years afterwards sold out and 
from then until the time of his last illness, 
he conducted a paint and wall paper busi- 
ness. He was careful, shrewd and fore- 
sighted and thus was always able to protect 
his business interests and accumulated val- 
uable property. The business now con- 
ducted under the name of J. M. Gates' Sons 
Company, was previous to the death of Mr. 
J. M. Gates run under his own name, and 
years ago was run under the title of "Gates 
Bros.," he having two other brothers in 
connection with the same at that time, 
namely: Virgil A. Gates and George W. 
Gates. His other two brothers were John 
Francis, a Universalist minister, formerly 
of Buffalo, N. Y., and Daniel Haskell, a 
farmer and statesman, of Round Knob, Put- 
nam County, W. Va., both being now de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Gates was married June 2, 1862, at 
what is now St. Albans, Kanawha County, 
to Miss Virginia Rand, who was born in 
Iowa City, la., and was four years old when 
her parents, Christopher C. and Nancy 
(Pines) Rand, moved to Kanawha County. 
Later they came to Charleston where Mr. 
Rand died at the age of sixty-eight years 
and Mrs. Rand when aged seventy-three 
years. Mrs. Gates was reared and carefully 
educated at Charleston. She is one of a 



460 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



large family, not many of whom survive. 
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gates are as 
follows: James Henry, who is a member 
of the firm of J. M. Gates' Sons Co., of 
Charleston; Cora Matilda, who is the wife 
of Cameron Savage, a timberman of 
Charleston, and has two children ; George 
Daniel, who is in the bicycle and phono- 
graph business in Charleston; Daniel Has- 
kell, who is associated with his brothers in 
the paint business, is married and has two 
sons; William Stevens and Jesse Arthur, 
both of whom are members of the J. M. 
Gates' Sons Co.; Virginia Rand, who is the 
wife of Alva R. Fisher, a railroad man, re- 
sides in Cincinnati and has one son, Marion 
M.; Edward Psalmon (twin brother of 
George D.) who died at the age of thirteen 
years; Albert Rand, also deceased; Henry 
and Eben, who are also deceased, both dy- 
ing in infancy. 

Mrs. Gates resides in her pleasant home 
at No. 408 Broad Street. In politics, Mr. 
Gates was a Democrat. He was reared in 
the Universalist faith and has always adhered 
to it and his children also belong to that 
church. He was a man of sterling charac- 
ter and throughout life was looked on by 
his fellow citizens as an honorable and up- 
right man, charitable in the extreme in 
times of any public calamity, ready with 
both his purse and his sympathy. 

1 

GEORGE G. REYNOLDS, postmaster 
at Elk View, and for many years one of the 
prominent citizens of Elk District, Ka- 
nawha County, is the proprietor of a flour- 
ishing mercantile establishment, and has 
besides other business interests. He was 
born Oct. 6, 1857, near Elk View, Va. (now 
W. Va.), a son of John T. and Mary 
(Given) Reynolds, and is a grandson of 
Reuben Reynolds, a pioneer of Roane 
County. 

John T. Reynolds was born November 
13, 1813, in Lewis County, Va., and as a 
young man accompanied his parents to 
Roane County. In 1865 he located in Elk 
District, Kanawha County, where he car- 
ried on a mercantile' business for fifteen 



years. In the year 1880 he retired and the 
remainder of his life was spent on his farm. 
Politically he was a Republican and an ac- 
tive worker for his party. He served seven 
years as justice of the peace at a time when 
the incumbent of that office was the head 
of the county court; he was a delegate to 
various conventions and in 1866 was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Elk View, then the 
old Blue Creek postoffice. 

John T. Reynolds married first Nancy 
Vineyard, daughter of Presley Vineyard 
and by her had four children — Presley V., 
John P., Archie P. and Harriett Y. — of 
whom all three of the sons served in the 
Civil War. Mr. Reynolds married for his 
second wife Mrs. Alary (Given) James, who 
was born in 1823, a daughter of George and 
Margaret (McGuffin) Given. Her father 
located near Elk View before the war and 
at one time owned most of the district. To 
John T. and Mary Reynolds were born 
three children — Margaret J. (now de- 
ceased), Mary E., who married Charles 
Campbell; and George G. 

George G. Reynolds attended school until 
he was nineteen years old and for fifteen 
years subsequently taught school, his sum- 
mers however being spent in farming. He 
worked for his father until reaching the age 
of twenty-three, and then purchased a farm 
on Indian Creek, which he operated for 
three years, but eventually returned to the 
old homestead. Later he succeeded his 
father in the mercantile business which he 
has conducted to the present time. He has 
also engaged in leasing and operating coal 
mines. 

On May 26, 1880, Mr. Reynolds was mar- 
ried to Miss Lenora Slack, who was born 
June 18, i860, a daughter of Major Hedge- 
man Slack, an old resident of this district. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been born 
six children, namely: Florence, who is re- 
siding at home; John H., who is a railroad 
engineer; Charles G., who is engaged in 
farming on the home place; Lewis D.. who 
assists his father in the store; M. Ruth; and 
Allie, who is deceased. Mr. Reynolds is a 
member of the Masonic order, (Clendenin 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



461 



Lodge No. 126) ; also of the Knights of 
• Pythias, No. 147, of Blue Creek, in which 
he has passed all the chairs; Glen Elk 
Lodge No. 95, of Odd Fellows; Elk En- 
campment No. 63, in which he has passed 
all the chairs and is now scribe ; and the Se- 
nior Order of American Mechanics, in 
which he has held various offices. An ac- 
tive Republican, like his father, he has 
served by State appointment as a member 
of the Board of Equalization. He has also 
served on the Jury Commission, has been 
a notary public for two terms, and for a 
long period postmaster at Elk View. At 
one time he was a candidate for the legisla- 
ture but failed of election owing to the local 
political conditions. 

MARK S. JARRETT, a well known citi- 
zen of Charleston, where he is engaged in 
the real estate business, also holding the 
office of overseer of the poor, comes of one 
of the old settled families of Greenbrier 
County, W. Va. He was born on the old 
Jarrett homestead in Elk district, then in 
Virginia, March 25, 1856, son of Eli and 
Nancy (Newhouse) Jarrett. 

His paternal grandfather was Owen Jar- 
rett, who was born in Greenbrier County, 
where he married Elizabeth Vincent. After 
the birth of their first child Mr. and Mrs. 
Owen Jarrett removed to Kanawha County, 
and settled at Jarrett's Ford on Elk River, 
in 1812, and purchased land in Elk 
District — several hundred acres, all of 
which was virgin land, which he retained 
possession of until his death in the fifties. 
The ford in the river near his farm is still 
known as Jarrett's Ford. His widow sur- 
vived him many years, being ninety-six 
years old at the time of her death. They 
were among the early supporters of the 
Baptist church in Elk District and were 
people of social importance. Their family 
consisted of six sons and three daughters, 
namely : Eli, a farmer who lived and died 
at Jarrett's Ford, in Elk District; Squire 
Jarrett, in Big Sandy District; John, now 
in his ninety-fourth year, who has always 
lived in Elk District, on Little Sandy; Rose 



Ann, who married John Samples, she and 
her husband being both now deceased; Vin- 
cent, a farmer who died in Big Sandy Dis- 
trict; Nancy, who is the widow of Charles 
Osborn and resides in Big Sandy District; 
Owen, Jr., who owned a farm at Jarrett's 
Ford and who died in 1910; and Sarah, 
who was the wife of Benjamin Melton, a 
farmer in Elk District, both being now de- 
ceased. Descendants of the above men- 
tioned family still reside in Elk and Big 
Sandy Districts. 

Eli Jarrett was born in Greenbrier 
County in 1809 and was three years old 
when his parents came to Kanawha County. 
The region was then practically a wilder- 
ness. The forests were full of wild game 
and the streams of fish and the land re- 
sponded generously to the most primitive 
attempts at cultivation. This great abun- 
dance of the necessities of life, for which 
there was then practically no outside mar- 
ket, induced a generous scale of living and 
giving that might be called typically South- 
ern, though changed conditions have since 
necessarily modified the method, though 
not the spirit of hospitality. It was said of 
Mr. Eli Jarrett that he would never sell a 
neighbor one of his flock, but would take 
pleasure in giving it; his neighbors knew 
they had permission to shoot game all over 
his estate, and he would frequently join 
them, as he was a good marksman and was 
fond of hunting. He was a large hearted, 
generous man, and possessed all the quali- 
ties of a good citizen. He succeeded to the 
parental homestead, on which he resided 
until his death, which occurred May 11, 
1897. He was a Democrat in politics but 
served in no public office. 

Eli Jarrett was married in Elk District, 
to Nancy Newhouse, who was born there 
in 181 1 and who also died there, at the age 
of eighty-seven years, in 1899. Her people 
were early settlers in Elk Valley. Both Eli 
Jarrett and wife were members and gener- 
ous supporters of the Baptist church. Eight 
sons and three daughters were born to 
them, as follows: Columbus, who was a 
farmer in Elk District, married Mary Slack, 



462 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



both being now deceased; Harrison, who is 
also deceased, married Sarah Matheny and 
reared his family in Elk District; Caroline,, 
who is the wife of Birdet Price, a farmer in 
Elk District; James, who married Nannie 
Darlington, both being now deceased; 
Owen V., who followed farming in Elk Dis- 
trict until his death, and married Martha 
Cummins, both being now deceased; Eliza- 
beth, who is the widow of Marshall Depew, 
of Roane County, a farmer and stock raiser 
who died in 1909, leaving an estate worth 
about $100,000; Catherine, residing in Elk 
District, who is the widow of David Jarrett; 
Eli T., now residing in Cabin Creek Dis- 
trict, who married Matura jarrett, now de- 
ceased, their children being born in Ohio ; 
John T., a lumberman living in Maiden Dis- 
trict, who married Betty Copenhaver ; 
Squire B., who has been in the livery busi- 
ness at Charleston for many years and who 
married Mary Vickers; and Mark S., who 
is the youngest of the family. 

Mark S. Jarrett remained with his parents 
and gave them filial care in their old age. 
He subsequently became the owner of the 
parental homestead, where he continued to 
reside and carry on the various farm indus- 
tries until 1895. He then moved to Charles- 
ton, where he went into the hotel business 
and continued in this line for twelve years, 
when he retired. A useful and prominent 
citizen, he was elected a member of the 
City Council in 1902 and 1903, being polit- 
ically a Republican. 

Mr. Jarrett was first married in 1881 to 
Mary E. Legg, who died about 1887. They 
had three children — -Marshall E., who died 
at the age of eleven years ; Grace, who is 
the wife of George Stoffel and resides in 
Charleston ; and Nannie, who is the wife of 
C. W. Richardson and is also a resident of 
Charleston. Mr. Jarrett married secondly 
Cynthia E. Blackshire, by whom he had one 
son, Sidney, who is now living in Charles- 
ton. 

In 1895 Mr. Jarrett was married thirdly 
at Charleston to Miss Elizabeth Stoffel. who 
was born in Beaver County, Pa., November 
15, 1861, and who was brought to Kanawha 



County in 1868 and was reared in Elk Dis- 
trict. Her parents, Stephen and Mary 
( Panner) Stoffel, were natives of Germany, 
who were married in Pennsylvania and died 
in Elk District, the former in 1887, aged 
seventy-seven years, and the latter in 1885, 
aged seventy-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Jar- 
rett have two children : Catherine F., who 
was born September 9, 1898; and Ruth 
Irene, born November 2, 1903. The family 
belong to the Bowman Methodist Episcopal 
church. He has filled the office of overseer 
of the poor in Charleston District for the 
last twelve years, it coming to him without 
any solicitation on his part, and its accept- 
ance being prompted by his charitable dis- 
position. 

JOHN HAMILTON HANSFORD, M. D., 
who is engaged in the practice of medicine at 
Pratt, Kanawha county, W. Va., was born in 
Pulaski county, Va., July 24, 1864, and is a 
son of Felix G. (2d) and a grandson of Felix 
G. Hansford (1st). 

The Hansford family is an old one in Vir- 
ginia, being settled in the state by the great 
grandfather of our subject, John Hansford, 
who came in Indian times and who was a man 
of political prominence, serving as a member of 
the early state legislature, at Richmond. It is 
said that he erected the first house in Kanawha 
county that had glass windows, and two years 
were consumed in building what was then con- 
sidered as a very pretentious mansion. He died 
at Paint Creek, in Kanawha county, being sur- 
vived by his widow, Jane Morris Hansford. 

Their son, Felix G. ( 1st), grandfather of Dr. 
Hansford, married Sallie Frazer, who lived to 
the advanced age of ninety-four years. He 
owned a large plantation and was an extensive 
farmer. His son, Felix G. Hansford. Jr.. mar- 
ried Luella Hamilton, a native of Kentucky. 
He died at Crown Hill. Kanawha county. W. 
Va., in 189 1, aged sixty-five years. Their chil- 
dren were, — Lillian , Goldie, Lulu, Felix G. 
(3d), now deceased, and John Hamilton. 
Lulu married Robert C. Grigg. and both are 
now deceased. They left three children — 
Adrian H., Helen and Ruth. 

John Hamilton Hansford acquired his early 




JOHN H. HANSFORD, M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



465 



education in the public schools and in early 
manhood was employed in the transportation 
department of the C. & O. railroad. He later 
entered the University of Louisville, Ky., 
medical department, where he was graduated 
in 1888. He entered upon the practice of medi- 
cine at Crown Hill, his old home, and from 
there, in 1895. came to Pratt, where he is in 
the enjoyment of a good practice. 

Dr. Hansford was married November 28, 
1899, to Miss Katharine Schultz. daughter of 
William and Sarah (Hansford) Schultz, and 
they have two children, John Hamilton and 
Edward M. In politics the Doctor is a Demo- 
crat. He is a Mason of high degree, belonging 
to the Shrine at Charleston: also to the Odd 
Fellows' lodge at Paint Creek. 

FRANCIS HANSHAW, whose excellent 
farm of sixty-eight acres lies in Union Dis- 
trict. Kanawha County. W. Va., six miles 
north of the city of Charleston, is a native 
of this state, born July 11, 1831. on Elk 
River, in Clay County. 

Until he was twenty years of age. Mr. 
Hanshaw had few business responsibilities, 
attending school the greater part of this 
time. He then became interested in farm- 
ing and when the Civil War broke out he 
enlisted in Clay County, as a private in Co. 
F, 45th W. Va. Vol. Inf.. under Captain 
Newberry. While in the Virginia Valley 
he was taken sick and resigned, being con- 
fined three months at Fort Lookout, and 
was then paroled and returned home, the 
war closing soon afterward. In 1866 he was 
married and for fifteen years afterward lived 
in Clay County, thirty-eight miles above 
Charleston, and then moved to the mouth 
of Cupper Creek, in Kanawha District, 
Kanawha County, afterward living three 
years in Texas. Mr. Hanshaw and family 
then returned to Kanawha County and he 
has occupied the present farm ever since, 
which he owns in association with his two 
sons. Amos and George Hanshaw. Mr. 
Hanshaw- has done a large amount of work 
on this place, clearing and fencing it and 
has made many improvements. General 



agriculture is carried on and cattle and hogs 
are raised. 

On January 11, 1866, Mr. Hanshaw was 
married to Miss Polly Ann Bloomer, who 
was born November 12, 1845, i n Owen 
County, Ky., a daughter of Capt. Christo- 
pher and Mary Jane (Williams) Bloomer, 
the former of whom was commander of ves- 
sels on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers dur- 
ing the greater part of his life. Mrs. Han- 
shaw is one of a family of nine children and 
is the only one living in Kanawha County, 
her one sister and two brothers being resi- 
dents of Texas. To Mr. and Mrs. Hanshaw 
the following children were born : Mary, 
who is the wife of William Tellie, of Point 
Pleasant; David, who lives on the home 
farm ; Josephine, now deceased, who was 
the wife of Clinton Copen; Eddie, who op- 
erates a meat market in the city of Charles- 
ton ; Annie, who is deceased; Amos, part 
owner of the home farm, who lives on 
Chandler's Branch, Union District, married 
Myrtle Daniels ; Maggie, who lives in Union 
District, is the wife of Alfred Rodgers ; 
William, who lives at Charleston, married 
Annie Gay; George, who is a resident of 
Charleston, married Minnie Hubner; Ber- 
tha, who lives at home ; and Robert and an 
infant son, both of whom are deceased. 
Mrs. Hanshaw 7 is a member of the Baptist 
church. In politics Mr. Hanshaw and sons 
are Republicans but none have ever desired 
to hold office. All are good citizens, hon- 
est and industrious, self respecting and law 
abiding. The family is well known all 
through this section. 

HON. JAMES H. FERGUSON, who 
passed away from life's scenes on June 21, 
1898, was not only for many years one of 
Kanawha County's best known and most 
highly esteemed citizens, but was also in a 
wider sense one of the eminent men of the 
State of West Virginia, and this eminence 
was gained by his own persevering efforts, 
backed by a self-reliant character, strong 
intellectuality, and sound heredity. He was 
born in an obscure home in Montgomery 
County. Va., April 14, 1817, his parents be- 



466 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ing immigrants from Scotland — people in 
humble circumstances, yet doubtless pos- 
sessed of those sturdy self-reliant qualities 
of industry, thrift, and sound morality which 
are characteristic of the Scottish people in 
general and which are responsible for their 
prosperity in whatever land they choose to 
make their home. 

The educational opportunities of the sub- 
ject of this sketch were naturally very lim- 
ited, so far, at least, as early school attend- 
ance is concerned. He must have picked up 
some elementary knowledge, but it was 
necessary for him soon to learn a trade, and 
he chose, or had chosen for him, that of 
shoemaker, and before he had reached man- 
hood he was traveling about the country 
from farm to farm as a journeyman cobbler. 
We can have little doubt, from what we 
know of his after career, that he was an in- 
dustrious and capable workman. The op- 
portunities for advancement connected with 
this occupation were, however, too limited 
to satisfy his youthful ambition, and we are 
not surprised, therefore, to find him in 1835 
entering the office of an attorney at Bar- 
boursville, in Cabell County, where he ap- 
plied himself to the study of law. In 1840 
he was admitted to the bar and from that 
date his real life work begins. Moving to 
Logan County five years later, he was there 
elected prosecuting attorney and served in 
that position until 1848. By the time his 
professional talents and his sterling quali- 
ties as a citizen had attracted general atten- 
tion and he was in that year elected to the 
House of Delegates from Logan and Boone 
Counties, being subsequently re-elected to 
the same office, in which he served continu- 
ously until 1851, when a new constitution 
was adopted. 

In 1850, while serving in the House of 
Delegates, he was elected a member of the 
Constitutional Convention, this making him 
a member of both bodies at the same time. 
He was a member of the legislature during 
the exciting and momentous days when the 
question of slavery was agitated and the cel- 
ebrated Wilmot Proviso, prohibiting slav- 
ery in the territory acquired from Mexico, 



was the subject of general and excited dis- 
cussion. Although an Abolitionist from 
principle and opposed to the dissolution of 
the Union, Judge Ferguson took the South- 
ern view with respect to all the other aspects 
of the question and during the Civil War 
period was in sympathy with the cause of 
the South. He supported the Clay compro- 
mise of 1850, which was subsequently 
adopted by Congress, and in spite of his 
Southern leanings he always felt it to be his 
duty to support the Federal Government in 
its measures of defense and in its efforts to 
preserve the Union intact. In 1864 he was 
elected to the state legislature from Cabell 
County and served until 1871, being chair- 
man of the Judiciary Committee throughout 
that period, except in 1865. He prepared 
and indexed the Code of 1868 and his handi- 
work is seen in every line of the laws of the 
State of West Virginia. Three years previ- 
ously he had introduced a bill abolishing 
slavery in West Virginia, which was passed 
after much opposition, this being accom- 
plished in advance of the adoption by other 
states of the amendment to the constitution 
forbidding slavery. 

In 1868 James H. Ferguson was elected 
Circuit Court Judge of the judicial district 
composed of the counties of Logan, Boone, 
Lincoln, Wayne, and Cabell, for a term of 
six years, but resigned his position on the 
bench within two years in order to resume 
his private practice, in which the emolu- 
ments were better adjusted to the volume of 
duties. He became chief attorney for the 
C. & O. Railroad in West Virginia. 

In 1875 Judge Ferguson came to Kan- 
awha County, and in 1876 was again 
elected to the House of Delegates, and one 
of the questions he took charge of was the 
securing of the State House for Charleston. 
It was ever his policy to avoid legal battles 
when matters could be otherwise adjusted. 
He was recognized as a well-informed law- 
yer along almost every line of the profes- 
sion, and on account of his knowledge of 
land laws his services were sought by the 
late C. P. Huntington, General Wickham, 
Holmes Conrad, Senator Camden and oth- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



467 



ers, who relied implicitly on his advice. All 
classes had reason to respect and honor 
him. He was untiring in his efforts to se- 
cure better laws and protection for miners 
and would go fearlessly among them, coun- 
selling and advising during periods of riots 
and disturbances. It was due to his efforts 
that laws were made protecting the prop- 
erty and rights of married women in the 
State. 

In politics Judge Ferguson was a Demo- 
crat, but he entertained a deep veneration 
for President Lincoln, second only to that 
which he entertained for Gen. Robert E. 
Lee. In the midst of all the stress and strain 
of his particularly busy life, he perserved his 
religious faith, being a devout Baptist, and 
in some way he found time to write numerous 
tracts on religious subjects, particularly on that 
of baptism. In his days and section the use of 
tobacco and alcohol was almost universal, 
but in his later years he abandoned the use 
of both and became a strong advocate of 
prohibition. Perhaps nothing more illus- 
trates his inherent strength of character 
than this abandonment from principle, at an 
advanced age, of a life long habit. Such ac- 
tion is a strong moral lesson, and many such 
may be learned from a close study of Judge 
Ferguson's life and character. 

Judge Ferguson was married while living 
at Barboursville, Cabell County, to Miss 
Lizzie A. Creel, who was born in Wood 
County, Va., in 1839, and who still sur- 
vives. Her parents were George A. and 
Prudence (Cook) Creel, the former of 
whom belonged to a pioneer family that set- 
tled in Wood County in 1800. His wife 
Prudence was of Puritan ancestry, the 
Cooks having emigrated to the American 
colonies from County Essex, England, in 
1639. Mrs. Ferguson was born on the old 
plantation known as Bacon Hall, in Wood 
County. 

In closing this sketch it is not too much 
to say that Judge Ferguson stands out in 
the history of West Virginia as one of its 
splendid pioneers. Through his clear brain 
and steady hand was order brought out of 



chaos, the natural result of the Civil War 
and leaving the Mother State. Broad, be- 
nevolent, generous, his hand always ready 
to help the needy and oppressed — devoted 
in his family, faithful in his friendships, 
truly in the words of the Old Testament it 
can be said, "A Prince in Israel has fallen;" 
or in the words of the New — "Behold a 
Gentile in whom there was no guile." 

GEORGE W. HASTINGS, general mer- 
chant at Cabin Creek Junction, cultivates seven 
acres of the old homestead farm in Cabin 
Creek District, Kanawha Country, W. Va., 
and is a representative of an early settler here. 
Mr. Hastings was born in Cabin Creek Dis- 
trict, March 3, 1847, and is a son of Simeon 
and Sarah (Martin) Hastings. 

Simeon Hastings was born in Pennsylvania, 
where he was left an orphan in childhood and 
was brought to Cabin Creek District with the 
family of Simon Guthery, who was one of the 
pioneers of this section. Simeon Hastings be- 
came a farmer, lumberman and miller, and was 
a soldier in the War of 1812. His death oc- 
curred here in November, 1868, at the age of 
eighty-seven years. His widow survived him 
for a time and was seventy-eight years of age 
at the time of death. They had ten children, 
namely : John, who died at the age of fourteen 
years; James, who died in 1904; Beckie Ann, 
deceased, who was the wife of Mark Wyatt, 
also deceased; Elizabeth Jane, deceased, who 
was the wife of Henderson Hannigan, also now 
deceased; Henry, Samuel and William, all of 
whom are deceased; Carolina, deceased, who 
was the wife of John A. Stone; Lucy, who is 
the wife of William Slack ; and George Wash- 
ington. 

George Washington Hastings spent his boy- 
hood on the home farm and as he found oppor- 
tunity, attended the country schools. He was 
married in 1868 and then moved to Kansas 
where he rented land and followed farming 
for two years, but as the future in that section 
did not appear encouraging, he returned to 
Kanawha County and went to work at the car- 
penter's trade and followed it for six years, be- 
ing mainly employed at the coal works. He 



468 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



opened his general store at his present location 
in 1905, having previously been engaged in the 
same business and lost his building and stock in 
the great overflow of the river in 1887. When 
his father died he fell heir to a part of the home 
farm. He later bought out the other heirs and 
subsequently sold his mountain land to the coal 
companies and has laid out all the rest, except 
his little farm of seven acres, in building lots. 

Mr. Hastings was married November 26, 
1868, to Miss Martha Wells, a daughter of 
Meredith and Emily (Jarrell) Wells, of 
Raleigh County, Va., and they have had the 
following children: Samuel E., who married 
Virgil Wetherow; Meredith, deceased, who 
married Lucy Holstein; Cora, who is deceased, 
was the wife of Charles Perry ; William B., who 
married Belle Cordell ; Minnie, who married 
William Brightwell; Charles, who married 
Mary Lacey; Burt S., who married Froney 
Simms; Calvin, who married Anna Belcher; 
Cornelius A., who married Cleo Hannigan ; and 
George W. Mr. and Mrs. Hastings are mem- 
bers of the Baptist church and he has served as 
church clerk for fourteen years. He is the 
oldest member of the Odd Fellows lodge at 
East Branch, having become identified with it 
in March, 1872. and is still actively interested 
in its work. 

WILLIAM E. CHILTON, Sr.. deceased, 
for many years was a prominent citizen of 
Kanawha County, XV. Va.. active in all the 
duties of good citizenship, a business man of 
integrity and a supporter of church, school and 
law and a liberal dispenser of private charity. 
He was a representative of one of the substan- 
tial old families of Virginia and the name has 
been and still is honorably borne in the older 
and also the newer division of this state. 

•The Chiltons trace their ancient line to 
France and from thence to England, the earliest 
American immigrant being John Chilton, who 
came to Virginia, settling in Westmoreland 
County in 1660. The next record is of Thomas 
Chilton, who was married in 1723 to Jemima 
Cook and they had five sons and three daugh- 
ters : Thomas, William, John, Charles, Ste- 
phen, Honora, Margaret and Elizabeth. 



Col. Charles Chilton, of the above family, 
was married in Fauquier County, Va., to Eliza- 
beth Black well, a daughter of James and Lucy 
(Steptoe) Blackwell, and to them the follow- 
ing children were born : John, Samuel, Eliza- 
beth, Stephen, Blackwell and Mark A. 

Blackwell Chilton, son of Col. Charles and 
Lucy Chilton, was born in 1783, in Fauquier 
County, Va., and died in 1873. He came to 
Kanawha County and settled in what is now 
the main section of Charleston, an opportunity 
being offered him at that time to purchase for 
$10,000 almost all the almost priceless land that 
now forms the site of West Virginia's capital 
city. Since that time this section has more or 
less claimed the Chilton familv. He married 
Mrs. Sarah Beale (Eustace) Gibson, who was 
born in Virginia and belonged to an old family 
that possessed and was proud of its coat of 
arms. To Blackwell Chilton and his wife the 
following children were born : Joseph, born 
July 4, 1822, died in 1900, married Martha 
W ilson and their children were Sallie K., Ed- 
ward. Emma and John Steptoe. William E., 
the second son, born July 12, 1828, died in Sep- 
tember, 1 88 1. He was married June 9, 1852, 
to Mary E. Wilson, born October 31, 1831. 
George Steptoe. born July 13, 1833. married 
Hannah Catherine Wilson and they live at St. 
Albans. Kanawha County. Mary Elizabeth, 
the youngest, born in 1836, is the widow of 
Alexander Wilson and resides on Brook Street. 
Charleston. 

William E. Chilton for many years was en- 
gaged in the mercantile business in Kanawha 
County. He was active in politics, a leading 
factor in Democratic politics in the county, of 
which he once was sheriff. He was reared in 
tlfe Episcopal church and was a man of Chris- 
tian life and character. Mrs. Clifton is a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church in which she has been 
a hearty worker and was a charter member of 
the church at Clendenin. which was the family 
home for a number of years. To William E. 
Chilton and wife the following children were 
born : Samuel Blackwell, Joseph Eustace, 
William Edwin. George Oliver. John Savary, 
and Parthenia and Stephen Lee, both of whom 
died young. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



469 



Samuel Blackwell Chilton was born Novem- 
ber 14, 1853, and died at St. Albans, March 4, 
1893. He was well known as a physician and 
surgeon and had been in active practice at Lin- 
coln and St. Albans. In 1880 he was gradu- 
ated from the University of Maryland at Balti- 
more, with his degree of M.D., and imme- 
diately entered upon the practice of his profes- 
sion in which he doubtless would have become 
eminent had his life been lengthened. He was 
a member of all the leading medical societies 
and was identified with the Masons and the 
Knights of Pythias, being past chancellor in the 
latter order. On November 5, 1884, he was 
married to Miss Nancy Woodward, who was 
born in Kanawha County, July 11, 1859, a 
daughter of Capt. Daniel W. and Catherine D. 
(Hogue) Woodward. Captain Woodward 
was born in Kanawha County in 1827 and died 
in 1882. His wife was born in 1833 and died 
at the age of thirty-five years. Captain Wood- 
ward was the owner of numerous boats that 
plied on the Kanawha River transporting coal. 
To Dr. Samuel Blackwell Chilton and wife one 
son was born, Samuel Blackwell, August 26, 
1885. He was educated in the public schools, 
Washington and Lee University and was a 
member of the class of the University of West 
Virginia in 1909, having been admitted to the 
bar in 1908 and now being a partner of his 
uncle, in the firm of Chilton, MacCorkle & Chil- 
ton, at Charleston. 

Joseph Eustace Chilton was born December 
6, 1855, and is a member of the law firm of 
Chilton, MacCorkle & Chilton, at Charleston. 
He served as judge advocate of the state dur- 
ing the administration of Governor MacCorkle, 
with the rank of major. Major Chilton is un- 
married. 

William Edwin Chilton, born March 17, 
1858, was educated at St. Albans and was ad- 
mitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years. 
For years he has been one of West Virginia's 
distinguished men. From 1893 until 1897 he 
was secretary of State and in 191 1 he was 
elected United States Senator. He married 
Mary L. Tarr, and they have two sons and two 
daughters. 

George Oliver Chilton was born January 23, 



1 86 1, and is interested in oil production. On 
January 24, 1893, he was married to Minnie V. 
Noyes and they have had five children, of whom 
four are living and one is deceased. 

John Savary Chilton was born November 
16, 1867, and like other members of the family, 
is a thoroughly educated man. His tastes are 
somewhat different, his main interests being 
along the line of scientific agriculture. The 
Chiltons and Wilsons were so prominent in 
early affairs in the country that Revolutionary 
patriots bore their names and the descendants 
are eligible to membership in the societies of 
the Sons and Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution. Both Mrs. Mary E. Chilton and Mrs. 
Samuel B. Chilton are members of the societies 
known as Daughters of the Confederacy and 
Daughters of the Revolution. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN QUICK, post- 
master at Quick, Kanawha County, W. Va., 
where he has been engaged in a mercantile 
business for a number of years, belongs to an 
old West Virginia family and was born in 
Nicholas County, March 27, 1857, a son of 
John Wesley and Paulina Octavia (Spinks) 
Quick. 

John Wesley Quick was born June 5, 1837, 
in Albermarle County, Va. In 1842 he moved 
to the Huddleton place on the Kanawha River 
with his parents and there engaged in farming, 
and subsequently moved from there to the Salt 
Valley on Bell Creek and later to Campbell's 
Creek, near Dana. By trade he was a mill- 
wright and from 1868 until 1870 he engaged 
in lumbering and saw mill work, and also ope- 
rated a large cooperage plant at Coal Fork on 
Campbell's Creek, after which he came to Blue 
Creek and settled on what is now the old Quick 
homestead. His death occurred September 25, 
1896. For twenty-seven years he had been a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
was a class leader and for a long time was 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. During 
the Civil War he was a member of the organi- 
zation of Home Guards at Maiden and all 
through that period and until the end of his life 
he gave hearty support to the Republican party. 
He married Paulina Octavia Spinks who sur- 



470 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



vives, being now in her seventy-second year. 
Her father, John Spinks, was one of the pio- 
neer settlers of Charleston, W. Va. Thirteen 
children were born to this marriage and ten of 
them are yet living. 

Benjamin F. Quick attended school until 
thirteen years of age and then went to work 
a part of the time, in the coal mines. Later lie 
engaged in the lumber business, in which he con- 
tinued until he was forty-three years of age. 
At the same time he conducted a store at the 
adjacent railroad station which was named in 
his honor, and since 1904 he has been post- 
master at this point and is also a notary public. 

Mr. Quick married Miss Martha Jane Rich- 
ards, who was born in 1861, and they have 
twelve children, namely : Arilla O., who is the 
wife of Ernest Brown and resides at Quick 
with five children; Frank Wesley, who assists 
his father at Quick, married Elizabeth Winfrey 
and they have three children: John William, 
who resides at Quick, married Stella Black and 
they have three children; Edward W'atson, 
who follows the carpenter's trade at Quick, 
married Myrtle Canterbury and they have 
three children ; Adelia, who is the wife of Ed- 
ward Brown, a carpenter at Quick, and they 
have three children; and Emily J., Ella, Dora, 
Hobart McKinley, Delia, James Putney and 
Pearl, all at home. Mr. Quick and family are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
In politics he is a Republican. He is identified 
with the order of Red Men, at Quick, the 
Knights of Pythias at Blue Creek, and the Odd 
Fellows at Quick. 

EUGENE CALLAHAN, who, for many 
years was associated with the affairs of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., in an official way, was born at 
Charleston, June 28, 1846, and is of Scotch- 
Irish ancestry. His parents were James and 
Salina (Ellison) Callahan. 

James Callahan was born at Lynchburg, Va., 
and grew to manhood in his native state. In 
1852 he went to California, by the overland 
route, and eighteen months after arriving there 
died at a place known as Chinese Camp, near 
Sonora, that state. He was then in the prime 
of life but succumbed to a local epidemic and 



his burial was in that part of the country. He 
was married in Virginia to Salina Ellison, who 
was born in Ohio, not far from Huntington, W. 
Va., but had been reared in Virginia. Some 
years after the death of her husband she set- 
tled permanently at Charleston and died at the 
home of her son Eugene, in 1900, when aged 
seventy-eight years and eight months. To 
James Callahan and wife five children were 
bom. Of this family, Maria died in 1849, a 
victim of cholera; Salina is the widow of 
James Cunningham who was accidentally killed 
in a railroad accident while on his way to Cali- 
fornia; she lives in Charleston. Eugene Calla- 
han and Salina are the only surviving members 
of this family. 

After his school days were over, Eugene 
Callahan became a marine engineer, following 
his calling on many of the boats on the Ohio 
and Kanawha Rivers. Later he became chief 
of the fire department of Charleston, a position 
he filled efficiently for ten years. He is now 
retired from active business but finds his time 
sufficiently occupied with looking after property 
purchased by his mother, and to the ownership 
of which he succeeded. 

Mr. Callahan was married first to Miss Ma- 
linda Naylor, who died at Charleston at the 
age of twenty-eight years, leaving no children. 
He married secondly Miss Malissa Fitzwater, 
who was born in Elk District Kanawha 
County. She died early and was survived by 
one son, Harry, who was afforded excellent 
educational advantages and is a graduate of the 
West Virginia Commercial School of Charles- 
ton, and the Eastman Business College at 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. For some years he has 
been captain of Co. I of the Charleston Fire 
Department. Mr. Callahan was married to his 
present wife, a most estimable lady, in Indiana. 
Her maiden name was Emma Bragg and she 
was born of West Virginia parents, in Lincoln 
County. They died when she was young. Mrs. 
Callahan is an active and faithful worker in 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

E. GRIFFITH, a well known resident of 
Hernshaw, W. Va., a farmer and mine worker, 
was born on Lens Creek, Kanawha County, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



471 



W. Va., January 29, 1857, a son of Isaac and 
Mary (Price) Griffith. 

Isaac Griffith was born and reared in Vir- 
ginia and came to Kanawha County when a 
young man, being a cooper by trade. He was 
also engaged in farming and worked in the 
mines and was a busy, useful and respected man 
as long as he lived, he dying at the age of 
seventy-six years. His venerable widow sur- 
vives and is now in her eighty-seventh year. 
She was twice married, seven children being 
born to the second marriage and two to the 
first. 

E. Griffith was only thirteen years of age 
when he started to work in the mines, having 
previously attended school in his native dis- 
trict. He also became a farmer and so con- 
tinued until 1910. In the meanwhile his son 
had grown to manhood and engaged in business 
and Mr. Griffith has been the latter's assistant 
for several years. He owns much valuable 
property, including store and residence at Hern- 
shaw, four lots at St. Albans and twenty-six 
and a half acres of coal and timber land on 
Lens Creek. 

Mr. Griffith was married first to Martha De- 
witt and eight children were born to them, 
namely : William, a miner, who married Ethel 
Meadows; John, who is an electrician, married 
Lura Ferrell, and they have two children; 
Charles, who is a railroad man, married Hettie 
Turner and they have one child, Eveline; 
Joseph B. ; Ethel, who is the wife of Calvin 
Ferrell and they have three children — Damon, 
David and Charles; Fannie, who resides at 
home; and two children who are deceased. 
Mr. Griffith's second marriage was to Ellen 
Price. Politically he is a Democrat. He and 
wife are members of the Missionary Baptist 
church. For some years he has been identified 
with the Knights of Pythias and the American 
Mechanics. 

Joseph B. Griffith who conducts a general 
store at Hernshaw — one of the largest in the 
place, best situated and most heavily stocked — 
is an enterprising business man and a very suc- 
cessful one. He started this store in August, 
1 9 10, and has prospered from the first. He 
married Miss Gracie Toney, a daughter of 



James Toney and they have one daughter, 
Madeline. He votes with the Democratic party 
and, like his father, belongs to the Mechanics 
lodge. 

FREDERICK COLBURN, deceased, who 
was the first president of the Dayton-Spring- 
field and Urbana, Ohio, Street Railroad prior 
to retiring to Charleston, W. Va., where he 
made his home for a number of years, was born 
at Montreal, Canada, in June, 1844, and died 
at Charleston, August 19, 1909. He was a 
son of Ezekiel E. and Elizabeth (Bostwick) 
Colburn. 

The Colburns were of English ancestry but 
of Canadian birth, and so loyal was the mother 
of Mr. Colburn to the Dominion, that after her 
husband went into business at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
she returned to Montreal prior to the birth of 
her children so that Canada could claim them. 
Ezekiel E. Colburn died in Texas and his wife 
in Cincinnati. They were members of the 
Episcopal church. They were parents of four 
children: Fred; Helen, who lives in Cincin- 
nati; Sarah, who also lives in that city; and 
Elliott, who is a business man in the State of 
Washington, where he married and has three 
children. 

Frederick Colburn was reared and educated 
at Cincinnati and started out in business as a 
traveling salesman and for twenty years was 
on the road, representing a Cincinnati clothing 
house. Later he became interested in railroad 
construction and was the promoter of the line 
of which he later became president. He was 
an active Mason and in this relation was widely 
known in the fraternity. Politically he was a 
Republican but not a politician. 

Mr. Colburn was married at Portsmouth, 
Ohio, to Miss Sarah E. Davis, who was born, 
reared and educated there. She is a daughter 
of Arthur C. and Susan (Leonard) Davis, the 
former of whom was born at Wheeling, W. 
Va., and the latter in Pennsylvania, while they 
were married in Ohio, where Mr. Davis en- 
gaged in merchandising until his death which 
occurred during the Civil War. His widow 
survived until 1889. They were members of 
the Episcopal church. Mr. Davis was one of 



472 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the most prominent Masons in the State of 
Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Colburn had two children, 
Alice C. and Fred, the latter of whom lived but 
eighteen months. Alice C. Colburn became the 
wife of William G. Moler and they reside in 
New York City. Since the death of her hus- 
band, Mrs. Colburn has continued to reside at 
Charleston where she has many social interests 
and a wide circle of friends. 

HON. MAYNARD F. STILES, a promi- 
nent member of the Kanawha county bar, resid- 
ing in Charleston, was born in Tunbridge, Vt. 
May 7, 1854. He is of New England ancestry, 
his great grandfather on the paternal side, 
William Stiles, being an early resident in Ver- 
mont, in which state he probably died. 

The next in direct descent was Asahel Stiles, 
Sr., grandfather of our subject, who was born 
in Tunbridge, Vt., and spent his active years 
engaged in farming in that state, dying, how- 
ever, at the comparatively early age of forty- 
five years. He was married, November 8, 
1812, to Nancy Bradford, a native of Vermont 
and a descendant of the famous Governor 
Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. She was 
born in 1788 and died in her native state at the 
age of seventy-two. Her parents were Timo- 
thy and Edith (Howe) Bradford, the mother 
being a descendant of a brother of Lord Will- 
iam Howe, and a daughter of William and 
Edith (Livingstone) Howe. The Stiles were 
generally farmers, tradesmen and members of 
the different professions'. They were usually 
men of large and robust frame and great physi- 
cal powers, which was also true to a large ex- 
tent of the Brad fords and Howes, and to these 
combined circumstances our subject probably 
owes his stalwart physique, being a man six 
feet four inches tall and weighing over 230 
pounds. 

Asahel Stiles, Sr., and wife had a large fam- 
ily numbering ten children, of whom the fol- 
lowing is a brief record: Clarissa A., married 
a Mr. Fairfield. Clarinda M. married J. S. 
Sanders. Asahel, Jr., was the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch and will be further men- 
tioned herein. Nancy B. married Riley F. 
Cudworth. David L. married Augusta French, 
an aunt of Associate Justice Harlan's wife, and 



lived and died in New York. John M. went to 
Chicago, where for many years he carried on a 
merchant tailoring business and died at an ad- 
vanced age. He was married and left children. 
William L. resided in Springfield, Vt., and died 
there an old man. He was married and a son 
of his. Frank Stiles, is now editor and pub- 
lisher of the Springfield (Vt.) Reporter. The 
eighth child, Baxter Bradford Stiles, settled 
in Denver, Col., in 1859, an d became a very 
prominent citizen there, being three times 
mayor of the city, a state officer and leading 
politician. By profession he was a lawyer. He 
married but had no children. The two remain- 
ing children were Melvina, who died in in- 
fancy, and Maynard F., who died unmarried 
at the age of less than 50 years. The latter was 
a lawyer, practicing in Memphis, Tenn., and 
later in Arkansas. 

Asahel Bradford Stiles, Jr., was born in 
Tunbridge, Vt., May 24, 181 7. He spent most 
of his life in his native state, engaged in farm- 
ing, but for a few years he was a merchant in 
Boston. He was a Democrat in politics and 
aided his party on the stump, being an accom- 
plished orator, but held no political office. He 
belonged to that branch of his party that just 
previous to the Civil War favored the election 
of Judge Douglass to the Presidency. His 
early life had been a somewhat strenuous one, 
as when but 16 years old he had lost his father 
and the burden of providing for the family had 
fallen upon him — a task which he successfully 
accomplished. His liberal tendencies were 
evinced by the fact that in religion he was a. 
Universalist and an active worker in the church, 
serving as Sunlay school superintendent and 
acting as leader of the choir. In bringing up 
and educating the other members of the family 
he had not neglected his own education, but by 
dint of hard work had acquired quite a compre- 
hensive fund of knowledge and was regarded 
as a man of more than average attainments. 
He was married April 5. 1843. m Brookfield. 
Vt., to Abigail Lovett Adams, who was born 
in 1822. probably in Canada, and who died in 
November, 1884. Her parents were Captain 
Thomas and Mary (Warner) Adams; the for- 
mer born August 19. 1788. died at Brookfield. 
Vt., September 20, 1843. His wife Mary 



HON. MAYNAED F. STILES 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



475 



Warner Adams, to whom he was married May 
22, 1814, was bom September 25, 1795, and 
died February 22, 1892, in Brookfield, Vt. An 
ancestor of hers, Major Ames Woodbridge, 
served gallantly in the Revolutionary War. 
Her cousin. Col. Seth Warner, was a comrade 
in arms to Col. Ethan Allen, and was second in 
command of the "Green Mountain Boys" in 
the contest between Vermont, then called the 
New Hampshire grants, and New Hampshire 
and New York, which colonies both claimed the 
territory. The struggle was suspended when 
the outbreak of the Revolution called for a 
common cause against England. 

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Mary 
Warner Adams was Major Reuben Adams, 
born October 22, 1761, who died August 30, 
1833, and who married Abigail Lovett, Decem- 
ber 4, 1763. She was born March 10, 1761. 
and died October 26, 1841. 

Asahel Bradford Stiles and wife had chil- 
dren as follows : Darwin Lysander, born in 
Vermont April 26, 1844, now resides in Or- 
leans, where he is engaged in the farming and 
dairy business. He was married in Vermont 
to Fidelia Lincoln, who died in 1910, leaving 
one child. Winona, who married Herbert 
Rood. Isabelle C, the second child, born Oc- 
tober. 1846, married Thomas O. Lynch and 
resides in Denver, Colo. They have a son, Ed- 
ward Asahel, who is an actor and singer of 
note, and who married Belle Dale. The third 
child, Imogene Olivia, born in November, 
1850, at Tunbridge, Vt., married Ora H. 
Goodale and resided at South Royalton, Vt. 
He died three years ago, leaving children, of 
whom one — Ernest C. — died at the age of 29 
years. Another. Grace, is the wife of Dr. H. 
H. Hayward, a physician of Randolph. Vt. 
Gertrude, a twin sister of Grace, married Clar- 
ence I. Cate, auditor of the American Woolen 
Mills at Boston, Mass. Maynard French, the 
fourth child, is the direct subject of this sketch. 
The fifth, Fannie Susan, born November 15, 
1857, died in 1882, unmarried. 

Maynard F. Stiles attended the public 
schools of his native town until reaching the 
age of 14 years. He then became a pupil at 
the Green Mountain Institute, at South Wood- 
stock. Vt., subsequently entering Phillips-Exe- 



ter Academy, where he was graduated in 
1873 after a three years' course. In the same 
year he entered upon the academic course at 
Harvard University, being graduated there- 
from in the class of 1877. He then took up the 
study of law with John Converse of Boston, 
but a few years later he was attracted to the 
West, going to Colorado, in which state he re- 
mained from 1880 to 1887. These were the 
days of the great mining boom, when the names 
of Ruby Camp, Irwin, Gothic, Crested Butte, 
Gunnison and others carried golden visions of 
sudden wealth to the adventurous prospector. 
Mr. Stiles was one of those who thus tempted 
fortune and during his stay in the W est he had 
an interesting variety of experiences. He be- 
came police judge at Irwin, his jurisdiction 
covering a territory as large as the state of 
Massachusetts, the office in which his court was 
located being known as "the Arsenal," it being 
advisable at times that means of enforcing or- 
der be at hand, as well as from the fact that 
the Judge was an enthusiastic hunter of big 
game. For a time also he held the position of 
city attorney at Crested Butte. 

In 1884 he was married at Gunnison, Col., to 
Miss Ellen S. Field, a daughter of Benjamin 
F. and Eliza A. (Trobridge) Field, natives of 
Wisconsin, but of New England ancestry. Her 
father was the inventor of many useful manu- 
facturing processes, particularly those con- 
nected with the manufacture of strawboard and 
paper making generally. He came of the noted 
Field family of merchants and inventors, of 
which Cyrus W. Field was a leading represen- 
tative. Both he and his wife are now deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stiles on leaving Colorado 
went to Los Angeles, Cal., where Mr. Stiles 
practiced his profession. He also in 1888-89 
held the post of city auditor and ex-offieio clerk 
of the city council. In the fall of 189 1 he re- 
turned to Boston, Mass., where he entered into 
a partnership with Samuel W. Clifford. Two 
years later, in 1893, he came to Charleston and 
was employed for some sixteen years in repre- 
senting claimants of the great Robert Morris 
grant, patented to Robert Morris of Philadel- 
phia, the litigation concerning which was known 
in legal circles as "the Great King Land Case." 
Since then his legal practice has been largely 



476 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



devoted to land cases, though not exclusively. 
He holds a high rank in his profession, being 
one of the leading members of the bar of the 
county. He takes an active interest in political 
affairs, owning allegience to the Democratic 
party. He and his wife are attendants of the 
Kanawha Presbyterian church, and are promi- 
nent in the best society of Charleston. They 
have an adopted daughter, Tomas Stiles, who 
was born in Baltimore, Md., December 19, 
1890. She was educated in the public schools 
of Charleston and at Sherred Hall, this city, 
and is a young lady of culture and refinement. 

HENRY BROWN ALEXANDER, farmer 
in Cabin Creek District, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., is one of the substantial and representative 
men of this section in which the greater part of 
a long and busy life has been passed. He was 
born not far from his present home, just across 
the river from Pratt, W. Va., October 9, 1842, 
and is a son of John and Catherine (Shelton) 
Alexander. 

John Alexander was born in Bedford 
County, Va., in November, 1806, a son of 
Thomas Alexander. The latter was of Irish 
birth and he was a soldier in the Indian and 
probably the Revolutionary War. It is known 
that he lived in Virginia and moved from there 
to Jackson County, Ohio, and died there. John 
Alexander came to Kanawha County from 
Bedford County in 1820, locating near where 
his son, Henry B., now lives, in 1828 buying 
fifty acres of land. He engaged in numerous 
business enterprises, being able to turn his hand 
easily to any kind of work, followed farming 
and blacksmithing, was an excellent cooper, 
built the old salt flat-boats and at the same time 
carried on a small store. He died on his own 
property in 1869. He married Catherine Shel- 
ton. who was born in 18 13, a daughter of 
Samuel Shelton, and died in 1903. Samuel 
Shelton was one of the old pioneers who settled 
before the birth of Mrs. Alexander on the site 
of what is now Pratt, W. Va. One of his sons. 
Captain Winson Shelton. served in both the 
lower and upper branches of the state legisla- 
ture, from Nicholas County. Ten children 
were bom to John Alexander and wife, namelv : 
Andrew C. ; Henry Brown ; Cynthia A., wife 



of William A. Rogers; Isabella C, deceased, 
formerly the wife of N. P. Mitchell; Huston 
S., and five who died young. 

Henry B. Alexander spent his boyhood on 
the farm and before the Civil War attended 
subscription schools and afterward completed 
his education in the free schools. He was only 
eighteen years old when, in March, 1861, he en- 
listed in what was known as the Kanawha 
Rangers but later as Co. I, 8th Va. Cav., Con- 
federate Army, took part in all the movements 
of his regiment and was promoted to be first 
sergeant. He was paroled on April 24, 1865, 
at Lewisburg, W. Va., when he returned to 
Kanawha County and resumed fanning and 
also engaged in teaming. Later he became con- 
nected with the coal industry and spent thirty- 
three years around the mines. After coming 
into possession of a part of his father's estate, 
he improved his property and in 1903 erected 
his present commodious residence. 

On October 6, 1870, Mr. Alexander was 
married to Miss Mary C. Ault, a daughter of 
the late Capt. A. B. Ault, who was a well 
known river man for many years. Seven chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, as 
follows : John, who died aged twenty-two 
years; Charles, who married Minnie Dunlap; 
William, who married Elizabeth Morris ; Frank, 
who married Stella Craft; Emmett; Thomas, 
who married Dennie Crowder ; and Sallie, who 
married Thomas Willie. In politics Mr. Alex- 
ander is a Democrat and years ago was twice 
elected constable. He belongs to the Knights 
of Pythias at Handley, W. Va. ; to the Odd 
Fellows at London, W. Va. : and to R. E. Lee 
Camp No. 887, United Confederate Veterans, 
at Charleston. 

CALVERY HENLEY ALFORD, de- 
ceased, was born June 1, 1852, on Mud River, 
in Putnam County, Va.. and died at Charleston, 
December 18, 1907, being a retired merchant 
and capitalist. His parents were William and 
Sallie (Dolin) Alford. 

William Alford was born in Monroe County, 
now West Virginia, and his wife in Boone 
County, in which latter county they were mar- 
ried and afterward spent many years on their 
farm on Trace Fork of the Mud River, in Put- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



477 



flam County. In conjunction with farming, 
William Alford was a commercial traveler and 
was on the road for some years for Robert 
Thompson, a tobacco dealer. During what he 
intended to be his last trip, he was attacked 
by robbers near Gallipolis, Ohio, and was killed 
by an assassin who escaped justice. His widow 
afterward married Robert Alford, and they 
had one son, Andrew M., who now resides on 
the old home farm in Putnam County. To her 
first marriage Mrs. Alford had borne six sons 
and one daughter. 

Calvery H. Alford was reared on the home 
farm and resided there until sixteen years of 
age. He was then for one year with the C. & 
O. Railroad as chore boy. When his eldest 
brother married they went into mercantile busi- 
ness together at Grifhthsville, Lincoln County, 
W. Va., but after being thus engaged for some 
time our subject sold his interest to his second 
brother. He and his three brothers were asso- 
ciated together in the tobacco business for one 
year and were afterwards engaged in mercan- 
tile business at St. Albans for three years. Cal- 
very H. Alford then sold his interest to his 
three brothers and in the fall of 1885 came to 
Charleston. Here he engaged in a general 
mercantile business which he conducted with 
much success for some ten years, after which 
until his death he was occupied in attending to 
his real estate interests. Mr. Alford was 
known as an honorable business man and most 
worthy citizen. He belonged to the Methodist 
Episcopal church. In politics he was not very- 
active and never consented to hold office. 

Mr. Alford was married February 18, 1883, 
at Somersville, Nicholas County, W. Va., to 
Miss H. May Crites, who was born in Jackson 
County September 20, 1862, a daughter of 
Nathan M. and Mazilla (Boarde) Crites, and 
who went to-Nicholas County with her parents 
when 15 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Crites were 
married in Jackson County and lived there for 
seventeen years and then moved to Nicholas 
County and settled at Somerville, where the 
death of Mr. Crites occurred September 23, 
1899, at the a g e °f fifty-eight years. He was a 
shoemaker by trade and also engaged in farm- 
ing. His widow survives and lives at the old 
homestead. She is a member of the Mission- 



ary Baptist church, but Mr. Crites belonged to 
the Methodist Episcopal church, south. They 
had two daughters, Mrs. Alford and Leola J. 
The latter married James F. Pettigrew, and 
they have two children, Harry A. and Sylvia C. 
One daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Al- 
ford, Ella G., born January 7, 1884, whose lit- 
tle life was covered by but seven months. Mrs. 
Alford is a member of a religious organization 
known as Truth. 

JOSEPH SAMUEL MASON, postmaster 
at Villa, W. Va., where he is engaged 
in the mercantile business, was born No- 
vember 1, 1847, in Snow Creek Valley, 
Franklin County, Va., and is a son of Lewis 
G. and Catherine Jane (Pearson) Mason. 

Lewis G. Mason was born in Virginia and 
died in 1865, at Fort Delaware Prison, from 
an attack of smallpox, while a prisoner of 
war. He was a soldier in the Confederate 
Army during the Civil War and was cap- 
tured by the Federal forces at Winchester. 
He owned a large farm and prior to the 
war followed agricultural pursuits and tan- 
ning. He married Catherine Jane Pearson, 
who died at Charleston. His parents were 
Jack and Julia (Ashworth) Mason, while 
those of his wife were Thomas and Eliza- 
beth (Hickman) Pearson, the latter being 
natives of Germany who settled in Franklin 
County, Va., when they came to America. 
Joseph Samuel Mason attended private 
schools until he was seventeen years of 
age and then came to Kanawha County. 
The hard fortunes of war had brought fam- 
ily vicissitudes and he engaged in work as 
a common laborer and helped in the manu- 
facturing of coal oil until 1870. He then 
engaged in farming and also was a clerk at 
the Graham mines' store and 'other places, 
and then went into the mercantile business 
for himself at his present location and gave 
this post-office its name of Villa. He was 
appointed assistant postmaster under the 
administration of President Grant and his 
daughter served as postmistress until her 
death. Mr. Mason served in the Confeder- 
ate Army as a member of Col. Henry's brig- 
ade on guard duty near Richmond from 



478 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



November, 1864, until the surrender of 
General Lee, in April, 1865. He has always 
been active in Democratic politics and has 
served as a member of the Democratic Ex- 
ecutive Committee. He is identified with 
several fraternal organizations including 
the Red Men, belonging to King Philip 
Tribe No. 32 and is collector of wampum ; 
and to Lodge No. 141, American Mechan- 
ics, at Villa, of which he is treasurer and 
junior ex-counsellor. 

Mr. Mason was married to Miss Martha 
J. Turner, a daughter of Jeffrey G. and 
Nancy (Mason) Turner. The former was 
a farmer in Franklin County and raised 
driving horses prior to the Civil War. After 
moving to Elk District he was employed in 
the salt works and later lived on Mill 
Creek, where his death occurred in 1886, at 
the age of sixty-three years. Mrs. Mason 
has five sisters and two brothers. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Mason the following children were 
born : Lewis Edward, who is bookkeeper 
for the Kanawha Produce Company at 
Charleston, married Stella Wickers and 
they have six children: Thomas J., who is 
associated in business with his father, mar- 
ried Cora Butterworth and they have two 
children; Lulu O., who is the wife of R. 
L. Buckner, a carpenter in Elk District, has 
seven children ; Alfred C, who is a tele- 
graph operator ; Nancy Catherine, who died 
at the age of nineteen years ; Nellie, who 
died in infancy; and Charlotte Elizabeth, 
Ruth Ellen and Dorothy Blanche, all of 
whom are at home ; and Mary Alice, who 
was the first born daughter and whose beau- 
tiful and useful young life closed at the age 
of twenty-one years. She was mentally 
gifted and was one of the most popular 
school teachers in Elk District at the time 
of her death and also served as postmistress 
at Villa, being appointed in October, 1892. 
She was organist in the Baptist church and 
was a beloved teacher in the Sunday-school. 
Her memory is tenderly preserved not only 
by her sadly bereaved family but by the 
whole community, in which she was a favor- 
ite. Mr. and Mrs. Mason are members of 
the Baptist church of Mill Creek. Mr. Ma- 



son was reappointed postmaster at Villa in 
October, 1904. Mrs. Mason has the follow- 
ing sisters and brothers : Sarah, wife of 
W. Nichols ; Ruth E., wife of Jesse Block- 
ard; Oney F., wife of C. Estep; Eliza, wife 
of Levi Cavender; Julia E., wife of James 
W elch ; Samuel B. and Jeffrey W. 

E. B. STEPHENSON, M. D. r a well 
known business man of Charleston, W. Va., 
was born in Clay County, W. Va., May 13, 
1873, son of the late A. J. Stephenson. 

He was educated in the public schools, at 
Athens Normal school and the National 
Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio; en- 
tered medical college at the University of 
Louisville, Ky., in 1894; was graduated 
from the same school in March, 1897, and 
followed the medical profession for a num- 
ber of years thereafter, being classed as one 
of the leading physicians of the state. 

He retired from the medical practice be- 
cause of extensive interests in timber and 
lumber requiring his entire attention. He 
is secretary, treasurer and director of one 
of the leading lumber companies of the state 
(the Carroll Hardwood Lumber Co.) ; pres- 
ident of the Stephenson-Sayre Lumber Co. ; 
was appointed by the Governor as the 
Democratic member of the State Board of 
Control, in November, 1910, to succeed Dr. 
Thomas E. Hodges, and later selected as 
treasurer of this board by its members. 

He is a member of the different branches 
of Masonry, belonging to the Blue Lodge, 
Chapter, Commandery. and Beni-Kedem 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

ARTHUR WAYNE TAYLOR, chief 
bookkeeper for the Hughes Creek Coal 
Company, at Hugheston, W. Va.. came to 
Kanawha County August 15, 1904. He 
was born at Lansing, Fayette County, W. 
Va., May 10, 1883, and is a son of Thomas 
H. and Mildred (Wood) Taylor. The 
father of Mr. Taylor died when he was five 
years old and his mother subsequently mar- 
ried William McCIung and they reside in 
Nicholas County, Va. The children of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



479 



first marriage were : Lawrence M., Festus, 
Arthur Wayne and Edgar J. One son, 
Leonard, was born to the second marriage. 

Arthur Wayne Taylor spent his boyhood 
in Fayette County, where he attended the 
public schools and later, when living with 
his grandmother, Mrs. Anna Taylor, at- 
tended school at Huntington, and com- 
pleted his education at Marshall College. 
He assisted his uncle, a business man at 
Anstead, as clerk and bookkeeper and then 
came to Hugheston as assistant bookkeeper 
and buyer for the company store, which was 
then a comparatively small concern. In 
September, 1906, he took full charge of the 
office, while the store was turned over to 
H. H. Epperly, who was succeeded by the 
present manager, Fred W. McConnell. Mr. 
Taylor takes little interest in politics, be- 
yond the demands of good citizenship, be- 
ing essentially a business man, and his faith- 
ful services to the present company are fully 
recognized. 

Mr. Taylor was married November 28, 
1907, to Miss Eva Howery, a daughter of 
B. D. and Willie (Clark) Howery, of 
Charleston, and they have one child, Helen. 
Mr. Taylor is a member of the Odd Fellows 
at Anstead and of the Modern Woodmen 
at Fayetteville. 

SAMUEL V. MATTHEWS, state com- 
missioner of banking, is a man who for 
years has taken an active part in public life 
in West Virginia. He was born in Cabell 
County, W. Va., on the present site of 
Huntington, March 6, i860, a son of Sam- 
uel and Mary J. (Smith) Matthews. 

Samuel Matthews was born in 1826, in 
Maryland, and when a young man went to 
Ohio and from there to Virginia — to that 
section that since 1863 has been known as 
West Virginia. During the great struggle 
between the North and South, he enlisted 
as a private in Co. B, 5th Va. Vols., Federal 
Army, and saw four years of service. After 
the close of the Civil War he lived in Ohio 
and died there in 1883, at the age of sixty- 
two years. He was a Republican in his po- 
litical views, was a man of quiet, domestic 

28 



tastes and a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. He was married first to a 
Miss Potts, who died in Ohio, the mother of 
four children. One of these, William, en- 
listed for service in the Civil War, although 
but fifteen years of age and served with his 
father until its close. One daughter, Emma, 
resides at Bradrick, Lawrence County, O. 
The other children, Aurilla and Martha, are 
both deceased. Samuel Matthews' second 
marriage was to Mary J. Smith, who was 
born in 1830, a daughter of Austin Smith, 
of Guyandotte, Va., now West Virginia. 
Their children were as follows : Alice, wife 
of W. H. Crawford, lives on the Ohio River, 
in Ohio, and has three children : Mary O., 
wife of John Woodrum, a furniture dealer 
of Charleston, W. Va. ; Hugh and Hazel, 
both living at home. Samuel V., the sec- 
ond born of the family, has been a resident 
of West Virginia for many years. Edward 
P. is employed as a guard at the state peni- 
tentiary of West Virginia. Joseph E. is a 
business man at Moundsville, W. Va., mar- 
ried Maggie Weaver and they have three 
children — Lyle, Louise and Frank. Robert 
Bruce died at the age of nineteen years, and 
Charles E. died when aged twenty-five 
years. 

Samuel V. Matthews has been interested 
in public affairs since early manhood. He 
was reared and educated in Ohio, but in the 
early nineties, soon after becoming of age, 
he was elected to the council of the city of 
Huntington, W. Va., and later was police 
judge of that city, serving one term. He 
was then appointed to the secret service of 
the U. S. Government, remaining two years, 
when he resigned and went into the state 
auditor's office of West Virginia, working in 
the claim department of that office, under State 
Auditor Sherr, for four years. In 1905 he was 
appointed commissioner of banking by the gov- 
ernor of the State of West Virginia. In 1907 
he was reappointed under the new law passed 
in that year, which provides for a term of 
four years, and on April 1, 191 1, was ap- 
pointed for four years more by Governor 
Glasscock. He has supervision over 227 
banks, building and loan associations organ- 



480 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ized under the laws of the state, and also 
has control over all foreign banking institu- 
tions doing business therein. In this work 
he has an assistant, Ona C. Jeffreys. 

Mr. Matthews has long been active in the 
councils of the Republican party in this sec- 
tion. He has been a delegate to state con- 
ventions and has served as chairman of the 
city, county, State and State Congressional 
committees, and at present is serving as 
chairman of the State Executive Commit- 
tee. His present position has been fairly 
earned by hard and useful service. He is 
identified with the Free Masons, being a 
member of the Blue Lodge, No. 120; and 
of the Chapter, Council and Commandery, 
all at Charleston, and also of Beni-Kedem 
Temple, Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to 
Lodge No. 64, Odd Fellows, at Huntington, 
W. Va. 

Mr. Matthews was married in Ohio to 
Miss Laura E. McCall, who was born and 
educated at Bethel, O., her parents being 
Andrew F. and Nancy Amelia (Zimmer- 
man) McCall. Andrew F. McCall died at 
Bethel, but his widow survives. Her father 
was Rev. Eliakim Zimmerman, once a well 
known Methodist minister belonging to an 
Ohio conference. To Mr. and Mrs. Mat- 
thews three children have been born, 
namely: Ralph C, born June 10, 1891 ; Olive 
A., born January 16, 1894; and Mary Alice, 
born in 1899, who died in 1907. 

A. T. WHITTINGTON, who owns six- 
teen acres of rich farm land, situated on 
Sugar Camp Branch, in Loudon District, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., is a well known 
man in this section. He was born in Ma- 
son County, W. Va., August 27, 1864, and 
is a son of John and Mary V. (Nuckles) 
Whittington. 

John Whittington, who now lives retired 
in Putnam County, W. Va., was born in 
Kanawha County and devoted all his active 
life to farming. He married Mary J. Nuc- 
kles and three children were born to 
them: A. T., Ida, and a babe that died un- 
named. John Whittington lost his first wife 
and was married secondly to Pink C. Hud- 



son, who is also deceased. She was the 
mother of six children. 

A. T. Whittington attended school in Ma- 
son County and afterward worked there as 
a farmer. He then came to Kanawha 
County in order to go to work in the mines 
at Winifrede. In 1907 he bought his farm 
and carries on general farming and also 
continues work at mining during a part of 
the time, being a thrifty, enterprising and 
successful man. 

Mr. Whittington was married first to 
Miss Lizzie E. Coleman, who, at death, left 
three children — Charles, Ida and Howard. 
He was married a second time to Miss Alice 
Dowell, of Mason County, and they have 
had seven children : Ellen, Edward, Garner, 
Zelma, Fannie, an infant, and Melvin, these 
two being deceased. In politics Mr. Whit- 
tington is a Republican. He belongs to the 
American Mechanics and to the United 
Mine Workers, two strong fraternal organi- 
zations. 

BERKELEY MINOR, JR., an attorney- 
at-law engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession at Charleston, W. Va., is the junior 
member of the long established law firm of 
Payne & Payne, of this city. He was born 
at Rock Castle, Hanover County, Va., Au- 
gust 8, 1879. and is a son of Berkeley and 
Susan Watson (Fontaine) Minor. 

The Minor family is an old one in Vir- 
ginia, General John Minor, who was an of- 
ficer in the Patriot Army during the Revo- 
lutionary War. having been born in the col- 
ony. One of his descendants, Horatio Mi- 
nor, married Catherine Berkeley, they be- 
ing the grandparents of Berkeley, Jr. 

Horatio Minor was born at Topping Cas- 
tle, Caroline County. Va. He was a civil 
engineer by profession and laid out portions 
of the Virginia Central Railroad. He was 
a graduate of Yale College, and stood high 
in his profession. 

Horatio Minor and wife were the parents 
of a large family. Three of them survive, 
namely: Robert Berkeley, a distinguished 
lawyer of San Antonio, Texas, who assisted 
in the revision of the State code of Laws, 




DAVID A. JAYNE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



483 



served as prosecuting attorney of his 
county, and married a member of the old 
Houston family of that state; Mary Willis, 
who lives in Baltimore, Md. ; and Berkeley, 
who is a prominent educator and since 1880 
has been connected with Stuart Hall, at 
Staunton, Va. One son, C. L. C. Minor, 
who is now deceased, was president of the 
present Virginia Polytechnic Institute at 
Blacksburg, Va. 

Berkeley Minor, son of Horatio and 
Catherine Minor, was born in 1842, at 
Edgewood, Hanover County, Va. He was 
educated by tutors and in a private school 
and then entered the University of Virginia. 
He had spent two years there when the 
Civil War broke out, and in common with 
many of his comrades, he enlisted in the 
Confederate service, as a private, becoming 
a member of the Rockbridge Battery. Later 
transferred to the Engineer Corps, he was 
advanced to the rank of lieutenant, and 
served as such until the surrender of Gen- 
eral Lee at Appomattox, where he was pa- 
roled. 

Returning to peaceful pursuits, he began 
the study of law under Judge Coleman, at 
Fredericksburg. He was subsequently ad- 
mitted to the bar, and for a time was en- 
gaged in practice, also giving some atten- 
tion to agriculture, at Edgewood. He after- 
wards removed to Lynchburg, where he be- 
came associated in law practice with R. G. 
Kean, and while there he was one of the 
organizers and became principal of an acad- 
emy. Two years later he became connected 
as an instructor with an Episcopal High 
School, near Alexandria, in which position 
he continued until 1880, when, as mentioned 
above, he became a member of the faculty 
of Stuart Hall, at Staunton, Va. 

Prof. Berkeley Minor married Susan 
Watson Fontaine, who was born in 1847, at 
Rockcastle, Va. Her parents were James 
and Juliet (Morris) Fontaine, the former 
being a lawyer by profession but princi- 
pally engaged in farming. Two of Mrs. 
Minor's brothers were well known to 
Charleston people — Peter, a major in the 
Confederate Army, formerly a leading law- 



yer of the city, now deceased, and William 
M., who is a professor in the University of 
Virginia. 

Berkeley Minor, Jr., was a student at the 
Staunton Military Academy, and later en- 
tered the University of Virginia, where he 
was graduated as a master of arts in the 
class of 1900. He then taught school for 
one year, after which he returned to the 
University and took his B. L. degree. He 
was admitted to the bar of Virginia in 1902 
and to that of West Virginia in 1903, and 
became a partner in the firm of Payne & 
Payne, with which he is still connected. He 
is a member of the Episcopal church and is 
a Mason, belonging to Kanawha Lodge, 
No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and to the Chapter 
at Charleston. 

DAVID AUSTIN JAYNE, consulting ac- 
countant and auditor, whose offices are located 
in the Alderson and Stephenson building, 
Charleston, has been a resident of this city 
since 1905, during which time he has built up 
a wide reputation in his special line of work. 
He is a descendant of William de Jeanne, who 
was born at Bristol, England, January 25, 
1 618. This early progenitor of our subject 
was expelled from Oxford University as a dis- 
senter in 1639, under the Decree of Unifor- 
mity which required all students in the schools 
and universities of England to subscribe to all 
of the articles of the Westminster creed. After 
his expulsion he became a chaplain in the army 
of Oliver Cromwell, being one of the great 
Protector's staunchest adherents. On the res- 
toration of the monarchy, fearing persecution, 
he said farewell to his native land and came to 
America. In 1673 he married Anna Biggs, of 
New Haven, and a year later with ten others, 
crossed Long Island Sound, procuring a grant 
of land from the Nassau Indians, which was 
subsequently confirmed by the crown. In or- 
der to further secure himself from molestation 
he changed his name to that of William Jayne, 
which spelling of the family name has been re- 
tained to this day. He settled at Setauket, on 
the north side of Long Island, being one of the 
trustees of the town. Here he reared a family 
of six sons and two daughters, the sons being 



484 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



named respectively William, John, James, Mat- 
thias, Samuel and Steven. Many of his de- 
scendants took part in .the events connected 
with the Revolutionary War, taking civil or 
military action in favor of the independence of 
the colonies, thus remaining true to the family 
traditions. 

Timothy Jayne, the great-great-grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch, served in the war 
for independence with the rank of captain, and 
died while on an exploring expedition of the 
Lake country of New York, his death taking 
place in the only frame house then standing on 
the site of the present city of Ithaca. 

David Jayne, son of the foregoing, who was 
twenty-two years old at the time of his father's 
death, moved soon afterwards from Middle 
Smithfield, N. J., where he had settled, to the 
region that is now Wyoming county, Pa. He 
had a son, Timothy, whose son, David, married 
Hannah E. Kishbaugh, of Eaton, Wyoming 
■county. Pa., and to them were born seven chil- 
dren ; four of them are living, Joseph Dorrance, 
Timothy Worty, Wade Hampton and David 
Austin of the present biographical notice, who 
was the seventh child. 

David Austin Jayne was born on a farm in 
Wyoming county, Pa., March 4, 1878. He be- 
gan his educationln the public schools and was 
graduated from Keystone Academy at Factory- 
ville, Pa., in 1898. He then attended the Mans- 
field State Normal School and also the Strouds- 
burg State Normal School, from which insti- 
tution he was graduated in 1901. The next 
few years of his life were spent in teaching 
commercial work in several towns of Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio, and in 1905 he came to 
Charleston, W. Va. He had by this time ac- 
quired a very thorough knowledge of account- 
ing, mathematics, with other branches neces- 
sary to a commercial education. After teaching 
for a year in a local business college, he opened 
an office as public accountant, and has since 
achieved a notable success as a consulting ac- 
countant, auditor and deviser of business sys- 
tems. In this special line of work he ranks 
among the best in the country and is a valued 
contributor to various commercial magazines. 

One of the most difficult problems Mr. Jayne 
has had to solve was the auditing of the books 



of the Kanawha county court covering a period 
of fifteen years and which were in a state of 
great confusion. Before he completed this 
work no one knew what the county's financial 
condition really was, except that it was so bad 
that there was no money to pay orders and that 
few were willing to take them, even when 
greatly discounted. Mr. Jayne succeeded in 
bringing order out of chaos and in placing the 
county on its present cash basis. For this 
work, which was difficult in the extreme, he re- 
ceived great and well deserved commendation. 

Some of the systems installed by Mr. Jayne 
in local business houses have been copied by 
firms in Ohio and Pennsylvania. A perfect 
master of his profession in all its branches, he 
has been found equal to every demand made 
upon him, and, as already shown, has had some 
difficult problems to face. Among his clients 
are found insurance companies, coal companies, 
building and loan associations, wholesale and 
retail business houses of various kinds, banks, 
oil companies, land companies, manufacturing 
and municipal corporations. 

Mr. Jayne was first married in Pennsylvania 
to Miss Anna Evelyn Garey, daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. William T. Garey of Jenningsville. 
Pa. She died at the Sunny Rest Sanatorium. 
White Haven, Pa., on April 13, 1907, at the age 
of twenty-seven years, without issue, and he 
subsequently married for his second wife, in 
Erie, Pa., Mrs. Cecelia Sewell, nee McCutchon. 
also a native of Pennsylvania. By her first 
marriage Mrs. Jayne has a daughter, Mary 
Antoinette, now about eighteen years old. who 
is a promising student of instrumental music, 
having studied at Buffalo. N. Y., at the Mora- 
vian Seminary at Bethlehem. Pa., and under 
the well known Prof. Sherwood, of Chicago. 
Mr. Jayne and his family are members of the 
First M. E. church of Charleston. He is inde- 
pendent in politics. A member of the Masonic 
order, he belongs to Kanawha Lodge No. 20 
at Charleston. West Virginia Consistory No. 
1, at Wheeling, receiving the thirty-second de- 
gree in Masonry when thirty-two years of age, 
and Beni-Kedem Temple of the Ancient Ara- 
bic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at 
Charleston. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



485 



CHARLES H. FRAZER who is superin- 
tendent and field manager for Charles Pratt & 
Company and the Paint Creek Coal & Land 
Company, owners of about 22,000 acres of coal 
land, including 25 leases, on Paint Creek, 
Kanawha County, West Virginia, is a resident 
of Pratt, W. Va., and was born in Greenbrier 
County, Virginia (now West Virginia), May 
5, 1853, being a son of Robert A. and Harriet 
E. (Summerson) Frazer. 

Robert A. Frazer was born February 11, 
1822, near Falling Springs, Greenbrier County, 
Virginia, now West Virginia, where he fol- 
lowed farming at the foot of the Big Sewell 
Mountain, and, in earlier days, with his father, 
conducted a tavern there on a stage coach line. 
Mr. Frazer was descended from Scottish ances- 
try. The Frazers were among the most promi- 
nent families of Scotland and came to Virginia 
at an early day. Addison Frazer, the father 
of Robert A. Frazer, came to Greenbrier 
County from Spottsylvania County, Virginia. 
His mother was a Miss Renick, of Falling 
Spring, Greenbrier County. The Renicks were 
also Scotch. Both Robert A. Frazer and wife 
died in Nicholas County. They had seven chil- 
dren, namely : Richard S., William A., Charles 
Herndon, Benjamin F. R. F., Sallie, Hannah 
T. and Rose. Robert A. Frazer died May 4, 
1906. His wife was Miss Harriet E. Summer- 
son, of Charlottsville, Virginia, sister of Rich- 
ard Summerson, of Augusta County, Virginia. 

Charles H. Frazer spent his boyhood on the 
farm and obtained his education in the sub- 
scription schools. He was eight years of age 
when he came to Kanawha County in 1865, and 
he was afterwards a member of an engineering 
corps engaged in construction work for the C. 
& O. Railroad Company. After the close of 
the Civil War, when the mines were opened in 
this county, Mr. Frazer became a coal prospec- 
tor, first as an expert for individual investors, 
and later for Charles Pratt & Company of New 
York, large land owners. He opened up the 
territory they own on Paint Creek in this sec- 
tion, interested outside capital in the same and 
later superintended the construction of the 
Kanawha & Pocahontas Railroad, now known 
as the Paint Creek Branch of the Chesapeake 
& Ohio Railway, for a distance of twenty miles 



between Pratt .and Milburn Creek. Mr. Frazer 
has been general superintendent for Charles 
Pratt & Company and the Paint Creek Coal & 
Land Company since 1896. He has had many 
interesting experiences and perhaps no one in 
this section is better qualified to pass judg- 
ment on coal properties and their possible 
means of development. In 1882 Mr. Frazer 
was superintendent of the laying of the track 
of the Paint Creek Railroad, a narrow-gauge 
line up Paint Creek for a distance of five miles 
to the noted Wacomah Mine, which was set on 
fire accidentally or otherwise during the Civil 
War, and is still aflame. He worked there for 
two years as foreman, and afterward was super- 
intendent of the road for five years, when he 
entered the employ of Charles Pratt & Com- 
pany, and examined for them 32,000 acres of 
coal and timber land in Webster County, West 
Virginia, on the headwaters of Gauley and Elk 
Rivers. Since then 22,000 acres of coal land 
have been developed under his superintendence 
on Paint Creek. Mr. Frazer is a stockholder in 
the Sullivan Coal & Coke Company and in the 
Wood-Peck Coal Company on New River. 

On June 24, 1879, Mr. Frazer was married 
to Carrie Caperton Smith, a daughter of Sam- 
uel and Martha Jane (Hansford) Smith, both 
of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Frazer 
have three children: Herndon Veazey; Mar- 
garet C, who is the wife of C. B. Coleman, and 
Roland Carter. With his family, he belongs to 
the Missionary Baptist Church, in which he is a 
deacon. 

ANDREW STERRETT ALEXAN- 
DER, lawyer and banker, and a well known 
and respected resident of Charleston, W. Va., 
was born in Putnam County, this state, 
August 7, 1867, a son of William Arbuckle 
and Leonora C. (Ruffner) Alexander. He 
is a descendant of Archibald Alexander, 
who came to America from Scotland in 
company with Benjamin Burden in 1737. 
Matthew of the second generation married 
Margaret Black and they resided at 
Waynesboro, Va. 

Samuel Alexander, son of the above 
mentioned and grandfather of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in Waynesboro, 



486 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Augusta County, Va., May 17, 1784. He 
removed to Mason County, where he was 
an early justice of the peace, which office 
he held for many years. It was in order 
for him to succeed to the office of sheriff, 
but his age prevented his acting, though he 
nominally held the office, his son, William 
A., who was his father's deputy, performing 
its actual duties. 

Samuel Alexander married Elizabeth Ar- 
buckle, daughter of William Arbuckle, who 
was born of Scotch parentage near Balcony 
Fall, on James river, in Botetourt County, 
March 3, 1752. He was a younger brother 
of Capt. Matthew Arbuckle, an officer of 
the British Army before, and of the Amer- 
ican Army during and after the Revolution- 
ary War. In 1777 William Arbuckle mar- 
ried Catherine Madison, a daughter of 
Humphrey Madison, of Botetourt County, 
Va., and born in 1754. She was a niece of 
Bishop John Madison of Virginia and of 
Gov. George Madison of Kentucky, and 
cousin to President James Madison. Her 
mother was Mary Dickinson, a daughter of 
John Dickinson, one of the signers of the 
Constiution of the United States, who pre- 
vious to her marriage with Humphrey Mad- 
ison, had married a Mr. Brown, by whom 
she had two sons, Adam and William 
Brown. 

Catherine Madison had twice married 
previous to her marriage with William Ar- 
buckle ; first to one William McClanahan, 
who was killed at the battle of Point Pleas- 
ant, October 10, 1774. She was married 
secondly in 1776 to one William Pogue, of 
Botetourt, Va., who lived but ten months after 
their n—rriage. 

In 1778 William Arbuckle moved to Ft. 
Rando'ph, now Point Pleasant, W. Va., at 
the mouth of the great Kanawha river, 
wher 1n e lived for fifteen years, and where 
five of his children were born. In the sum- 
mer of 1793 he returned to Ft. Savannah in 
Greenbrier County, Va., and in the winter 
of 1796-97, accompanied by Joseph McMul- 
len, his son-in-law, again returned to the 
Kanawha VaHey. He c'eared a field and 
planted corn and moved his family in the 



fall of 1797, settling a large estate on the 
great Kanawha river, some sixteen miles 
above Ft. Randolph, and building his house 
where the George W. Craig residence now 
stands and where he spent the remainder 
of his life. 

His wife, Catherine Madison, died July 
18, 1818, aged sixty-four years and he fol- 
lowed her on March 21, 1836, aged eighty- 
four years. They left nine children, namely: 
Jane M., Margaret T., Mary, William, Eliz- 
abeth, Kittie B., Xancy and Fannie L. Ar- 
buckle. Elizabeth Arbuckle, born July 15, 
1790, in Fort Randolph, married May 12, 
1812, Samuel Alexander, whose nativity 
has been already given. She died July 26, 
i860, aged seventy years, they leaving four 
children, viz: Mathew Thomas, William 
Arbuckle, Catherine Madison, and Andrew 
Black. William Arbuckle Alexander, the 
second child, was the father of the subject 
of this sketch, and will be further referred 
to herein. Catherine M., born in Mason 
County, Va., in 1818, married Benjamin 
Sterrett, and they had five children, namely: 
Boyd, Elizabeth, Samuel, Frances and 
William. Residence, Putnam County. An- 
drew Black was born March 8, 1826, and 
married Carrie Ruffner, and they had nine 
children — William, Samuel, Mary, Eliza- 
beth, Boyd and Price — three others dying in 
infancy. Residence, first in Mason County, 
W. Va. ; later. Pueblo, Colo. 

Matthew Thomas Alexander was born in 
Mason County, Va., February 8, 1815; mar- 
ried Elizabeth Hannan of Arbuckle record; 
died September 16, 1844. 

William Arbuckle Alexander was born in 
Mason County, Va., November 3, 1816. We 
have mentioned him as having performed 
sheriff's duties in Mason County as his 
father's deputy. He subsequently became 
sheriff of Putnam County, which was 
carved out of Mason and Kanawha, he hav- 
ing moved to what is now Frazier Bottom, 
where he beared a tract of land. On this 
he built in i860 a large brick residence, 
which is still standing. A part of his estate 
was a tract of 600 acres of woods and water, 
which he had received from his father about 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



487 



the year 1840. On December 15, i860, he 
married Leonora C. Ruffner, whose father 
was Augustus Ruffner, and mother Mary 
E. Rogers, daughter of Dr. Henry Rogers 
of Kanawha County. They were people 
highly respected and esteemed for their 
many sterling qualities. In 1871 he was 
elected to the state senate, in which he 
served with ability for four terms. From 
his own farm he gave a site for a church edi- 
fice, which was to be open for use by any 
orthodox denomination, although he him- 
self was a Presbyterian. William A. Alex- 
ander died at his home in Frazier's Bottom, 
Putnam County, W. Va., April 1, 1885. He 
and his wife were the parents of children as 
follows: Leonora, born September 13, 
1861, married C. C. Brown and has chil- 
dren. William x\rbuckle, Jr., born Septem- 
ber 24, 1863, is a merchant and ex-mayor of 
Bonner's Ferry, Ida., also state land inspec- 
tor; is married but has no children. Henry 
Ruffner, born February 22, 1866, was a jus- 
tice of the peace in Putnam County, W. 
Va., and member of County Court of Ferry 
County, Washington, now resides at Kel- 
ler, Wash., being a member of the state leg- 
islature; is married and has one child. An- 
drew Sterrett, born August 7, 1867, is the 
direct subject of this sketch, and will be fur- 
ther mentioned herein. Samuel Augustus, 
born July 4, 1869, died unmarried June 22, 
1897. Mary Elizabeth, born March 7, 1 871, is 
the wife of William E. Mohler of St. Al- 
bans, W. Va. ; no issue. Carolyn, born Feb- 
ruary 18, 1874, is the wife of C. E. McCoy, 
lives on the old homestead; no issue. Lucius 
Comstock, born October 12, 1875, is un- 
married and resides on the old homestead. 

Andrew Sterrett Alexander after acquir- 
ing a public school education was engaged 
in farming and teaching school for some 
time. He subsequently entered the law de- 
partment of the University of West Vir- 
ginia and was graduated in the class of 1890 
with the degree of B. L. In the same year 
he was admitted to the bar at Charleston 
and after two years' practice was elected 
prosecuting attorney of Putnam County, 
locating at Winfield, that county. Being 



reelected in 1896, he served two terms in 
that office. In 1900 he was nominated for 
the Senate by the Democrats of the Sixth 
Senatorial District, composed of Putnam, 
Cabell and Wayne Counties, but was defeated 
and he suffered a second defeat after his second 
nomination in 1904, the Senatorial District then 
composing Putnam, Cabell and Lincoln 
Counties. In 1905 he located in Charleston, 
where he has since practiced law. He was 
also his party's nominee as delegate to the 
legislature, but was defeated. In 1907 he 
was appointed city solicitor. He is secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Southern States 
Mutual Life Insurance Company, of which 
he was one of the incorporators, the con- 
cern doing an extensive business. He is a 
director and vice president of the Kanawha 
National Bank. He was also the organizer 
and the first president of the Bank of Win- 
field, of Winfield, W. Va., and is now a di- 
rector of the Putnam County Bank at Hur- 
ricane, W. Va. ; and one of the organizers 
and a director of the Point Pleasant Nation- 
al Bank. 

Mr. Alexander is a member of the Ma- 
sonic order, belonging to Kanawha Valley 
Lodge, No. 36, at Buffalo, W. Va. ; Chapter 
No. 7, R. A. M., Point Pleasant; Kanawha 
Commandery No. 4, K. T., and to Beni- 
Kedem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He 
is a deacon in the First Presbyterian church 
of Charleston and is a member of the City 
Democratic Committee. 

Mr. Alexander was married in Green- 
brier county, W. Va., to Elizabeth S. Mann, 
a granddaughter of William Mann, a pio- 
neer citizen of that county, and a daughter 
of Matthew Mann, now deceased, who was 
well known as a leading farmer, banker and 
financier. Their children are : Andrew Stir- 
ling-, born August 16, 1907; and Leonora 
Ruffner, born January 10, 19 10. 

NOAH C. POSTON, mine superintendent 
for three years of the Graham Mines in Elk 
District, Kanawha County, W. Va., is a suc- 
cessful farmer and since 1908 has also been 
engaged in a butchering business. He was 
born May 27, 1866, in Smith County, Va., and 



488 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



is a son of Thomas and Emily (Deborcl) Pos- 
ton. 

The father of Mr. Poston was born June 13, 
1836, and married Emily Debord, who was 
born April 13, 1844, and died January 2, 1897. 
They had one son, Noah C, who was born two 
weeks before his father left home on a journey 
from which he never returned and was never 
afterward heard from. 

Noah C. Poston was reared by his mother 
and attended school through boyhood. After- 
ward he followed steamboating on the Ohio and 
Kanawha Rivers and later followed farming 
for two years at Lock No. 8, and coal mining. 
For five years he was mining boss at Falling 
Rock, and for two years more was mine boss 
of the Mill Creek mines for the Cannel Coal 
Co. He then settled down to farming and with 
his additional work of butchering finds his 
time very thoroughly occupied. 

On December 4, 1887, Mr. Poston was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary Vickers, who was born De- 
cember 10, 1867, who is a daughter of W illiam 
M. and Telitha (Young) Vickers, and a grand- 
daughter of Mordecai Vickers and James 
Young, both of whom were pioneers in the salt 
industry in Kanawha County, both old and 
prominent families. Mr. and Mrs. Poston have 
had nine children, three of whom died in in- 
fancy. The survivors are: Maud E., who was 
born September 5, 1888, married Charles 
Hughes, and they have one daughter, Emma; 
Teletha V., w r ho was born September 22, 1893; 
Emma Lillian, who was born September 7, 
1895; Nellie, who was born July 15, 1897; 
Raymond, who was born August 10, 1899, and 
Noah C, who was born July 5, 1904. Mr. 
Poston is a Socialist in his views on public mat- 
ters but has never accepted any office. He. is 
identified with the fraternal order of Red Men 
at Villa. 

J. FERRE E. BEDELL, member of Board 
of Affairs of Charleston, W. Va., and one of 
the leading business men of this city, is inter- 
ested in several enterprises in the city of 
Charleston, devoting the most of his time to 
the city's affairs. He was born at McKeesport, 
Pa., Nov. 29, 1868, coming to Charleston in 
1875- 



Mr. Bedell left school in 1885 and became 
employed as a clerk in the Charleston National 
Bank and some years later became assistant 
cashier of the Kanawha National Bank, serv- 
ing as such for nine years. Later he secured 
coal interests and for three years had his head- 
quarters at Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he 
became connected with the wholesale grocerv 
trade. 

Mr. Bedell was married at Charleston, to 
Miss Cora Kiger, who was born and educated 
here. Two children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Bedell: Olive, born in 1902, and Fer- 
ree, in 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Bedell are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bedell 
was elected city treasurer on the Democratic 
ticket, serving four years and in April, 191 1, 
was elected a member of the Board of Affairs 
for a four year term, the first two years as 
vice-mayor, the last two as mayor. He is prom- 
inently identified with the Masonic fraternity, 
belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Com- 
mandery, Consistory and Shrine. 

MELCHISEDECK MOORE, who owns 
and operates a fern 7 across the Kanawha River 
at Pratt, W. Va., was a farmer for many years 
and is a veteran Union soldier of the Civil War. 
He was born April 10, 1843, in Nicholas Coun- 
ty. Va.. a son and one of thirteen children 
born to his parents, John A. J. and Mary (Mor- 
ton) Moore, both of whom are deceased, hav- 
ing lived in Clay County, W. Va., for many 
years before death. 

Melchisedeck Moore is one of the seven 
survivors of his parents' family. He remained 
on his father's farm until he enlisted for ser- 
vice in the Civil War, entering Co. C, 9th W. 
Va., July 13. 1862, under Captain N. H. Mc- 
Laughlin. He participated in many hard 
fought battles and during one year when he 
was in a cavalry regiment, almost every day 
brought a battle. He served until the war was 
ending and then returned to Kanawha County 
and went to farming in Maiden District. He 
came to Pratt, in 1904, at which time he started 
the ferry, purchasing the property from Mrs. 
Robert Dickinson. Two years later he erected 
his residence. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



489 



On November 12, 1864, Mr. Moore was 
married to Miss Sarah Bradley, a daughter of 
Joshua and Lucinda (Brown) Bradley, and 
nine children have been born to them, as fol- 
lows : Ella, who married Thomas Kelly ; John 
W., who married Nellie Spriggle; Robert M., 
who married Rose Young; Mary C, deceased, 
who was the wife of Walter Gibson; Noah, 
who married Lillian Vickers; George W., who 
married Emma Bryant; Columbus C, who 
married Anna Burns; Merideth, who married 
Pearl Giles; and Moses, who married Cather- 
ine Johnson. Mr. Moore is very proud of his 
five great-grandchildren, the whole family 
showing evidence of hearty and virile stock. 
Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Bap- 
tist church. In politics he is a Republican and 
he is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public. Few men in this section are better 
known. 

HON. WILLIAM ELLSWORTH 
GLASSCOCK, the present governor of the 
state of West Virginia, was born in Monon- 
galia County, this state, about forty years ago, 
a son of Daniel and Prudence (Michael) Glass- 
cock. He is a scion of an old Virginia family, 
whose early progenitors settled in Fauquier 
County at an early date. The Governor's 
grandfather, Andrew Glasscock, removed from 
that county to Monongalia County, where he 
followed farming and where his last days 
were spent. He married Mary Arnett, a Vir- 
ginia girl. 

Daniel Glasscock, the Governor's father, was 
born in Monongalia County, Va. (now W. 
Va.), and also followed agricultural pursuits. 
During the War of Secession he was captain 
of the Plome Guards, a Union company. He 
died July 18, 19 10, at the age of eighty-two 
years. His wife, in maidenhood Prudence 
Michael, whom he married in his native coun- 
ty, was a native of Marion County, W. Va. 
She died March 3, 1904, at the age of sixty- 
two years. They were members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. In politics Daniel 
Glasscock was a Republican. The family of 
Daniel and Prudence Glasscock numbered in 
all nine children, of whom there are eight now 



living, all married and the parents of children, 
except one only. 

William Ellsworth Glasscock acquired a 
good education, becoming a teacher at the age 
of eighteen years, and later entering the West 
Virginia University at Morgantown, where he 
continued his studies for several years. He 
then began the study of medicine in the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Baltimore, 
Md., but failing health subsequently induced 
him to give up the idea of a medical career and 
instead to take up the study of law. For this 
profession he laid a foundation during his ser- 
vice as clerk of the circuit court of his county, 
a position which he held for twelve years in 
all. He was admitted to the bar in January, 
1903, and about the same time began to take 
an active interest in politics, as a working mem- 
ber of the Republican party. His ability was 
early recognized and in 1904 he served as 
chairman of the State Republican Executive 
Committee, becoming secretary of the commit- 
tee after the nomination of the state officers in 
that year, a position he held for three years. 
In 1907 he was appointed by President 
Roosevelt, revenue collector for the District of 
West Virginia, and served in that capacity 
until his election as governor in 1908 for a 
term of four years. Since his election Governor 
Glasscock has made a creditable record, main- 
taining the best traditions of his party, admin- 
istering the duties of his high office in a con- 
scientious manner and with an intelligent un- 
derstanding of the needs of the hour and all 
questions affecting the public welfare, so as to 
gain the respect even of his political enemies. 
Of an active and nervous temperament he 
never feels more completely at home than when 
engaged in the performance of some necessary 
duty, particularly if it promises to be of ulti- 
mate benefit to his state or country. He is a 
member of the Masonic order, belonging to the 
Beni-Kedem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at 
Charleston; also to Lodge No. 10 of Morgan- 
town and the Encampment, I. O. O. F. ; and to 
Athens Lodge, No. 36, K. P., in his home 
town. 

Governor Glasscock married Mary Alice 
Miller, a native of Monongalia County, who. 



490 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



like her husband, comes of an old Virginia 
family. They have one living son, William 
Ellsworth Jr., who was born January 27, 1897, 
and is now attending the Charleston high 
school, being a member of the Class of 19 15. 

JOSHUA PARSONS, merchant at Clen- 
denin, W. Va., where he has been established 
since 1905, was born in Jackson County, W. 
Va., February 12, 1867, and is a son of George 
Wilson and Sarah Jane (Rhoades) Parsons. 

George Wilson Parsons, was torn in Jack- 
son County, March 26, 1845, ar, d died May 25, 
1902. He was a son of Joshua Parsons, and 
a grandson of John Parsons, the latter being 
a Revolutionary soldier. Joshua Parsons mar- 
ried four times, the mother of George Wil- 
son Parsons being a Stewart. George Wilson 
Parsons enlisted for service in the Civil War 
when only sixteen years of age, becoming a 
member of Co. K, 7th W. Va. Cav., in which 
he served out a first enlistment of one year and 
later reenlisted for three years or for the dura- 
tion of the war. He was with General McClel- 
lan during the whole time he was commander- 
in-chief, but was wounded at the second battle 
of Bull Run and then returned home and con- 
tinued his farm operations until the close of 
his life. He was a valued member of the G. 
A. R. Post at Ripley in Jackson County. Mr. 
Parsons was a man of exemplary life notwith- 
standing his youth when he left home and for 
years was separated from the protecting in- 
fluences of home environment. During his 
whole life he never used profane language, and 
never was addicted to either drink or tobacco. 
He belonged to a notably patriotic family, be- 
sides himself there being two brothers, two 
brothers-in-law, one half-brother in the army, 
and of these the two brothers died in prison 
and the half-brother was killed. George Wil- 
son Parsons married Sarah Jane Rhoades who 
died at the age of thirty-three years. Her par- 
ents were James and Anna (Board) Rhoades. 
Mr. Parsons was married secondly to Susan 
Reed, who survives, being in her sixtieth year. 
To the first marriage four children were born: 
Joshua, of Clendenin; C. H. and H. L., both of 
Jackson County; and Isadora, who is the wife 
of D. J. Deweese. To the second marriage the 



children born were: D. D., Lloyd, P. C, Jane 
and Ora. 

Joshua Parsons bears his grandfather's 
name. He was reared on the home farm and 
attended the schools of Jackson County, after 
which he was engaged in clerking for one year, 
then was a merchant for some years, afterward 
followed farming for a year and again clerk- 
ing. In 1901 he opened a grocery store at Rip- 
ley, W. Va., and moved from there to Clen- 
denin in 1905, opening his store on the Elk 
River near the site of the first store ever con- 
ducted here. He is a Republican and is a 
member of the town council. 

Mr. Parsons was married March 26, 1893, 
to De Morris Mangus, who was born February 
9, 1871, in Atchinson County, Kan., a daugh- 
ter of Ballard and Catherine (Thomas) Man- 
gus. The latter was a daughter of George D. 
Thomas of Scotch-Irish descent. His widow 
lived to be 10 r years of age, her death oc- 
curring July 19, 1909. The paternal grand- 
parents of Mrs. Parsons were Henry Thomas 
and Amanda (De Morris) Mangus. Mrs. 
Parsons was reared from the age of fifteen 
years by her grandparents, and was twenty- 
two at the time of her marriage. She was one 
of a family of twelve children. Mr. and Mrs. 
Parsons have had three children : Grace A., born 
in March, 1894; Charlotte Catherine, born in 
October, 1898; and Arthur, deceased. Mr. 
Parsons and wife are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. He is identified with 
the Modern Woodmen of America. 

THE CON FAMILY — This family had its 
origin in England where many of its members 
were active and prominent in various ways, 
and whence they came to the colonies prior to 
the Revolutionary war, settling first in the Old 
Dominion state (Va.). Early records show 
that Mary Peyton, of a family belonging to 
the English gentry and eldest daughter of 
Robert Peyton of Gilham (Eng.), a knight of 
the shire and a member of the English parlia- 
ment in the time of William and Mary, mar- 
ried Sir Richard Cox of Ely, and they are sup- 
posed on reasonable grounds to be the found- 
ers of the American branch of the family. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



491 



The Coxes were prominent in eastern Vir- 
ginia, being connected with many distinguished 
families of the state and of the South. Among 
their kindred were the Thermans, the Brecken- 
ridges, the Spottswoods and others almost 
equally well known throughout the Southland. 
One of them, William R. Cox (a family name) 
was clerk of the U. S. Senate for some years. 

The first American ancestor of the branch 
under present consideration was Peter Cox, 
who was resident in Campbell County, Va., in 
the middle of the 18th century. Peter had a 
son Jacob, who was born about 1750 and who 
became a well known man in the eastern part 
of the state. Jacob married a Miss Radford 
and they had five children — Milmer, Archer, 
John W., Patsey and William Radford. Arch- 
er was a distinguished soldier in the War of 
1 81 2 and participated in the battle of New 
Orleans, under General Jackson, as one of the 
Tennessee sharpshooters. He died later at 
Charleston. Patsey, the only daughter, mar- 
ried young, lived to be very old and died with- 
out issue. 

William Radford Cox, who is next in the 
present line of descent, being grandfather of 
Frank Cox of Charleston, was born in Camp- 
bell County, Va., March 5, 1788, the youngest 
of his father's children. He was by occupa- 
tion a farmer and salt maker. He died in 
Kanawha County, W. Va., in 1843. In 1823, 
at the age of 35 years, he married Elizabeth 
Hedrick, a Virginia girl, and not long after- 
wards came to Charleston, it being at that time 
but a mere hamlet. Here he owned three or 
four farms, one of which lay right on the very 
site of the present city. He was a busy and 
active citizen, a Democrat in politics and a 
member of the Presbyterian church. At one 
time he belonged to the order of Odd Fellows. 
His wife survived him, dying here in 1890 at 
the advanced age of ninety-one years. She 
was a co-religionist with her husband. They 
were the parents of one child, William R., Jr., 
who was born near Charleston, W. Va. (then 
Va.), in 1825, and who died here June 8, 1870. 

William R. Cox, Jr., was reared in Charles- 
ton or the vicinity and was given a collegiate 
education, being one of the first young men in 
this section to be sent to college. While yet a 



single man he joined the "forty-niners," or 
"Argonauts," as they have sometimes been 
called, making the journey to California via 
Cape Horn, and remaining on the golden 
shores of the Pacific slope for about eighteen 
months, and meeting with varied experiences, 
some agreeable and others the reverse. After 
his return he engaged in salt making, which 
occupation he carried on successfully. He died 
June 8, 1870. He belonged to the order of 
Odd Fellows, was a Democrat in politics, and 
in religion a Presbyterian. He served in the 
Civil War four years as quartermaster under 
Major Carr. 

He was married in this county to Elizabeth 
Wood, who was born here in 1833, and died 
June 8, 1880, a few hours from 10 years after 
her husband. She was a daughter of Henry 
Hewett and Ann (Reynolds) Wood, natives 
respectively of New York state and Kanawha 
County, W. Va. Her father when a young 
man became a strong southern sympathizer 
whereby he lost his substantial fortune. He 
died in Charleston at the age of seventy-seven 
years in 1883 ; his wife died here December 24, 
1879; she was aged sixty-five. They were 
members of the Episcopal church. 

They were the parents of four children, of 
whom two died young. Ida, born in Charles- 
tion in 1855, was educated in the public schools, 
married C. C. McDermott of Pennsylvania, a 
civil engineer who was for some time in the 
government employ, engaged in building the 
blocks and dams on the Kanawha river. Mrs. 
McDermott died leaving two children — Cath- 
erine and Elizabeth — and Mr. McDermott has 
since married again. 

Frank Cox, son of William R. and Elizabeth 
(Wood) Cox, was born on the old homestead, 
opposite the present site of Maiden, this coun- 
ty, November 19, 186 1. He was educated in 
the public schools and early became interested 
in mining and is now one of the prominent men 
in this line of industry in the state. He has 
operated extensively in the west as well as in 
West Virginia, and is at present associated 
with Mr. Albert E. Humphrey, who attends to 
the western business, having headquarters at 
Denver, Colo. The business includes extensive 
gold and silver mining interests. Mr. Cox is 



492 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



also secretary of the Republic Coal Co., at Re- 
public, W. Va., the West Virginia Colliery Co., 
of Wevaco, W. Va., and the Carbon Coal Co. 
of Carbon Kanawha County, W. Va. He 
spent some fifteen years in the state of Minne- 
sota, being one of those who opened the iron 
mines at Meseba, that state. He is one of the 
leading citizens and business men of Charles- 
ton and has contributed much to the welfare 
and advancement of the city, the interests of 
which he has ever at heart. 

Mr. Cox was married in Gallipolis, Ohio, to 
Miss Emma McClurg, who was born, reared 
and educated in Gallia County, Ohio, and whose 
father died in 1871 and mother in 1909. Mr. 
and Mrs. Cox have two children, both daugh- 
ters, namely: Margaret, born November 15, 
1889, who was educated in the city schools and 
at Columbia Southern College ; and Alice Boyd, 
born August 26, 1891, who is being educated 
at the same schools. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are 
members of the Episcopal church, 

HON. ADAM B. LITTLEPAGE. member 
of the United States Congress, to which he was 
elected in November, 19 10, from the Third 
Congressional District of West Virginia, has 
been conspicuous in Democratic politics in this 
state for a number of years and is also widely 
known as a foremost member of the Charleston 
bar. He comes from old Virginia stock, and 
his birth took place in Kanawha county, Va., 
April 14, 1859. His parents were Adam and 
Rebecca T. (Wood) Littlepage. 

Adam Littlepage was born in Greenbrier 
county, Va., where his French-Scotch ancestors 
had early settled. In 1840 he built salt works 
near Kanawha Saline, where he engaged in salt 
manufacturing and contracting, removing from 
there in 1847 to a farm near Kanawha Two- 
Mile. He possessed business qualifications of 
a high order and became a man of large estate. 
During the unhappy Civil AYar he suffered 
great losses, many of which he claimed to be 
unjust, and he subsequently gave up his life, in 
a duel at Dublin, Va., in an effort to substan- 
tiate his right to a valuable property. Although 
the large fortune which he had acquired was 
not preserved to his family, they were able to 
retain nine hundred acres of land, little of 



which, however, was contributive to the com- 
fort or maintenance of his immediate family. 
Adam Littlepage married Rebecca T. Wood. 
She was born in Kanawha county, Va., and 
died at Charleston, W. Va., in 1898, aged 
seventy-one years. Seven children were born 
to this marriage, several of whom died in in- 
fancy. One son, Alexander, became a noted 
physician, while Adam B. and Samuel D. both 
became lawyers, and both have gained promi- 
nence as members of the Charleston bar. 

Adam B. Littlepage attended the public 
schools in Kanawha county. The death of his 
father, in 1862, had brought about domestic 
changes and the advantages that might have 
been accorded the children of the family were 
measurably limited. When the youth decided 
to study law, he went to his uncle, who was a 
resident of Lodi, Ind., and remained with him 
until the latter's death, after which, for a time, 
he was employed in settling up his uncle's 
large estate. In his early endeavors to secure 
an education in law that would admit him to 
practice, Mr. Littlepage met with many dis- 
couragements which to a man of less determi- 
nation, would have caused his turning to some 
other means to gain a livelihood. Fortunately 
he had faith in himself, an important factor in 
the pursuit of any ambition, and struggled on 
until he attained his desire. In painful meas- 
ure, in his early years of law practice at New- 
port, Ind.. in which state he had been admitted 
to the bar. he was hampered by lack of means, 
increased somewhat by the desire as well as ne- 
cessity of contributing to the support of those 
dear to him. In this connection it may be men- 
tioned that when his income was fifty dollars a 
month, he sent thirty-five dollars of this amount 
to his mother. Also, in Indiana he found him- 
self not altogether in touch with the people and 
conditions which surrounded him. and after 
two years of trial, a natural feeling of home- 
sickness perhaps had its influence and he re- 
turned to Kanawha county. He opened an of- 
fice at Charleston and has never had cause to 
regret the move he made at that time. 

Mr. Littlepage has been more than usually 
successful in his profession and has won dis- 
tinction both as a criminal and civil lawyer. 
He has practiced alone and also with partners, 




HON. ADAM B. LITTLEPAGE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



495 



and in February, 1907, he became the senior 
member of the well known law firm of Little- 
page, Cato & Bledsoe, with offices in the Kana- 
wha Valley bank building, at Charleston. This 
association continued until February. 191 1, 
when the firm became Littlepage & Son. The 
younger member of the firm, S. Collett Little- 
page, is a graduate of the class of 1908, of the 
West Virginia College, and was admitted to 
the bar in September of that year. 

For many years Mr. Littlepage has been 
a prominent and loyal member of the Demo- 
cratic party in this state, but has never been un- 
duly anxious to secure office for himself. On 
one occasion his party brought him forward as 
a candidate for prosecuting attorney, when he 
was defeated by but forty-nine votes, a later ac- 
counting resulting in the division of the office 
between the two candidates. In November, 
1906, his personal popularity was well shown 
when he was elected to the state senate from a 
district that was over 3,000 votes normally Re- 
publican. He served ably through one term, 
being a member of the finance and other im- 
portant committees, but declined a second nomi- 
nation. He then withdrew from politics, de- 
voting himself more closely to his profession, 
but was recalled to public life by his party and 
in November, 19 10, was elected to Congress, 
overcoming a normal Republican majority of 
6,000 votes by 1,866 ballots. His nomination 
had been by acclamation and his election was 
held as a great triumph not only for himself 
but for his party. He will take his seat in 
March, 191 1. 

Mr. Littlepage was married April 8, 1884, to 
Eva Collett, daughter of Stephen S. and Jane 
(Dunlap) Collett. Her parents were natives 
of Vermillion county, Ind., Mr. Collett being 
president of Collett & Co.'s Band at Newport, 
Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Littlepage are the parents 
of two children, Clara Frances and S. Collett. 
The former, who is .a graduate of Lutherville 
(Md.) Ladies' Seminary, is the wife of F. W. 
Boyce. 

Mr. Littlepage is an enterprising citizen in 
all that concerns Charleston, lending his sup- 
port and influence to various movements calcu- 
lated to enhance her prestige and promote her 
moral or material prosperity. He is identified 



with the Masonic Order, the Odd Fellows, the 
Red Men and the United American Mechanics. 
A man of refinement and scholarly tastes, he 
takes justifiable pride in his excellent library, 
which is probably one of the most complete and 
well selected libraries in the whole state. 

ERNEST LEE MICHIE, superintendent of 
the mines of the Sunday Creek Company and a 
resident of Cedar Grove, W. Va., has lived in 
Kanawha County all his life and was born on 
the home farm near St. Albans, June 18, 1887, 
a son of Robert L. and Lena (Tompkins) 
Michie. 

Robert L. Michie was born in Virginia and 
grew to manhood on a farm and then came to 
West Virginia and near St. Albans, Kanawha 
County, was married to Lena Tompkins, a 
daughter of Beverly Tompkins and a grand- 
daughter of William Tompkins, one of the sub- 
stantial pioneers of this section. Robert L. 
Michie later spent some time in railroading 
and was a passenger conductor on the C. & O. 
Railroad, but now lives retired with his wife 
on his farm. They had three children : Ruby, 
who is the wife of J. L. Baumgardner, of New 
York city; Ernest Lee; and Beverly C, who 
resides at home. 

Ernest Lee Michie attended school in Jef- 
ferson District until he was thirteen years of 
age, when he became an employe of the Sun- 
day Creek Company and from a humble posi- 
tion has worked himself up through merit to 
the position of District Superintendent, this 
promotion coming to him in March, 191 1, when 
he succeeded J. W. Taylor. 

In November, 1907, Mr. Michie was married 
to Miss Bertha Morris and they have one son, 
Beverly Lee. Mr. Michie is prominent in Ma- 
sonry belonging to Coal Valley Lodge No. 74, 
F. & A. M. ; Tyrian Chapter No. 13, at Charles- 
ton ; Kanawha Commandery, No. 4, and Beni- 
Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine. 

DAVID A. BRAWLEY, county judge and 
county 'commissioner of Kanawha County, who 
has_ also carried on a prosperous hardware 
business in Charleston for thirty years past, 
was born in Big Sandy district, this county, 



496 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



December 2, 1855, a son of Henry T. and Sus- 
an (Snyder) Brawley. His great grandpar- 
ents on the paternal side came from County 
Cork, Ireland, early in the 19th century, set- 
tling in the Kanawha Valley, W. Va. The 
great grandfather was accompanied by two 
brothers, one of whom located in the Virginia 
Valley and the other at Geneva, Pa. The 
Brawleys of this county are all descended from 
one or another of these three branches. 

The great grandfather of our subject, whose 
name is now forgotten, had received a good 
education in his native land and following the 
occupation of a teacher, which he continued 
after coming to this country. He was of a 
good family, most of whose male members were 
noted for their size and physical strength. In 
religion he was a Roman Catholic. He mar- 
ried an Irish girl, who died in this valley, as 
did he also at an advanced age. 

Their son James, grandfather of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born in the Kanawha 
Valley and when he grew up was a very large 
and strong man, six feet four inches in height, 
and weighing 340 pounds. He acquired a good 
education and became a teacher and farmer, 
also serving for some time as an official of the 
county. His death, which took place at the 
age of fifty-five years, was due to an act of vio- 
lence. Being sent to arrest a man charged 
with a criminal offense, the latter struck him 
with the edge of an axe, sinking it deep into 
his chest. In spite of the wound he disarmed 
his man and took him to the lockup, but later 
died from its effects. He was a man well 
known in the valley, both for his valor and for 
his fairness of mind and keen sense of honor. 
He married Fannie Keeney, a native of the 
Valley, who survived her husband, dying at 
the age of seventy-seven years. She was of 
Irish parentage and a Methodist in religion. 
They were the parents of two sons and five 
daughters, all of whom married and had large 
families, ranging from eleven to fourteen chil- 
dren each. None of these brothers and sis- 
ters are now living. They were as follows: 

Washington, who was a farmer, lived and 
died in Big Sandy district, this county. He 
married Catharine Snyder, of German parents, 



who is also now deceased. They had a large 
family. 

Henry T., the other son, was the father of 
the subject of this sketch and further reference 
to him will be made herein. 

Adaline became the wife of Milton Snyder 
of Maiden district, a merchant and farmer, 
and both are now deceased. 

Lucinda married David Snyder, a tailor and 
grocer of Charleston. He enlisted in the Con- 
federate army at the age of fifty years, serving 
under "Stonewall" Jackson, and was severely 
wounded by a shell. Both are now deceased. 

Emaline became the wife of Daniel Snyder, 
a farmer and miller, who at one time, in early 
days, traded a rifle for 1.000 acres of land. 
His mill at Queen Shoals drew customers from 
over a radius of 100 miles. He and his wife 
both died in Big Sandy district. 

Jane married James Curry, a merchant in 
Maiden District. 

Henry T. Brawley, father of our subject, 
was born in Cabin Creek district, this county, 
in 1828. He was reared in his native district 
and adopted agriculture as his life occupation, 
making a sort of specialty of flax raising, tak- 
ing this product from the field and putting it 
through the various processes of manufacture 
until it was made into wearing apparel, the 
members of his family each taking part in the 
work. He was a quiet man, of domestic tastes, 
a good citizen, and in politics a Democrat. He 
and his wife were people of devout habits, 
members of the Methodist church, and held 
morning and evening prayer in the household. 

Mrs. Susan Brawley was the youngest child 
of a large family belonging to Rev. John Sny- 
der, the maiden name of whose wife was Boo- 
her. She was born in 1828 and died in 1891, 
in February, three weeks before the death of 
her husband. Her parents came to the present 
site of Charleston when the only visible habita- 
tions were three log cabins. The father was 
an educated man, a minister in the Methodist 
church from the age of twenty-one until his 
death. He walked two miles to preach his last 
sermon three weeks before his death. In the 
days of his early residence here he killed many 
bears and panthers and other wild game, never 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



497 



killing harmless animals, however, except for 
food. Besides attending to his pastoral work 
he followed farming, owning several thousand 
acres of land lying along the Elk river, which 
he subsequently divided among his children, of 
whom he had a large family. In politics he was 
a Democrat. He was eighty-nine years old at 
the time of his death, his wife dying at the age 
of seventy-four. 

Henry T. Brawley and wife had eleven chil- 
dren, as follows : Rosanna, wife of Lewis Hart 
of Charleston (have family) ; Anna, wife of 
Rev. James Ramsey, a Methodist minister re- 
siding in Missouri ; Washington B., clerk for 
our subject, married Corra Morgan (nee Mc- 
Clure) ; Mary J., deceased, formerly wife of 
C. M. Witter and a resident of Keystone, W. 
Va. ; David A., whose name appears at the 
head of this sketch ; Susan S., who was wife of 
J. H. Carwithers, now deceased (she lives in 
Charleston and has family) ; John Morgan, 
who died unmarried, being accidentally killed 
while engaged at his trade of tinner, by falling 
from a house; Lucida, who died at the age of 
seven years; Betsey, who died in childhood; 
Lillian, who is the wife of Frank Lewis of 
Charleston; and Daniel B., a real estate dealer 
of Charleston, who married Flora Donley. 

David A. Brawley was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of his district and grew up as a far- 
mer boy until reaching the age of seventeen. 
He then came to Charleston to learn the trade 
of tinner or tinsmith. He subsequently went 
into business on his own account, dealing also 
in hardware and other similar goods, and has 
been thus occupied for thirty years very suc- 
cessfully. He has also made judicious invest- 
ments in real estate both in and outside of 
Charleston, whereby he has added considerably 
to his fortune. Mr. Brawley has served his 
district as commissioner, president of the 
school board and a member of the city coun- 
cil. In 19 10 he was elected on the Democratic 
ticket as county commissioner, whereby he be- 
came one of the three judges of the county 
court, of whom two at least sit together. These 
judges fix the levies, finance the county's busi- 
ness and pay the bills. Mr. Brawley's election 
was by over 1400 majority in a county strongly 



Republican. He is a member of the order of 
Elks of this city. 

Mr. Brawley was married in Charleston to 
Miss Laura Temple, who was born in 1868 in 
Prince George County, Va., where also she 
was educated. Her parents were Joel and 
Dora (Belcher) Temple, the former now de- 
ceased and the latter still residing in Prince 
George County. Their farm was the site of 
Ft. Hell and Ft. Damnation, the scene of strug- 
gles between the Union and Confederate forces 
in the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Brawley are 
the parents of the following children: 

Robert M., residing at home, who is asso- 
ciated with his father in business; Mary Sus- 
an, who is attending the high school; John 
Morgan, residing at home; David Earle, Can- 
taline and Julia. 

By a former marriage to Miss Therina Lu- 
cadoe Mr. Brawley has three other children — 
Bessie, the wife of a Mr. Ayers, residing in 
Columbus, O., the mother of three children; 
Sallie, the wife of Richard Clarie of Charles- 
ton (has also three children) ; and William H., 
now with his father in business. Mr. Braw- 
ley's children are all strong, large and hearty 
to an exceptional degree and a credit to the 
communities in which they reside. The family 
are affiliated religiously with the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

JOHN P. RILEY, postmaster at Clendenin, 
W. Va., and one of the leading merchants, 
is a native of Kanawha County, born Septem- 
ber 15, 1854, in Big Sandy District, and is a 
son of Jesse and Hannah (Ellsworth) Riley. 

Jesse Riley was born in what is now West 
Virginia and as a young man became a mer- 
chant on Elk River and conducted a mercantile 
business near Blue Creek, for thirty years. 
He was a man of business standing and was a 
very active Republican. For many years he 
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church at Blue Creek. He married Hannah 
Ellsworth and thirteen children were born to 
them, the survivors of the family being: John 
P. ; Marcellus, who is a farmer in Big Sandy 
District; Melissa, who is the wife of M. Jack- 
son, of Roane County; and Caroline, who is 
the wife of J. Bevel, of Roane County. 



498 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



After his school, period was over, John P. 
Riley engaged in farming for his father until 
he was nineteen years of age and then bought 
a farm for himself in Elk District, which he 
conducted for eighteen years, when he came to 
Clendenin, where he has been engaged in mer- 
chandising ever since. On September 6, 1907, 
he was appointed postmaster. Politically he is 
a Republican and has served on important com- 
mittees and as a delegate to conventions. 

Mr. Riley married Miss Lucy Osborn, who 
was born in 185 1 , and they have had the fol- 
lowing children: Anna, who is the wife of H. 
S. Young, and has one child; Ella, who is the 
wife of S. W. Lynch, and has three children; 
John Wesley, who is a teamster, married Lizzie 
Summers and has three children : and Elmer 
Clark, who lives at home. Mr. Riley and fam- 
ily belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. 
He is identified with the Odd Fellows at this 
place. 

CAPT. WILLIAM H. TOMPKINS, one 
of the best known and most respected residents 
of Charleston, who is now living retired after 
a long and active career, is a native of the Kan- 
awha Valley and a descendant of William 
Tompkins, Sr., who was born in Virginia some 
years before the Revolutionary war. This 
worthy, who was in fact our subject's pa- 
ternal grandfather, lived and died in Hanover 
County, Va., where during his industrial per- 
iod he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
He married Mary Michie and their family con- 
sisted of seven children — Harry, James, John, 
William, Jr., Elizabeth. Salley and Polly, all 
of whom lived to a good age. They all mar- 
ried but Harry, and all the married ones 
have families except Polly. 

William Tompkins, Jr., was born near the 
home of Henry Clay, not far from Richmond, 
Va.. in 1793. Losing his father when he was 
a mere boy, a little later he accompanied his 
mother to Georgetown, Ky. There, when a 
young man, he enlisted in a Kentucky regiment 
to serve in the War of 18 12 with Great Brit- 
ain. He saw and participated in some warm 
fighting under Generals Harrison and Scott, 
but escaped unhurt. After his return from the 



war he settled in Kanawha County, Va. (now 
W. Va.). His mother died in 1853, when over 
90 years of age, having been twice married 
and there being children by both marriages. 
She was a native of Louisa County, Va. 

From 1 818 or 1820 to 1845 William Tomp- 
kins, Jr., operated a salt furnace at Burning 
Springs on the Kanawha river, during a part 
of this time being associated with his brother- 
in-law, Col. Aaron Stockton, and subsequently, 
up to 1857, the year of his death, he conducted 
it alone. He owned at Burning Springs over 
600 acres of land, which is still in the family 
name. Without assistance also he built a 
church, which he practically supported there- 
after and which was of the Methodist denomi- 
nation, of which faith he was an adherent. In 
politics he was a life-long Whig. He was a 
good conscientious man and was highly es- 
teemed as a useful and reliable citizen. His 
death occurred May 2, 1857. 

William Tompkins, Jr., was twice married; 
first to Jane M. Grant, of Kanawha County, 
who had the reputation of being the hand- 
somest woman in the Kanawha Valley. She 
was not destined, however, to length of days, 
as she died in 1830 when about 27 years old. 
She had been the mother of five children, but, 
as though the Angel of Death had speciallv 
marked out this family, all died in early in- 
fancy. Mr. Tompkins was subsequently mar- 
ried in this county to his second wife, Rachel 
Maria Grant, who was born in Washington 
county. Pa., September 6, 1805, a daughter of 
John Grant. She was an aunt of General U. 
S. Grant, being a sister of his father, Jesse R. 
Grant. When an infant she accompanied her 
parents to Maysville. Ky.. where she was 
reared and educated. It was while on a visit 
to Maiden. Kanawha county. W. Va., that she 
met and married Mr. Tompkins. She was a 
devoted member of the Methodist Church 
South and an earnest Christian woman, ex- 
emplifying her faith by her life, upholding that 
which was of good report, a sincere and help- 
ful friend and agreeable neighbor. She was 
highly esteemed by her nephew, General Grant, 
who. in 1873, while then President, paid her a 
visit at her home in this county. Here, at Cedar 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



499 



Grove, she died on May 17, 1882. She reared 
eight children, two others having died young. 
Those who reached maturity were as follows : 
Beverly, born Oct. 18, 1833, died at the age of 
49 years, April 17, 1882. He was married 
and had nine children, eight of whom are now 
living. He was a farmer. Virginia, born 
Sept. 7, 1835, is the wife of Rev. John C. 
Brown, a retired Presbyterian minister, living 
in Lewisburg, W. Va. They have eight 
daughters, of whom five are married. William 
H. is the direct subject of this sketch. Charles 
C, born July 26, 1840, resides in New York, 
where he is engaged in the real estate business 
He is married and has one son and three daugh- 
ters. Mary, born Oct. 31, 1841, died Aug. 28, 
1907. She was the wife of Col. Thomas B. 
Swann, who served in the Confederate army 
and was subsequently a lawyer in Charleston, 
but is now deceased. Of this marriage there 
were no children. Ellen R. (always called 
"Boone"), born Sept. 22, 1843, died March 2, 
1899. She married Col. Oliver A. Patton, also 
now deceased. They had a family of four 
children, three of whom are now living. Hen- 
ry Preston, born Sept. 1844, was accidentally 
killed by the cars near his home, Nov. 12, 
1907, at Cedar Grove. He was married and 
had five children, all now living. John Grant 
Wilson, born January 18, 1847, died July 8, 
1907. He was twice married and left one son. 

Capt. William H. Tompkins was born April 
4, 1837. He completed his education at the 
University of Virginia and was 24 years old 
when the Civil War broke out. He then, in 
1862, enlisted in the Confederate army as a 
member of the Commissary Department of the 
36th Battalion of Cavalry, receiving the rank of 
Captain. He was with his command at Gettys- 
burg and accompanied Lee's army on its re- 
treat. He was subsequently connected with an- 
other command, with which he remained until 
the surrender at Appomattox. The war being 
then practically over, he returned to his home 
to take charge of his father's affairs, his moth- 
er being still living. He was thus occupied un- 
til 1869, at which time he took charge of his 
father's salt furnace, which had been in other 
hands, and which he operated until 1876. He 



then changed the scene of his activities, becom- 
ing captain of a vessel on the Ohio and Kan- 
awha rivers, and he was afterwards captain 
and owner of the Virgie Lee, named after his 
two daughters, and which was the largest pac- 
ket on the Ohio river. After four years of this 
life, which was not devoid of incident, he re- 
tired. He purchased his present home at 1322 
Kanawha street in 1865, it being now one of 
the old landmarks on this street. He still has 
valuable business interests, owning 900 acres 
of coal land in the Cabin Creek district. In 
politics he is what might be termed an inde- 
pendent Republican, placing conscience before 
party, but supporting his party whenever he 
believes it to be in the right — the position that 
every good citizen ought to take. He was 
reared in the faith of the Methodist church and 
still adheres to it, and though he sometimes 
finds himself not fully in accord with the doc- 
trines of his church as put forth at the present 
day, it is due to the fact, as he puts it, that his 
church has left him, not that he has left the 
church. He is a man well informed upon local 
history, a subject in which he takes great inter- 
est, and he is well informed in many other di- 
rections, having, until his sight failed him, 
been a great reader. This great affliction came 
on him a few years ago, but he met it with 
manful resignation and with a courage worthy 
of the resolute men who wore the gray, as well 
as of those who wore the blue, in the days now 
long gone by. 

Capt. Thompkins was married in Charles- 
ton, W. Va., to Ellen Carr, who was born here 
Sept. 29, 1837, and has always resided in this 
city. She was educated at Piedmount Insti- 
tute for Ladies, at Charlotte, Va., graduating 
in the class of 1855. Her parents were Maj. 
James L. and Sallie (Cook) Carr. The father, 
born in Albemarle County, Va., in 181 1, was 
a graduate of the University of Virginia, and 
a lawyer, following his profession in Charles- 
ton. He was a strong Democrat and in re- 
ligion a Presbyterian. He served through the 
Civil War in the Commissary Department of 
the Confederate army, with the rank of major. 
He was once offered the position of Lieutenant- 
Governor of West Virginia, but declined it. 



500 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



His father, Samuel Carr, was near of kin to 
Thomas Jefferson. Maj. Carr died Feb. i, 
1875. Sallie (Cook) Carr was born in 1816 
and' died in May, 1880. She also was a Pres- 
byterian. She was the mother of six children, 
of whom one is now deceased. The living are 
as follows: Ellen, wife of the subject of this 
sketch; Lawrence, a retired physician of 
Charleston, who is married but has no chil- 
dren; John, a resident of Huston, Texas, mar- 
ried and with four children; Mary, wife of 
Lewis Caperton, who lives near Charleston and 
has a daughter, Fannie; and William, who 
went to the far West and has not since been 
heard from. 

Capt. and Mrs. Thompkins have six chil- 
dren living, whose record in brief is as fol- 
lows: W. W. Thompkins, born June 14, i860, 
graduated from Columbia college, New York, 
(Medical Department) in the class of 1882, 
and has since practiced his profession in 
Charleston. He is unmarried. Lawrence C, 
born March 17, 1866, resides on a farm in 
this county ; also unmarried. Mary is the wife 
of William A. Sheer, resides in Charleston and 
has one son, William T. Virginia Brown is 
unmarried and resides at home. Thomas S., 
born April 1, 1875, is a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Baltimore, and is now engaged in 
the practice of medicine in Lincoln county. He 
married and has two children — Thomas Blan- 
ford and Ellen Carr. Rachel Grant, unmar- 
ried, resides at home. Mrs. Thompkins and the 
children are members of the Presbyterian 
church. 

HON. CHARLES B. COLEMAN, mayor 
of Pratt, W. Va., is one of the representative 
citizens of Cabin Creek District and is identi- 
fied with both public affairs and business enter- 
prises in this vicinity. He was born at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., March 13, 1880, and is a son of 
Robert A. and a grandson of Nelson B. Cole- 
man. 

Nelson B. Coleman was born in Virginia 
and came to the Kanawha section when a 
young man. At first he was employed as a 
captain on a steam-boat and later was in the 
insurance business at Charleston. His death 



occurred at Maiden, Kanawha County, when 
he was eighty-six years of age and he was sur- 
vived but one year by his widow. They had 
four children : Robert A. ; Fannie, who is the 
wife of Prof. Patrick, one of the old teachers 
of Charleston; Charles N., who is deceased; 
and Lucy P., who is the wife of E. Oaks. 

Robert A. Coleman was born at Maiden 
when that place was larger and apparently had 
better future prospects than Charleston. In 
his earlier years he worked at salt manufactur- 
ing and transported the salt on flat-boats down 
the river to New Orleans. Still later he be- 
came cashier in the Kanawha Valley Bank at 
Charleston, where he continued to live until 
the time of his death, July 3, 1900, at the age 
of fifty- four years. For some years previously 
he had been connected with the office of the 
county clerk. He married Nancy V. Noyes, 
who died in 1896, the mother of six children, 
namely: Roberta, who is the wife of Dr. H. G. 
Nicholson, of Charleston; Charles Bradford; 
Fannie, who is the wife of J. A. Grimes, of 
Portsmouth, O. ; Almira A., who is the wife of 
\Y. S. Kennedy, of Chicago, 111. ; Bradford N. ; 
and Nancy. 

Charles B. Coleman obtained his education 
in the public schools and his first work was with 
the Western Union Telegraph Company, as a 
messenger boy. He then sold newspapers and 
later was an employe of the Hotel Ruffner at 
Charleston. Mr. Coleman then perfected him- 
self in stenography and after serving for a 
time as stenographer for Brown, Jackson & 
Knight, came to what is now called Pratt, in 
1900, accepting the position of stenographer 
for Charles Pratt & Co. Mr. Coleman has 
continued with this company and is now its 
cashier. He also entered into business for 
himself, becoming associated with L. H. Fer- 
rell in lumber operations on Paint Creek, un- 
der the firm name of L. H. Ferrell & Co. In 
June, 191 1, in partnership with his brother-in- 
law, H. V. Frazer, he took over the hardware 
business of his uncle, C. N. Coleman, at 
Charlestown, Jefferson County, W. Va., the 
same now being conducted as the Coleman 
Hardware Company, Mr. Frazer being the 
general manager. In politics Mayor Coleman 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



501 



is a Republican and his first political office was 
when he was appointed a page in the State 
Senate when he was a boy. Although he is 
yet a young man he has made many strides 
forward and in January, 191 1, was elected 
mayor of Pratt, and is giving his fellow citi- 
zens an admirable administration. 

On October 12, 1904, Mr. Coleman was 
married to Miss Margaret C. Frazer, a daugh- 
ter of Charles H. and Carrie (Smith) Frazer, 
and they have a son and a daughter: Charles 
B., born in August, 1905 ; and Caroline C, 
born March 27, 1910. Mayor Coleman is a 
member of the old Kanawha Baptist church 
at Pratt, which was established in 1792 and is 
the oldest church in the Kanawha Valley. 

JOHN H. WICK, D.D.S., who has been 
engaged in the practice of dentistry at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., since 1906, occupies well appoint- 
ed parlors in the Elk Banking Building, where 
he has all the equipments that are now made 
use of by the modern and up-to-date dental 
surgeon. He was born at Winfield, W. Va., 
in 1885, and is a son Elisha William and Phoe- 
be (Erskine) Wick. 

Elisha William Wick was born in Butler 
County, Pa., and in young manhood located in 
Putnam County, now West Virginia, where he 
still resides, being a business man at Winfield. 
He has been twice married. His first wife, 
Phoebe Erskine, was born in Putnam County 
and was a member of one of the old families 
of that section. She died in 1897, at the age 
of thirty-seven years. She was a devoted 
member of the Baptist church. Mr. Wick 
married second, Nettie Salmonds, a member of 
an old Virginia family. Elisha William Wick 
has three children, John H. being the second 
child and only son. His older sister, Mary, is 
the wife of Dr. M. E. Hoge, of Jackson, Ky., 
while the younger, Myrtle Clyde, is the wife of 
A. W. Gatens, a merchant at Bancroft, W. Va. 

John H. Wick attended the public schools of 
Winfield and then took a preparatory course in 
the University of West Virginia, after which 
he entered a school of embalming, where he 
completed the course and for four years after- 
ward followed embalming as a profession. He 



then turned his attention to the study of den- 
tistry, and was a student for two years in a 
dental school at Cincinnati, subsequently en- 
tering the Northwestern University of Chica- 
go, 111., where he was graduated in the class of 
1908. In 1906 Dr. Wick established himself 
at Charleston and for two years was associated 
with Dr. H. S. Barr, in 1908 opening his pres- 
ent office, as stated above. He has a large 
practice, and is one of the most successful of 
the younger professional men of this city. He 
has as his associate, Dr. W. A. Barringer, who 
graduated from the dental department of the 
University of Michigan, in the class of 19 10. 

Dr. Wick was married at Cedar Grove, to 
Miss Theresa Beirne who was born in Kana- 
wha County, W. Va., in 1889. They have one 
daughter, Helen G., who was born January 23, 
19 10. Dr. Wick and wife are members of the 
Presbyterian church. He belongs to a number 
of fraternal organizations and is a Royal Arch 
Mason. Politically he is a Republican. 

JOHN H. CARTER, superintendent of the 
Chesapeake Mining Company and a resident of 
Handley, W. Va., was born December 10, 
1869, at Maiden, Kanawha County, W. Va., 
and is a son of Lieut. Henry Lewis and Emma 
(Duling) Carter. The father of Mr. Carter 
was reared in the vicinity of the Maiden salt 
works, where the grandparents then lived but 
they later moved to Missouri. Henry Lewis 
Carter became mate on a steamboat, the Kitty 
Hagler" — hence his title — but later he engaged 
in the salt business. He married Emma Du- 
ling, whose father and brother were also prom- 
inent in salt manufacturing here. They had 
five children, John H. being the third in order 
of birth. The eldest, Charles, is deceased. 
Hattie is the wife of Eugene Rook. George 
and Ernest both reside in Kanawha County. 

John H. Carter attended the Maiden schools 
in boyhood and earned his first wages as water 
boy for the construction gang on the C. & O. 
Railroad. Later he went on the river on the 
"Ida Budd," which was commanded by his 
uncle, Capt. John Duling. Afterward he had 
charge of the pumping station for the first 
water works system of Charleston, and later 



502 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was connected with the Pioneer Coal Company 
and then the Ensign Car Manufacturing Com- 
pany, building cars, and still later was carpen- 
ter for the Quinamount Coal & Iron Company. 
In 1890 he came to the present company as a 
carpenter and has gradually worked his way 
upward until he now is superintendent of this 
large concern. His career has been creditable 
in every way and Mr. Carter enjoys as he de- 
serves, the confidence and esteem in which he 
is held. 

In January, 1900, Mr. Carter was married 
to Miss Lottie Lewis, a daughter of J. B. and 
Anne E. (Collins) Lewis. They have one child, 
Anna Lewis. Mr. Carter is a member of 
Coal Valley Lodge, A. F. & A. M. at Mont- 
gomery, W. Va. 

CAPT. LUCIUS CARY ANDERSON, 
deceased, who, for many years was identified 
with the practical operating of the C. & O. 
Railroad, in Kanawha county, W. Va.. and 
was a veteran of the Civil war, having served 
in the Confederate army in the noted regi- 
ment, the Richmond Howitzers, was a man 
whose sterling qualities were recognized by 
all who knew him and whose genial nature 
won and kept friends. His title was one that 
was given him by his railroad associates, in 
recognition of his fidelity and efficiency in that 
connection. 

Lucius Cary Anderson was born April 26, 
1837, in Hanover county, Va., and his death 
occurred at Charleston, W. Va., July 3, 1888. 
His father, John P. Anderson, was a native of 
Virginia and prior to the Civil war he was a 
slave owner and his large plantation was called 
Verdon, the station of that name being still so 
known on the C. & O. Railroad. The mother 
of Lucius Cary Anderson was a member of 
the old Doswell family of Hanover county, 
and they reared a large family, Lucius Cary 
being one of the intermediate members. He 
was reared and educated in Hanover county 
and in early manhood became a hardware mer- 
chant at Richmond. After his father's death 
he turned his attention to railroading and sub- 
sequently was made conductor on the C. & O. 
line and he continued as such until within eigh- 
teen months of his death. His efficiency was 



evidenced by the fact that during his many 
years of service, no accident ever occurred 
where he had control and not one dollar of 
railroad property was ever destroyed. His 
courtesy and unfailing good humor made him 
a general favorite with the traveling public. 
His military service continued through the 
Civil war and he was with his regiment when 
General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. He 
then returned home and resumed peaceful pur- 
suits and his subsequent life proved that he 
was as reliable in these surroundings as he had 
been on the field of battle. He was once slightly 
wounded, but otherwise escaped the many haz- 
ards of war. 

At Staunton, Va., Capt. Anderson was 
married to Miss Mabel Peyton, who was born 
at Charlottesville, Albermarle County, Va., and 
was carefully educated in a convent school, 
where she remained, for seven years. Since 
the death of her husband she has resided at 
No. 212 1-2 Broad street, Charleston. She is 
a member of the Baptist church, as was her 
husband. Two children were born to Captain 
and Mrs. Anderson, namely: Ella Howard, 
born at Huntington, W. Va., who was educated 
at Charleston, and is a very expert stenog- 
rapher, residing at home; and Bernard Pey- 
ton, who is a student also of the Charleston 
high school, and resides with mother and sis- 
ter. He is now one of chief clerks for the 
Capitol City Supply Company. 

Mrs. Anderson was the only daughter born 
in a family of four children to her parents, 
the late Col. John Bernard and Isabel (How- 
ard) Peyton. These names belong to Vir- 
ginia's earliest history. Colonel Peyton was 
one of a family of ten sons born to his parents, 
all of whom were natives of Albemarle county, 
born at Park Hill, which was the name of the 
old Peyton plantation. Seven of the Peyton 
sons served in the Confederate army and all 
returned home without injury with one ex- 
ception, he losing an arm but not his life. 
Colonel Peyton gained recognition for his 
braven r as a soldier and he was equally hon- 
ored in times of peace. For some years after 
the war he was chief clerk in the Virginia leg- 
islature and after settling at Charleston, in 
1871, he was made chief clerk of the West Vir- 




PHILIP H. XOYES 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



505 



ginia legislature and was thus engaged at the 
time of his death. Perhaps no better summing 
up of the long and useful life of Colonel Peyton 
could be made than that contained in the House 
Journal of the West Virginia House of Dele- 
gates, which appears on page 305 of the rec- 
ords of the session of 1907. This document 
reads as follows : 

"Whereas, Since the last session of the leg- 
islature of West Virginia, Col. J. Bernard 
Peyton, who was clerk of the House Delegates 
for many years, has departed this life, we, the 
members of this House, deeming it meet that 
some expression be given the high esteem in 
which he was held, and of appreciation of great 
public service rendered by him: therefore, 

"Resolved, That in the life and long public 
service of Col. Peyton, were exemplified those 
sterling qualities of mind and heart essential in 
the character of a public servant, a 'gentleman 
of the old school,' he was uniformly courteous 
and obliging to all with whom he came in con- 
tact; a Democrat of the most rugged and un- 
compromising type, and having served as Clerk 
of the House for almost a quarter of a century, 
when his party lost control in 1901, as a com- 
pliment to the minority and to avail themselves 
of his great parliamentary knowledge and expe- 
rience, the Republican majority tendered to Col. 
Peyton a position in the House, which he ac- 
cepted and continued to hold through each suc- 
ceeding session until death removed from the 
stage of action the most accomplished parlia- 
mentarian the State of West Virginia has ever 
produced, and with the ample incident power 
to impress, influence, impede or promote legis- 
lation, he was always true and unswerving 
from the line of right, regardless of conse- 
quences, political or otherwise, and the pres- 
ent and succeeding legislatures may profit by 
a strict adherence to those precedents of parlia- 
mentary procedure interspersing the records of 
the House during Col. Peyton's long connec- 
tion therewith; 

"Resolved, That we deplore the death of Col. 
Peyton as a distinct loss to the State and to all 
of us who had the honor of his personal ac- 
quaintance." 

Other honors were shown Col. Peyton and 
on many occasions, had he so wished, he could 



have been the standard-bearer of his party in 
political campaigns. He was appointed in 
1893, as parliamentarian from West Virginia, 
to attend the World's Columbian Exposition, 
at Chicago, 111., and served in that capacity 
with dignity and effectiveness. 

Col. Peyton married Isabel Howard, who 
was born in Richmond, Virginia, and died in 
1900, aged sixty years. Of their four children 
two survive: Mrs. Anderson and Bernard, the 
latter of whom resides at Huntington, W. Va., 
where he is associated with a wholesale shoe 
house. One son died at the age of ten years 
and another, William Henry, passed away at 
the age of ten years and another, William 
Henry, passed away at the age of thirty years. 
The death of Col. Peyton occurred at Charles- 
ton, in January, 1906, he then being sixty-five 
years of age. While liberal-minded to all re- 
ligious organizations, Col. Peyton belonged to 
an old Baptist family and in accordance with 
this religious faith he lived consistently. He 
was a worthy representative of a family that 
has produced many men of distinction in differ- 
ent walks of life, and many of these have been 
born on Virginia soil. 

PHILIP H. NOYES, whose death on No- 
vember 20, 1898, deprived the city of Charles- 
ton of one of its leading citizens and wholesale 
merchants, was born in Charleston, W. Va., 
September 20, 1835. His ancestors in the six- 
teenth century were French Huguenots, who to 
escape religious persecution in their native 
land, took refuge in Ireland. From there in 
1634 came Nicholas, James and Peter Noyes 
to the American shores, settling in Newbury- 
port, Mass. Some of their descendants mi- 
grated to other parts of the country, and in 
1808 three brothers, Isaac, Bradford, and 
Franklin L. Noyes, of whom the last mentioned 
was the father of the subject of this sketch, 
came from Canaan Four Corners, Columbia 
county, N. Y., to Kanawha county, now West 
Virginia. Another brother, Charles, also set- 
tled in Virginia, and subsequently all four 
brothers became associated together in the 
manufacture of salt in Kanawha and Saline 
counties. This was at that time a leading in- 
dustry and in time the Noyes brothers became 



506 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



men of ample means, looked up to and re- 
spected by their neighbors. Bradford Noyes 
died in 1850, the other three brothers surviv- 
ing him for a number of years and dying each 
at an advanced age. They carried on their 
business mostly, for a number of years, in the 
saline section near Maiden, but in later life they 
settled in Charleston. All were married and 
had families. 

Franklin L. Noyes, like his brothers, was a 
prosperous and well known citizen at the time 
of his death. He was a member of the Presby- 
terian church and a Whig in politics. He was 
twice married, first to Nancy Helveston, who 
was the mother of all his children, seven sons 
and one daughter. For his second wife he mar- 
ried Sallie Venable, who died without issue. 

Philip H. Noyes was the fourth son and child 
of his parents. He entered mercantile life at 
the early age of sixteen years, at first in asso- 
ciation with his father. Later be became a 
partner with C. C. Lewis in the wholesale 
grocery business, theirs being the second whole- 
sale house in Charleston. After some years 
this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Noyes 
went into the wholesale dry goods and notions 
business, being associated therein with his sons 
under the firm name of P. H. Noyes & Sons. 
After his death in 1898, as above recorded, the 
firm became known as Noyes, Thomas & Co., 
and is now one of the largest wholesale houses 
in the city. 

Mr. Noyes served in the Confederate army, 
enlisting in 1861 in the Kanawha Riflemen and 
serving for more than two years. He later re- 
sumed his business and was successful, though 
he lost heavily during the war. He was a 
deacon in the Presbyterian church. 

Philip H. Noyes was married in Charleston 
in 1868 to Miss Kate A. Wilson, a daughter of 
Nathaniel V. and Elizabeth (Ruffner) Wilson. 

Nathaniel V. Wilson was born at Farmville, 
Va., in 1814, and was educated at Hamden- 
Sidney College. He came to Kanawha county 
in 1834 and in the following years was married 
here, his wife being a native of Charleston and 
daughter of Daniel Ruffner. Mr. Wilson died 
in Charleston in 1905 at the venerable age of 
ninety-two years. To his very last days he 
was active in mind and body, was able to walk 



several miles and employed himself much of 
the time in gardening. Coming of a Presby- 
terian family, he was himself a member of that 
church. His parents were Dr. Goodrich and 
Elizabeth (Venable) Wilson, the former a 
graduate of the Philadelphia Medical College 
and a well known physician of Prince Edward 
county, Va. Dr. Wilson died on his farm some 
twelve miles below Charleston when quite old. 
He was a much respected citizen. His wife 
was of the well known Venable family of Vir- 
ginia, and she also died in Kanawha county at 
an advanced age. 

Their granddaughter, Mrs. P. H. Noyes, was 
born June II, 1836, in a locality that is now 
included within the limits of the city of Charles- 
ton. She was educated in private schools and 
at the Episcopal Institute at Staunton, Va. 
She and her husband were the parents of chil- 
dren as follows: (1). Katherine A., who was 
educated in private schools and is the wife of 
W. C. Shelton, a druggist of Charleston. She 
had by a former marriage to Blake Stewart of 
Kentucky, two children, Philip M. and Kather- 
ine E. (2). Philip H., Jr., now residing in 
San Francisco, Cal., married Ann K. Gentry, 
who is now deceased. He has one son, Philip 
H., 3d, who resides with his grandmother. 
(3) Wilson married Grace Davis of Athens, 
Ohio. He died at the age of thirty-two years, 
leaving no issue. (4). Elizabeth R.. is the 
wife of Samuel Adams, of New York city, and 
they reside in San Francisco, Cal. Their chil- 
dren are Hester Hopkins and Katherine Noyes 
Adams. Mrs. Noyes and all her children are 
affiliated with the Presbyterian church. 

WILLIAM G. MOORE, postmaster at 
London, Kanawha county. W. Va.. where he 
also carries on a mercantile business and deals 
also in real estate, has been a lifelong resident 
of this county. He was born on a farm in Cabin 
Creek District. December 19, 1881, and is a 
son of Samuel and Armilda (Bradshaw) 
Moore. 

Samuel Moore came earlv to Cabin Creek 
District and now owns a farm and conducts a 
store near Dickinson, W. Va. He married 
Armilda Bradshaw. and they have had ten 
children, namely: Charles W.. J. Benjamin. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



507 



William G., Mary L., Lydia, Pearl, Nora, 
Julia, Archie and Cecil, two of the above — 
Lydia and Pearl — being deceased. 

William G. Moore spent his boyhood on the 
farm and attended the district schools, later 
taking a business course in a commercial col- 
lege at Lexington, Ky. In 1901 he began 
work with the Winifrede Coal Company store 
and for four years served in different capaci- 
ties being bookkeeper and manager. In 1905 
he came to his present location and purchased 
the small store then conducted by Thomas Hud- 
dleston. Two years later he erected his pres- 
ent substantial building, three stories high, 
with dimensions of 24 x 48 feet. He carries 
a general line of merchandise and is doing well 
and since 1906 has been postmaster. 

In March, 1909, Mr. Moore was married to 
Miss lone Huddleston, a daughter of Thomas 
and Anna (Crook) Huddleston, and they have 
one interesting little son whom they have 
named Sterling. Mr. Moore is a member of 
the Odd Fellows at London, W. Va. 

HENRY HISSOM carries on truck farm- 
ing and market gardening on his property on 
Crecent Road, West side, Charleston, W. Va., 
also conducts a meat market and grocery store 
on Bigley avenue and is one of the busy and 
substantial business men of this section. 

James Hissom, the grandfather of Henry 
Hissom, was born in Tyler County, W. Va., 
(then Va.), about 125 years ago, moving from 
there to Monroe county, O., where his death 
occurred at the age of 106 years. He followed 
agricultural pursuits and drew a pension from 
the government, on account of service in the 
War of 1812, when he w.as little more than a 
boy. He was also in the Federal army during 
the Civil War. He spent many years in out- 
door life, to which he attributed his wonderful 
vitality. His children and grandchildren often 
listened with interest to his tales of hunting ad- 
ventures in Ohio and West Virginia in his 
early years. He was 100 years old when he 
lost his footing on slippery ice and fell a dis- 
tance of 100 feet, this accident causing feeble- 
ness during the last six years of his remarkably 
extended period of life. He married and had 



the following children: Ellis, who died when 
past middle life, left children, one of his sons, 
J"ames Hissom, having become a millionaire 
through oil production, in Monroe county; 
Thomas, who was a farmer in Monroe county, 
married and had a large family, but few of 
whom survive ; and James, who was the young- 
est born. 

James Hissom, Jf., was born in Monroe 
county and lived and died there, his decease be- 
ing in 1854, when about forty years of age. 
He was a strong Democrat. Although he had 
never identified himself with any religious 
body, on his death bed he confessed his belief 
and died in a living faith. He was married in 
Monroe county, O., to Ruth Knight, who sur- 
vived her husband for twenty-six years. Her 
parents were Quiller and Betsey Knight. To 
James and Ruth Hissom a large family was 
born, the only survivor being the youngest son, 
Henry Hissom, of this record. 

Henry Hissom was born near Woodsfield, 
O., in Monroe county, October 28, 1853, grew 
up on the home farm and lived there until 
1876. He then came to Roane County, W. Va., 
where he continued to reside until 1890, when 
he came to Charleston. Here he purchased the 
property above alluded to, on Crescent Road, 
every part of which he has utilized in a profit- 
able way. In addition to his truck gardening 
he has two greenhouses and thus is able to 
supply the early market with choice vegetables 
as well as plants and flowers. 

Mr. Hissom was married in Monroe county, 
O., to Miss Alphenia Jane Faggert, who was 
born there in 1856, a daughter of Michael and 
Teckla (Wyserd) Faggert, who were natives 
of Germany. They were married in Ohio and 
died on their farm in Monroe countv. Both 
were worthy people in every respect and con- 
sistent members of the German Methodist 
church. Seven children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Hissom, one of whom, Clella, died in 
infancy. The others are: Phoebe Loraina, 
born in Ohio, who is the wife of Peter Sim- 
mons and they live in Roane county, W. Va., 
and have children ; Charles, who was born in 
Roane county, operates the store and meat 
market for his father, married Augusta Mvers, 
who, at death, left one son, Bernard, who lives 



508 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



with his grandparents ; Maggie, who was born 
in Roane county, married Ernest Meyer and 
they live in Charleston and have three children ; 
Lola, who was born in Roane county, is the 
wife of Allen Spradling, of Charleston, and 
they have one child; Earl, who was born at 
Charleston, assists his brother in the store and 
market; and George Dewey, who is still in 
school. Mr. Hissom and family attend the 
Methodist Episcopal church on Bigley street. 
Mr. Hissom is somewhat active in local poli- 
tics and is a committeeman on the Democratic 
ticket in his ward. 

JOEL H. RUFFNER, who for many years 
has been a man of affairs at Charleston, . Va., 
and identified with leading business interests, 
is a member of one of the old and conspicuous 
families of the Kanawha Valley. He was 
born at Charleston, April 23, 1859, and is a 
son of Capt. David Lewis and Frances (Ruff- 
ner) Ruffner. 

Capt. David Lewis Ruffner was born in 
Rockbridge county, Va., and was a son of Dr. 
Henry Ruffner, who was the founder of the 
Presbyterian church in the Kanawha Valley 
and gave land and contributed to the support 
of its early ministers. The Ruffner familv has 
always been Presbyterian in church connection. 
Captain Ruffner was captain of Co. H, 226. 
Va. Reg., in the Civil War, which made so not- 
able a record for bravery as the Kanawha Ri- 
flemen. It was made up of the flower of the 
Confederacy in this section. Captain Ruffner 
was a civil engineer by profession and he sur- 
veyed the route for the C. & O. Railroad along 
the Kanawha river. His death occurred in 
1896. 

Joel H. Ruffner secured a public school edu- 
cation and being of industrious habit, almost 
in boyhood became connected with one of the 
oldest wholesale grocery houses of this city, in 
which he has steadily advanced until he has be- 
come the head of the clerical department of 
this large concern, of which he is now book- 
keeper, secretary and manager. He is a man 
of quiet, steady influence and his efforts have 
always been in the direction of peace, law, edu- 
cation and good citizenship. He is a Knight 



Templar Mason and is a member of all the 
subordinate branches at Charleston. 

Mr. Ruffner was married at Charleston. 
June 8, 1886, to Miss Dorcas Blaine Laidley, 
who was born in this city in 1865 and was ten- 
derly reared and carefully educated. She is a 
daughter of Capt. Richard Quarrier Laidley 
and a granddaughter of Major Alexander T. 
and Dorcas (Blaine) Laidley, and bears her 
grandmother's name. The latter died when 
aged but twenty-one years, leaving one child, 
Richard Quarrier. She belonged to a family 
that has produced people of importance and 
one of her kinsman was of national distinction, 
the late Hon. James G. Blaine. Alexander T. 
Laidley married for his second wife, Rowenna 
McFarland and they then moved to what is 
now Charleston. Here they became leaders in 
social and church circles and being devout 
Episcopalians, they donated land for church 
purposes and also gave the ground on which 
the present state house stands, making a con- 
dition of their generous gift that the capital 
should be removed from Wheeling to Charles- 
ton. 

Richard Quarrier Laidley was born at 
Wheeling in 1834 and died at Charleston in 
1872. He was a man of much prominence in 
this city for years. During the Civil War he 
was an active and valiant soldier and near its 
termination succeeded Capt. Lewis Ruffner as 
commander of a company in the Kanawha 
Riflemen. He married Lydia Whitteker who 
was the youngest of twelve children and was 
born on Capital street, Charleston, on the pres- 
ent site of the Y. M. C. A. building. There 
was the homestead of Aaron Whitteker, who 
was a pioneer from Massachusetts in the Kan- 
awha saline regions. He came as a true pio- 
neer, having walked the entire distance from 
his New England home to Maiden, (now") W. 
Virginia, and became a man of wealth and large 
importance in this section. He married Betsev 
D. Quarrier and thus became connected with 
one of the most prominent families of the Kan- 
awha Valley. The mother of Mrs. Ruffner 
died in 1895. when aged fifty-two years. She 
was a woman of such beautiful character that 
she was beloved bv all who had ever come with- 
in her winning influence and she was mourned 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



509 



by white and black, rich and poor, young- and 
old. Her memory is lovingly preserved not 
only by her own family but in the hearts of 
hundreds who, in her comparatively short life, 
she had endeared to her by her kindness and 
sympathy. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Ruffner seven children 
have been born, namely: Diana Laidley, 
Lydia Fontaine, Richard Laidley, David 
Lewis, Percy L., Dorcas Lyle and Mar- 
garet Keith. Mrs. Ruffner is a member of 
the Daughters of the Confederacy. In his 
political sentiments Mr. Ruffner is a Demo- 
crat but he has never accepted any political 
office, although he is a loyal worker for his 
friends. 

CHARLES F. STERRETT, merchant at 
Charleston, W. Va., member of the firm of 
Sterrett Brothers and president of the com- 
pany, was born on the old Sterrett home- 
stead, on the banks of the Ohio river, in 
Mason county, W. Va. His parents were 
William S. and Mary (Miller) Sterrett. 

William S. Sterrett was born in Mason 
county, now in West Virginia, a son of Wil- 
liam and Mary (Bell) Sterrett, who were 
natives of Augusta county. William Ster- 
rett was a well known man, a lawyer by 
profession, and served as county clerk of 
Mason county. His family was large and 
one son, William S. Sterrett, succeeded to 
the old homestead. He died comparatively 
early — in 1864 — leaving a widow and five 
children. He married Mary Miller, who 
was born in Shenandoah county, Va., and 
died at Charleston in 1899. The following 
children were born to William S. Scerrett 
and wife : Helen, who is now deceased, was 
survived by her husband, Frank Hoy and 
five children — Mary, Caroline, Charles, 
William and Robert; Josephine, who died 
in 1909, resided at Charlestown, unmarried; 
William Robert Lee, a member of the firm 
of Sterrett Brothers, married Minnie Her- 
rold, and they have two children — Herrold 
and Helen; and James B., who is the junior 
member of the firm of Sterrett Brothers, 
merchants. 



Charles F. Sterrett has been more or less 
connected with merchandising since he was 
fifteen years of age. The death of his father 
imposed responsibilities on him at that 
age, which included assisting his mother 
and looking after the rearing and educating 
of his younger brothers. He entered a 
mercantile establishment in the capacity of 
clerk and through industry and fidelity was 
advanced until he became chief clerk of a 
firm that moved their business from Ohio 
to Charleston, twenty years ago. Mr. Ster- 
rett accompanied them and in a few years 
decided to embark in business for himself, 
in association with his two younger broth- 
ers, who had already gained mercantile ex- 
perience. The present great department 
store was begun in a small way, the loca- 
tion being on the west side of Capitol 
street, where they rented property. They 
opened up their business in 1892 and by 
1896 had so prospered and established so 
excellent a credit that they w T ere able to 
purchase two very desirable lots just across 
the street from their first business site, 
these being at 112 and 114 Capitol street, 
with dimensions of 50x125 feet. Continued 
prosperity enabled them to improve this 
property and they now have a fine substan- 
tial building, four stories in height, with 
basement, and with 26,000 feet of floor 
space. The inside finishing of the building- 
is tasteful and appropriate, and it is lighted 
and heated according to the best and most 
approved modern systems. The firm caters 
to a discriminating public, but a complete 
stock is carried suited to almost every 
taste and purse. In addition to dry goods 
and notions, it includes ladies' and chil- 
dren's wearing apparel and carpets and 
house furnishings. A recent improvement, 
the placing of a plate glass display window 
for exhibition purposes, indicates the enter- 
prise of the firm, and has met with public 
approval. 

Charles F. Sterrett has been the moving 
spirit in the building up of this large busi- 
ness and while credit must be given to all 
the members of this succesful firm, as hon- 
orable and enterprising business men, the 



510 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



president of the company has stood at its 
head and with wisdom guided it through 
all the early and uncertain years. Mr. 
Sterrett is unmarried but he has reared and 
cared for five nephews and nieces and has 
not only educated them but has found em- 
ployment for them in his busy mart. As a 
firm and individually, the Sterrett Brothers 
are representative men of Charleston, hon- 
orable in business, thoughtful, intelligent 
and public spirited in public matters, and 
reliable, generous and agreeable in private 
life. 

CHARLES F. ARMITAGE, secretary 
and treasurer of the Payne Shoe Company, 
an important business enterprise of Charles- 
ton, W. Va. is widely known all through 
this section, having been identified with 
railroad affairs for a number of years. He 
was born November 23, 1873, in Meigs 
county, O., and is a son of Francis Marion 
and Eliza (Donnally) Armitage. His pa- 
ternal grandfather was George Moreland 
Armitage, who was born in Westmoreland 
county, Pa., in 1803. The grandmother, 
whose maiden name was Maria Ward, was 
born in Washington, O., in 1805. 

Francis Marion Armitage was born near 
Athens, Ohio, 81 years ago and is a highly 
esteemed resident of Akron at the present 
time (191 1 ). His people were early set- 
tlers in the Western Reserve. They were 
of pioneering spirit and later moved into 
Indiana and died in Bluffton. that state, 
when more than 80 years old. Mr. Armi- 
tage followed the painter's trade during his 
active years and lived for some time at Mid- 
dleport, Ohio. He has always been a 
staunch supporter of the Democratic party. 
He is a member of the Universalist church. 
He married Ann Eliza Donnally, who was 
born in 1835 and was reared in Ohio. Her 
parents were Ann and Eliza (Clough) Don- 
nally. Her father was born in Greenbrier 
county and was a namesake and nephew of 
Col. Andrew Donnally, a Revolutionary sol- 
dier. The Donnallys were large land own- 
ers in Ohio and Virginia. Mrs. Armitage's 



mother Eliza Clough Donnally was born at 
or near Farmington, Me. 

To Francis M. Armitage and wife five 
children were born, of whom Charles F. 
was the youngest. The others are: Wil- 
liam G., who follows a general contracting 
business at Akron, O. ; Clara M., who re- 
sides with her parents ; Harriet, who is the 
wife of T. C. Coates, of Akron, and has one 
son, Charles; and Andrew Donnally, who 
is general manager of the Whitman Barnes 
Manufacturing Company, of Ohio and Illi- 
nois. He married Maude McLillian and 
they have one daughter, Frances M. They 
reside at Akron. 

Charles F. Armitage attended the public 
schools of Middleport, O., until he was six- 
teen years of age and then became agent 
and telegraph operator there for the K. & 
M. Railroad, remaining three years. He 
then came to Charleston, where for five 
years he was train dispatcher for this road, 
and for two years served in the office of 
superintendent, as chief clerk. In 1900 he 
went with the firm of Lewis Hubbard & 
Co., as credit man, and in 1903 he came to 
his present firm, becoming credit man and 
also secretary and treasurer. 

Mr. Armitage was married at Charleston 
to Miss Osa Stuart, who was born and 
reared at GallipoHs, O., a daughter of J. R. 
and Nancy (Houck) Stuart, now of Charles- 
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Armitage have two 
children : Donnally Stuart, who was born 
August 19, 1897; and Florence Mae, who 
was born May 26, 1901. They are members 
of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Armitage votes with the Republican 
party but takes no very active interest in 
politics. He is a representative business 
man and a reputable and useful citizen. 

J. WILLIAM LEMON, a prosperous 
farmer of Union district, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., where he owns 140 acres of fine 
land situated eleven miles northwest of 
Charleston, was born in Monroe county, 
Va., November 9, 1862, in the year preced- 
ing the admission of West Virginia, in 
which state he has spent his life. He is a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



511 



son of J. S. Lemon and a grandson of Peter 
Lemon. 

J. S. Lemon was born in Virginia, March 
9, 1834, and attended school in Monroe 
county, after which he learned the shoe- 
making trade and followed the same in 
Monroe county until the close of the Civil 
War, when he moved to Kanawha county, 
where he settled for seventeen years. From 
there he moved then to Fayette county 
and engaged in farming, having acquired 
30 acres of land, and became a man of am- 
ple fortune through his agricultural opera- 
tions. In his younger years he was of ro- 
bust constitution but his health has not 
been as satisfactory for the past few years. 
Shortly after the termination of the Civil 
War he became associated as a traveling 
minister of the Methodist church, South, 
but is now superannuated. He is well 
known and kindly remembered all through 
Kanawha county. He is a Democrat in 
politics and at one time served as constable 
of Union district. Mr. Lemon is identified 
with the Masonic fraternity. 

J. S. Lemon was married at Flat Rock, 
Monroe county, Va., to Miss Margaret 
Jane Finton, a native of Ohio and a daugh- 
ter of John Finton. Seven children were 
born to them, namely: Margaret, who is 
the wife of J. T. Lanham, of Putnam 
county, W. Va. ; John A., who resides at 
Charleston, married Susan Asbury; Mary 
Susan, who is the wife of W. C. Scidmore, 
residing in Fayette county; Harriet Ann, 
who died when aged eighteen months ; J. 
William ; Virginia Caroline, who is the wife 
of J. B. Haynes, residing in Fayette county; 
and Alfred B., who died in infancy. The 
mother of the above family died in Fayette 
county at the age of seventy-six years. 

J. William Lemon attended school in 
Kanawha county until he was eighteen 
years of age, after which he devoted himself 
to farming and after his marriage, for 
twelve years carried on farming and work- 
ing in the timber, in Fayette county. From 
there he moved into Putnam county and 
resided there for seven yars, during which 
time he was engaged in mining as well as 



farming, and then came to his present place 
in Union district, Kanawha county. He 
subsequently made many improvements, 
remodeling the old buildings and erecting 
new ones and has his property in excellent 
shape. He carries on general farming and 
dairying. He is a member and a stock- 
holder and was formerly president of the 
Fairview Telephone Company of Union 
district and Putnam county. 

Mr. Lemon was married September 24, 
1884, to Miss Willie E. Haynes, who was 
born in Fayette county, W. Va., January 
27, 1866, a daughter of A. J. Haynes and 
wife, the former of whom was born in Fay- 
ette county, and the latter near Urbana, O., 
July 19, 1825. To Mr. and Mrs. Lemon the 
following children were born: Clyde L., 
who married Iva Odell, of Nicholas county, 
and has one son, Kenneth Olin; Emery O., 
who married Nannie J. Dooley, af Nicholas 
county, and has two children — James 
Kermit and Nell; Icy M., who is the wife 
of K. J. Odell, of Nicholas county, W. Va. ; 
Margaret T., who died at the age of fifteen 
months; Ida S., James A. and Effie J., all 
of whom are promising students in the 
Union district schools; Fletcher A., Eugene 
L. ; and Hugh I., who died when aged seven 
weeks. 

In his political views, Mr. Lemon has 
always been active in support of the prin- 
ciples of the Democratic party. On the 
Democratic ticket in 1908 he was elected a 
member of the board of education in Union 
district and served with faithful attention to 
duty for a period of four years.. With his 
wife he is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, South, in which he is one of 
the stewards. He is identified fraternally 
with the Knights of Pythias at Raymond 
City, W._ Va. The family is one that is 
held in high regard in Union district. 

GEORGE S. COUCH, JR., a well known 
citizen of Charleston and a prominent mem- 
ber of the Kanawha county bar, was born 
in this city July 31, 1880, a son of George S. 
and Laura (McMaster) Couch. He is a 
descendant of Samuel Couch, born Septem- 



512 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ber 16, 1752, probably in Pennsylvania and 
who at an early day was engaged in tilling 
land that is now the site of West Philadel- 
phia. This early ancestor of our subject 
purchased several thousand acres of land in 
Goochland county, Va., where he settled in 
1777. At that time he was a large slave 
holder, but subsequently becoming a 
Quaker, he liberated all his slaves. He 
married in the old Swedish church at Phil- 
adelphia, Ann Quig, who was born at Mt. 
Holly, N. J., in October, 1854. They both 
died in Virginia — possibly in Hanover 
county — at an advanced age. Their chil- 
dren were : Rebecca Webb, who married 
Anthony Robinson; Daniel, who is next in 
the present line of descent; and Ann Wool- 
ston, who married Christopher Anthony of 
Virginia, who was an eminent lawyer. All 
the members of this family were of the 
Quaker faith. 

Daniel Couch, son of the above men- 
tioned Samuel, and great grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, was born in Hanover 
county, Va., April 9, 1782. He there mar- 
ried Sarah Richardson, who was born June 
21, 1782 and who died November 16, 1852. 
After their marriage they came to what is 
now Mason county, W. Va., settling on a 
farm which formed a part of the land 
granted General Washington for his mili- 
tary services, and lying along the Kanawha 
river. Here Daniel Couch spent the rest of 
his life engaged in tilling the soil. He was 
successful in his avocation and became well 
known along the Kanawha valley. He died 
on his plantation December 5, 1824. 

James Henry Couch, son of Daniel and 
Sarah Couch, and our subject's paternal 
grandfather, was born in Hanover county, 
Virginia, on the old homestead known as 
"French Hay," August 3, 182 1. After com- 
ing to the Kanawha valley with his father 
he resided on the farm or plantation in 
Mason county, becoming a lawyer and a 
man of great influence in that section. He 
was a delegate to the secession convention 
at Richmond in 1861, held to determine the 
question as to whether or not Virginia 
should go out of the Union. He was op- 



posed to secession, but seeing the tide set- 
ting strongly in that direction, he withdrew 
before the vote. He died on his estate, 
"Longmeadow," where he had spent the 
last thirty or forty years of his life, No- 
vember 24, 1899. Few citizens of Kanawha 
county were better known, none more 
highly esteemed. In politics he was a 
staunch Democrat. He had married in 
Mason county, Helen J. Waggener, who 
was born July 5, 1825, and who spent her 
life in that county, passing from life's scenes 
April 25, 1 901. She was a daughter of Col. 
Andrew Waggener. who was treacherously 
killed while riding a horse on the highway, 
just after the battle of Point Pleasant, in the 
Civil War. Her mother, whose maiden 
name was Attara Bell, survived her hus- 
band for some years. 

James Henry Couch and wife were the 
parents of a large family of children, of 
whom there are six still living, as follows : 
John, a farmer residing in Mason county, 
who married a Miss Day of that county; 
George S.. Sr., father of our direct subject; 
Charles B., an attorney of Charleston, who 
married Rachel Brown, of Lewisburg, W. 
Va., ; Samuel, residing on a farm in Mason 
county, who married Sallie Miller; Mar- 
garet A., wife of Edward M. Craig, a book- 
keeper residing in Charleston, and whose 
children are Edward M. J. and Helen 
Couch Craig; and Frederick A., a dentist 
practicing his profession in Raleigh county, W. 
Va., who is married and has a family. 

George S. Couch, Sr.. was born on the 
family estate in Mason county, then Vir- 
ginia, January 1, 1852. Beginning his edu- 
cation in his native county, he later gradu- 
ated from the college at Marietta. O. Sub- 
sequently taking up his residence in 
Charleston, he was admitted to the bar and 
has since earned a reputation as an able 
lawyer. He first formed a partnership with 
Charles Hedrick. this firm was later dis- 
solved and he then became the partner with 
Edward B. Knight, and for some twelve or 
fifteen years thereafter the firm of Knight 
& Couch was recognized as the leading law 
firm of the city. After the death of Mr. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



513 



Knight, Mr. Couch retired for a time from 
the practice of his profession, but later 
formed the firm of Couch, Flournoy & 
Price, which did a good law business for 
some years. Mr. Couch then — in 1905 — 
retired permanently from law practice, and 
is now exclusively interested in his fine 
stock-farm and plantation that has come 
down to him from his father. He was the 
organizer and up to the time of his retire- 
ment from business the president of the 
Kanawha National Bank. He is a Demo- 
crat, but has always avoided active partici- 
pation in politics. His religious affiliations 
are with the Presbyterian church. 

George S. Couch, Sr., was married in 
Marietta, Ohio, to Laura McMaster, who 
was born in New York state of Scotch an- 
cestry, and daughter of the Rev. James W. 
and Mary (Baker) McMaster. Her father, 
who was a prominent Universalist minister, 
died on the old Couch home in Mason 
county in 1910, being then 89 years of age. 
His wife had preceded him to the grave a 
few years previously. Mrs. Laura Couch 
received a careful training and was given 
a good education by her parents. She is a 
member of the Kanawha Presbyterian 
church. She and her husband have been 
the parents of three children, namely: 
George S., Jr., whose name appears at the 
head of this sketch ; Mary McMaster, who 
was educated in the Peebles-Thompson 
school in New York city, is the wife of Dr. 
H. H. Young, of Charleston, and has two 
children — Mazie Hopple and William 
George; and Lucy Richardson, New York, 
is the wife of Henry Edmondson Payne, 
vice-president of the Payne Shoe Company, 
and has a son, Henry E., Jr. 

George S. Couch, Jr., was born in 
Charleston, W. Va., July 31, 1880, as al- 
ready noted, and began his literary educa- 
tion in the city schools. He subsequently 
attended a school at Lawrenceville, N. J., 
and after graduating there, entered Prince- 
ton university, from which he was gradu- 
ated in the class of 1903. He then began 
the study of law at he University of Vir- 
ginia and after duly qualifying himself, was 



admitted to the bar in 1905. He is now a 
member of the firm of Brown, Jackson & 
Knight, which handles a large amount of 
important litigation. In this conection Mr. 
Couch has proved himself to have a firm 
grasp of his profession, and as he is a young 
man of energy, ability and ambition, doubt- 
less the future has much in store for him. 
He is well advanced in Masonry, belonging 
to the various branches of the order, in- 
cluding Beni-Keedem Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine. In politics he is a Democrat. 

Mr. Couch was married December 15, 
1909, in Charleston to Miss Keith Fontaine, 
who was born in this city, March 18, 1884 
and was here reared and educated. Her 
father was Major Peter Fontaine, who mar- 
ried Mrs. Lydia Laidley, nee Whittaker. 
Both are now deceased. By her first mar- 
riage Mrs. Lydia Fontaine had children. 
Her first husband, Capt. Richard Q. Laid- 
ley served bravely in the Confederate army 
as captain of Kanawha Riflemen, 22d Vir- 
ginia Regiment. Of the marriage of our 
subject and wife there are no children. 

ROBERT SCOTT SPILMAN, a promi- 
nent attorney of Charlston, a member of 
the well known law firm of Price, Smith, 
Spilman & Clay, was born at Warrenton, 
Fauquier county, Virginia, March 22, 1876. 
His father was William Mason Spilman, son 
of John A. Spilman and Susan Rogers, his 
wife, of Warrenton ; and his mother Hen- 
ningham Lyons Scott, a daughter of Rob- 
ert E. Scott, of Oakwood, near Warrenton, 
and Henningham Lyons, his third wife. 

Both the Spilman and Scott families set- 
tled at an early time in the fertile Piedmont 
section of Virginia, among the eastern foot- 
hills of the Blue Ridge, and both took a 
lively interest in the affairs of their county 
and state, furnishing a number of county 
officers, judges, and representatives of Fau- 
quier county in the legislatures of Virginia, 
in ante-bellum days, as well as in more re- 
cent years. Robert E. Scott, Mr. Spilman's 
grandfather on the maternal side, was one 
of the leading Virginia lawyers of his day. 
In politics he was an old line Whig. Like 



514 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



most of the residents of this section of Vir- 
ginia, he was opposed to secession until he 
conceived Virginia had been practically 
forced out of the Union. He took a promi- 
nent part in the Virginia legislature which 
passed the ordinance of secession. A few 
years later, during the Civil War, he was 
killed, near his home at "Oakwood," while 
engaged with other gentlemen of the neigh- 
borhood in attempting to capture two ma- 
rauders who had straggled from the Fed- 
eral army and were terrorizing a commun- 
ity left defenseless by the enlistment of all 
its men of military age in the Confederate 
armies. 

John A. Spilman was a successful mer- 
chant and business man of Warrenton, liv- 
ing at his home, "Conway Grove," on the 
outskirts of this hospitable old Virginia 
town until the time of his death in the 
eighth decade of the last century. 

William Mason Spilman, his eldest son, 
and father of Robert S. Spilman, was one 
of the many gallant soldiers which Fau- 
quier county furnished to the Confederacy. 
After several vain attempts he enlisted at 
the age of fifteen in the Warrenton Rifles, 
commanded by Capt. John Quincy Marr. 
He was shot thorugh the face and desper- 
ately wounded at Williamsburg. After re- 
covering, he joined the cavalry and served 
for a time as a scout under Col. John S. 
Mosby, and later with the famous Black 
Horse Troop, until the close of the war. 
After the war he engaged in business at 
Warrenton, and subsequently in enter- 
prises that took him to Mexico and South 
America. While in the latter country he 
contracted a fever from the effects of which 
he died at Warrenton, December 18, 1897. 
He was survived by his widow, now living 
at Richmond, Va., and four children, 
namely: Robert S., of Charleston, W. Va. ; 
John A., a constructor in the United States 
navy; Henningham L., widow of Otto T. 
Hess, now living in Richmond ; and Sue 
Conway, wife of David L. Leake, of Rich- 
mond. 

Robert S. Spilman, who was the eldest 
child of his parents, was educated in the 



public and preparatory schools of Warren- 
ton, the Virginia Military Institute, and the 
University of Virginia. After graduating 
from the Virginia Military Institute in 
1896, he was comandant of cadets for a 
year in the Sewanee grammar school, a 
branch of the University of the South, at 
Sewanee, Tenn. For two years thereafter 
he was an assistant professor in the depart- 
ment of modern languages, in the Virginia 
Military Institute, at Lexington. He stud- 
ied law at the university of Virginia in 1899 
and 1900, and comemnced the practice of 
the law in the summer of 1900 in the office 
of Flournoy, Price & Smith, at Charleston. 
After the death of Mr. S. L. Flournoy of 
that firm, he became a member of the law 
firm of Price, Smith, Spilman & Clay, with 
which he is still connected. 

Mr. Spilman was married in April. 1907 
to Miss Eliza Polk Dillon, daughter of the 
late Col. Edward Dillon, of Indian Rock, 
Va., by whom he has three children — Rob- 
ert S., Jr., Frances, and Edward Dillon. 

WILLIAM TAYLOR THAYER, deceased, 
who, for many years was identified with inter- 
ests of the greatest importance, coal and iron, 
in West Virginia, was a lifelong resident of 
Charleston, where he was born in 1831, and 
died May 5, 1901. His father was Job E. 
Thayer, who was born in Braintree, Mass., and 
a son of Abel Thayer, of old Colonial Puritan 
stock and who commanded a company of 
"Minute Men" at the Battle of Lexington, in 
I 775- J 0D E. Thayer was the contractor for 
the Croton waterworks system for New York 
city, and in that work lost his fortune; to re- 
pair this disaster he turned his attention to an 
entirely different section and came to Virginia, 
locating on French creek, Upshur county, and 
later in Kanawha county. 

Fannie Taylor, the wife of Job E. Thayer, of 
Braintree, Mass., was a woman of strong char- 
acter and was the first highly educated woman 
west of the Allegheny mountains; she also 
taught the first school west of the Alleghenies. 

William T. Thayer was one of the active men 
of Kanawha county and was exceedingly suc- 
cessful in all of his undertakings. In associa- 




WILLIAM T. THAYER 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



517 



tion with his brother Otis A. Thayer, he dis- 
covered, owned and operated coal mines and to 
such an extent that both realized fortunes of 
large proportions. The New River coal mines 
owned by them and by their heirs, are still 
sources of wealth. He was a man of sterling 
worth in every relation of life, a broad-minded 
and far-seeing citizen when he turned his atten- 
tion to public affairs. He served in the Con- 
federate army during the Civil War, as a mem- 
ber of the "Kanawha Riflemen," but, when his 
duty had been performed, gladly returned to 
a life of peace. . 

He was notably charitable and gave generous 
support to the First Presbyterian church, of 
which he was an active member. 

Mr. Thayer was married December 17, 
1863, at Maysville, Ky., to Miss Ann Eliza 
Atkinson, who was born at St. Louis, Mo., a 
daughter of John Cape and Susan Bright 
(Fleming) Atkinson, names very familiar both 
in Kentucky and Missouri in connection with 
both business and professional life. John Cape 
Atkinson, father of Mrs. Thayer, was born in 
Lexington, Ky., in 1812, and died in Fort 
Smith, Ark., in 1871. He was a Southern cot- 
ton planter, owning many slaves. He belonged 
to a family in which all the sons and daughters 
were given college educations. The mother of 
Mrs. Thayer was born in Lexington, Ky., in 
1816, and died in Fort Smith, Ark., in 1891. 
She was a member of the famous Fleming fam- 
ily, owning cotton plantations and large num- 
bers of slaves. The Fleming ancestral record 
has been preserved unbroken clear back to Lord 
Fleming, uncle of Mary, the unhappy Queen of 
Scots. Mrs. Thayer was carefully educated 
and is a lady of very agreeable presence and en- 
tertaining conversation. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Thayer three children were born: William 
Taylor, Mary Atkinson and John Atkinson. 
William Taylor Thayer, Jr., was born in 
Charleston, August 19, 1866, educated at Pur- 
due University, Lafayette, Ind., and is a promi- 
nent business man of this city. He married 
Mrs. Jessie (Kay) Beckley, daughter of James 
Kay. Mary Atkinson is the wife of Sidney 
Arthur, an attorney at law, and the only son of 
Judge William E. Arthur, of Covington, Ky. 
John Atkinson who is an attorney in Charles- 



ton, was educated at Swarthmore College, 
Pennsylvania and Harvard University, and 
was an officer in the Spanish-American War. 
For four years he served with the rank of Cap- 
tain on the personal staff of ex-Governor Mac- 
Corkle. Later he served as a delegate in the 
West Virginia Legislature. He married 
Katharine, daughter of Joseph W. Reinhart, 
late president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa 
Fe railroad, and Lizzie Allison, of Pittsburgh, 
Pa. They have two children : Mary Elizabeth, 
born November 5, 1902, and Josephine Rein- 
hart, born January 7, 1904. Mrs. Thayer and 
family are prominent in the social life of the 
city. 

WILLIAM MAIRS, M.D., a retired 
physician and a former member of the West 
Virginia state legislature, has long been one 
of the prominent men of Union district, 
Kanawha county, W. Va. He was born 
April 3, 1827, in Jefferson county, Pa., at- 
tended school in Jackson county, Va., and 
secured his medical education in a medical 
school at Cincinnati. 

Dr. Mairs began practice at Ripley, in 
Jackson county, now West Virginia, where 
he continued for two years and then came 
to Pocotaligo, Poca district, Kanawha 
county, and here has been the field of his 
professional labors. Dr. Mairs is known all 
over the county both as a physician and also 
as a public man. For a number of years 
he served as a justice of the peace and twice 
he was honored by his fellow citizens by 
election to the state legislature. Dr. Mairs 
has a farm of 300 acres in Poca district, but 
since the death of his wife has resided with 
one of his daughters, Mrs. J. E. Layne, on 
a farm of thirty-seven and one-half acres, 
situated in Union district, eleven miles 
north of Charleston. 

Dr. Mairs was married October 17, 1850, 
to Miss Martha Aultz, who was born No- 
vember 2, 1829, and died May 28. 1874. 
She was a daughter of Adam and Martha 
Aultz, belonging to a fine old family of this 
section. The following children were born 
to this marriage : J. B., the eldest, was born 
June 25, 1851, and is a farmer on 251 acres, 



518 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



situated twelve miles north of Charleston; 
Martha Ann, who was born February 21, 
1853, is the wife of Leftrich Milam, of Poca 
district, and they have six children — Ben- 
jamin, Minnie, Claude, Pearl, Verna and 
Carter; Adam T., who was born February 
14, 1855, is a physician at Charleston, mar- 
ried Louisa Gibson, and they have three 
children, the eldest being a physician — Att- 
lee, Tressa and Bessie; W. B., who was 
born March 1, 1857, resides in Poca district 
and married Virginia Morgan; Melissa J., 
who was born April 2, 1859, is the wife of 
J. E. Layne, of Union district ; Mark W., 
who was born September 8, 1861, resides in 
Iowa and married Josie Richey; H. C, who 
died in infancy; John W., who was born 
March 5, 1865, resides at Charleston, mar- 
ried Laura Marley and they have one child, 
Mildred Joyce; Mary Minerva, who was 
born July 22, 1867, married first, Samuel 
Rust, who left three children, and married 
secondly, Andrew McClanahan; and James 
D., who was born January 2, 1870. The last 
mentioned left home at the age of twenty- 
one years for the far West and has never 
returned, but after being absent eighteen 
years, they had a letter from him, a few 
weeks ago, informing them that he is now 
in Illinois. Dr. Mairs is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church as was also 
Mrs. Mairs. In politics he has been active 
in the Republican party and has exerted a 
wide influence. 

A. HENRY BUTTS. M.D. In the death 
of Dr. A. Henry Butts, on February 15. 
1905, there pased off the scene of life one 
of West Virginia's eminent men of med- 
icine, one whose name was known all over 
the state and was held in honor by the 
members of his profession and by his fellow 
citizens generally- He w r as born in 1824, 
in Greenbrier county, Va., and his long and 
useful life came to its close at Charleston, 
to which city he had come but a few weeks 
previously. By choice and inheritance he 
was a physician, his father. Dr. Shannon 
Butts, having been distinguished as a sur- 



geon and physician for many years before 
him. 

Dr. Shanon Butts was born at Penn Cas- 
tle. Va., and his death occurred in Monroe 
county, Va. He was a graduate of the 
University of New York, but his life was 
spent in his native section, a large part of 
it in Monroe county, his home being at 
Greenville. In many ways he was an ex- 
traordinary man, possessing great talent in 
many directions and was gifted in music, 
his voice being one of such great range that 
he could sing in the highest register, while 
his personal appearance was so attractive 
that he was a noted individual in any gath- 
ering. He came of the best old Virginia 
stock and had generations of educated and 
refined people behind him. 

Dr. Shanon Butts was married first to 
Mrs. Mary J. (Reace) Murphy, who was a 
native of Kentucky. Her first husband, Dr. 
Murphy, was a well known physician, as 
was their only son, Frank Murphy, who 
was a practitioner in Kanawha county and 
was married at the time of his accidental 
death by drowning in a swollen stream at 
St. Albans, W. Va. The children of Dr. 
and Mrs. Butts were as follows : A. Henry, 
our direct subject; Fletcher, who became a 
prominent minster in the Methodist church, 
and died at Baltimore, Md. ; Leonidas, now 
more than seventy-two years of age, who 
resides at Woodstock, Va., and is a super- 
annuated minister of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church ; Ann, now deceased, who is sur- 
vived by her husband, Pembrooke Peck. 
Dr. Butts was married secondly to Mrs. 
Margaret (Arnott) Maddy, of Monroe 
county, who died in 19 10, when aged ninety 
years. Three daughters were born to this 
marriage. 

A. Henry Butts inherited with profes- 
sional tastes, many of his father's character- 
istics and talents. He was graduated be- 
fore he was twenty-one years of age from 
Mead College, at Richmond, Va. About 
this time the war between states broke out 
and the young medical graduate entered 
the Confederate army as a surgeon and 
practiced through the war. Afterward he 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



519 



established himself in practice at Green- 
ville, Monroe county, W. Va., and soon be- 
came widely known for his medical knowl- 
edge and surgical skill. He was called into 
consultation by physicians all over the state 
and his services were in constant demand 
when major operations in surgery were 
necessary. His personal qualifications for 
his profession were also exceptional and 
his patients often declared that his mere 
presence was uplifting and invigorating. 
He was a sincere member of the Presby- 
terian church, to which he was a generous 
contributor, and was a great Bible student, 
making it his duty, as it was his pleasure, 
to read from the Word every day of his life. 
He was long identified with the Masonic 
fraternity and for many years was active in 
lodge work. In politics he was an inde- 
pendent Democrat. 

Dr. Butts was married at Alderson, Mon- 
roe county, now West Virginia, to Miss 
Martha C. Hines, who was born there, May 
15, 1833, and was educated by private 
teachers, having a governess, as was the old 
custom in exclusive Southern families. Her 
parents were Charles R. and Cynthia (Con- 
ner) Hines, both natives of Virginia. Her 
father owned many slaves and on his plan- 
tations they were well cared for. His death 
occurred in old age in Monroe county. He 
was a native of Greenbrier county and his 
business life was partly spent at Blue Sul- 
phur Springs, where he was a merchant for 
many years. He married in Greenbrier 
county and his wife died in Monroe county 
in the prime of life. They had five children : 
James W., Lorenzo N., Mrs. Butts, John 
W. and Mary J., the last named being the 
eldest. She died after marriage, during the 
Civil War, and left children. 

James W. Hines was a graduate of the 
medical department of the university of 
Virginia, and afterward entered the Con- 
federate army, where he advanved rapidly, 
becoming chief surgeon of the general hos- 
pital at Richmond, with the rank of major- 
general. After the end of the Civil War he 
became prominent in his profession in Vir- 
ginia and subsequently removed to Le Mar, 



la., where his death occurred. Lorenza N. 
Hines was also a soldier in the Confederate 
Army during the Civil War, a member of 
General Morgan's command, and having 
contracted consumption while in the ser- 
vice, he died after reaching home. John W. 
Hines lived in Illinois for a number of 
years and married and died there and was 
survived by two sons, one of these being 
now in the United States navy. 

To Dr. A. Henry and Mrs. Butts the fol- 
lowing children were born: Hettie, Charles 
Shannon, J. Fleetwood, Frank R. and Mary. 
The eldest daughter is the widow of Dr. 
Benjamin F. Kibler and resides with her 
mother. She has three children — Claude 
H., who is a dentist in practice in Oklahoma 
city, Lista and Maxwell. Charles Shannon 
Butts is a physician in active practice at 
Newport News, Va., being a graduate of 
the New York Medical university; he mar- 
ried Fannie Moon and they have one son, 
Charles S., Jr. J. Fleetwood, who is a 
graduate of the Baltimore Dental college, 
is one of the leading dental surgeons of 
Charleston and has a large practice. He 
married Ida Pemberton, who is a niece of 
ex-Governor Atkinson, of West Virginia, 
and they have two sons, Henry P. and Ed- 
win. Mary is the wife of Dr. McDonald 
and they live at Seminole, Okla. Mrs. 
Butts and family are members of the Pres- 
byterian church, in which Dr. Butts was an 
elder. 

HON. JOHN SHERMAN DARST, state 
auditor of West Virginia, was born in Ohio 
in i860, his parents being Roman and Per- 
melia (Watkins) Darst. He is a grandson 
of Abram Darst, born in Virginia about one 
hundred years ago, who was a miller and 
farmer, and who early in life settled in 
Gallia county, Ohio, where he followed the 
milling business; dying there at an ad- 
vanced age. He married a Miss Shaver, 
who came from Virginia, and who, like 
himself, died in Ohio. They were members 
of the Christian church, in which he was an 
exhorter. 

Roman Darst was the eldest of a larsre 



520 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



family of children. He was born in Meigs 
county, Ohio, in 1837 and died in 1880 when 
about forty-three years of age. Like his 
father he was a miller by occupation, and 
he became a staunch adherent of the Re- 
publican party after its formation. He 
married Permelia Watkins of Gallia county, 
Ohio, and she died there when about 
twenty-eight years old, leaving four chil- 
dren, namely : Moses W., a miller, now re- 
siding in Pickerton, Ohio, who married 
Helen Rankin; Ella, wife of John Stivers, 
a lumberman residing in Georgia, and hav- 
ing a son and daughter; John Sherman, 
whose name appears at the head of this 
sketch; and Mrs. Fannie Hetzel, residing 
at Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, who has 
three daughters. 

John Sherman Darst after acquiring a 
common school education, learned the mil- 
ler's trade, which he followed in Ohio and 
subsequently in West Virginia, after his re- 
moval to this state. He was elected to the 
legislature of West Virginia in 1896, on the 
Republican ticket, representing Jackson 
county, and served three terms in the house 
and one term of four years in the senate, 
being elected to the latter body in 1901. 
He was one of the first men in the senate to 
advocate what is known as the new tax 
laws and to help place them on the statute 
books of the state. He was also the father 
of the constitutional amendments which 
placed the auditor and secretary of state on 
salaries, and made the secretary of state's 
office an elective one. By this amendment 
the fees collected by these two officials are 
placed in the state treasury instead of into 
the private pockets of the auditor and the 
secretary of state, which has resulted in 
saving to the state several hundred thou- 
sands of dollars. He was the father of what 
is known as the valued policy law, compel- 
ling fire insurance companies to pay the 
face value of the policy in case of total loss 
by fire ; also the bill making it a misde- 
meanor to spit tobacco juice on church 
floors, as well as the bill abolishing the 



public executing of the death sentence in 
this state, and many other bills of more or 
less importance. 

As senator Mr. Darst represented the 
fourth senatorial district consisting of Jack- 
son, Mason and Roane counties. On the 
expiration of his term he was appointed as- 
sistant state tax commissioner, in which po- 
sition he served for four years, being 
elected auditor for the state, in which office 
a term of four years also obtains, in 1908. 
Ex-Governor White, during his term as tax 
commissioner of the state, referred in the 
following terms to Mr. Darst's services: 
"The work of the assistant tax commis- 
sioner, Hon. J. S. Darst, has been of the 
highest character, both in efficiency and 
tactfulness. He has well earned his promo- 
tion by the votes of the people to the high 
office of state auditor, and the citizens of 
our state are to be congratulated on his 
election to that office. He is a tried and 
true friend of what is popularly termed 'tax 
reform, and he will take with him into his 
new office a sympathetic appreciation of the 
new tax laws, and an administrative ability, 
which will make notable his occupancy of 
the office of auditor." 

Mr. Darst has done much to verify this 
prophecy. He has both earned and gained 
the public confidence and proved himself a 
stalwart champion of honest and efficient 
government, and he has ever placed patriot- 
ism above personal interest in the adminis- 
tration of public affairs. 

Mr. Darst married Miss Blanche McKay, 
who was born, reared and educated in the 
state of Ohio, and whose parents were Mal- 
colm and Marjorie (Adams) McKay, the 
former, Malcolm McKay being now de- 
ceased. Mr. and Mr. Darst are the parents 
of three children, namely: Lieut. Guilford 
Darst, of the United States navy, who is an 
instructor in mathematics at Annapolis, 
Md., where he was graduated in the class 
of 1900; Helen, wife of Frank Corbin, an 
attorney at Morgantown, W. Va.. and who 
has one child, Frank, Jr. ; and Moses, resid- 
ing at home with his parents, who is a stu- 
dent in the Charleston high school, being 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



521 



a member of the class of 1912. Mr. Darst, 
his wife and family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

WILLIAM DALLAS PAYNE, a well 
known attorney of Charleston, member of 
the firm of Payne & Payne, was born at 
Newport, Giles county, Va., son of Erastus 
F. and Hattie (Early) Payne. The Payne 
family is an old one in Virginia, being es- 
pecially numerous in Campbell and Frank- 
lin counties. They are said to be descended, 
all or most of them, from Sir John Payne of 
Fairfax county. This early ancestor of the 
family had a number of children, among 
whom was Barney, who married a Monroe 
and inherited the Payne estate on Staunton 
river, in Bedford county (afterward Camp- 
bell county). 

Of the next generation we have no rec- 
ord, but a grandson of Barney was Thomas 
A. Payne, who married Frances Powell of 
Franklin county and had a large family of 
children, among whom was Charles Henry, 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
Charles Henry Payne married Rebecca 
Price, of Giles county, Va., and he lived for 
a few years arter his marriage at the old 
Payne home in Franklin county. His wife 
died in September, 1856, and he subse- 
quently contracted a second union. His 
children by Rebecca Price were William H., 
who was a captain in the Confederate serv- 
ice and who was killed in the Civil War, in 
October, 1864; John R. ; Erastus F., father 
of the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth; 
James M., who is a member of the law firm 
of Payne & Payne, of Charleston ; Octavia, 
and Victoria. As already indicated, Eras- 
tus F. Payne, who still resides in Giles 
county, Va., married Hattie Early, who like 
himself is amative of Virginia, belonging to 
one of the prominent families of the state, 
from which sprang Gen. Jubal Early of Civil 
War fame. Her parents were Tubal A. and 
Jane (Helm) Early. 

William Dallas Payne was gradauted 
from the University of Nashville and also 
from Washington and Lee University. He 
then came to Charleston and, having been 
admitted to the bar, became associated with 



his uncle, James M. Payne, with whom he 
has continued for twenty years as a mem- 
ber of the law firm of Payne & Payne. This 
firm has a good clientage and transacts 
much of the important legal business of the 
city and vicinity. 

Mr. William D. Payne married Margaret 
Allemong, daughter of Andrew and Annie 
(Wilson) Allemong, the former of whom 
was a native of South Carolina and the lat- 
ter of Charleston, West Virginia. Mr. and 
Mrs. Payne are the parents of one son, An- 
drew Allemong. The family belong to the 
Presbyterian church. Mr. Payne is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic order, belonging to the 
Blue lodge at Fayetteville and to the Com- 
mandery and Shrine at Charleston. 

EDWIN POLSUE for many years was 
a successful business man of West Virginia, 
identified with numerous important in- 
terests up to the time of his death. He was 
born in Penzance, England, September 1, 
1848, and died at Charleston, W. Va., No- 
vember 16, 1907. His parents were Wil- 
liam and Elizabeh Polsue, natives of Eng- 
land. The father was a man of education 
and followed school teaching as a profes- 
sion. He died in England at the age of 
sixty years, his widow surviving to the age 
of eighty-seven years. They were mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church. 

Edwin Polsue was sixteen years of age 
when he accompanied his four brothers to 
America and all of them located at Wilkes- 
barre, Pa. There he learned the plaster's 
trade, and followed it for some years, be- 
coming a contractor in that line. In Feb- 
ruary, 1882, he came to Charleston, W. Va., 
where, in partnership with his son, he was 
engaged for a time in the meat packing in- 
dustry and later became also interested in 
other lines, subsequently moving to Crown 
Hill, W. Va., where he was in the coal busi- 
ness until the fall of 1901. He then re- 
turned to Charleston and shortly afterward 
established a boiler foundry and machine 
shops, which he continued to operate al- 
most as long as he survived. He was a 
man of sterling character, honest in busi- 



522 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ness and upright in private life. In relig- 
ious faith he was a Methodist and in poli- 
tics a Republican. He took no interest in 
secret societies. 

Edwin Polsue was married first, at 
Wilkesbarre, Pa., to Miss Mary E. Carver, 
who was born in England, accompanied her 
parents to America in childhood, and was 
reared at Plymouth, Pa. Her death oc- 
curred at Charleston, in the prime of life, 
after she had been the mother of two chil- 
dren — one who died in infancy, and Edwin 
C, who is a resident of Long Beach, Calif. 
He married Dorothy Bott and they have 
three children — Mary, Nora and Elizabeth. 
Mr. Polsue was married secondly at Ply- 
mouth, Pa., to Miss Retta Clewell, who was 
born at Berwick, Pa., but was reared at 
Plymouth. She now resides in a beautiful 
home, which is situated on Oakwood 
Heights, overlooking the city of Charles- 
ton. Her parents were Augustus and Cor- 
delia (Zehner) Clewell, both natives of 
Pennsylvania. The father of Mrs. Polsue 
died at Plymouth in February, 1899, at 
the age of sixty-two years. His father 
was Henry Clewell, who was a son of 
Henry Clewell, who came to America from 
France at an early day. The family for 
several generations lived in Columbia 
county, Pa. The father of Mrs. Polsue was 
a soldier in the Federal army during the 
Civil War, serving four years and partici- 
pating in much hard fighting. He was a 
brick building contractor. His widow sur- 
vives and resides with Mrs. Polsue. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Polsue two children were 
born: William C, born February 27, 1902; 
and Benjamin A., born June 15, 1903, both 
of whom are attending school. 

GEORGE Mc. JONES. M. D., physician 
and surgeon at Island Branch, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., is known professionally 
and in a business way over a wide territory 
and owns 700 acres of fine land in Kanawha 
county and other smaller tracts in Jackson 
county. He was born in Craig coiintv, Va.. 
May 29, 1854, and is a son of A. K. and 
Delilah Jones. 



Dr. Mc. Jones was educated in the schools 
of Craig and Nicholas counties, and entered 
upon the practice of medicine in 187 1 , in 
Greenbrier county, engaging also in the 
drug business, and coming to his present 
location in 1875. He has been very suc- 
cessful in his practice and there are among 
his patients those who affirm that his cheery 
voice and smiling countenance in the sick 
room are tonics in themselves and greatly 
assist in the curing of ills. He is a valued 
member of the Kanawha County Medical 
Society. He devotes his time to his prac- 
tice, having his land under the care of a 
tenant, who carries on general farming and 
also handles cattle. 

Dr. Mc. Jones was married to Miss Martha 
L. Monroe, a native of Worth county, W. 
Va., and they have ten children: A. S., 
A. J., R. A., Janetta. Estella Cleveland, 
Leota, Lula Victoria, Mary Ellen, Ida F. 
and Gracie P. 

A. S. Jones and R. A. Jones are farmers and 
dealers in stock. Rev. A. J. Jones is a farmer 
and minister of the gospel. Dr. Mc. Jones votes 
with the Democratic party but has never taken 
an active interest in politics. He is financially 
interested in the Leatherwood. Riverside. 
Jackson & Kanawha Short Line Tele- 
phones. 

WILLIAM A. CARVER, deceased, for- 
merly a respected resident of Charleston, 
W. Va., a man of business capacity and re- 
liability, was born at Plymouth, Luzerne 
county, Pa., May 6, 1872, and was a son of 
John and Margaret (Jones) Carver. The 
parents of Mr. Carver were also natives of 
Pennsylvania but the larger part of their 
lives were spent in West Virginia and the 
mother died in Fayette county. The father 
married again and is a well known coal 
mine operator, residing at Charleston. 

William A. Carver passed his school pe- 
riod in Illinois. The greater part of his life 
was devoted to the coal industry: during 
the latter part he was general manager for 
different companies and was so engaged 
until the time of his death. June 24, 1909. 
After coming to Charleston in 1907 he pur- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



523 



chased the comfortable family home where 
his family still resides. In politics he was a 
Republican. He was prominent in Mason- 
ry and was a Shriner. 

William A. Carver was married in Kan- 
awha county to Miss Anne D. Davison, 
who was born at Pittsburg, Pa., January 14, 
1879, and was eleven years old when she 
came to Kanawha county. She is a daugh- 
ter of Thomas K. and Alice (Clark) Davi- 
son. They came from Pennsylvania to Kan- 
awha county, where Mr. Davison was in 
the lumber business for twelve years and 
then went to Chicago, where he and his wife 
both live. Mr. and Mrs. Davison are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. The pa- 
ternal grandfather of Mrs. Carver was 
Thomas Davison, who was born in Dublin, 
Ireland, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He 
married Rebecca Turner at Pittsburg, Pa. 
The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Carver 
was Rev. Alexander Clark, a prominent 
minister in the Methodist Protestant 
church, and an extensive traveler, who was 
also well known through his writings, many 
of his hymns being particularly acceptable. 
He died at the home of his friend, Governor 
Colquitt, at Atlanta, Ga. His widow still 
survives and makes her home with her chil- 
dren. Three children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Carver, namely : Margaret Jones, who 
was born December 15, 1899; Alice Clark, 
who was born July 16, 1901 ; and Thomas 
Davison, who was born February 13, 1907. 
Mrs. Carver is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

WILLIAM M. B. HOBBS, one of 
Charleston's most respected retired citi- 
zens, where he' was engaged in the mercan- 
tile business for many years, now devotes a 
large part of his time to religious work and 
for the past thirteen years has ben superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school of the Bream 
Memorial Presbyterian church, an organi- 
zation which has an enrollment of 1025 pu- 
pils. He was born June 7, 1852, in Green- 
brier county, Va., and is a son of William E. 
and Martha A. (Hobbs) Hobbs, and a 
grandson of Allen Hobbs. 



William E. Hobbs was born in Prince 
George county, Va., in 1819, and was the 
eldest of a family of three sons and two 
daughters born to his parents, Allen and 
Jane Hobbs, old residents of Prince George 
county. William E. Hobbs moved to 
Greenbrier county in 1849 an d a ^ ew years 
later to near Spencer, Roane county, now in 
West Virginia. From there in 1877 the 
family came to Charleston, where William 
E. Hobbs purchased some lots in what was 
then known as the west end of the city and 
which became very valuable. In politics he 
was a Democrat and while living in Roane 
county had served some years as deputy 
sheriff and jailer. His death occurred in 
1894, at the age of seventy-four years. He 
married Martha A. Hobbs, a kinswoman, 
who died in 1901, while on a visit to a 
daughter in Roane county. She was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
South, while Mr. Hobbs had belonged to 
the Methodist Protestant church. Seven 
children were born to them, two of whom 
died young. One daughter, Emma, was 
accidentally killed by a falling tree, when 
twelve years of age. James H. is a business 
man at Hinton, W. Va., and has a large fam- 
ily. Mary A. is the wife of George Dever- 
ick, a farmer residing near Clendenin. Wil- 
liam M. B. was the next born. Margaret 
A. is the wife of J. Lee Radebaugh, a farm- 
er in Roane county. Elizabeth, who is now 
deceased, was the wife of Thomas H. Chap- 
man, who also is deceased. 

William M. B. Hobbs attended the pub- 
lic schools and after coming to Kanawha 
county, engaged in teaching school for some 
time and in 1883 embarked in the general 
mercantile business at Charleston which he 
continued for fourteen years. This enter- 
prise proved very successful and during his 
active business years Mr. Hobbs acquired 
considerable property. In politics he is a 
Democrat and while living in Roane county 
he served three years in the office of deputy 
sheriff. He takes a good citizen's interest 
in public matters but finds more pleasure in 
other avenues than politics. The leading 
and training of children in connection with 



524 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



church work proves of deep interest to him 
and the success that has rewarded his ef- 
forts is nothing less than remarkable. He 
has long been very active in the work of the 
Presbyterian church, in which he is an el- 
der, and has been a delegate to the General 
Assembly. 

Mr. Hobbs was married at Charleston to 
Miss Sarah E. Fogarty, who was born in 
1870, in Kanawha county and was reared 
and educated on Cooper's Creek. She is an 
estimable lady, a member also of the Pres- 
byterian church and is in full sympathy with 
Mr. Hobbs in his worthy endeavors in the 
same. He is a past member of Glen Elk 
Lodge No. 95, Odd Fellows, and belongs 
also to Glendale Lodge No. 78, Knights of 
Pythias, having passed through the chairs of 
both lodges; also a member of the Senior 
Order of American Mechanics. 

JAMES M. CLARK, senior member of the 
widely known civil and mining engineering 
firm of Clark & Krebs, with headquarters at 
Charleston, W. Va., is a highly qualified and 
thoroughly experienced man in this business. 
Mr. Clark has been a resident of West Virginia 
since he was twenty-one years of age. He was 
born April 6, 1866, at Westfield, N. J., and is a 
son of James Lawrence and Hannah Margaret 
(Johnston) Clark. 

Mr. Clark's ancestors on his father's side 
came to America from England, about the year 
1680, and the family record in his possession is 
as follows : 

Samuel Clark came from England about the 
year 1680, settling on Long Island. 

Thomas Clark came from England with his 
father. 

William, the son of Thomas Clark, settled in 
Westfield, N. J., some time prior to 1730. 

Captain Charles Clark, a son of William 
Clark spent his life in Westfield, N. J. 

Captain William Clark, a son of Charles 
Clark, was born in 1756, fought through the 
Revolutionary War, was captured by the Brit- 
ish and by them imprisoned in the "Old Sugar 
House Prison," on Manhattan Island, and died 
September 28, 1853, at the advanced age of 
ninety-seven years, three months arid eleven 



days, as is testified by the headstone at his 
grave in the old church graveyard, on the bot- 
tom of which is inscribed, "I would not live 
alway." When the above mentioned prison was 
torn down, canes were made of the walnut lum- 
ber in same and presented to the surviving 
prisoners, the one that belonged to Captain 
\\ illiam Clark being still in the possession of 
his great grandson, Dr. William A. Clark, of 
Trenton, N. J. 

Andrew H. Clark, a son of Captain William 
Clark, spent his whole life in Westfield. 

James Lawrence Clark, son of Andrew H. 
Clark, was born on January 22, 1818, in West- 
field, N. J,, where he spent his whole life and 
died March 4, 1903. 

James Montgomery Clark, the son of James 
Lawrence Clark, as above stated was born in 
Westfield, N. )., April 6, 1866. 

The mother of Mr. Clark was born in New 
York city, June 20, 1832. She is still living at 
the time of this writing, in Westfield, N. J., 
where one son and two daughters still reside. 
She and her late husband were for many years 
active in the Presbyterian church in that place, 
of which the William Clark first above men- 
tioned was one of the founders in the year 1730. 

James Montgomery Clark, Sr., was educated 
in the schools of his home town. In April, 
1887, he came to West Virginia, and accepted 
a subordinate position on the engineering corps 
of his cousin, Robert R. Goodrich, M. E., who 
was educated in the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, of Boston, Mass. He filled vari- 
ous positions with him until the spring of 1890, 
at which time they formed the firm of Good- 
rich & Clark, engaging in business in Mac- 
dowell county, W. Va. This association con- 
tinued until 1892, only, when Mr. Clark estab- 
lished himself in business independently, at 
Kanawha Falls, and has ever since had much 
to do with the coal development here. When 
he first came to West Virginia, the state pro- 
duced but 4.000.000 tons of coal annually, 
while in 19 10 the annual output was nearly 
60,000,000 tons. The present firm of Clark & 
Krebs was organized January 1, 1900, and has 
been established in its present location in 
Charleston for the past three years. Both Mr. 
Clark and his partner have a thorough practical 



JAMES M. CLARK 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



527 



knowledge of the geology of West Virginia, 
Virginia and Kentucky, as it affects the coal in- 
dustry, to which knowledge they are constantly 
adding with the extension of their operations. 
They also employ a large corps of competent 
assistants. 

Mr. Clark was married in September, 1895, 
to Miss Pattie Farley, of Kanawha Falls, Fay- 
ette county, West Virginia, and they have four 
children, namely: James Montgomery, Jr., 
Lawrence Willis, Francis Alden, and Nancy 
Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are members 
of the First Presbyterian church of Charleston, 
tics, but adheres to the political faith of the 
The former takes no very active part in poli- 
family, that of the Republican party. 

CAPT. JULIAN E. DICKINSON, a 
veteran of the Civil War, in which he served 
with the courage and military spirit of a 
true soldier, was born in Louisa county, 
Va., April 12, 1842, and was the only child 
born to his parents, who were Robert and 
Jane E. (Goodwin) Dickinson. 

Robert Dickinson was born in Caroline 
county, Va., a son of David Dickinson, 
(born 1756) and both were large land and 
slave owners prior to the Civil War. Rob- 
ert Dickinson married Jane Goodwin, a na- 
tive of Louisa county, and both died there. 

Julian E. Dickinson was reared on his 
father's plantation and received his educa- 
tion at Hampden-Sidney College and the 
University of Virginia and from youth en- 
joyed the military training that was a part 
of the curriculum. The time came when 
this served him well. In 1862 he enlisted 
for service in the Confederate Army, enter- 
ing Co. K, 47th Va. Inf., and- gained pro- 
motion, being commissioned lieutenant and 
later captain. At Falling Water, Md., he 
was taken prisoner by the Federal forces 
and was imprisoned for twenty-two months 
on Johnson's Island, the close of the war 
bringing his release. Prior to his capture 
he had participated in some of the most seri- 
ous battles of that unhappy struggle, no- 
table among these being: Antietam, Chan- 
cellorsville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, 
Seven Pines, Cedar Run, Manassas, and the 



Seven Days Fighting around Richmond. 
He returned to his old home, and on Sep- 
tember 17, 1868, was married to Miss Aman- 
da Morris, who was born in 1850 at Clifton- 
on-Kanawha, W. Va., now the town of 
Pratt, formerly the farm of her parents, 
Dickinson and Susan Morris. Clifton (now 
Pratt) was laid off by Dickinson Morris in 
1845 ; a slave drove the oxen, plowing fur- 
rows to mark the streets. 

Captain and Mrs. Dickinson have had 
two children : Robert and Emma. Robert, 
who died in 1904, married Cecil G. Hudson, 
now a resident of Pratt, W. V a., and they 
had two children : Louise Early and Doro- 
thy Morris. Emma married B. H. Early, 
a near kinsman of Gen'l Jubal Early, and 
Capt. and Mrs. Dickinson reside with them. 
In 1880 he moved into Kanawha county. 
In 1892 he was elected a justice of the peace 
and served for four years, served one term 
as mayor of Pratt, and for many years has 
been a notary public. Captain and Mrs. 
Dickinson have been members of the Baptist 
church since early youth. 

WILLIAM GASTON NORVELL, de- 
ceased, was born at Charleston, W. Va., Au- 
gust 13, 1827, and died at his home in the same 
city, in July, 1903. His parents were John E. 
and Elizabeth (Whittaker) Norvell. 

John E. Norvell was born at Lynchburg, Va., 
and came to Charleston as a young man, soon 
after being married to Elizabeth Whittaker, 
who was a daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth 
(Ouarrier) Whittaker. Aaron Whittaker was 
a very early merchant here, starting in the busi- 
ness after he had earned the capital in the salt 
industry. He walked into the valley with his 
earthly possessions on his person, being ac- 
companied by Isaac Noyes, who also became a 
successful man. Aaron Whittaker lived to the 
age of ninety years and was one of the foun- 
ders of the Presbyterian church in the valley. 

John E. Norvell was more or less active in 
the industries of this section and at one time 
in those further South. He died at the age of 
forty-eight years and his wife about the same. 
They were members of the Episcopal church. 
Five children were born to them, one daughter 



528 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



still surviving, being the widow of Noyes 
Rand, and a resident of Texas. 

The late William Gaston Norvell was reared 
and educated at Charleston and his entire life 
of great business activity was spent in this sec- 
tion. He conducted a grocery store for some 
years and later a book and stationery store and 
still later became interested in the operation of 
boats on the Kanawha and Ohio rivers. Dur- 
ing one period of his life he also carried on 
farm operations. He owned considerable prop- 
erty and was able to live an independent life. 
In politics he was a Democrat. 

Mr. Norvell was married at Mt. Juliet, near 
Maiden, W. Va., in May, 1861, to Miss Ruth 
Smithers, who was born and reared near Mai- 
den, Kanawha county, and was educated in 
private schools at Charleston, where there are 
numerous exclusive institutions. She is a 
daughter of Benjamin F. and Eliza S. (Shrews- 
bury) Smithers, and a granddaughter of Joel 
and Sallie (Dickinson) Shrewsbury, all old 
families closely connected with the development 
of this region. Benjamin F. Smithers at an 
early day was a sales agent for the salt manu- 
facturers of the South. He became a man of 
means and prominence in Kanawha county and 
was a liberal supporter of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, of which his father, Rev. David 
Smithers, had been a preacher in Ohio. The 
father of Mrs. Norvell died in January, 1881, 
aged seventy-two years, his widow surviving 
him for twelve years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Norvell the following 
children were born : Lydia, who married George 
Connell, of Charleston, and has four children: 
Norvell, Elizabeth, George and Katherine; John 
E., who is connected with the Newberry Shoe 
Company, manufacturers and dealers at Hunt- 
ington, W. Va., married Lura Moore of Gal- 
lipolis, O., and has one son, John E. ; William 
Gaston, who is now deceased ; Elizabeth Whit- 
taker, who died at the age of twelve years; 
Ruth G., who is the wife of Ernest Shober, of 
Cleveland, O., and has two sons, Ernest and 
William Gaston; Nellie N., who is the wife of 
Frank Payne, a shoe dealer and manufacturer 
of Harrisburg, Pa. ; Hilda, who is the widow of 
John B. Edgar, resides with her mother and 
has two children, John Gaston and Hilda N. ; 



and George W., who is associated with his 
brother in the shoe business at Huntington. 
Mrs. Norvell and family are members of St. 
Johns Episcopal church. 

LOAM I L. AULTZ, M. D., who has been 
actively and successfully engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine at Charleston, W. Va., for the 
past fifteen years, was born February 1, 1871, 
in Union district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
and is a son of Francis Marion Aultz and a 
grandson of Solomon Aultz. 

Solomon Aultz was born in Germany and 
came early to America, for he was a young man 
when he settled in Poca district, Putnam coun- 
tv. He lived to be an aged man and died on 
his own estates. In his political views he was 
a Whig and a man of consequence in local af- 
fairs. He married in Poca district and they had 
sons and daughters born to them: Francis 
Marion, John, Amanda. Martha and Catherine. 
All married and had descendants except Mar- 
tha and all are now deceased. 

Francis Marion Aultz was born in Poca dis- 
trict in 1837. Prior to the Civil War and after- 
ward he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and 
also served in political office previous to 1861, 
for four years being deputy sheriff in Kanawha 
county, and he served four years more in the 
same office after 1865. His term of service in 
the army was comparatively short. In politics 
he was a Republican and in his religious faith 
a Methodist and for a number of years was a 
church trustee. He was married in Union dis- 
trict to Miss Sarah A. Young, who was born 
in that district in 1848 and survived her first 
husband to whom she bore ten children. Four 
sons and three daughters are the survivors of 
this family, as follows : Robert Solomon, 
born July 8, 1868, lives in Union township, is 
married and has three living children: Loami 
L., whose name begins this sketch; Minerva, 
born September 7, 1872, who is the wife of 
William J. Good, lives in Union township and 
has a large family; Mary L., who was born 
November 15, 1878, is the wife of Daniel Daw- 
son, and has a family; Iva R., who was born 
August 21, 1882, and is the wife of Gordon 
Young, a farmer in Union township; Francis 
L., who was born August r, 1881, and lives 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



529 



on the old home place with wife and three chil- 
dren; and Ora A., who was born January 9, 
1887, and is the wife of David Young; they live 
in Union district and have children. 

Loami L. Aultz was educated in the public 
schools and the National Normal University at 
Lebanon, O., afterward teaching school until 
prepared to enter the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons at Baltimore. Subsequently he at- 
tended the Louisville Medical College and was 
graduated there in the class of 1894. He im- 
mediately entered into practice and was en- 
gaged in Union and Poca districts until 1900, 
when he came to Charleston, in search of a wid- 
er field, locating at No. 723 Bigley avenue, and 
has remained a resident of the capital city ever 
since. His main interests are centered in his 
profession and he has identified himself with the 
leading medical organizations of the country, in- 
cluding the Kanawha County Medical Society, 
the West Virginia Medical Association, and the 
American Medical Association. His abilities 
are very generallyrecognized and his name 
stands for professional skill and personal in- 
tegrity. 

On September 17, 1902, Dr. Aultz was mar- 
ried to Miss Rachel Ross, who was born in 
Gallia county, O., in 1875 and is a graduate of 
the Charleston high school. Dr. and Mrs. 
Aultz have had three children: Augusta V., 
who died in infancy; William Francis, who 
was born May 27, 1905 ; and James Marion, 
who was born September 17, 19 10. Dr. and 
Mrs. Aultz attend the Baptist church, of 
which she is a member. He is identified with 
the Knights of Pythias and the A. O. U. W. 
He is a Republican. 

WILLIAM HENRY RUFFNER. con- 
ductor on the Campbell's Creek Railroad and a 
member of the Board of Education in Maiden 
district, has lived in Kanawha county, W. Va., 
all his life and has a wide acquaintance and 
many friends. He was born December 12, 
1876, at Maiden, W. Va., and is a son of Capt. 
John and Lucy (Spriggle) Ruffner. 

Capt. John Ruffner was born at Maiden 
and was a son of George Ruffner who regis- 
tered as one of the first voters in Maiden dis- 
trict. He was one of the early business men 



and conducted a cabinetmaking shop and a 
general store. He lived to be one of the ven- 
erable citizens of the place. Capt. John Ruff- 
ner for many years was commander of a 
steamboat on the river and was well and fa- 
vorably known in this connection. His death 
occurred in 1903, when he was about sixty 
years of age. He married Lucy Spriggle, who 
survives him and continues to live at Maiden. 
Two sons were born to them: William Henry 
and George. 

William Henry Ruffner was educated in his 
native district, attending both public and pri- 
vate schools. He then learned the carpenter's 
trade and worked at the same for five years 
and then turned his attention to railroading, 
beginning as a brakeman on the K. & M. Rail- 
road in 1892. In 1903 he came to the Camp- 
bell's Creek Railroad as a conductor and has 
continued in this position ever since. Mr. 
Ruffner owns real estate at Maiden and makes 
that place his home. 

Mr. Ruffner married Miss Julia Reynolds, 
a daughter of the late James Reynolds. He is 
identified with the Democratic party and is 
somewhat active in political matters. He be- 
longs to a number of fraternal organizations, 
including the B. of R. T., at Hanley, W. Va. ; 
the Order of Railroad Conductors, No. 517, 
at Dickinson, W. Va., and the Knights of 
Pythias at Maiden. 

SELBY F. BONHAM, proprietor of the 
Charleston Laundry, at Charleston, W. Va., 
is one of the enterprising business men of this 
city. He was born February 23, 1873, in Cab- 
ell county, W. Va., and is a son of John and 
Mary (McCleary) Bonham. 

John Bonham was born in Wythe county, 
Va., and his wife in Culpepper county, and they 
were married in Cabell county, afterward set- 
tling on a farm there. In 1906 they came to 
Charleston, where the death of the mother oc- 
curred three weeks later, at the age of fifty- 
two years. The father of Mr. Bonham sur- 
vives, being now in his sixty-fourth year. He 
is a Democrat in politics and is a member of 
the Methodist church, south, as was his wife. 
They had children as follows : Selby F. ; Laura, 
who is the wife of John Sanford, a merchant 



530 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



at Huntington, and they have one daughter, 
Anna L. ; William A., who is in the laundry 
business in Chicago, 111.; Robert L., who is in 
the laundry business in Clarksburg, W. Va., 
and Charles, who died in infancy. 

Selby F. Bonham was reared and educated 
at Huntington and his business life has been to 
a large degree connected with the laundry in- 
dustry. For two years prior to coming to 
Charleston he was manager of a laundry com- 
pany at Cincinnati and before that operated a 
plant at Huntington. His experience along 
this line has been educational and there is very 
little connected with it with which he is unable 
to cope. The Charleston Laundry, of which 
he has been sole proprietor since 1908, was es- 
tablished here in May, 1902, by Dr. C. A. 
Ray and Mr. Bonham, he later buying Dr. 
Ray's interest. The business includes general 
laundrying and dry cleaning, the plant being 
equipped with modern machinery and con- 
ducted along the most sanitary lines. Employ- 
ment is afforded forty people and five wagons 
are required to visit patrons in the city and 
suburbs. 

Mr. Bonham was married in Poca district, 
Kanawha county, to Miss Osa Fisher, who was 
born in 1878, in Poca district, a daughter of 
John Fisher, and she was educated at Marshall 
college, attending at the same time as did Mr. 
Bonham. He is a prominent Democrat, a 
member of the city council and was elected 
from the Second ward with the largest ma- 
jority ever given a candidate. He belongs to 
the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. 

GEORGE S. BAXTER, farmer and stock- 
raiser in Elk district, Kanawha county. W. 
Va., is a member of one of the old families of 
this county and was born April 29, i860, on 
Cooper's Creek, Kanawha county, son of Syl- 
vester and Mary Jane (Hanna) Baxter. 

Sylvester Baxter was born September 29, 
1829, in Elk district, on 4-Mile Creek, a son 
of John and Susanna Baxter, and a grand- 
son of Allen Baxter. John Baxter was a babe 
of one year when his parents came to Elk dis- 
trict from Rockbridge county, Va., and he died 
here May 5, 1869, having survived his wife 



since 1853. The Baxters were of Scotch de- 
scent. They were connected with the early set- 
tlements here and many of the old records pre- 
serve the names of Mr. Baxter's ancestors. 
They mainly followed agricultural pursuits. 
Sylvester Baxter followed farming and also 
worked at the cooper trade, first living on 4- 
Mile Creek and later moving to 4-Mile Fork, 
where his death occurred September 17, 1899. 
Formerly the Baxter place was known as Bax- 
ter Shoal but is now called Mink Shoal. 

Sylvester Baxter married Mary Jane Han- 
na, who was born May 3, 1842, a daughter of 
William and Catherine Hanna. William Han- 
na was born March 4, 1807, and died in 1895, 
a son of Nathan and Alice Hanna. His wife 
was born November 7, 1808. and died in 1892, 
a daughter of George and Jane Rader. Nine 
of the children of Sylvester Baxter and his wife 
survive, namely: Octavia, James, John A., Fe- 
lix A., William H., George S., Sarah, Sylves- 
ter H., and Elvin. 

George S. Baxter attended the country 
schools and then helped his father on the home 
farm until he became of age, when he earned 
his first wages, receiving fifty cents a day for 
his labor. Later he taught two terms of 
school and then resumed farming, buying first 
a farm on Aarons Fork, which he operated un- 
til 1896, when he purchased his present place. 
His main attention is given to his home inter- 
ests and enterprises, although he is not a 
neglectful citizen. He takes only a passing in- 
terest in politics, however, casting his vote with 
the Republican party, but is not a seeker for 
office. 

Mr. Baxter was married February 28, 1884. 
to Miss Sarah Angeline Burdett, who was born 
April 29, 1866, a daughter of Willis Burdett 
and a member of one of the old pioneer fami- 
lies of this district. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter have 
six children, as follows: Emma F.. who was 
born April 19. 1885. is the wife of Dr. F. H. 
Thaxton, of Poca Fork, and they have two 
children: Edith Lee and Oreta: George E., 
who was born March 9, 1887, assists his fath- 
er: Ethel G., who was born February 13. 1889: 
and Stella F., born March 16. 180?: Ida B.. 
born February 15, 180^: and AYilbur S., born 
February 19, 1898, all reside at home. Mr. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



531 



Baxter and family belong to the A. C. church 
of Cooper's Creek. 

CHARLES THOMAS WOOD, a highly 
respected citizen of Charleston, W. Va., of 
which city he has been a resident for forty-two 
years and in which he is now serving as tax 
collector, was born February 17, 1850, in 
Franklin county, Va., and is a son of Stephen 
and Nancy T. (Cabaniss) Wood. 

Stephen Wood was born August II, 181 1, 
in England, and in 1835 came to the United 
States and settled in Franklin county, Va., 
where he continued to live on his farm until 
his death in 1857. He was a local preacher in 
the old-school Baptist church and was a most 
worthy man. He was married May 11, 1837, 
to Nancy J. Cabaniss, who was born in Frank- 
lin county, July 24, 18 17, and died at the home 
of her son, Samuel E. Wood, at Bunker Hill, 
Ind., March 24, 191 1, when aged almost nine- 
ty-four years. Her burial was by the side 
of her husband in the family plat at Rocky 
Mount, Va. She was a woman of admirable 
characteristics and was admired for her in- 
telligence and beloved for her virtues. She 
had a brother who was a soldier in the W ar of 
1812. 

Charles T. Wood was the fourth member of 
his parents' family of seven children. He was 
reared through his school days in Franklin 
county and later came to Charleston. Here 
he conducted a photographic studio for twenty- 
four years, when he retired, his health having 
suffered from the confinement. He is a Demo- 
crat in politics and from his party accepted 
the position of city tax collector. He belongs 
to Keuka Lodge No. 26, Knights of Pythias, 
in which he has passed all the chairs. 

Mr. Wood was married in Bedford county, 
Va., November 14, 1868, to Miss Laura 
Frances Thurman. who was born in that coun- 
ty, August 30, 1849, an d was educated by 
teachers in her home near Library, now Bed- 
ford City. She is a daughter of Alexander 
Leftwich and Susan (Hughes) Thurman, the 
latter of whom was born July 16, 1821, and 
died July 13, 1903. After marriage they lived 
in Bedford countv, but later came to Kanawha 
county. Her paternal grandparents were Da- 



vid and Susanna (Leftwich) Thurman, and 
her maternal grandparents were Rev. Little- 
bury and Wincy (Jordan) Hughes, the great- 
grandparents being Emory and Julia Jordan, 
all old established Virginia families. Mr. and 
Mrs. Wood have one daughter, Myrtle, who 
was born April 17, 1871, near Charleston, and 
is the widow of Hon. Cyrus W. Hall. Mrs. 
Hall has two sons: Sheffey Wood, who was 
born September 27, 1880; and Cyrus William, 
who was born April 9, 1900. 

Mrs. Wood has been a collector of antiques 
for a number of years and a very unselfish 
one, having donated many specimens to the 
State archives and the State Historical Socie- 
ty. She still retains as heirlooms, an old fam- 
ily clock that ticked in the home of her hus- 
band's ancestors in England, more than 150 
years ago ; and also an old-time rifle that was 
carried by Mr. Wood's father when he was an 
early sportsman in old Virginia. 

WILLIAM STOOPS WINTZ, one of the 
older generation of citizens of Louden district, 
Kanawha county, W. Va., whose long life, 
filled with interesting events, has been passed 
not far from his place of birth, is one of the 
best known and most highly esteemed resi- 
dents of this section. He was born in 1833, 
in Kanawha county, on the Kanawha river 
below Rush Creek, and his father was, John M. 
Wintz, who came from Cabell county, Va., 
and his grandfather, a German, came from 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Wintz had two brothers : 
James Philip, familiarly known as "Rug," who 
is now a resident of California; and John M., 
who is now deceased. 

William Stoops Wintz attended a school of 
work in his boyhood, his education consisting 
of learning to operate steam engines to pump 
salt water, and afterward his lessons included 
running salt boats on the Kanawha canal and 
Ohio river, and he learned further lessons when 
he went farming. During his long and busy 
life he has owned four farms, his present one, 
in Louden district being a part of the old Poor 
farm and is in fair condition. No more enter- 
taining companion for one interested in this 
section, could be found than Mr. Wintz. Age 
has not left him untouched, the affliction of 



532 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



failing sight bothering him to some degree, but 
his memory of early times has not been im- 
paired and with sure and humorous touch he 
recalls people and events of the long ago. In 
his youth salt was the staple product of this 
section and salt making the main industry. 
He recalls the days before roads had been 
built or wagons were yet in common use, when 
the people of Coal River would come all the 
distance to Maiden on horseback and buy there 
barrels of salt, flour and whisky, and would 
cut saplings for shafts and fasten one end to 
the horse and let the other trail on the ground, 
with the barrels strapped across. He describes 
how the salt was made in the big iron kettles 
and the brine was put into them with long 
handled buckets, and many a fortune came 
from that boiled down brine. Mr. Wintz can 
tell of many buildings, including churches, but 
knows nothing of jails, as he was never inside 
one during his entire life even for business pur- 
poses, or as curiously inclined. Among his 
friends and acquaintances were : Col. Andrew 
Donnally and his son-in-law, John Lewis ; Dr. 
John Street, who began his diagnosis of a pa- 
tient by bleeding him; John B. Crocket, Sr., 
who married Cynthia Morris; Timmy Curry, 
the cooper, who made churns and piggins ; and 
Samuel Hensley, who had a large store at old 
Brownstown. He also knew well Luke Wilcox, 
who had a salt furnace on his farm and who 
built the brick Methodist church at Browns- 
town. All these people, together with Mr. 
Wintz, were prominent factors in the upbuild- 
ing of this section of Kanawha county. 

In 1854, Mr. Wintz was married to Sarah 
Tully, and they became the parents of the fol- 
lowing children: Henry E., born in 1855, mar- 
ried Laura Mays; Nancy married George 
Stone ; James married Nancy Morris ; Malinda 
married first, Henry Hall, secondly, Ben New- 
comer ; Mary A. married Daniel Smith ; George 
H. married Nettie Carr; Maria married first, 
R. Tracy, secondly, Thomas Hall; Carrie 
married E. Ellison; and Walter O. married, 
first, Mrs. Martin, and secondly, Miss Creigh- 
ton. 

Mr. Wintz remembers very clearly when 
he saw the first steamboat, the Hope, which was 



considered a wonderful sight and attracted peo- 
ple from long distances. He has always con- 
sidered public questions with a liberal mind, 
but has performed his duties as a citizen ac- 
cording to his own judgment. For twenty- 
two years he lived as a member of that strict 
religious sect, the Missionary Baptists, and 
then united with the Church of Christ, gener- 
ally known as the Campbellites. 

FRANK L. McGEE, M.D.. who died sud- 
denly at his home in Charleston. W. Va., June 
27, 191 1, was a physician and surgeon in active 
and successful practice and was highly esteemed 
by the medical fraternity of the city. He was 
born May 25, 1855, in Lewis county, now West 
Virginia, and is a son of James and Cordelia 
Ann (Talbott) McGee. 

Thomas McGee, the grandfather of Dr. Mc- 
Gee, was born in Ireland and was unmarried 
when he came to the United States and located 
at Lynchburg, Va., where he was engaged in 
tobacco manufacture prior to the Civil War. 
He married a member of the old Kellogg fam- 
ily in Virginia and she attained an advanced 
age. They had two sons and three daughters 
born to them. 

James McGee, father of Dr. McGee. was born 
in 1818, in Bedford county, Va., and died in 
1863 from an attack of typhoid fever. He was 
a soldier in the Confederate army, under Jen- 
kins, and was with him in his raid along the 
Ohio river, when the commander was wounded 
and Mr. McGee and his comrades were cap- 
tured and sent to prison. He was finally ex- 
changed, but at that time was sick and died 
shortly afterward. He was a farmer and stock 
dealer by occupation and was personally a man 
of high principles. He married Cordelia Ann 
Talbott, who was born in Lewis county in 1828 
and died in 1876. She was a daughter of John 
Talbott. 

Six children were born to James and Corde- 
lia A. McGee. three of whom still survive. 
Mary, the eldest, married W T illiam Hornor and 
died at the age of forty-four years, leaving one 
son, Charles. Thomas was a prominent citizen 
of Hemphill county, Tex., where he was elected 
sheriff and while in the performance of his duty 
was killed in 1893. John is engaged in farm- 




FRANK L. McGEE, M- D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



535 



ing in Nicholas county. He married a Miss 
Christian and they have two living children — 
Edmund C. and Elizabeth. Frank Leroy, our 
subject, was the next member of the family in 
order of birth. Harry is a resident of Oldham 
county, Texas, of which he was formerly 
sheriff, and is a large cattle dealer. Ida is the 
wife of Thomas Copley, and they reside in Jef- 
ferson district, Kanawha county. 

Frank Leroy McGee after attending Weston 
University entered the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., where he 
spent two years, later graduating from the Ken- 
tucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, Ky., 
in the class of 1893. Soon afterward he es- 
tablished himself in practice in Nicholas county, 
and in the same year was elected a delegate to 
the West Virginia Legislature, on the Demo- 
cratic ticket. He then came to Charleston and 
realizing the advantages offered here in the 
educating of his children, he decided to make 
this city his home. He was highly successful in 
his profession and had built up an excellent 
practice when his life was suddenly cut short 
by paralysis, his death occurring as above nar- 
rated. His untimely demise caused a severe 
shock to a wide circle of friends and acquain- 
tances. 

Dr. McGee was married in 1881, at Paint 
Creek, Kanawha county, W. Va., to Miss Mary 
Buster, who was born at Armstrong Creek, in 
Fayette county, June 27, 1857, and was edu- 
cated at Charleston. Mrs. McGee is a daugh- 
ter of William B. and Sarah A. Buster, the 
former of whom was born at Hanover, Va., 
and died at Mt. Carbon, Fayette county, in 
1878. Mrs. McGee's mother was born in Mont- 
gomery county, Va., and resides with her 
widowed daughter; her ninetieth birthday will 
take place on November 21, 191 1. 

Dr. and Mrs. McGee were the parents of ten 
children, namely : Anna, who resides at home ; 
Ida M., who is a teacher in the public schools 
of Charleston; Daisy, who died in infancy; 
Pearl, who is a teacher in Charleston ; Blanche, 
who died at the age of four and a half years; 
Kittie, who is a high school student; Frankie 
R., who attends the public schools; Patrick H., 
who died at the age of eight years; and Will- 
iam B. and James Talbott. Mrs. McGee and 



children are members of the Presbyterian 
church, in which Dr. McGee was also reared, 
although he was not identified by membership 
with any congregation. For a number of years 
he was a Master Mason, taking much interest 
in the order. A man of high character and up- 
to-date ideas, he interested himself actively in 
all matters of public importance. 

DAVID EGAN, building contractor at 
Charleston, W. Va., to which city he came in 
1848, was born May 13, 1836, in County Cork, 
Ireland, a son of Andrew and Catherine 
(Nagle) Egan. In 1842, when Ireland ex- 
perienced famine on account of the failure of 
the potato crop, Andrew Egan parted from 
his family and came to America in the hope 
that he could find remunerative work and thus 
provide for his wife and five children. He met 
with success but it required three years of in- 
dustry to accumulate enough money with which 
to return to Ireland and bring his family back 
to America. In 1848 the Egan family set sail 
in one of the old slow-moving vessels of that 
time. Many misfortunes overtook them be- 
fore the shores of the United States were 
reached, the greatest of these being the death 
of the father at sea. For six months Mrs. 
Egan and her children managed to subsist in 
New York City and to earn enough to trans- 
port them to Fayette county, W. Va., and later 
to Charleston. She saw better days in her old 
age and lived to witness the prosperity of her 
children. She died February 16, 1888, being 
then more than eighty years old. 

David Egan was twelve years old when he 
reached Charleston. He had three sisters and 
one brother. Mary, the eldest, who is now de- 
ceased, was the wife of William Kelly, of Cali- 
fornia. Elizabeth, who died at Charleston, 
was the wife of the late Alvaro Gibbons, who 
started the first Republican newspaper in 
Charleston, after the Civil War, and at one 
time was postmaster. Ellen married Hon. 
George W. Atkinson, of Charleston. John, 
who has been a farmer all his life, now resides 
at Charleston. He married four times. David 
Egan was yet young when he learned the car- 
penter trade and in 1864 went into business 
for himself but prior to that he had been in the 



536 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



employ of the government during the preced- 
ing years of the Civil War, in the construction 
and repair shops at this point. Ordinarily dur- 
ing this time he had from twenty to fifty men 
under his direction and when a special detail 
was made, had from 150 to 200 men. Mr. 
Egan has been a continuous resident of 
Charleston since he first came here, with the 
exception of seven years just prior to the war, 
when he worked in Memphis, Tenn. He has 
assisted in the building of many structures of 
all kinds in this city. In 1866 he built the first 
town hall and retained the ownership of it for 
some time. In earlier years he did a large 
business in constructing coffins, at a time when 
they were all made by hand. Mr. Egan has 
survived many men in his line of business that 
were here when he first embarked in it and he 
and Judge McWhorter are the only survivors 
of the old Masonic lodge of Kanawha county, 
of which he became a member in 1864. Since 
1854 Mr. Egan has been a member of the First 
Presbyterian Church and during the greater 
part of this time he has been a deacon. Dur- 
ing the entire period of his political life, he has 
been a Democrat and twice he has served as 
a member of the city council. He has always 
been one, both as man and citizen, who has 
commanded the respect of the community. 

Mr. Egan was married to Miss Mary F. 
Mahan, who was born in 1843 in Monroe 
county, W. Va. Mrs. Egan is well and fa- 
vorably known outside as well as inside the do- 
mestic circle. She is a member of the State 
Historical Society, to which body she has do- 
nated a valuable collection of curios and an- 
tiques, which are nominally valued at $500. 
although twice that sum would not purchase 
them. For many years she has taken delight 
in making such collections and probably is bet- 
ter informed concerning the same than any 
other member of the society. Six children 
have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Egan, name- 
ly : Katherine, who resides at home; Ella, who 
married Oliver Homer and they reside at Co- 
lumbus, O., and have two children, Catherine 
and John; Mary, who married Reginald 
Hughes, who is attached to the U. S. Engi- 
neer's office at Charleston, and they have three 
children, Mary E., Ella Louise and Ernest; 



Andrew Nelson, who is in the jewelry business 
at Charleston, married Ida Booker and they 
have two children, David Nelson and Florence ; 
and Percy E., who was accidentally killed by 
the railroad, on December 24, 1908. He was 
educated at Johns Hopkins University at Bal- 
timore and was a graduate of the Kentucky 
School of Medicine, at Louisville, and was a 
successful medical practitioner. He is sur- 
vived by his widow, formerly Miss Emma Wil- 
liams, together with two children, Percy and 
an infant. Mrs. Egan is a very active and 
thoroughly interested member of the First 
Presbyterian church at Charleston. 

JAMES MORRIS, of the general mercan- 
tile firm of James Morris & Co., at Dana Sta- 
tion, Maiden district, has been a resident of 
Kanawha county all his life. He was born in 
Maiden district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
March 11, 1873, and is a son of Lewis and 
Tish (Waugh) Morris. 

Lewis Morris was born in Raleigh county, 
Va., and came to Kanawha county with his 
parents who died in Loudon district. When 
young he worked in the salt furnaces in Maiden 
district and at one period he also worked as a 
coal miner. He was one of six children, as 
follows: Lewis; Daniel; Mary, who is deceased, 
was the wife of Albert Carter; Martha, de- 
ceased, who was the wife of Caleb Casdorph ; 
and James, Ballard and Alfred. Lewis Morris 
spent the larger part of his life in Kanawha 
county, about the time of marriage moving 
back to Maiden district, where he conducted a 
store for fifteen years. His death occurred in 
1906, at the age of sixty-three years. He was 
twice married, his first wife dying when their 
son James was eight years old. The other four 
children were: Allen; Cora, who is the wife of 
John Holder; Newton; and Carrie, who is the 
wife of James Blunt. Mr. Morris was mar- 
ried second to Sarah Griffin, who survives, and 
they had four children : Lewis W. ; Willie May, 
who is the wife of Jack Seely; and Leonard 
and Shirkey. 

James Morris obtained his education in a 
country school and when only a boy began to 
work as a tripper in the coal mines, afterward 
driving the entry for his father in the old Hud- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



537 



son coal bank of the Campbell's Creek Coal 
Company. He then assisted his father in his 
store and again at the coal bank, and after- 
ward, for several years, followed teaming. 
Mr. Morris then went to Saginaw, Mich., and 
worked in the coal mines there for nine months, 
when he returned to his father's store. He 
thus had considerable experience in several 
lines before he embarked in the mercantile 
business for himself, in February, 1905, when, 
in partnership with his brother, Allen Morris, 
and his step-mother, Mrs. Sarah Morris, he 
opened his store at Dana Station. Subse- 
quently he bought his step-mother's interest 
and then admitted another brother, Newton 
Morris, as a partner, and the firm of Morris 
& Co., is made up of James, Allen and Newton 
Morris. All are reliable and capable business 
men and enjoy the confidence of this whole 
territory, which is largely supplied from their 
stock. 

James Morris was married August 19, 1909, 
to Miss Ethel Casdorph, a daughter of Caleb 
Casdorph. In politics Mr. Morris is a Repub- 
lican. He is identified fraternally with the 
Masons and the Knights of Pythias at Maiden. 

RICHARD GUILL, for many years was a 
man of large business affairs at Charleston, W. 
Va., and an exemplary and useful citizen. He 
was born June 15, 1825, in Farmsville, Rock- 
ingham county, Va., and died at his home, No. 
411 Donnally street, Charleston, on November 
22, 1904. The only child of his parents, he 
was left fatherless when quite young. His 
mother married again and lived into old age, 
surviving her second husband and dying in 
Rockingham county. 

Richard Guill remained in his native county 
until he was twenty-five years old and then 
came to West Virginia with Joseph J. Thax- 
ton. In association with William Coon they 
embarked in a lumber and dock business, under 
the firm name of J. J. Thaxton & Co., which 
continued and prospered for a space of thirty 
years when the long connection was broken by 
the death of both of Mr. Quill's partners, by 
a strange coincidence both dying from the ef- 
fects of an accident. Mr. Thaxton never sur- 
vived a fall, on the ice, and Mr. Coon a fall 



over an embankment. Mr. Guill continued the 
business, but later retired to private life, and 
for five years enjoyed entire rest from business 
cares. In his political sympathies he was a 
Democrat. At the outbreak of the Civil War 
he became a member of the organization known 
as the Sharpshooters of the Kanawha Valley 
and was slightly wounded at the first land bat- 
tle of the war in West Virginia. He was a 
man of high personal character, a pronounced 
temperance advocate, and on one occasion was 
his party's choice of candidate for the office 
of mayor of Charleston, failing of election by 
a very small majority. For nine years he was 
president of the school board of this city and 
it was during this time that some of the fine 
school buildings of which Charleston is justly 
proud, were erected. For more than fifty 
years he was a member of the State Street 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

On December 10, 1851, Richard Guill was 
married to Lovisa Price, who was born Sep- 
tember 22, 1830, in the northern part of Kan- 
awha county, near what is now the town of 
Clendenin, and died at Charleston April 25, 
1904, her death preceding that of her husband 
by but a few months. She was a daughter of 
Edmund and Rebecca (Murphy) Price, who 
lived and died on their old homestead in Kan- 
awha county. She was reared in the Baptist 
faith. To Richard Guill and wife the follow- 
ing children were born: James S., who died 
at the age of five years; Robert, who died in 
early manhood ; Helen, who was born Septem- 
ber 22, 1852, has been a member of the Baptist 
church for thirty years and has been a devoted 
daughter and loving sister; John H:, who was 
born September 6, 1856, is engaged in the 
lumber business at Charleston; Albert J., who 
was born August 2, 1862, is chief of the police 
force at Charleston; Lewis F., who was born 
October 28, 1865, lives with his brother and 
sister, in the old family residence which was 
built in 1870; and Richard, who was born 
September 5, 1872, and is a skilled electrical 
worker, and resides at home. 

O'JENNINGS A. JACKSON, a well 
known citizen of Kanawha and Roane counties, 
a farmer, merchant, school teacher and oil and 



538 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



gas producer, was born June 8, 1866, at Os- 
borne's Mills, Roane county, W. Va., and is a 
son of Almarine B. and Rosanna (Atkinson) 
Jackson, and a grandson of Thomas H. Jack- 
son. The father now lives retired, having 
reached his seventy-fourth year. 

After he completed his own education, 
O'Jennings Jackson taught school for twenty- 
seven terms and was considered a clever and 
efficient instructor, making many friends dur- 
ing this period who have continued to be in- 
terested in him. He also engaged in merchan- 
dising and conducted a grocery store in Roane 
county for two years and then resumed farm- 
ing and merchandising where he is now estab- 
lished. He is associated with his brother in 
the feed business at Clendenin and also in the 
oil and gas business. 

Mr. Jackson was married to Miss Florence J. 
Hershberger, who was born June 16, 1870, in 
Roane county, a daughter of W. M. L. and 
Margaret (Steele) Hershberger, natives of 
Logan county, and they have two children : 
Willa, aged sixteen years; and Lucille, aged 
twelve years, both at school. In politics Mr. 
Jackson is a Democrat. 

HON. GEORGE WESLEY ATKINSON, 
one of West Virginia's distinguished sons, 
formerly governor of the state and at present 
an associate judge of the United States Court 
of Claims, at Washington, D. C, has been a 
prominent factor in public life in his native 
state since early manhood. He was born in 
Kanawha county, W. Va., then Virginia, in 
1845, and is a son of Col. James Atkinson, 
once a man of prominence in public and busi- 
ness life in the Kanawha Valley. 

George Wesley Atkinson enjoyed both edu- 
cational and social advantages in his youth 
and when he reached manhood he was well 
prepared for almost any position in life. He 
chose law as his profession and entered into 
politics more or less from a sense of duty, after 
graduating in the classical course from the 
Ohio Wesleyan University, in 1870, and in 
1875 was graduated from the Columbian Law 
School, later in which year he was admitted to 
the bar. Early identifying himself with the 
Republican party, Mr. Atkinson became a 



leader in a short time, his public spirited ef- 
forts and high ideals of citizenship attracting 
and gaining the confidence of his associates, 
while his loyalty to them and the cause enabled 
him to retain it. In 1876 he was made a mem- 
ber of the Republican State Executive Com- 
mittee, when first his talents as an organizer 
began to be recognized, and he served as its 
chairman from 1880 until 1884, and its secre- 
tary for four years more, continuing his active 
membership with this powerful body for 
twenty-eight consecutive years. He was also 
chairman of the Kanawha County Republican 
Executive Committee for eight years; of the 
Third Congressional for ten years, and of the 
First Congressional for six years, and for a 
number of years afterward he served as a 
member of the National Republican Congress- 
ional Committee. 

In the meanwhile, Judge Atkinson had oc- 
cupied positions of still greater power and im- 
portance, serving for four years as a United 
States marshal, and in 1888 being elected a 
member of Congress from the First Congress- 
ional district of West Virginia. In November, 
1896, he was elected chief executive of West 
Virginia. On March 4, 1901, Governor At- 
kinson retired from that office on which his 
administration had reflected credit. Shortly 
afterward he assumed the duties of United 
States district attorney for the southern dis- 
trict of West Virginia, serving therein a term 
of four years, and subsequently, in April. 1905, 
was appointed a judge of the Court of Claims 
for the United States, a position of grave re- 
sponsibility, the members of which are chosen 
for life and for their combination of qualities 
which only few men possess. 

Governor Atkinson is a man of versatile 
talents and has made a name for himself out- 
side public affairs and his profession. For 
seven years he was an able editor and one of 
the proprietors of the West Virginia Journal, 
a leading party organ published at Charleston, 
and despite his many other interests, has found 
time to put forth a number of books, 'on still 
other subjects, which show his great fund of 
knowledge and his understanding and appre- 
ciation of the deeper things of life. 

Governor Atkinson was married first in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



539 



1868, to Miss Ellen Eagan, who was survived 
by five children. In 1897 he was married sec- 
ond to Mrs. Myra H. Camden, widow of the 
late Judge G. D. Camden, of Clarksburg, W. 
Va. They reside in Washington, D. C, and 
are members of the social-official circles which 
make a residence in that city delightful and 
stimulating. As a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church from youth, Governor At- 
kinson has led a consistent life and in 1876 and 
again in 1888, served as a lay delegate to the 
general conference of that church. He is one 
of the few members of the Masonic fraternity, 
comparatively speaking, who have attained the 
33d degree. His connection with Freema- 
sonry, in all its higher branches, has widened 
his acquaintance all over the country. In 
1876-77, he was grand master of the Grand 
Lodge of West Virginia, and was grand sec- 
retary from 1885 to 1905 inclusive. During 
that period of twenty consecutive years, he 
wrote the annual reports on Foreign Corre- 
spondence for the Grand Lodge, which re- 
quired both research and ability. 

JOHN F. SNYDER, a representative citi- 
zen of Clendenin, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
where he is a carpenter contractor, was born 
January 5, 1857, in Big Sandy district, Kan- 
awha county, and is a son of Daniel B. Sny- 
der and a grandson of John F. Snyder. 

John F. Snyder was one of the earliest set- 
tlers at Queen Shoals, Kanawha county, and 
acquired 400 acres in Elk district and 3,000 
acres in Big Sandy district and erected the first 
grist mill in the northern part of the county. 
He married Elizabeth Booker and they reared 
a large family. All the Snyders came origi- 
nally from Pennsylvania. - 

Daniel B. Snyder was an infant when his 
parents came to Kanawha county and remained 
on the home farm until he was fifty years of 
age and then rebuilt the old Snyder mill that 
his father had erected. This mill has been in 
operation ever since. He died in November, 
1885, at the age of seventy-two years. He 
married Emmeline Brawley, a daughter of 
John and Fanny Brawley, and they had the 
following children: William H., of Queen 
Shoals; Milton R., of Queen Shoals; John F., 



of Clendenin; Philip and Henry, both of Queen 
Young; and Emmeline, wife of S. Jarrett, of 
Clendenin. 

After his school days were over, Mr. Sny- 
der followed farming on the homestead until 
he was twenty-two years of age, and then went 
into the lumber business and for three years 
was also interested in merchandising. Since 
then Mr. Snyder has been engaged in carpen- 
ter contracting and along business lines is wide- 
ly known in this section. He is a Democrat in 
politics and has been a very active citizen, 
serving three terms as a member of the city 
council and also has been city recorder. 

Mr. Snyder was married first to Nancy 
Lynch, a daughter of the late Joseph and Mel- 
vina (Price) Lynch. Mrs. Snyder died in 
1 89 1, aged thirty years and was survived by 
three children : Elmer, Noane and Bessie. Mr. 
Snyder was married secondly to Mary J. Ken- 
nedy, a daughter of William and Caroline 
(Young) Kennedy and four children have been 
born to them, namely: Daniel, Wendall, Har- 
ley and Donia. Mr. Snyder is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, south, at 
Clendenin and belongs to its board of trustees. 

ANDREW L. RUFFNER, a member of 
the well known firm of Ruffner Bros., at 
Charleston, W. Va., and a representative of 
one of the oldest county families, is one of the 
most enterprising business men of this city. 
He was born at Charleston, in the old home- 
stead on Kanawha street, formerly called 
Front street, September 11, 1841, and has al- 
ways lived here. His great-great-grandfather 
was Peter Ruffner, the original settler, and his 
descent is through Joseph, Daniel and James 
Ruffner. James Ruffner married Martha Mor- 
ton, a daughter of Josiah Morton, who moved 
from Prince Edward county, Va., to Greenup 
county, Ky., and died there. Mrs. Ruffner was 
a woman of beautiful character and beloved by 
all who knew her. 

Andrew L. Ruffner was just nineteen years 
of age when the Civil War broke out and had 
worked for one year before becoming a sol- 
dier. In May, 1861, he enlisted in the com- 
pany made up of the flower of the city, the 
Kanawha Riflemen, and served until the sur- 



540 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



render of Gen. Lee at Appomattox, April 8, 
1865. During the last year of the war he was 
chief of the non-commisisoned officers of his 
regiment. Mr. Ruffner owns valuable land 
now included in the city of Charleston, which 
is a part of his heritage from his great-great- 
grandfather, who secured it in 1796. Mr. 
Ruffner has never married. In his political 
life he has always been a Democrat. 

The business firm of Ruffner Bros., dates 
back to August, 1865, when James Ruffner, 
father of the present members of the firm, in 
association with Mr. Arnold, embarked in the 
notion and dry goods business here. A few 
years later the father turned over his interests 
to his two sons, A. L. and M. P., and six years 
later they sold to Mr. Arnold and the two 
brothers went into the grocery business locat- 
ing on Kanawha street. Their beginning was 
somewhat modest but business ability and ex- 
cellent judgment have caused the growth and 
development of an enterprise that has wonder- 
fully prospered. In April, 1876, they em- 
barked in the wholesale business and now their 
name is well and favorably known over fifteen 
counties. They keep twelve commercial trav- 
elers, the name having stood for business in- 
tegrity ever since it has come before the pub- 
lic. They have met with some misfortune, a 
fire in March, r885, proving a disastrous one 
for them, and a second one, November 8, 1907, 
causing them great loss, but they have sur- 
mounted all difficulties and stand as represen- 
tative business men of this part of the state. 
They have recently remodeled the Ruffner Ho- 
tel, adding two more stories, and it is a mod- 
ern hostelry that has few equals in the state, 
and they have erected business blocks on Kan- 
awha and Virginia streets. The Ruffners 
have been public spirited to a large degree and 
have contributed greatly to the commercial 
advancement of Charleston. 

WALTER WEST WAGNER, general 
manager of the Chelyan Grocery Company, at 
Chelyan, W. Va., was born on a farm in Ne- 
braska, his father's soldier's claim. April 25, 
1875, and is a son of John and Elizabeth 
(Guise) Wagner. 

Mr. Wagner was a child when his parents 



returned east and located at Wheeling, \V. Va. 
Later they moved to Marietta, O.. and from 
there to Putnam County. W-. Va., where his 
boyhood was mainly spent. He attended the 
public schools and subsequently took a business 
course at the Barboursville Academy, and after- 
ward taught several terms of school in Putnam 
county. Mr. Wagner then entered the employ 
of John O. Dickinson, commissary at Maiden, 
in the salt works, and later took charge of the 
Quiricy Coal Company's store at Ouincy, and 
while there was appointed the first postmaster, 
at Quincy, W. Va., now Dickinson, on K. & M. 
railroad. In 1904 he came to his present lo- 
cation and in partnership with Bonner Hill, 
bought the interest of J. W. Calvert in what 
was known" as John Little No. 2 general store. 
For one year the business was conducted un- 
der the firm name of Hill & Wagner, when 
Mr. Hill' sold his interest and the Chelyan 
Grocery Company was organized and the busi- 
ness was incorporated with C. C. Moore as 
president and secretary and W. W. Wagner 
as treasurer and general manager. 

Mr. Wagner married Miss M. Kate Wat- 
kins, a daughter of R. W. Watkins, and they 
have had three children: Melvin Guy, Lillian 
and Walter Wilson. Mr. Wagner and wife 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. In politics he is a Republican 
and fraternally he belongs to the Modern 
Woodmen and to the Knights of Pythias at 
Chelyan. 

JOHN DENNIS CAMPBELL, now passed 
away, who for many years was prominently 
identified with the coal industry and officially 
connected with a number of successful mining 
companies in Virginia and West Virginia, was 
a native of Albemarle county, Va., born at 
Charlottesville, March 24, 1857. His parents 
were Abner and Frances (Reilly) Campbell. 

The name of Campbell has been an honored 
one in Virginia for generations, and an im- 
portant county of the state was named to per- 
petuate the memory of a pioneer of the name 
in that section. As is generally known. Scot- 
land was the original home of the Campbells, 
and there are perhaps no prouder people in that 
country than those who can claim direct rela- 




JOKX ~D. CAMPBELL 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



543 



tionship or descent from that mighty and fa- 
mous clan, whose gallant deeds and intellectual 
accomplishments stand prominently forth upon 
: the pages of history. Every schoolboy has 
read the story of the Highlanders' brave dash 
to the relief of Lucknow. One of England's 
proudest dukes, the Duke of Argyle, came from 
the Clan Campbell, and the great religious re- 
former and teacher, John Wesley, the founder 
of Methodism, was a Campbell. 

Abner Campbell, father of the late John 
Dennis Campbell, was born in Scotland and 
when he came to Virginia it was to join others 
of the name who had already become promi- 
nent and prosperous and, in fact, owned almost 
the whole area of Campbell county. He was 
a scholarly man and after he came to Virginia 
he completed his education in the State Uni- 
versity. His subsequent life was apparently 
devoted to looking after his large estate, his 
slaves and plantations, and his death occurred 
at Charlottesville, Va., when he was about 
fifty-one years of age. He was twice married 
and children were born of both unions. His 
second wife was Frances Reilly, who was the 
mother of six children, three of whom still sur- 
vive. She lived to be seventy years of age. 

John Dennis Campbell completed his educa- 
tion in the University of Virginia and then 
learned the art of telegraphy, for some years 
working as an operator. He then became inter- 
ested in coal mining in the New River coal field 
and subsequently was connected with coal min- 
ing in Fayette and other counties, for twenty- 
three years being president and manager of the 
Smokeless Coal Company, now known as the 
Keeney Creek Coal Company. In 1905, after 
a successful business career, he retired to 
Charleston, where he purchased a fine home, 
his residence being located at No. 1420 Quar- 
rier street. He invested in real estate in county 
and city and was also interested in oil and gas 
enterprises, and these interests occupied him 
until the close of his life, which terminated 
July 20, 1910. In politics he was a strong Re- 
publican and was frequently consulted by party 
leaders, but accepted no political favors for 
himself. He was identified with several fra- 
ternal organizations and his funeral services 
were conducted by the Masonic lodge to which 
he belonged. 



Mr. Campbell was married at Tiffin, Ohio, to 
Miss Minnie Nye, a native of that place, who 
completed her education at Heidelburg College. 
Her parents were Byron C. and Amanda (Will- 
iams) Nye, her father being a native of New 
York and her mother of Ohio. They were 
married in the latter state and spent their subse- 
quent lives in Seneca county, where Mrs. Nye 
died in 1903 in her sixty-sixth year. She was 
a wise and kind mother, a devoted wife, and an 
earnest and consistent member of the English 
Lutheran church. Her husband survived her 
about seven years, passing away in the spring 
of 1 9 10, at the age of seventy-three. He was 
a good and reliable citizen, thoroughly re- 
spected and esteemed. A kinsman of the fam- 
ily was the former well known humorist, 
"Bill" Nye. Eight children were born to 
Byron C. Nye and wife, five of whom survive, 
and of these three are married. 

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell con- 
sisted of four daughters — Sylvia, Frankie Nell, 
Twinkle Adelaide and Minnie Marie. When 
Sylvia was twelve years old and Frankie Nell 
eleven, they were sent to the Lewisburg School 
for Girls, which they attended four years. 
They then spent a year at Virginia College, at 
Roanoke, Va. (also school for girls), and then 
became students at Hamilton College at Lex- 
ington, Ky., where after studying two years 
they were graduated in the class of 1910. Sub- 
sequently they spent two years at Transylvania 
University. Minnie Marie died at the age of 
two years and a half. Twinkle Adelaide at- 
tended school at Lewisburg for two years. Mrs. 
Campbell and daughters are members of the 
First Presbyterian church at Charleston. 

WILLIAM J. WILTON, deceased, was 
one of Charleston's worthy citizens and repre- 
sentative business men for many years. He 
was born at Plymouth. Devonshire, England. 
March 19, 1847, and was a son of Michael 
Wilton, who was a stone carver and mason, a 
trade that several of his sons also followed and 
one in which William J. became an expert. 
The latter, with his older brothers, Richard 
and Michael, all came to the United States, just 
following the Civil War. and all assisted in the 
carving of the stone on the post-office buildings 



544 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



at Boston, Mass., and at Richmond, Va. They 
were skilled workmen and received what was 
then considered an enormous wage, six dollars 
a day, all the work being done by hand, the 
sand-blast and other mechanical inventions then 
being unknown. At a later date, Richard and 
Michael returned to their families in England. 
Robert, another brother, spent some time in 
this country, working as a printer, but re- 
turned and died at Plymouth. Thomas, the 
other brother, spent his active life on the sea. 
a sailor. 

William James Wilton obtained a fail- 
knowledge of books in his youth and then 
served an apprenticeship of seven years in the 
stone cutting trade before he came to the United 
States and was associated with his brothers, 
as noted above, until the completion of these 
large contracts, in 1871. It was while work- 
ing on the post-office at Richmond, Va.. that 
he took out his citizenship papers, having re- 
solved to remain in America, not having any 
domestic ties like his brothers, to compel his 
return to England. Late in the seventies he 
came to Charleston to assist a Mr. Jacob, a 
stone cutter, in completing a large granite 
monument, which was the first ever made of 
native granite, and for several years afterward 
worked at stone cutting. He then went into 
the market gardening business and continued 
for four years and then was associated for a 
time in the grocery business with the Ruffners. 
but subsequently returned to his market gar- 
dening and was prospering when he met with 
a heavy loss from fire, his barn and stock be- 
ing destroyed. For the two succeeding years 
he and wife superintended the Episcopal Hos- 
pital and then he returned to mason work and 
became a contractor, and with the assistance of 
his capable and resourceful wife, conducted a 
store for fourteen years. During the last eight 
years of his life he was in the monument busi- 
ness, stone work claiming the best years of his 
life and undoubtedly having the most interest 
for him of all occupations. He was a man of 
exemplary life, a member of the Episcopal 
church, an honest citizen and a kind neighbor. 
In politics he was a Republican and he be- 
longed fraternally to the Knights of Pythias, 
the Odd Fellows and the auxiliary order of 



Rebeccas. His death occurred March 2, 1909, 
at his home situated at No. 407 Jacob street, 
Charleston. 

Mr. Wilton was married at Plymouth, Eng- 
land, February 2, 1868, to Miss Maria White, 
who was born in Devonshire, January 30, 
1848, a daughter of William and Jane (Ford) 
White, who were Devonshire farming people, 
who lived there into old age, never coming to 
America. They were members of the Church 
of England. To William J. Wilton and his 
wife fifteen children were born, twelve of 
whom died in early childhood. The survivors 
are : James Thomas, George A. and Richard. 
James Thomas Wilton was born at Richmond, 
Va., October 24, 1873, and lives in West 
Charleston, where he follows the family trade 
of stone mason. He married Maggie Brayle 
and they have four children : Nellie Maria, 
Mabelle, Myrtle R. and John. George A. Wil- 
ton was born July 24, 1883, attended school 
at Charleston, and he, too, is engaged in the 
business in which his father became expert, 
conducting a monument business. He is un- 
married and lives with his mother. Richard 
Wilton was born July 14, 1889, attended the 
public schools and completed a business course 
at the Capital City Commercial College. He is 
a clerk in the offices of the Kanawha & W T . Va. 
Railroad Company. He lives at home. Mrs. 
Wilton and sons are all members of the Epis- 
copal church, and the sons are all Republican 
voters. 

CHARLES GABBERT, whose valuable 
farm of 232 acres is situated in Umion district. 
Kanawha county, W. Va., and is devoted to 
general agriculture and tobacco growing, is a 
member of one of the old Southern families 
that moved from Virginia to West Virginia 
after the close of the Civil War. Charles Gab- 
bert was bom on this farm. October 17, 1871. 
and is a son of Jacob L. and Harriet (Ward) 
Gabbert. 

The parents of Mr. Gabbert were born in 
Augusta county, Va. The father purchased 
400 acres of land in Union district. Kanawha 
county, in the spring of 1871, and to the im- 
provement and cultivation of his estate he de- 
voted himself more or less continuously dur- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



545 



ing the remainder of his life. He became' a 
man of local consequence although ever inde- 
pendent in his political views, and served in 
various local offices such as road supervisor 
and school director. His death occurred at 
the age of eighty-six years. He married Har- 
riet Ward, who was born in 1835 and lived to 
the age of sixty-nine years and both were 
buried acording to old custom, on their own 
land. The mother of Mr. Gabbert was a mem- 
ber of the Primitive Baptist church and the 
father attended religious exercises with her. 
Nine children were born to these good people, 
namely: George, Thomas, William, Susan E., 
Arthur, Emma, Charles, Minnie and Nora. 

After his schooldays were over, Charles 
Gabbert began to take a practical interest in the 
home farm and, as his responsibilities increased, 
continued to take more and more interest until 
farming became his entire occupation. He de- 
votes four acres to tobacco while the remain- 
der of his land is utilized for other productive 
crops of this section, and enough stock is an- 
nually raised for home consumption. 

In 1902 Mr. Gabbert was married to Miss 
Emma Mallory, who was born in Jefferson dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, a daughter of John 
and Lulu Mallory, who still reside in Jefferson 
district. Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert have two 
sons : James Melvin and Charles Lahma. Mr. 
Gabbert is a good citizen in all that relates to 
advancing the general welfare of his section, 
but, like his late father, he casts an independ- 
ent vote. Mr. Gabbert and wife are members 
of the Missionary Baptist church. 

HENRY DAVIS, who has been identified 
with the coal industry for almost his entire 
business life, has filled many positions of great 
responsibility in connection with mines and is 
recognized all through the Kanawha Valley 
as a reliable mine expert, was born near Mi- 
nersville, Pa., August 24, 1846. He is a son 
of David J. and Margaret (Jeffrus) Davis. 

David J. Davis was born in 1808, in North 
Wales, and died in 1888. His father was a 
woolen manufacturer and both his parents died 
in Wales. David J. learned the trade of watch- 
maker and afterward went to South Wales 
and there was married to Margaret Jeffrus 



and after the birth of two children— David and 
Elizabeth — they decided to emigrate to Amer- 
ica. In 1834 they set sail in one of the old- 
time vessels that were making the passage at 
that period, and after a long and tempestuous 
time on the ocean were finally landed on the 
shores of the United States. David J. Davis 
became a coal miner in Pennsylvania and later 
acquired mining interests of his own and for 
some years was a mine manager for others. 
In 1852 he was assigned to the duty of bring- 
ing a railroad engine by boat, to the Winifrede 
mining district in the Kanawha coal fields, and 
this service he performed for Col. Garland, 
who was an old Mexican soldier. This en- 
gine was the first to come into the state and it 
was for use on the old railroad line up Fields 
Creek from the Kanawha River. Mr. Davis 
was Col. Garland's manager and he put the 
railroad in condition for use and operation. 
His son, William Davis, he made the first en- 
gineer on the road. 

In 1856, David J. Davis went to Wisconsin, 
where he located three farms in Buffalo coun- 
ty, by preemption and entry, and became a 
well known man there, where he was a local 
civil engineer and surveyor, and in the latter 
capacity surveyed a large portion of that coun- 
ty. He assisted also in the development of 
other resources, having unusual business quali- 
fications as well as sleeping talents that only 
necessity brought forth. As an example, he 
became a successful physician and surgeon, 
traveling miles to alleviate the sickness and 
pains of widely separated families, when no 
graduated medical man was within reach. He 
is still remembered with feelings of respect 
and esteem in Ruffner county. He continued 
to live there and died on the day, in 1888, that 
saw Benjamin F. Harrison elected president 
of the United States, having been granted his 
earnest wish that he might be permitted to cast 
his political vote for the grandson of General 
Harrison, for whom he had voted so many 
years before. He was a devout member of the 
Episcopal church. His widow, who was born 
within two weeks of him, survived until 1892, 
dying at the age of eighty-four years. She 
was a lifelong Presbyterian. 

Eleven children were born to David J. 



546 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Davis and his wife and the record is here 
given : David, who was born in Wales, died 
of cholera, at Pittsburg, in the epidemic of 
1852, being unmarried. Elizabeth, who was 
the second child born in Wales, became the 
wife of William Tamplin, and both are now 
deceased. William was born in America. 
During the Civil War he was a member of the 
7th W. Va. Cav., and was killed at Peterstown, 
now in West Virginia. Marian married Ed- 
ward Evans, who died at Payne Creek, Kan- 
awha county, and she lives with her children. 
Ann married Joshua Newby of West Virginia 
and both are now deceased. Philip, married, 
lives at Montgomery, W. Va. James is a 
farmer in Buffalo county, Wis., and served in 
the Federal army during the Civil War. Hen- 
ry is the next in order of birth. Thomas lives 
on the old homestead at Glenco, Buffalo coun- 
ty, Wis. Emanuel died in childhood and a 
babe died in infancy. 

Henry Davis was ten years old and when 
his parents moved from West Virginia to Wis- 
consin and he obtained his education in Buf- 
falo county. He remained there until he was 
eighteen years of age and then came back to 
West Virginia and has made this state his per- 
manent home. He lived at Cannelton. Kan- 
awha county, for twenty-six continuous vears. 
during that time being connected with the Can- 
nelton Coal Company, first in the clerical de- 
partment and for some fifteen years as mana- 
ger. In 1900 Mr. Davis came to Charleston 
and has lived here ever since. For four years 
he was manager of the Big Mountain Coal 
Company and for nearly seven years of the 
Elk Coal Company on Elk river. Mr. Davis 
is a Republican in politics but has never aspired 
to political office, his tastes lying in an entirely 
different direction. For many years he has 
been active in Masonic circles, is past master 
of the Blue Lodge, a Knight Templar and a 
Shriner. His residence stands at No. 410 
Thompson street. 

Mr. Davis was married first at Syracuse, O.. 
to Miss Jane Davis, who was born in Ohio and 
was educated there, and died at Cannelton, 
W. Va.. August 26. 1889, aged thirty-seven 
years. She was the mother of seven children, 
namely: Anna B.. born October 14, 1870, 



married Harvey H. Morris and they reside at 
Huntington and have one daughter. Julia, now 
sixteen years of age: William D., born August 
16, 1872, is a conductor on the C. & O. rail- 
road, married Viana Taylor and they have two 
children — Betty and Jane; Florence L.. born 
September 6. 1877, is the wife of Dr. Henry 
Baber and they reside on New River and have 
one son, Harry; Henry, born August30,i879. 
is mine manager on Cabin Creek, married 
Harriet Pryor and they have four children — 
Gertrude, Aline, Katherine and Mary G. ; Hor- 
ace Garfield, born July 26, 1881, is in business 
at Clendenin. W. Va.. married Nettie Brawley: 
Grace Jane, born November 7, 1883, is the 
wife of George C. Weirick, resides at Hunt- 
ington : and Charles E., born April 4. 1887, 
also lives at Huntington. W. Va. 

Mr. Davis was married (second) in West 
Virginia, to Miss Lizzie Brazeal. who was 
born at Blackburg, Va., April 13, 1866, a 
daughter of Charles H. and Sallie Woodwar 
(Le Tellier) Brazeal. These families before 
the Civil War were very prominent, large slave- 
holders and plantation owners. The father of 
Mrs. Davis died twenty-two years ago, in his 
fiftieth year. He was a millwright by trade 
and was a brave soldier in the Civil War. serv- 
ing in the Confederate army in General 
Longstreet's Brigade and suffered the loss of 
an eye from an exploding shell. The mother 
of Mrs. Davis lived until 1883. dying in Nel- 
son County. Va.. at the age of forty-two years. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Davis eight children have 
been born, namely: Sallie J., who lived but 
seven years: Pennsylvania V. born January 
26, 1893. who is a student in the Charleston 
High School: Henry Elizabeth, who was born 
December 18, 1894. is a student; and Franklin 
E., born June 8, 1897 ; Richard Harding, born 
April 2. 1898; Curtis W., born January 4. 
1 90 1 : Margaret J., born August 8, 1903; and 
Dorothy Evelyn, born May 12. 1906. Mrs. 
Davis is a member of the Baptist church but 
the children have been reared in the Presbyte- 
rian faith. 

WILLIAM J. SEAFLER. one of the rep- 
resentative citizens of Elk District. Kanawha 
County. W. Va.. who is carrying on fanning 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



547 



and lumbering operations on Elk River, was 
born August 12, 1852, in Allegheny County, 
Pa., a son of Peter and Louisa (Crimmer) 
Seafler. 

Peter Seafler, who was born in Germany 
and came with his parents to America when 
four years of age, attended school in Butler and 
Beaver Counties, Pa., until reaching his eigh- 
teenth year, at which time he went to work on 
the old Erie canal, and later he was employed 
at Pittsburg, in the shipyard at Shoustown, 
Pa., and the brickyard at New Cumberland, 
W. Ya., and eventually, in 1865, he located in 
Elk District, where he was engaged in farm- 
ing up to the time of his death. He was a 
prominent man in Democratic politics, serving 
as supervisor for two terms and as a member 
of the board of education for twelve years, and 
his religious connection was with the Presby- 
terian church. He married Louise Crimmer, 
who was born in Germany and came to this 
country at the age of sixteen years with two 
brothers and sisters, and to this union there 
were born four children, namely : John Chris- 
topher, a lumberman and farmer of Elk Dis- 
trict; Lee A., a resident of Bridgeport, Ohio; 
Sarah C, who married H. B. Debord of New- 
ark, Ohio ; and William J. 

William J. Seafler attended the common 
schools until he was eighteen years of age, 
and after completing his education engaged in 
laboring until his marriage, at which time he 
became a cooper and worked at that trade for 
four years. He then engaged in farming on 
Elk River, and purchased his present property 
in 1890, since which time he has carried on 
extensive lumbering and farming operations 
with much success. He is a Democrat in his 
political views and has been a hard worker for 
his party, and his efforts were recognized when 
he was elected trustee of Elk District in T 909. 
He is a member of both the Masons and the 
Odd Fellows at Clendenin, W. Va. 

In 1873 Mr. Seafler was married to Miss 
Raxalina Gunter, who was born June 15, 185 1, 
in Kanawha County, a daughter of John Gun- 
ter, and to this union there have been born six 
children, namely : Gertrude, who married Tohn 
Hoover, of Elk District, and they have had six 
children: Frederick W., who married Esther 



Starchier, and they have had two children; 
Tillie, who married H. W. Lucas of Blakely, 
and they have two children; and Hazel, 
Grover and Harry B., all of whom reside at 
home. 

JOHN COTTON BOWEN, a representa- • 
tive business man of Charleston, W. Va., who 
for some ten years past has been in the real 
estate brokerage business, and has assisted in 
the changing of ownership of much of the real 
estate here during this period, belongs to an 
old family that has been identified with what is 
now West Virginia, for very many years. He 
was born in 1855, on Piedmont Road, Charles- 
ton, and is a son of James W. and Mary Allen 
(Johnson) (Landis) Bowen. 

The earliest records at hand affecting the 
Bowen family, date back to Samuel Bowen, 
who, at some time in life, resided in Maryland, 
and at another period at Clarksburg, now in 
West Virginia, and it is believed that he 
migrated from Maryland to Clarksburg, 
as he died at the latter place. He mar- 
ried and had a family including Absolom, who 
was a resident of West Virginia all his life. 
He must have been born prior to 1790, as he 
fought as a private in the War of 1812, having 
had two brothers killed during that second dis- 
turbance with England. He lived to be ninety- 
two years old. In early life he was a Whig 
and during the War of the Rebellion was a 
strong believer in the Union cause. His home 
was on Tyler Creek. He married Elsie Trigg 
and they were parents of six children, one of 
whom, William, the youngest of the family, 
still survives at the age of eighty, years and 
lives in L nion District. 

James W. Bowen, second son of Absolom 
and Elsie Bowen, was born in Union District, 
Kanawha County, in 1823, and spent the 
larger part of his life there, following an agri- 
cultural life, and died in 1900. Early in the 
Civil War his sympathies were with the Con- 
federate cause but later he changed his mind 
and desired the success which ultimately 
crowned the Federal forces and brought peace. 
He voted the Republican ticket for some years 
before his death. He was reared in the Meth- 
odist church but later became a Baptist. He 



548 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was married on Tyler Creek, Kanawha County, 
to Mrs. Mary Allen (Johnson) Landis, daugh- 
ter of Nicholas Johnson and widow of Mere- 
dith Landis. The latter died in the prime of 
life and left one son, Meredith, who served in 
Colonel Brown's regiment in the Federal army 
throughout the Civil War, and was wounded in 
the Shenandoah Valley in 1864, which caused 
the subsequent loss of his leg. Mrs. Bowen was 
bom in 181 5 and died near Clendenin. W. Va., 
in 1902. Five children were born to the above 
marriage, namely : Mary, who is deceased, 
was the wife of Augustus Chandler, a resident 
of Kanawha County; Sarah A., who is sur- 
vived by her husband, Preston Chandler, and 
two children; James W., who is a farmer in 
Elk District ; John Cotton ; and Samuel Brad- 
ford, who died unmarried, at the age of 
twenty-six years. 

John Cotton Bowen was reared and educated 
at Charleston. For some fifteen years he was 
in the grocery trade here and since then has, a;* 
mentioned above, been largely interested in 
real estate. He is affiliated with the Demo- 
cratic party and he belongs to the Baptist 
church. 

Mr. Bowen was married at Charleston to 
Miss Lucy Cantrell, who was born in Ken- 
tucky, sixty years ago, a daughter of John and 
Agnes (Fitch) Cantrell, old family names there. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have two children : Sam- 
uel E. and M. Elizabeth. The latter was born 
at Charleston and was educated in the public 
schools and the Capital City Commercial Col- 
lege. She resides at home. Samuel E. Bowen 
was born April 19, 1876, near Charleston, and 
was educated in the public schools of this city, 
the University of West Virginia, and the Nash- 
ville, Tenn., College, graduating from the law 
department of that institution in 1903 with his 
degree, and was admitted to the Kanawha 
County bar. He practices law but is also largely 
interested as a real estate broker. He is active 
in Democratic politics and during 1907-8 was 
chairman of the City Democratic Executive 
Committee. In Masonry he belongs to many 
of the branches at Charleston and to the Con- 
sistory at Wheeling. He is also a member of 
the Knights of Pythias. On June 15, 1909, he 
was married at Staunton, Va.. to Miss Tessa 



Lee Sellers, who was born in Rockingham 
County, Va., in June, 1882, and was educated 
at Bidgewater College. She is a daughter of 
J. O. T. and Katherine (Bauserman) Sellers, 
both of Rockingham County. 

D. A. MOORE, who conducts a general 
store and also handles milk and cream, on the 
Ferry Branch road, in Loudon District. Kana- 
wha County, W. Va., was born in Franklin 
County, Va., June 21, 1850, and is a son of 
David and Sarah J. (Griffith) Moore. 

The parents of Mr. Moore were born in 
Franklin County, where the father followed 
farming until 1871 when he moved with his 
family to Kanawha County, and his death oc- 
curred when he was four days beyond his 
seventy-third birthday. The family consisted 
of eight children, namely : America and Louisa 
J., both of whom are now deceased; W. J., who 
lives in Texas; P. J., who also lives in Texas; 
D. A. ; Alfred, who is deceased ; and M. E. and 
Charles. 

D. A. Moore attended school in Franklin 
County, and afterward engaged in farming and 
in teaming and also worked on the railroad, 
having habits of industry from youth up and 
never satisfied unless engaged in some employ- 
ment. After spending some time in Kentucky 
and following teaming there, and after coming 
to Kanawha County, in February, 1871. he 
turned his attention to merchandising and nine 
years ago opened his store. He carries a sea- 
sonable stock calculated to meet the wants of his 
customers and is prospering. 

Mr. Moore married Miss Susan Price, a 
daughter of John and Catherine Price, of 
Greenbriar County, where the father was a 
farmer, and they have one son, John D., who is 
a civil engineer. Mr. Moore is a Democrat and 
has served as school director and at one time 
was constable. 

E. FRANK HILL, formerly president of 
the First National Bank of Alderson. W. 
Va., and for many years a very prominent 
business man in Monroe county, was born 
in Monroe county, W. Va., December 19, 
1849, and died at Alderson, December 19, 
1904. He was a son of Spencer R. and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



549 



Margaret (Patton) Hill, who were also na- 
tives of Monroe county. For some years 
after the Civil War the father conducted a 
store at Alderson. He was a Democrat in 
his political sentiments and he and wife were 
members of the Presbyterian church. 

E. Frank Hill was reared in his native 
county and after his school days were over, 
became identified with the mercantile busi- 
ness which he engaed in until 1872, in 
which year, in association with his father- 
in-law, Joseph Jarrett, he became interested 
in stock and cattle raising. In 1891 he or- 
ganized the first financial institution at Al- 
derson, the First National Bank, of which 
he was president until his death. 

On October 4. 1871, in Greenbrier 
county, W. Ya., E. Frank Hill was married 
to Miss Fannie Jarrett, who was born in 
that county and attended school there and 
at Lewisburg College. She is a daughter 
of Joseph P. and Malinda (McClung) Jar- 
rett, the former of whom was born Septem- 
ber 3, 181 1, in Greenbrier county, and died 
in 1898, aged eighty-seven years. For 
many years he was an extensive stock and 
cattle raiser, and during this time was in 
partnership with his son-in-law, E. Frank 
Hill. He was a devout Methodist and his 
house was the home of the preachers of that 
faith whenever they came to that section. 
He married Malinda McClung, who was 
born December 12, 1808, and died at the 
home of her daughter, Mrs. Hill, December 
11, 1 891, within one day of being eighty- 
three years of age. The place on which the 
Jarrett family lived in Greenbrier county, 
was settled by James Jarrett. who died in 
1822. He located' there soon after the 
Revolutionary War and his stone mansion 
is still standing near Alderson. He married 
Polly Griffith, who died in 1802. She was 
noted as a woman of great endurance and 
it is said that she would frequently walk a 
distance of sixteen miles to Lewisburg. in 
order to hear a favorite minister preach. 
Two daughters were born to Joseph P. and 
Malinda Jarrett: Mrs. Hill and Jennie, the 
latter of whom was the wife of William An- 
derson. Mrs. Anderson was survived by 



three children. To Mr. and Mrs. Hill six 
children were born, namely: Joseph S., 
who is cashier of the National City Bank, 
married Grace Gosling, and they have two 
children — Joseph Jarrett and Margaret; 
Maude, who is the wife of Richard Hodges, 
of Alderson, and they have three children — 
Edwin R., Frances Hill and Fannie Jarrett; 
Blanche, who is the wife of John Lobban, 
of Alderson; Mabel, who resides with her 
mother; Frank, who graduated in law at 
the University of West Virginia in 1906 and 
for three years has been a justice of the 
peace, married Lillian Haynes ; and Roy L., 
who is in the commission business and is 
connected with a Baltimore firm, resides 
at Charleston. Mrs. Hill and family are 
members of the Presbyterian church. She 
became a resident of Charleston in 1908, 
the family home being at No. 1533 Quarrier 
street. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON GARDNER, 
better known as Uncle Dick to his many 
friends, is the oldest merchant at Dana Sta- 
tion. Kanawha county, W. Ya., where he 
established himself in business in 1880. He 
was born on the old family plantation on 
the James river, in Albemarle county, Ya., 
December 14, 1838, and is a son of William 
and Martha (Woody) Gardner. 

William Gardner was born in Virginia 
and there owned a large plantation before 
the Civil War and had many slaves to culti- 
vate it. In 1850 he moved to St. Albans, 
now in West Virginia, where he became 
manager for some of the older Thompsons, 
large planters at that day in that section, 
and then settled in what is now Loudon 
district, Kanawha county, subsequently 
moving from there to Ohio, where his 
death occurred at the age of seventy years. 
He married Martha Woody and when she 
was left a widow in Ohio, she returned to 
Kanawha county and her death occurred at 
the home of her daughter Catherine, at 
what is now Dana. "William Gardner and 
wife had four children : Catherine, who 
married Thomas Colline, and both are de- 
ceased ; Thomas Jefferson; Lucy Ann. who 



550 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was the wife of Calvin Tucker, and both 
are deceased; and William, who died 
young. 

Thomas J. Gardner was quite young 
when the family came to Kanawha county 
and he attended a subscription school at 
St. Albans. When he grew old enough to 
assume responsibilities, he engaged in 
farming and for two years was farmer on 
what is now the Oaks farm, working for 
David Clarkson for board and clothes and 
a salary of fifty dollars a year. In those 
days his trusty gun often supplied the 
larder with meat. He then engaged in flat- 
boating for a time, transporting salt from 
the furnaces and then started to merchan- 
dising, first at Black Hawk, Kanawha 
county. From there he came to his present 
location on the Charleston road near Dana 
Station. Mr. Gardner does a very satisfac- 
tory business and custom comes from long 
distances, his friends being found in all 
parts of the country. He is one of the most 
substantial residents of Maiden district and 
owns a large amount of real estate. 

On July ii, 1849, Mr. Gardner was mar- 
ried to Miss Catherine Alexander, a daugh- 
ter of Joel and Roxie (Morris) Alexander, 
both natives of Virginia, Major Billie Mor- 
ris, the grandfather of Mrs. Alexander hav- 
ing been a distinguished early settler of this 
section. To Mr. and Mrs. Gardner four- 
teen children were born, the family record 
being as follows : Charles M. married Delia 
Young and lives at Cedar Grove. Roxie, 
who resides at Charleston, is the widow of 
Mack Figget. Sarah, who lives in Maiden 
district, is the widow of John Bracken. 
Mary, who married Jack Walker, resides at 
Charleston. Mordecai P. is in business at 
Charleston. He married Winnie Martin. 
James lives in Maiden district and married 
Susan Roberts. Loraina is the wife of 
James Lawrence and their home is in 
Maiden district. Pincard is engaged in 
business at East Bank. He married Belle 
Buskirk. Lydia is survived by her hus- 
band, John Todd. Florence married Will- 
iam Hammond and both are now deceased. 
Catherine married Edgar Spriggle and they 



live at Red Jacket, W. Va. Morris and 
Thomas both live in Maiden district and 
the former married Eva Angel, and the lat- 
ter Catherine Young. William, who is now 
deceased, married Rebecca Skyles, who 
survives. All the children lived happy in 
the old home until they left to form homes 
of their own and Mr. and Mrs. Gardner 
have the satisfaction of having all the sur- 
vivors settled reasonably near. They are 
thus able to watch the development of their 
descendants, there being some sixty grand- 
children and also a number of great-grand- 
children, and the indications are that in 
these West Virginia will have citizens cred- 
itable to the old stock. 

HON. JOSEPH H. GAINES, of Charles- 
ton, prominent among the public men of West 
\ irginia, and a successful lawyer, was born in 
the District of Columbia May 3, 1864, a son of 
Theophilus and Ariadne (Stockton) Gaines. 
He is a grandson on the paternal side of Rev. 
Ludwell Graham Gaines, a native of Culpeper 
county, Va., and of Virginia parentage, whose 
family were prominent among the slave holding 
aristocracy of early days in the Old Dominion. 
The Rev. Ludwell G. Gaines was educated in 
the L'niversity of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill, that state, and after his graduation be- 
came a preacher of the Presbyterian faith, gain- 
ing a wide reputation as a man of more than 
average power in the pulpit. Becoming con- 
scientiously opposed to the institution of slav- 
ery, he left the South and went to reside in 
Ohio, where he continued in the ministry. He 
died at an advanced age. His wife was in 
maidenhood a Miss Douglass, and she also at- 
tained a venerable age, dying in Hamilton 
county, Ohio. Their children were four in 
number, namely : Theophilus, John Douglass, 
William, and Mary. John Douglass Gaines 
graduated from a medical college at Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and is now a resident of California. Ohio, 
of which place he is an active and well known 
citizen. He is married but has no children. 
William also became a physician and married, 
but is now deceased. Mary died early in mar- 
ried life. 

Theophilus Gaines, father of our subject, 




HON. JOSEPH H. GAINES 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



553 



was born in Ohio, in 1824, and after gradu- 
ating from a Cincinnati law school, became as- 
sistant prosecuting attorney and subsequently 
prosecuting attorney of his native county of 
Hamilton. At the time of Abraham Lincoln's 
first call for 75,000 men in the Civil War, he 
organized a company, which became Company 
F, of the 5th Vol. Infantry of Ohio troops, of 
which he was elected captain. He later re- 
enlisted and while with his regiment in Vir- 
ginia in 1863, he was detailed as assistant judge 
advocate and remained in that position until 
the close of the war, holding a commission as 
major. 

After the close of the great struggle between 
the sections, he removed to Fayette county, W. 
Va., where he held the office of prosecuting at- 
torney for some years. He also practiced law 
at different times in Nicholas, Clay, Webster 
and Braxton counties and was probably prose- 
cuting attorney for one or more of those coun- 
ties. In 1882 he was appointed by President 
Hayes as pension agent at Washington, D. C, 
and held that position for four years. In 1890 
he was a candidate for Congress from the 
Third District of West Virginia, but was de- 
feated. He was long very active and promi- 
nent in the councils of the Republican party. 
He was a member and at one time an elder in 
the Presbyterian church, and he belonged also 
to the Masonic order. 

Theophilus Gaines was married in Clairmont 
county. Ohio, to Miss Ariadne Stockton, who 
was, it is thought, a native of Ohio, and who 
died at Fayetteville, W. Va., at the age of 
forty years. He survived her many years, dy- 
ing March 11, 1898, at the age of seventy-four. 
They were the parents of four children, 
namely: Ludwell Graham, Martha C, Na- 
thaniel W. and Joseph H., whose record in 
brief is as follows: Ludwell G. Gaines, (sec- 
ond of the name) was born in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, graduated in law and became prosecut- 
ing attorney of Fayette county, W. Va., and 
later judge of the criminal court, which position 
he held at the time of his death at Fayettevihe. 
He married Martha Ebersole, who was born in 
California, Ohio, and who now lives in Fay- 
etteville, having one son, Ebersole. Margaret 
Katherine Gaines is the wife of W. C. Law- 



rence of Columbus, Ohio, who is engaged there 
in a commercial enterprise. She and her hus- 
band have three children — Theophilus Gaines, 
now 25 years old, who resides in Columbus; 
Wayman C, a graduate of Princeton college, 
class of 1909, who is secretary to his uncle 
Joseph, the subject of this sketch; and Julian 
H., who is a graduate of the local high school. 
Nathaniel W. Gaines died in 1888 unmarried. 

Joseph H. Gaines, whose nativity has been 
already given, began his education in the schools 
of Fayetteville, subsequently studied in the 
preparatory department of the University of 
West Virginia, and was gradauted from 
Princeton college in the class of 1886, with the 
degree of A. B. Admitted to the bar at Fay- 
etteville in 1887, he entered into general prac- 
tice there, but in 1895 came to Charleston, 
where he has since been an active and promi- 
nent member of the bar. But it is not only as 
an able attorney and advocate that Mr. Gaines 
has achieved distinction. He has long been a 
prominent figure in the political life of the state. 
His interest in politics dates back to his resi- 
dence in Fayetteville, where he served as chair- 
man of the Republican county committee. In 
1897 he was appointed United States district 
attorney for the district of West Virginia by 
President McKinley, which position he held 
until 1900, in which year he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Fifty-seventh Congress. In the na- 
tional hall of legislation he fully justified the 
choice of his constituents, his record there be- 
ing a highly creditable one. He served on va- 
rious important committees, including Inter- 
state, and Foreign Commerce and Ways and 
Means, showing ever an intelligent grasp of 
public affairs and a true statesmanship having 
for its object the greatest good for the greatest 
number, yet maintaining always the best tradi- 
tions of his party. So satisfactory, indeed, 
was his record, that he was repeatedly re- 
elected, his last term in Congress expiring 
March 4th of the present year — 191 1. By vir- 
tue of his experience and thorough mastery of 
local and state politics, he wields a powerful in- 
fluence in the councils of his party and few 
measures of importance are undertaken without 
his advice being sought. A good judge of men, 
he has been the means of introducing to public 



554 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



life a number who have since justified his ef- 
forts in their behalf, while on the other hand 
he has exerted his influence against those 
who were not in the highest degree worthy of 
the public confidence, and he has made few, if 
any mistakes of judgment in this respect. Ripe 
with experience and now at the zenith of his 
mental and physical powers, it may well be as- 
sumed that Mr. Gaines will find other and per- 
haps wider fields of usefulness and that the -fu- 
ture holds much in store for him. 

On November 23, 1898, Mr. Gaines married 
Marjorie Lewis Gentry, who was born in 
Charleston, W. Va., thirty-four years ago, and 
was educated at Mount tie Chantel, Ohio, near 
Wheeling, W. Va. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines are 
the parents of six children, namely: Joseph 
Holt, Jr., born November 11, 1900, Stockton 
T., Richard K., Margona L., Anne and Hallie. 

FRANK R. BUTTS, D.D.S.. whose well 
appointed dental office is located in the 
Opera House building, on Capitol street, 
Charleston, W. Va., is one of the leading 
members of his profession in this city. He 
comes of one of the old and honored fam- 
ilies of Virginia and was born in 1873. at 
Greenville, Monroe county. W. Va., and is 
a son of Dr. A. Henry and Mattie (Hines) 
Butts. 

Dr. Shannon Butts, the paternal grand- 
father, was born in Botetourt county, Va., 
about 181 1, and came from there to Monroe 
county, where he was an early and leading 
physician. His'practice covered a wide ter- 
ritory and he was known to all the early 
settlers. His death was felt as a personal 
loss in many families. He married Mary 
Reice, who died also in Monroe county, and 
they were survived by the following chil- 
dren : A. Henry; Leonidas, who is a min- 
ister in the Methodist Episcopal church in 
Virginia ; Jennie, who is the widow of Paul 
Knight, lives at Hinman, AY. Va. : and 
Fletcher, who was a minister in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church and died at Balti- 
more, Md. 

Dr. A. Henry Butts was born in 1834, in 
Monroe county, W. Va., and died in Feb- 
ruary, 1906. During the Civil War he 



served as a surgeon in Lowery's Heavy 
Artillery, Confederate army, with the rank 
of lieutenant. In times of peace he de- 
voted himself entirely to his profession and 
was well and widely known. In politics he 
was a Democrat, while in religion he was a 
Presbyterian. He was married in Monroe 
county to Miss Mattie Hines, who was born 
and reared in Greenbrier county, Va. She 
survives and is now in her sixty-seventh 
year. Five children were born to the above 
marriage, namely : Hettie, who is the 
widow of Dr. B. F. Kibler, still resides in 
Virginia and has three children — Lista, 
Claude and Max; Charles Shannon, who is 
engaged in the practice of medicine at New- 
port News, Va., has one son, Shannon; J. 
Fleetwood, who is a graduate of the dental 
department of the Baltimore Medical Col- 
lege, is located at Charleston, is married 
and has two sons — Henry and Edward ; 
Frank R. : and Mary, who is the wife of Dr. 
W. W. McDonough, a practicing dentist 
located at Seminole, Okla. 

Frank R. Butts attended the local schools 
and early became interested in dentistry 
and later entered the dental department of 
the University of Maryland, where he was 
graduated in the class of 1892. He began 
practice in the office of his older brother. 
Dr. J. Fleetwood Butts, with whom he re- 
mained associated until 1905, when he 
opened his own dental office, as mentioned 
above. He has been very successful in his 
profession and has a large practice. He 
keeps fully abreast with the times and is 
an active member of the state dental asso- 
ciation. 

In 1902 Dr. Butts w T as married at Rush- 
ville, Ind., to Miss Edna Oglesby, who was 
born and reared in Rush county, Intl.. a 
daughter of J. E. and Anna Oglesby, who 
now live at Wheeling. Mrs. Butts has one 
sister, Maria, who is the wife of Fred L. 
Fox, residing at Carnegie, Pa., and they 
have two children, Virginia and Frederick. 
Dr. Butts is a leading member of the Elks, 
of which he is past exalted ruler. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



555 



JUNIUS E. KENDALL, farmer and 
surveyor, residing in Elk district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., was born June 29, 1870, on 
the Kendall homestead, on Blue creek, 
Kanawha county. He is a son of James 
Edward and Elmira (Guthrie) Kendall. 

James Edward Kendall was born Febru- 
ary 28, 1828, on Elk creek, and was a son 
of Joseph Kendall, who was born in King 
George county, Va., and came as a boy to 
Kanawha county, one of the oldest settlers. 
He located first at Boom on the Elk river 
and then moved to Blue creek, where he 
bought 33,000 acres of timbered land. He 
was the first settler in the eastern part of 
Elk district and in 1834 built the first cabin. 
A millwright by trade he built the first 
steam mill in Kanawha county and built 
mills of all kinds in other sections. Joseph 
Kendall was born in 1798 and died in 1865 
and the old place on Blue creek where his 
remains rest is now called Kendolia. His 
wife was Elizabeth Anderson Burgess of an 
old pioneer family of the salt regions. 
James Edward Kendall became a surveyor 
and worked in this profession all through 
the county. In 1850 he built a water mill 
and constructed salt boats to load at differ- 
ent furnaces during the palmy days of the 
salt industry, and later operated grist mills 
and saw mills and also engaged in farming 
and still continues his agricultural opera- 
tions in King George county. In 1901 Mr. 
Kendall served as a delegate to the state 
legislature. He married Elmira Guthrie, 
who was born December 31, 1835, a daugh- 
ter of Elijah and Jane B. (Thomas) Guth- 
rie, and in 1900 they moved back to the 
old Virginia homestead. To this marriage 
seven children were born, the six survivors 
being: Fred A., a farmer on Blue creek; 
Floyd, a farmer in Virginia ; Albert, a resi- 
dent of California ; Junius E. ; Frank, living 
at home, and Elmira, wife of C. Brock, liv- 
ing in California. By a previous marriage 
with Margaret Hill, a daughter of Moses 
Hill, Mr. Kendall had two children, Ernest 
and Elizabeth, both of whom are deceased. 

After his school days were passed, Junius 
E. Kendall worked on the farm and in the 



timber and was associated with his father 
in surveying and they surveyed some of the 
oldest landmarks on the Elk river. In 1902 
Mr. Kendall came to Charleston and in the 
following year opened a grocery store in 
West Charleston, which he conducted for 
five years and then sold and has devoted 
himself since then to the timber business 
together with farming and surveying. Like 
his father he is a stanch Democrat. 

Mr. Kendall was married to Miss Nettie 
Fulks, who was born in Virginia, a daugh- 
ter of John and Demarius (Williamson) 
Fulks, the family belonging to Bedford 
county. Mr. Kendall is a member of the 
Masonic lodge at Charleston of which his 
father and grandfather were both members, 
and he belongs also to Glendale Lodge, No. 
78, Knights of Pythias, West Charleston. 

Among his early ancestral names appears 
that of Pocahontas. His great-grand- 
father, James Kendall, a son of Waffendall 
and Peggy Kendall, was captain of a trad- 
ing schooner on the Potomac river and 
married Rebecca Wroe, who was the great- 
granddaughter of Pocahontas, whose ro- 
mantic history is a part of the country's 
annals. 

HON. HENRY BRANNON. judge of 
the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Vir- 
ginia, has been prominent in public as well 
as professional life in this state for many 
years, serving in legislative bodies and on 
the bench with equal efficiency. Judge 
Brannon was born at Winchester, Va., No- 
vember 26, 1837, and is a son of Robert and 
Catherine Brannon, and a brother of the 
late Judge John Brannon, under whose su- 
pervision he was prepared for the bar. 

Henry Brannon at the age of eighteen 
years was a creditable student in the public 
schools and the academy at Winchester, 
and with this preparatory training entered 
the University of Virginia, where he was 
graduated in 1858 and in the following year 
was admitted to the bar. After scarce a 
year of practice, in i860 he was elected 
prosecuting attorney of Lewis county, the 
exacting duties of which office he per- 



556 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



formed capably and satisfactorily, return- 
ing then to private practice which subse- 
quently became one of the largest in this 
section. He was interested and active in 
public affairs, and in 1870-1 he was elected 
to the state legislature and proved his 
worth as a statesman while a member of 
that body. In 1880 he was elected judge 
of the eleventh judicial circuit, succeeding 
his brother, Hon. John Brannon, and served 
eight years, when he was elected an asso- 
ciate judge of the Supreme Court of Ap- 
peals for West Virginia, and in 1894 was 
made preciding judge. It is a notable fact 
that almost all the public men of impor- 
tance are or have been in some way con- 
nected with the law, the thorough training 
which prepares them for the bar, equally 
equipping them for responsible position in 
other lines. This has been exemplified in 
the case of Judge Brannon, whose public 
services have been distinctive in several 
directions. 

In 1858 Judge Brannon was married to 
Miss H. J. Arnold, a daughter of Elijah 
Arnold, of an old family of Weston. W. 
Va., and they have six children. Judge 
and Mrs. Brannon occupy one of the beau- 
tiful residences which adorn Weston. 

ALBERT STAUFFER, postmaster at 
Mink, W. Va., and a general farmer on 
Cooper's creek, Kanawha county, in Elk 
district, was born September 28, 1872, in 
Switzerland. His parents are Fritz and 
Eugenia (Pretre) Stauffer. 

Fritz Stauffer was born in July, 1844, and 
came to America with his family from 
Switzerland, and in 1881 settled at Four- 
Mile Station, on Cooper's creek, in Kanawha 
county, W. Va. He bought uncleared land 
which he has succeeded in clearing and has 
developed an excellent farm. He now lives 
retired, having a competency. He married 
Eugenia Pretre, of French descent, a 
daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Pretre. 
They also were natives of Switzerland and 
came to America in 1890, settling in Elk 
district, where both died. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stauffer have two sons and one daughter: 



Albert; Charles, who is a farmer; and 
Laura, who is the wife of Theodore Ehman, 
of Elk district. 

Albert Stauffer attended school until he 
was about twelve years of age and then be- 
gan to help his father in the clearing of the 
timber off the home land and later assisted 
in cultivating the farm and remained at 
home until his marriage, at the age of 
twenty-seven years. Then he settled on 
the present farm, where he carries on farm- 
ing and stock raising very successfully. He 
is a charter member of Pleasantdale 
Grange, No. 289. He is a very active 
worker for the Republican party and in 
1908 was elected a justice of the peace and 
on May 29, 1900, was appointed postmas- 
ter at Mink, W. Va. 

Mr. Stauffer was married to Miss Debby 
Wheeler, who was born in 1883, in Boone 
county, a daughter of Sylvester and Clary 
(Stalling) Wheeler, and a granddaughter 
of Alexander Wheeler, who was a soldier 
during the Civil War in the Union army, 
and still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer 
have one son, Fred, who was born June 12, 
1 901, and is a diligent pupil at school. 

JOHN ANDERSON, for a number of years 
one of the most prosperous of business men 
and a most respected citizen of Charleston, W. 
Ya., was born August 4. 1836, in County An- 
trim. Ireland, and died at Charleston, Novem- 
ber 13, 1897. His parents were John and Mary 
( Kennan ) Anderson. 

John Anderson's father was also born in 
County Antrim, and was of Scotch-Irish an- 
cestry. He grew up in his native parish and 
became a farmer not far from the city of Bel- 
fast. He was married to Mary Kennan, a na- 
tive of Scotland. All their children were born 
in Ireland. After William, the eldest son, mar- 
ried, he sailed for America, accompanied by his 
brother Samuel, and his sister Ann, and they 
settled at Wheeling. W. Va. In 1848 John 
Anderson, Sr., and the rest of his family em- 
barked on a sailing vessel, arrived at New 
York in safety and joined the other members 
of the family in Wheeling. Almost' imme- 
diately John Anderson, Sr., secured the posi- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



557 



tion of manager of the toll bridge and in this 
office he served continuously for twenty-six 
years without missing a clay. He was a man 
of exemplary life and temperate in all things, 
never indulging in liquor or tobacco. He lived 
to be eighty-seven years of age, his death oc- 
curring in 1874. He was respected and es- 
teemed by all and was noted for his honesty 
and uprightness in every business transaction. 
His widow survived him for about six years, 
dying at the same age as her husband. They 
both were strong Presbyterians. In addition 
to the three children mentioned, there was of 
this marriage Eliza, Jane, Matilda, John, James 
and Maggie, all of whom grew to maturity and 
married. 

John Anderson (2) was twelve years old 
when he accompanied his parents to Wheeling. 
He there found a position in the McClelland 
shoe house, manufacturers and dealers. He 
continued with this firm until of age, when he 
went into partnership with Samuel McClelland, 
son of his employer, and embarked in the same 
business, taking over the interests of the old 
house. Some years later John Anderson, Jr., 
became sole proprietor. In 1870 he left Wheel- 
ing and came to Charleston and started the first 
exclusive shoe store and was also enterprising 
in other ways, being the first business man to 
put a traveling representative on the road. In 
1872-73 he disposed of his branch store at 
Wheeling, which he had continued until that 
time, and then gave his entire attention' to his 
Charleston business. He carried only first 
class, high grade goods, handling the finest he 
could secure from Boston, Philadelphia and 
New York. He did a large wholesale as well 
as retail business. He had marvelous energy, 
but his health failed him, and for seventeen 
years before his death, he was more or less an 
invalid. No man in Charleston stood higher in 
business circles. He was a loyal Democrat, but 
never sought office although the excellence of 
his judgment and his uprightness of character 
would have been admirable qualifications for 
the same. He possessed a wonderfully culti- 
vated bass voice and for twenty years was a 
member of the choir of the First Presbyterian 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Anderson was married to Miss 
Ella C. McConihay, who was born in Kanawha 



County, W. Va., April 3, 1848. She was care- 
fully educated in private schools and is a 
broad-minded, intelligent and capable woman. 
Her grandparents were Scotch-Irish people and 
probably married before they came to the 
United States, settling in Bedford County, Va., 
wher they died. They were the parents of 
three children, Samuel, Martha and John, the 
last named being the father of Mrs. Anderson. 

John McConihay was born near Liberty, in 
Bedford County, Va., in 1793. In the spring 
of 1828 he came to Kanawa County and settled 
thirteen miles above Charleston on Kanawha 
River. He died July 3, 1880, at his homestead. 
He owned a large plantation and man}- slaves, 
was a tobacco grower and was well known both 
in Bedford and Kanawha Counties. During 
the Civil War he lost heavily. John McConi- 
hay was a leading member of the Missionary 
Baptist church. He was married in Bedford 
County to Mary Hurt, who was born near the 
Peaks of Otter, August 11, 1805. Mrs. Mc- 
Conihay died in Kanawha County, in February, 
1863. She was a woman of wonderful energy 
and had the care of a large home, many slaves 
and a family of fourteen children. Twelve of 
these grew to maturity and all but one had chil- 
dren. Three survive : Felix, Daniel and Mrs. 
Anderson. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson one son, Harry 
McClelland, was born January 29, 1872. He 
was graduated from High School at Charles- 
ton, and then entered Princeton College, and 
later took a commercial course in Eastman's 
Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He 
subsequently completed his law studies in Old 
Center College, at Danville, Ky., where he was 
graduated in the class of 1898. Later he was 
admitted to the bar and is an active and suc- 
cessful practitioner in Charleston. He is a 
prominent Freemason and a Shriner, and has 
held numerous offices in the different branches 
of Masonry. He is also past exalted ruler in 
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
He is fond of athletics and made a considerable 
reputation in that line as a member of the 
Princeton football team while at the university. 

EDGAR P. COCHRAN, general merchant 
at Dana Station, Kanawha County, W. Va.. 



558 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



has been a resident of Maiden District all his 
life and was born at Burning Spring, December 
io, 1858. He is a son of Frank and Agnes 
(Curry) Cochran. 

Frank Cochran was born in Bath County, 
Va., a son of Francis Cochran who was born in 
Ireland and lived for a time in Bath County, 
Va., later moving to Jackson, Ohio. When 
nineteen years of age, Frank Cochran came to 
Maiden District, where he was employed in the 
coal industry and was foreman of a coal bank. 
He was a well known citizen in Maiden Dis- 
trict, where his death occurred in 1886, when 
he was aged eighty-four years. He married 
Agnes Curry, who was born and reared in Lou- 
don District, Kanawha County. She survived 
to the age of sixty-six years. Twelve children 
were born to this marriage, the record being as 
follows: James, who died during the Civil 
War, was a member of Co. B, 7th W. Va. Vol. 
Inf. ; Mary and Catherine, twins, the former of 
whom is the wife of Jasper Hawley, while the 
latter, now deceased, was the wife of John 
Lane, also deceased ; William ; Eveline, who is 
the widow of John Meadows; Armissa, who is 
the widow of Isaac Voiers ; David, who served 
in the Civil W 7 ar in the same company with his 
brother; Silas; Ellen, who is deceased; Frank; 
Edgar P., and Jane, who died in infancy. 

Edgar P. Cochran attended school in his boy- 
hood and then went to work in the coal mines 
and has been a mine worker during the greater 
part of his life. In February, 1910, he opened 
up his present store and has met with success in 
his undertaking, having a large and steady 
trade. He is one of the substantial men of the 
place and owns a residence at Maiden and 
other real estate at Campbell's Creek. 

Mr. Cochran was married December 20, 
1883, to Miss Anna Wetzel, who was born in 
Maiden District and is a daughter of John Wet' 
zel. They have six children: Ernest, May, 
Lula, Hazel, Edgar and Ruffner, the eldest son 
being in partnership with his father. Mr. Coch- 
ran is a Republican in his political views. He 
belongs to Maiden Lodge, F. & A. M., at Mai- 
den, and also to the Red Men and Knights of 
Pythias, at the same place. 



THOMAS E. EMBLETOX, one of Char- 
leston's well known and representative citizens 
now retired from active business life, was born 
in County Durham, England, November 3, 
1849, and his descent is from one of the solid 
and substantial old families of that part of Brit- 
ain. His parents were W'illiam and Jane 
CMiddleton) Embleton. 

Robert Embleton, the grandfather, was born 
also in the northern part of England, and when 
he reached maturity married there and in that 
section their children were born. In 18^0 the 
whole connection of Embletons took passage on 
the sailing vessel, the Sandusky, for America, 
and after a voyage of six weeks reached the 
United States in safety. A short season was 
spent in Maryland and in Pennsylvania and 
then the entire family came to Mason County, 
Va., with the exception of one daughter, Mary, 
who. with her husband, Thomas Potts, located 
in the state of California. The coal fields of 
Mason County had attracted the Embletons to 
this section and coal mining was their means of 
livelihood. The religious connection of the 
family in England was with the Episcopal 
church, but in Virginia they attached them- 
selves to the Methodist Episcopal church, this 
religious body having been a pioneering one in 
this section. 

W illiam Embleton, father of Thomas E., was 
born in 1822, in England and in early manhood 
was married there to Jane Middleton. They 
remained in County Durham until after the 
birth of their eldest child, Thomas E., and then 
joined the other members of the family' in their 
exodus to America and subsequently made their 
home in Mason County. Nine more children 
were born to them, namely : Robert, who was 
born in 1851, in Pennsylvania, was a practical 
coal miner and lost his life, when thirty-three 
years of age in a mine accident, leaving a 
widow and one daughter. Edith; William, who 
was born in 1853, died in Ohio and was sur- 
vived by three sons; Mary E.. who was born 
in Mason County, now West Virginia, married 
J. C. Thomas, of the well known shoe firm 
of Palmer & Thomas, of Charleston, and they 
have two children ; John, who was born in Ma- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



559 



son County, is a commercial man and makes 
his home with his sister, Mrs. Thomas, at 
Charleston ; James, who is a merchant in Indi- 
ana, his wife and children ; Jennie, who is now 
deceased, was the wife of Rev. Wirt Lowther; 
Albert, who died in 1906, in middle age; and 
two who died in infancy. 

After completing his education in the schools 
of Mason County, Thomas E. Embleton was 
employed in the clerical department of the coal 
mines until he was thirty-eight years of age. 
In 1887, in association with J. C. Morrison, 
who is president of the Capital City Bank of 
Charleston, he went into business for himself, 
and together they operated the Belmont mines 
in the Kanawha coal fields where they de- 
veloped exceedingly remunerative properties, 
the output for some years being from 75,000 
to 100,000 tons of coal. They started their en- 
terprise in a small way, nurtured and developed 
it with business sagacity and in 1906 sold at a 
large advance on their original investment, the 
purchaser being the Winefred Coal Company, 
which is still working these mines. In 1907 
Mr.. Embleton purchased the Peerless Coffee 
Company of Charleston and did a large amount 
of business in that line until quite recently when 
he sold out and retired from active business. 
He still has enough to fully occupy his time in 
looking after his property and investments. 

Mr. Embleton was married in 1879, in Ma- 
son County, to Miss Jennie Morrison, who was 
born in Jackson County, W. Va., at Cottage- 
ville, in 1854, and died at the beautiful family 
home in Charleston, on April 8, 19 10. She was 
admirable in every relation of life and was a 
consistent member of the Presbyterian church. 
Her parents were John Lee and Eliza (Clark) 
Morrison, natives of Pennsylvania, who came 
from that state to Jackson County, W. Va., lo- 
cating on a farm near Cottageville. The 
mother of Mrs. Embleton was a daughter of 
John and Janet (Paxton) Clark, and a close 
kinswoman of the Rev. Dr. Clark, one of the 
noted expounders of early Presbyterianism. 
The father of Mrs. Embleton moved later to 
Hartford City, in Mason County, where his 
death occurred. His wife was born in 1820 
and she died in 1900, in Kanawha County. 
They had the following children; William, 



John C, F. Pierce, George O., Ezra L., Mrs. 
Embleton and Mrs. John King. 

Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Embleton, namely : Tenneyson L., who was 
born April 21, 1881, is a graduate of the class 
of 1903 of the University of West Virginia, 
and is now an active young business man of 
this city; Edna Morrison, who was born Janu- 
ary 4, 1885, is a graduate of Washington Col- 
lege, Washington, D. C, class of 1905; and 
Harry Browning, who was born August 20, 
1890. He attended the Culver Military School 
in Indiana and at present is a member of the 
class of 19 14 in the Chicago University. Mr. 
Embleton and family are members of the First 
Presbyterian Church and are prominent 
socially. 

L. V. CUNNINGHAM, who cultivates a 
farm of 130 acres, situated in Washington Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County, W. Va., has an inter- 
est in this land and also operates a saw mill at 
Ruth, a near-by lumber village, and is one of 
the well known men of this section. He was 
born in 1879, at St. Albans, Kanawha County, 
W. Va., a son of H. C. and Nannie Cunning- 
ham. 

H. C. Cunningham was born at Charleston, 
Kanawha County, and followed plastering and 
brick-laying and for twenty-three years before 
his death, in 1906, at the age of sixty-four 
years, he owned the present homestead. He 
served all through the Civil War, first as a 
member of the 8th W. Va. Vol. Inf., later of 
Co. C, 7th W. Va. Cav., escaping all serious in- 
jury during that long struggle, and he resumed 
his peaceful pursuits after his return home. He 
married Nannie Johnson, who was also a na- 
tive of Kanawha County, and they had a family 
of ten children: Ella, Percy, Ethel, Ruby, 
Selby, Paul, Vaughn, Edward, Julian and 
Hope, all of whom survive except Ethel. Paul 
and Julian Cunningham are soldiers, serving 
several terms each with the United States army 
in both the States and the Philippine Islands. 
Percy and Ruby are brick masons, while Ed- 
ward is a railroad engineer. 

L. V. Cunningham obtained his education in 
the district schools and then turned his atten- 
tion to farming and has remained on the home 



560 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



place, of which he now has entire charge. 
About fourteen years ago, Mr. Cunningham 
and his father started the saw mil] which the 
former still operates, running it for four years 
as a grist mill, but since then as a saw mill. 
He does a large amount of business and is 
numbered with the prosperous men of this sec- 
tion. Mr. Cunningham resides with his mother, 
having never married. Politically he is a Re- 
publican, as was his late father, who served for 
some years as school trustee in Washington 
District. L. V. Cunningham is a member of 
Spring Hill Lodge No. 182, Knights of Pythias. 
The Cunninghams are of a Scotch-Irish family, 
also tracing their descent, through the Wilsons, 
Christians and other families, form some of the 
early settlers of Virginia. 

JOHN W. DAWSON, one of the prominent 
business men of Charleston, W. Va., who is 
identified with many of the most important in- 
dustries and enterprises of this section of West 
Virginia, is practically a self made man and is 
an example of the power of determination, per- 
severance and a high set standard. He was 
born in 1863, in Albemarle county, Va., and is 
a son of George W. and Sallie Sidolia (.May) 
Dawson. 

The parents of Mr. Dawson were born in 
Virginia, and on the maternal side includes the 
great orator and statesman. Patrick Henry, in 
its ancestry. The father of Mr. Dawson died 
in 1 910, when aged eighty-seven years, but the 
mother still lives and resides in California with 
a daughter. 

With neither educational nor social advan- 
tages in his youth, Mr. Dawson might have 
seemed sadly handicapped when, as a boy of 
fourteen years, he started out with a pick and 
shovel as his capital, and with no other assist- 
ance won his way into larger opportunities and 
was able to seize them and climb still higher. 
Since 1882 he has been identified with Charles- 
ton, in that year going to work on the K. & M. 
railroad, and during the period included until 
1898, he filled every position, and for seven 
years was superintendent. Mr. Dawson then 
left that road and embarked in the coal mining 
business, organizing the Kellys Creek Mining 
Company, of which he remained manager for 



three years, when the company sold to the 
Kanawha & Hocking Coal and Coke Company. 
Then Mr. Dawson went to southwest Virginia 
and built the Lake Erie and Lick Creek rail- 
road, and projected the Dawson Coal and Coke 
Company. In 1903 he returned to the Kana- 
wha valley and organized and constructed the 
Kellys Creek and Western railroad and or- 
ganized the Kellys Creek Mining Company. 
He was one of the organizers of the Kanawha 
Banking and Trust Company and numerous 
other local enterprises which have profited by 
the wisdom of his judgment and the depth of 
his business capacity. To enumerate the official 
positions now held by Mr. Dawson, aptly illus- 
trates his prominence in the business world. 
He is president of the Eagle Collieries Com- 
pany ; general manager of the Kellys Creek Col- 
liery Company; president of the Dawson De- 
velopment Company: manager, director and 
treasurer of the West Virginia Coal Land Com- 
pany; secretary and treasurer of the Quarrier 
Street Realty Company; owner of trade marks. 
Cast Iron Splint and Mountain Queen ; director 
of the Kellys Creek & N. W. R~ R. Company, 
and president of the Kanawha Coal Associa- 
tion. With all these business responsibilities 
resting upon him, Mr. Dawson, nevertheless, 
has found time to be an active and forceful cit- 
izen, working with the Republican party, and 
in 1910 was its chosen candidate for the state 
legislature. 

Mr. Dawson was married in Charleston to 
Miss Lyda Power, who was born in Pennsyl- 
vania. They have two children, Joseph Power 
and Catherine May. The former, who is but 
seventeen years of age, is a graduate of the 
Charleston High School and is preparing to 
enter Cornell College in the fall of 191 1. The 
daughter, who was born in 1896. is being edu- 
cated at St. Joseph's Academy, an exclusive 
school at Emmettsburg. Md., and Is a member 
of the class of 1914. Mrs. Dawson is a mem- 
ber of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic 
church, while Mr. Dawson belongs to the First 
Presbyterian church at Charleston. 

COL. ELLSWORTH RUDESILL. state 
agent for West Virginia for the Guarantee. 
Trust & Banking Company, of Atlanta, Ga.. 



JOHN W. DAWSON 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



563 



dealers in investment bonds, maintains his office 
in the Alderson-Stephenson building at 
Charleston. He is a man of wide business expe- 
rience and country-wide acquaintance, and for 
years has been active in both business and po- 
litical life in this and other sections and has 
held many important public offices. Colonel 
Rudesill was born October 10. 1863. near 
Akron. Ohio, and is a son of Columbus and 
Frank E. (Bentley) Rudesill. Both parents 
were born in Ohio, the father being of German 
extraction and the mother coming of English 
people. The latter survives but the father died 
at Chardon, Ohio, on February 1 . 1 9 1 1 . aged 
seventy-five years. He was a Republican in 
politics and a member of the Presbvterian 
church. 

Ellsworth Rudesill was the only child: bom 
to his parents, and he was named for the brave 
young officer of the Federal army who was one 
of the earliest victims of the Civil War. After 
graduating from the Akron High School, the 
youth became associated with his father in the 
crocken- and queensware business at Gallipolis. 
Ohio. In 1888 the business was moved to 
Charleston and located on Kanawha street, and 
was continued as before until 1900, when the 
firm became Rudesille & Mead, and removal 
was made to Capitol street, and continued until 
1907, when it was incorporated, but two years 
later was closed out. At this time Colonel 
Rudesill was appointed census supervisor of 
the Third Congressional District, representing 
ten counties, and he did his work so well that it 
elicited a letter from the Census Department at 
Washington, D. C. in which these words of 
commendation are used : "I desire at this time 
to congratulate you upon your successful con- 
duct of your duties as superintendent of census. 
They have been performed to the satisfaction 
of this office and to your own credit. Your 
work has been arduous and difficult and the re- 
sults clearly show wisdom of vour selection of 
supervisors." This gratifying testimonial of 
approval Colonel Rudesill prizes highly. 

Colonel Rudesill has helped make the politi- 
cal history of West Virginia. In 1903 he was 
elected a member of the state legislature on the 
Republican ticket and served one term, and dur- 
ing this time, in March. 1904. was elected 



mayor of the city and served one term with the 
greatest efficiency. On numerous occasions he 
has been a delegate to county and state conven- 
tions, and by ex-Governor White was ap- 
pointed a member of the State Board of Asv- 
lums and during his whole term of eight years 
was president of this important body. He has 
been particularly interested in the Benevolent 
Order of Elks and is a charter member of the 
Charleston lodge and has served three terms as 
exalted ruler. 

Col. Ellsworth Rudesill was married at Gal- 
lipolis, Ohio, to Miss Alice Cromley. who was 
born, reared and educated there, a daughter of 
Francis A. and Man' E. (Williams) Cromley. 
The father of Mrs. Rudesill was born in Penn- 
sylvania and during the Civil War was attached 
to the Quartermaster's Department of the Fed- 
eral army. He was a Democrat in politics and 
was a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow. His 
death occurred at Charleston, when he was 
aged seventy-four years. He married Marv 
E. Williams, at Ironton. Ohio. She was born 
on the Atlantic Ocean while her parents were 
coming to America from Wales, and was reared 
in Kentucky and died in Ohio, in her fortieth 
vear. Mr. and Mrs. Rudesill have three chil- 
dren: Frank Ellsworth, who was born in 
Ohio, is a graduate of the Charleston High 
School and is now assistant manager- of the 
Daily Mail of this city, a prospective successful 
business man; Alice M., who, like her brother, 
graduated at the age of seventeen years from 
the High School: and Donald Bentley, who is 
still in school. Mr. and Mrs. Rudesill. with the 
two older children, are members of the Episco- 
pal church. 

A. S. PRITT, a leading citizen of Poca Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County. W. Va. . where he is an 
extensive farmer and cattle raiser, owns a valu- 
able estate of 300 acres, which lies seventeen 
miles north of Charleston. He was born lulv 
31. 1852, in Monroe County. Va., and is a son 
of James and Esther (Terry) Pritt. who were 
also of Monroe County. 

The parents of A. S. Pritt were married in 
Monroe County, then in Virginia, but now in- 
cluded in West Virginia, and continued to live 
there until after the birth of their children. 



564 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



when they moved to Roane County, W. Va.. 
and from there to Grapevine Creek, in Poca 
District. Kanawha County, where they lived 
for two years. They made one more removal, 
settling near Derrick Creek, where the father 
died soon after, aged sixty-five years, and the 
mother's death followed and their burial was at 
Sissonville. They were parents of the follow- 
ing children : Madison, Samuel, Amanda and 
Thomas, all of whom are deceased ; John, who 
lives on Derrick Creek, married Emma Sam- 
uels ; Ellen, who married Charles Moss, who 
lives on Haynes' Branch ; Andrew S. ; Harvey, 
who lives in Poca District, married Alva 
Fisher; William, who is deceased; and Mar- 
garet. 

Andrew S. Pritt attended school in boyhood 
with his brothers and sisters in the nearest dis- 
trict school-house and has been engaged all his 
active life in agricultural pursuits and has been 
very successful in the management of his large 
estate. He has an interest in the Paradise Tele- 
phone Company. Mr. Pritt was married Sep- 
tember 30. 1877. to Miss Sidney A. Tollev. 
who was born in Poca District, a daughter of 
Alfred and Letha (Williams) Tolley, and they 
have had the following children : Ida. who re- 
sides at home; Milton, who lives on Derrick 
Creek, married Alpha Asbury: Edna, who mar- 
ried Edward Bailey, resides in Union District; 
and Ezra, Dessie, Rosa and Birdie, all of whom 
live at home and all have been given many ad- 
vantages in the way of schooling. Mr. Pritt 
has been one of the school trustees of Poca Dis- 
trict for some twelve years. He is a Republi- 
can in politics and is a worthy citizen and a 
wide-awake business man. 

SAMUEL C. PEELER, treasurer of the 
Morgan Lumber & Manufacturing Co., 
Charleston, was born in Rowan County, X. C. 
March 12, 1868. son of Alfred M. and. Eliza 
(Lyerly) Peeler. His paternal grandfather. 
Samuel Peeler, who was. it is thought, a native 
of Pennsylvania, or possibly of Germanv. set- 
tled in Rowan County. N. C. after his mar- 
riage and died there at an advanced age. He 
was a farmer by occupation, and the father of 
a large family, all of whom are now deceased. 

Alfred M. Peeler, son of Samuel, also fol- 



lowed agriculture and was at the same time a 
miller and lumberman, operating a planing mill. 
He spent his entire life in his native state, dying 
February 18. 1885. He and his partner. 
Thomas G. Linn, built and operated the first 
mill in Hickory. Later he became a partner in 
the Piedmont Wagon Co., from which his heirs 
now receive a substantial annual income. He 
was a Democrat in politics and a member of 
the city council. He was married in Rowan 
County, X. C. to Eliza Lyerly, who was born 
in that county in 1840. and who died January 
14, 1908. Her parents were natives of Xorth 
Carolina, in which state they died. The family 
were Lutherans in religious affiliations. Mrs. 
Peeler was one of a very large family, of 
whom three are still living, are married and 
have families. The children of Alfred M. and 
Eliza Peeler were as follows: E. Gilbert is 
now a resident of Hickory, X. C. where he 
operates a planing mill. Samuel C. is the sub- 
ject of this sketch and will be further mentioned 
herein. Eli E. is a superintendent in the Hal- 
sey Planing Mills at Charleston, S. C. and 
like Gilbert is married and has children. Cora 
O. is the wife of P. P. Jones, chief of police of 
Hickory. X. C. Sarah May is the wife of G. 
C. Fisher and resides at Salisbury, X. C. She 
has a daughter. 

Samuel C. Peeler, after acquiring the ele- 
ments of knowledge, became connected with the 
milling industry, in which he remained for some 
years. He then became a machinist in a fur- 
niture factory at Asheville. X. C. After a stav 
there of four years, he came in 1892. to Charles- 
ton, W. Va., and was foreman in the milling 
department of the Morgan Lumber & Manu- 
facturing Co.. up to the time of its incorpora- 
tion, when he was elected its first treasurer and 
one of its directors. The company is capital- 
ized for Si 00.000 and does an extensive and 
prosperous business. Mr. Peeler votes the 
Democratic ticket, but is not actively interested 
in politics. 

He was married in Charleston to Miss Tane 
Meade, who was born in this city in 1869. and 
who was educated and reared at Elizabeth. W. 
Va. Her parents were Gilbert and Frances 
(Ray) Meade, both natives of the Kanawha 
Valley. Where they were well and favorablv 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



565 



known, and where they died leaving a large 
family. Mr. and Mrs. Peeler have two chil- 
dren: Frances May, born February 7, 1893, 
who is attending public school ; and Rachel 
Dayne, born July 3, 1900. Mr. Peeler is a 
member of the First Presbyterian and Mrs. 
Peeler is a member of the Christian church. 

JOHN W. BURGESS, a successful gen- 
eral farmer who has lived on his present 
place in Elk district. Kanawha county. V . 
Va., for the past thirty-five years, was born 
in Fayette count}-. Ya.. August 23, 1850, 
and is a son of William T. and Amanda 
(Vandall) Burgess. 

William T. Burgess was born in Giles 
county. Va., and died in 1864, when aged 
but thirty-nine years, being the victim of 
fever contracted while serving as a soldier 
in the Civil War. He enlisted in 1863 in 
Co. D, 29th W. Va. Cav. He was a black- 
smith by trade. He married Amanda D. 
Vandall, who was born seventy-seven years 
ago, a daughter of John D. and Rachel 
(Weisman) Vandall, all of Fayette county. 
Her grandafther was Abram Vandall. a 
soldier in the Revolutionary and Indian 
Wars. He married Mary Davis, who was 
a member of the family of Associate Judge 
Davis of Virginia. David Burgess, father 
of William T. Burgess, was born in Rock- 
bridge county. Va., and from there moved 
to Mercer county and after the Civil War, 
to Kanawha county. He followed the 
blacksmith trade. He married Mary Davis 
and they both survived into old age. To 
William T. Burgess and his wife the fol- 
lowing children were born : John W. : 
Josephine, who is the wife of J. Montgom- 
ery, of Charleston: and George W., of Car- 
roll county. O. Some years later the 
widow of William T. Burgess married 
Mathias Siers. who was born in 1831, a son 
of William Siers. and died May 17. 1884. 
Two children were born to this marriage, 
one of whom survives. Leonidas. who re- 
sides at Huntington. W. Va. Mrs. Siers 
is a beloved member of the household of 
her oldest son. 

John W. Burgess attended the schools of 



Fayette county in boyhood and then 
learned brickmaking and in 1863 came to 
Kanawha county with his mother, locating 
at Charleston, where he followed his trade 
for thirty years. In 1876 he came to his 
present farm and combined farming with 
brickmaking, but discontinued the latter in- 
dustry in 1903. 

Mr. Burgess was married to Miss Martha 
E. Meadows, who was born July 12, 1849, 
a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Cavender) 
Meadows. Five children were born to 
them, two of whom survive, namely : 
Lizzie, who married John Lewis, and they 
have one daughter. Lucile ; and Izora W., 
who is the wife of Robert J. Patton, of 
Two-Mile creek. Kanawha county, and they 
have five children. The mother of the 
above family died April 3, 1884. Mr. Bur- 
gess married for his second wife, Lyda 
Edens, who was born in 1870, and died in 
April, 1902, aged thirty-two years. She 
was a daughter of Alexander Edens. one 
of the old pioneers of Kanawha county. 
The following children were born to this 
marriage : Commodore, a youth of twenty 
years, who resides at home ; Mary Ellen, 
who is the wife of Augustus Price, a farmer 
on Blue creek: and Matie V., who lives at 
home. In politics Mr. Burgess is a Repub- 
lican and for the past five years has been 
serving in the office of road commissioner. 

SIM IRION, a well known citizen of 
Charleston, W. Va., who is now connected 
with the office of the Business Men's Asso- 
ciation as secretary, has had a very in- 
teresting life and may justly be termed a 
self made man. He was born in Gallia 
county, O., March 21, 1855. and is a son 
of Robert and Mary C. (Plymale) Irion. 

The Irion family probably originated in 
Germany and from there went to Scotland, 
from which country in 1748, Henry C. Irion 
and a companion named Bonner, escaped to 
the American colonies. At a later date 
Bonner returned to Scotland but it was at 
the price of his life. Henry C. Irion .settled 
in North Carolina and there married Sarah 
Cramm. Their one son, Henry Irion, came 



566 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



from North Carolina to Virginia in 1818, 
settling in Henry county, from which sec- 
tion they moved to Gallia county, O., a few 
years later. He married Sarah Hutchins, 
who accompanied him to Ohio, and both 
lived into old age, her death occurring in 
1867, at the age of ninety-six years. He 
was a shoemaker by trade. They had the 
following children : William Cramm, Rob- 
ert, John, Henry and James, all of whom 
married and reared large families. 

William Cramm Irion was born in North 
Carolina in 1803, and was a boy when his 
parents moved first to Henry county, Va., 
and later to Gallia county, O., having 
reached manhood by that time. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Trotter, who was born in 
what is now Mason county, W. Va., the 
granddaughter of Ann Bailey, whose first 
husband was Richard Trotter, whose father 
had bought Ann Hannis for her passage 
from England. William Cramm Irion and 
wife spent their subsequent lives in Gallia 
county, where he was a farmer and justice 
of the peace, dying in December. 1872, be- 
ing then in his twenty-eighth consecutive 
year in that office. He was a man of clear 
judgment and his many decisions were 
never reversed. He was personally beloved 
and at his funeral people came from all over 
southern Ohio to pay tribute to his mem- 
ory. Three sons and three daughters were 
born to him and wife and two of these. 
Davis and John Irion still live in Ohio. 

Robert Irion, the second son. was born 
in 1836. He died a conscript soldier from 
the effects of sea sickness, while on a trans- 
port going to Washington, D. C, to be dis- 
charged after service in the Civil War. His 
body was interred at Fortress Monroe, Va., 
his age being under forty years. He was 
married April 27, 1854, in Gallia county, O., 
to Mary C. Plymale, who was born and 
reared in Ohio and still resides in Gallia 
county, having passed her seventy-third 
birthday on December 27, 191 1. She has 
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church since girlhood. She was married 
second to Andrew Hardway, of Nicholas 
county, W. Va., who died in December. 



1903, survived by two sons and two daugh- 
ters. By her first marriage she had four 
sons and two daughters. 

Sim Irion was the eldest born of his par- 
ents. He had absolutely no early educa- 
tional advantages and his first employment 
after leaving the farm was as a deck hand 
on a Ohio river boat. He was ambitious 
however and it was through his own de- 
termination that between his sixteenth and 
twentieth year that he attended school and 
to such good purpose that he obtained a 
license to teach and afterward for some 
time taught school both in Ohio and West 
Virginia. He was later variously engaged 
until 1879, when he came to Putnam 
county, W. Va., and for a time was with the 
cooperage branch of the Standard Oil Com- 
pany. It was eight years later that he came 
to Charleston where he has lived since, al- 
though not continuously, having been in 
Central and South America from 1896 until 
1899, being there in the interest of the Geo. 
D. Emery Co. and the Sim Irion Co. Since 
his return he was connected with the city 
auditor's office until April 8. 191 1. since that 
date he has been secretary of the Business 
Men's Association. In 1889 he was court 
clerk in the West Virginia legislature. In 
politics he is a Republican and has fre- 
quently been a member of the school board 
of the city, and also in Putnam county. 

On February 18, 1880, Mr. Irion was 
married first to Mar}' Roberts, an adopted 
daughter of his grandfather. She was well 
educated and was a graduate of St. Mary's 
College, O.. and Mr. Irion gives testimony 
to the influence she exerted, her encourage- 
ment and help, assisting him at the most 
critical period of his life. She was born 
August 8, 1855, and died July 3, 1883. leav- 
ing no children. His second marriage was 
to Mary Noftsinger. who was born March 
7, 1858, in Noble county, O.. and they have 
had two sons : Frank, born September 4, 
1890, who died November 24, 1891 : and 
Thad, born September 28. 1892, who re- 
sides at home. Mr. Irion is a man of tem- 
perance both by precept and example. He 
is identified with the Masonic fraternity. 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



567 



W. S. HAMMAKER, who is interested 
in coal leases with the Susquehanna Coal 
and Lumber Co., and owns coal and timber 
lands in West Virginia, is one of the lead- 
ing citizens of Pratt, and bears a name that 
has become widely known through his writ- 
ings and through his investigations into 
many of the most vital subjects that now 
interest the thinking world. He was born 
near Roanoke, Va., June i, 1849, and is a 
son of Michael and Irena (Minich) Ham- 
maker, natives of Germany, and. through 
the paternal line, kindred of the famous 
Hesse family. 

W. S. Hammaker attended Roanoke Col- 
lege and the St. Cloud Normal School, at 
St. Cloud, Minn. When seventeen years of 
age he learned the plastering trade and also 
worked at brickmaking for Ausman Trim- 
ble, at Coalburg, Kanawha county, for sev- 
eral summers. From 1868 until 1872 he 
was connected with the Lake Superior & 
Puget Sound Land Company, as engineer 
and town-site man and returned from the 
far west in order to give filial attention to 
his father who was then in feeble health. 
Perhaps much of the practical element found 
in his magazine writings is the result of 
his next seven years' labors, when he 
worked in and around the mines in the 
Kanawha valley, after which he opened a 
store at Paint creek, near Lock No. 3, 
which he successfully operated until 1882. 
From there he came to the village of Clif- 
ton, now Pratt, W. Va., moving his store 
to this point, having the foresight that saw 
the future possibilities of the town, as pop- 
ulation and improvements swept onward. 

At the time Mr. Hammaker came to this 
place no post-office had been established 
but through his strenuous endeavors pub- 
lic interest was aroused and a Government 
office was accorded but not to a place 
named Clifton, as this pleasant sounding 
name had already been supplied to a hamlet 
on the Ohio river. Agreement finally came 
about by which the name Dego was ac- 
cepted and Mr. Hammaker was made the 
first postmaster and served through a Re- 
publican administration and the succeeding 



Democratic one, the period including some 
ten years. The name of Dego continued 
for sixteen years, when that of Pratt was 
adopted for a permanency, the change be- 
ing made in 1901, for various excellent rea- 
sons. While engaged in the mercantile 
business the C. & O. Railroad had space in 
his store for its ticket office. He disposed 
of his mercantile interests in 1897 to Walter 
Abney, after which he turned his attention 
to dealing in real estate and particularly in 
coal and timber lands. In the meanwhile 
he had done considerable literary work, be- 
ing a correspondent and writer for a num- 
ber of newspapers and magazines. When 
released from business cares he decided to 
travel, his main object being the securing 
of reliable information on the subjects in 
which he was most interested, so that his 
writings would be dependable and not like 
those of others who have put forward 
works filled with startling assertions but 
with no facts to back them up. Mr. Ham- 
maker traveled in every state of the Union 
except four, from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific ocean, in Mexico and in Canada, and 
probably learned much more than the ordi- 
nary traveler who depends largely on his 
guide books and is provincial enough to 
make no acquaintances on his journeys. On 
the other hand, Mr. Hammaker became ac- 
quainted with the municipal officers in 
every city, visited their boards of trade and 
their special institutions and when he re- 
turned home it was with a broadened mind 
and still more enlightened understanding 
and with valuable information at his com- 
mand. In 1907, accompanied by his family 
he went to Washington, D. C, where he 
pursued the same course, passing hours in 
the great national buildings and libraries, 
and before his stay of five months was over, 
spent two delightful weeks at Atlantic City. 
N. J. The trip home was made by way of 
Reading and Harrisburg, and in both cities 
he gained much information, in the former 
visiting the great iron and railroad plants 
for which it is noted. Mr. Hammaker is a 
member of the American Secular Union 
and Freethought Federation and was chair- 



568 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



man of the national congress of this body 
which met at St. Louis, Mo., in October, 
1904, when delegates assembled from all 
over the world. 

Mr. Hammaker was married September 
20, 1877, to Susan M. Teubert, a daughter 
of John G. and Mary E. (Rudolph) Teu- 
bert, and they have one daughter, Grace 
Wayne, who is the wife of Lewis Hodges, 
a patent attorney at Washington, D. C. 
Mr. Hammaker is a Republican in politics. 
With his family he occupies one of the 
handsome residences of Pratt, which he 
erected here in 1897, and owns other prop- 
erty. 

JOHN L. THORNHILL, vice president of 
the National City Bank, of Charleston, W. 
Va., and one of the aggressive and representa- 
tive business men of the place, established him- 
self here in 1888 as a commercial broker and 
dealer in insurance and real estate. He was 
born February 22, 1861, in Rappahannock 
County, Va., in the beautiful region which was 
so soon afterward the scene of the ravages of 
war. His parents were Lafayette Jonathan and 
Fannie M. (Zimmerman) Thornhill, both na- 
tives of Virginia. After the death of her first 
husband, Mrs. Thornhill married B. F. Mays, 
of Charleston, W. Va. 

John L. Thornhill was the younger of the 
two children born to his parents. The death of 
his father when he was small deprived him of 
many advantages in the way of education 
which would naturally have come to him, and 
while yet young he was thrown entirely upon 
his own resources. He was a boy of good prin- 
ciples and naturally industrious, possessing al-so 
the courteous manner of a well born youth, and 
without difficulty he secured employment. He 
served for a time as telegraph messenger and 
later as a clerk in the Charleston postoffice. 
Wisely he learned a self-supporting trade. For 
six years he was manager of the Dailv and 
Weekly Star, of Charleston, and continued ac- 
tive in the newspaper business until March, 
1890. He is widely known in journalistic cir- 
cles and has an army of newspaper friends and 
admirers. In 1884 he was elected vice presi- 
dent of the West Virginia Press Association 



and was the West Virginia delegate to the 
National Editorial Association which met at 
San Antonio, Texas, in 1888. Since 1890, 
however, Mr. Thornhill has devoted the larger 
measure of his time to his present line of busi- 
ness and maintains his office in the new Na- 
tional City Bank Building. He has been identi- 
fied also with the banking interests of the city 
for several years, being one of the organizers 
of the National City Bank, of Charleston, of 
which he has been vice president since it was 
founded, in February, 1907. 

On October 15, 1890, Mr. Thornhill was 
married to Miss Clothilde D. Powell, a member 
of one of the old families of Danville, Va. 

During the administration of Governor 
White, in August, 1904, Mr. Thornhill was ap- 
pointed a member of the Board of Regents of 
the Colored Institute and was reappointed by 
Governor Dawson and held the office until the 
State Board of Control took charge of all the 
state institutes. He is a member of the 
Charleston Chamber of Commerce, and of 
several secret societies, and takes an active in- 
terest in all matters looking toward the up- 
building of Greater Charleston. 

EDWIN R. DAVIS, a retired merchant re- 
siding at Clendenin, W. Va., was born August 
22, 1844. in Big Sandy District, Kanawha 
County, and is a son of Edwin and Mary V. 
(Hart) Davis. 

Edwin R. Davis was born in the State of 
New York, and in early manhood accompanied 
Captain Smith to Kanawha County as a 
teacher. He was accidentally killed by trees 
falling on him, in 1844. when aged thirty years. 
He married Mary V. Hart, who was born in 
1 82 1, a daughter of John and Christina (Sny- 
der) Hart, who survived until February 25, 
1908. She contracted a second marriage with 
O. V. Jarretts. of Jarretts' Ford. To the first 
marriage four children were born, two of whom 
survive : Edwin R. and John Hart, both living 
retired at Clendenin. To the second marriage 
three sons were born : Vernon, Staunton and 
Grant. 

Edwin R. Davis attended school and then 
worked on a farm until he was fifteen years of 




ELLIS T. CEAWFOKD 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



571 



age, when he entered the state service and 
served during" two years and two months of the 
Civil War, being stationed at Clay Court 
House. After he was mustered out he entered 
a school at Delaware, Ohio, where he completed 
a business course and a commercial law course. 
His first position was that of bookkeeper in 
Kentucky. In 1896 he came to Charleston and 
was clerk in a business house for one year, and 
then to Clendenin, where he embarked with his 
brother in a mercantile business and continued 
until 1905, when he disposed of his interests 
and retired. 

Mr. Davis was married first to Miss Fanny 
M. Corn, who was born January 19, 1857, and 
died August 23, 1882. She was survived by 
two children: Lela May and Catherine L., the 
latter being a widow. Mr. Davis was married 
second to Miss Alice Lovenia Stewart, who was 
born December 18, 1858, in Lincoln County, 
Ky., a daughter of William Stewart, and four 
children were born to them: John Stewart, 
born in 1892 ; Edwin R., born in 1893 ; William 
Lewis, born in 1896, and Fanny M„ born in 
1902. Mr. Davis and family belong to the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is 
treasurer and recording steward. He is a Re- 
publican in politics and served two years as re- 
corder of Clendenin. He is a charter member 
of the Masonic Blue Lodge at Clendenin and 
has been its secretary since organization. 

ELLIS T. CRAWFORD, a representative 
business man of Charleston, W. Va., senior 
member of the real estate firm of Crawford & 
Ashby, belongs to an old Virginia family of 
Scotch-Irish descent. He is a son of David 
Willette and Annie T. (Thayer) Crawford. 

Isaac Crawford, grandfather of Ellis T., 
was a prominent man in Roanoke county, Va., 
for many years, his death taking place prior to 
the Civil War. He was a farmer and miller. 
He married a member of the Willette family 
from Giles county, and she survived her hus- 
band by about two years. They were members 
of the Presbyterian church. They had the fol- 
lowing children born to them: David Will- 
ette, Calvin Campbell, who now lives in Hunt- 
ington, W. Va., served as a soldier in the Con- 
federate army during the Civil W ar ; Samuel, 



who is now deceased, was a farmer in Mercer 
county, Va. ; Charles Napoleon went into 
the Confederate army at the age of fifteen 
years and is now a railroad contractor and re- 
sides at Lynchburg, Va. ; James, who died 
young; Lewis, who is deceased, was a soldier 
in the Confederate army; Thomas P., who lives 
in Mercer county, W. Va., is a farmer and rail- 
road contractor; Anna, who is the wife of 
Marion George, of South Carolina; and Mar- 
tha, who is deceased, is survived by her hus- 
band, Alexander Clark, who lives in Virginia. 

David Willette Crawford was born in Roa- 
noke county, Va., in 1839, and died at Charles- 
ton, July 21, 1877. He was a graduate of the 
University at Charlottesville, Va., and later be- 
came connected with his three brothers as con- 
structing contractors with the C. & O. railroad, 
and for many years was a civil engineer and 
railroad contractor at Charleston. He was also 
connected with Captain Christy in the wharf- 
boat business on the Kanawha river, where 
they owned and operated boats. Politically he 
was a Democrat and a strong man in his party 
affiliations. For many years he was identified 
with the Masonic fraternity. He married An- 
nie T. Thayer, who was of New England' stock 
and Mayflower ancestry. Her parents were 
James and Susan E. (Putney) Thayer, the for- 
mer of whom was a lawyer of promise but died 
before he was thirty years of age, leaving a 
widow and daughter. The maternal grand- 
father of Mrs. Crawford was Dr. David Put- 
ney and the paternal grandfather was James 
Thayer. The latter came from New England 
to Maiden, Kanawha county, at an early day 
and owned and operated boats on the Kanawha 
river. From her ancestors Mrs. Crawford in- 
herited a quaint sugar bowl that came over in 
the Mayflower and this historic piece of china 
is very carefully preserved. Mrs. Crawford 
was born in 1846 but time has touched her very 
kindly. She is a member of the Presbyterian 
church, as was her late husband. 

To David Willette Crawford and wife the 
following children were born : Ellis Thayer, 
David Willette and James Ernest. David 
Willette Crawford, who bears his fathers hon- 
ored name, is a resident of Charleston and is 
associated in business with his brothers. James 



572 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Ernest Crawford, a leading business man at 
Charleston, married Mary Thomas, of Kana- 
wha county, and they have seven children : J. 
Ernest, Jr., Mary L., Anna, Rebecca. David 
W., Lewis and Ellis T.. Jr. 

Ellis Thayer Crawford was educated in the 
public schools and then made a special study of 
civil engineering. Since 1898 he has been a 
member of the firm of Crawford & Ashby at 
Charleston, a land firm of large importance. 
This firm buys coal and timber lands, mainly in 
Virginia, and in connection with this feature of 
their business they are interested in oil and gas. 
in mining in Mexico and there own valuable sil- 
ver mine properties. The firm enjoys the confi- 
dence of the public and are looked upon as hon- 
est, enterprising and wide awake business men. 
They all are Democratic in their political bias. 

Mr. Thayer was married at Charleston to 
Miss Katharine Burrows, who is a daughter of 
John D. and Julia (Miller) Burrows, natives of 
Ohio and Illinois respectively, and now resi- 
dents of Charleston. Mrs. Crawford was edu- 
cated at Massillon, O. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford 
attend the Presbyterian church. They have 
four children: Katharine Y.. born April 22, 
1899: William Phillips, born November 23, 
1901: Ellis Thayer, born November 19. 1905; 
and Helen E.. born December 8. 1908. 

MEREDITH PAYSON RUFFNER.— -In 
the death of Meredith P. Ruffner. which oc- 
curred at Charleston. W. Ya., March 2, 1911, 
this city lost one of her most solid citizens and 
the business world of this section one of its 
most conservative and substantial members. 
He was born in Kanawha County. W. Ya., July 
2. 1844, and was a son of James and Martha 
Ruffner. a grandson of Daniel Ruffner and a 
descendant, some generations removed, of 
Baron Peter Ruffner. 

The Ruffner family was founded in America 
by Peter Ruffner. probably a Gentian baron 
from Hanover, Germany, who came to the colo- 
nies as early as 1730. settling first in Pennsyl- 
vania and left descendants who were found in 
the Valley of Virginia in 1836. Joseph Ruff- 
ner was the earliest settler of this family re- 
corded in the Kanawha Valley. He owned 
large plantations along the Kanawha River, his 



lands including the present site of the city of 
Charleston. He left descendants, one of whom 
was Daniel Ruffner. who was the grandfather 
of the late Meredith Pavson Ruffner. 

Daniel Ruffner resided at Charleston and 
was probably born here. He was identified 
with all its early history. He was the mem- 
ber of the family who deeded the land which 
for many years was the old Ruffner burial plot. 
At that time it was a beautifully situated tract 
lying on the bank of the Kanawha River and 
within its confines not only were the Ruffners 
interred but many of the earlier residents when 
they passed off the scene of life. It long since 
was abandoned as a burial place and now is 
covered with stately residences, the beautiful 
situation of the land making it very valuable 
for building purposes. It was also Daniel 
Ruffner. or his father, who built the fine brick 
house, which has walls eighteen inches in thick- 
ness, which still stands, comfortable and in 
good repair, and is now the home of Mr. T. H. 
Nash. The house is surrounded bv orchards 
and the blossoming of these old trees in the 
spring is only equaled in beauty by the wealth 
of fruit in the autumn. Both Daniel Ruffner 
and wife lived into advanced age. Daniel Ruff- 
ner was twice married and in the later vears of 
his life moved to Cincinnati. Ohio, where his 
death occurred. To his first marriage five sons 
and two daughters were bom : Tames and An- 
drew, twins. Augustus. Joel. Charles, Kather- 
ine and Elizabeth. 

James Ruffner, father of Meredith P. Ruff- 
ner. was born at Charleston and spent his life 
here. He married Martha Morton, wjio was 
born at Portsmouth. Ky.. a member of an old 
Virginia family of Prince Edward Countv. 
They had children and among these were sons. 
Meredith Payson and Andrew, both of whom 
became men of importance at Charleston. 

Meredith Payson Ruffner and his brother 
were educated in the Charleston schools and at 
Marietta, Ohio. Meredith at sixteen enlisted 
for service in 1862, in the Civil War then in 
progress, entering the 22nd Va. Vol. Inf.. Con- 
federate army. He served with remarkable 
valor for three years and at the end of that 
period was honorably discharged on account of 
disability occasioned by sickness, having con- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



573 



tracted typhoid fever. Soon after the close of 
the war the brothers embarked in the grocery 
business and conducted the same as retailers for 
three years under the firm name of Ru finer 
Brothers, and then started into wholesaling', 
antedating any other wholesale grocery house 
in the city and at that time there were few of 
this class in the whole state. The partnership 
of the brothers continued until the death of 
Meredith P. Ruffner, as noted above. As a 
business man he was held in the highest regard. 
Prudent and conservative, he took few chances, 
and endowed with a large amount of good 
judgment and the foresight which must ac- 
company important ventures of any kind, he 
met with much success. When misfortunes 
-fell upon him, caused by business depressions 
at times, he met each issue bravely and through 
his enterprise and business acumen, weathered 
every storm. It has been said of him that he 
was a friend and adviser to innumerable young 
men who started into business as he had earlier 
done, but these services were known only to the 
recipients of his kindness. 

In 1885 Mr. Ruffner was married to Miss 
Hattie Brown Maxwell, at Knoxville, Tenn., 
who was born at Nashville, Tenn., and was 
carefully reared and thoroughly educated, be- 
ing a graduate of Hollins Institute, a Virginia 
seminary of repute. She is a daughter of Col. 
Anthony Legget Maxwell, who traces a clear 
ancestry to his Scotch ancestors, and in his own 
person was for years one pf the best known and 
most progressive business men of the South. 
He was a large manufacturer and bridge 
builder and concerned in allied lines and dur- 
ing the Civil AYar was a member of the firm 
that constructed the Howe iron truss bridges. 
In Tennessee he was married to Harriet Tanet 
Brown, who belonged to a distinguished old 
family of Massachusetts, one that has con- 
tributed largely to the learned professions, one 
of its members being the founder of Brown 
University. The ancestors of Mrs. Ruffner 
participated also in the Revolutionary War, her 
grandfather. Captain Brown at the Battle of 
Bennington, together with two of her great- 
uncles, who were killed at the siep-e of Savan- 
nah. Here great-grandfather. Rev. Tohn Ice- 
land, was a famous pioneer preacher of the 



Baptist faith, in Culpeper County, Va. He 
was a contemporary and personal friend of 
Thomas Jefferson and this statesman showed 
him many favors at a time when Baptist minis- 
ters and their teachings, in that section, were 
not acceptable to the wild, rough people who 
most needed these ministrations. Mrs. Ruffner 
is eligible to the Society of Colonial Dames and 
is a Daughter of the American Revolution, and 
she belongs to the order of the Daughters of 
the Confederacy. Two children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Ruffner : Janet Maxwell and 
Robert E. Lee. The former was born at 
Charleston, attended the Charleston schools and 
Hollins Institute and after graduating from a 
Baltimore, Md., college, went to Europe and 
is now enjoying her fourth year of musical in- 
struction at Berlin, Germany. Robert E. Lee 
Ruffner was educated at Fishburn Military 
School and Hampden-Sidney College. He has 
succeeded his father in the wholesale grocery 
firm of Ruffner Brothers. 

The late Meredith P. Ruffner was a Demo- 
crat in politics. He belonged to no fraternal 
organizations. He was liberal in his gifts to 
charity and was always interested in benevolent 
movements. For many years both he and wife 
were very active in the Presbyterian church, in 
which he was a deacon, and in which she still 
continues her interest. Personally he is re- 
membered as a companionable and true friend 
and in his home he had the warm affection that 
makes his loss one particularly hard to bear. 
In all public-spirited, movements he did his 
share and Charleston will keep green his mem- 
ory when consideration is given to those who 
have done most for its advancement and up- 
building. 

CAPT. T. J. TORMEY, residing in Union 
District, Kanawha County, AY. Va., some ten 
miles west of Charleston, owns two farms, one 
of three hundred acres situated in Union Dis- 
trict, and the other of one hundred acres, which 
lies in Putnam County, AA r . Va. He was born 
in Greenbrier County, then Virginia, July 4, 
1847, and is a son of Michael and Margaret 
( Call) Tormey. 

Michael Tormey was born in County Ros- 
common, Ireland, was reared and married there. 



574 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Two of his children, John and Bridget, were 
born in Ireland. He was yet a young man 
when he decided to emigrate to America and 
took passage with his family on a sailing ves- 
sel bound for the harbor of New York. The 
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean consumed 
three months, but the landing was safely made, 
and there is no doubt but that the passengers 
were glad to be again on dry land even though 
all their surroundings were unfamiliar. By stage 
line and canal boat they reached their desired 
destination, Meadow Bluff, Va., and Mr. Tor- 
mey followed farming in Greenbrier County 
for the next ten years. During this period four 
more children were born: T. J., Julia, Mary 
and Maggie. Michael Tormey then sold his 
property in Greenbrier County and moved into 
Putnam County and had become a well known 
man there when his life was accidentally termi- 
nated, his death occurring from the kick of a 
mule. His widow survived to be seventy-five 
years of age and both she and husband were 
buried in the Catholic cemetery near their home 
in Putnam County. 

T. J. Tormey attended school in Putnam 
County, in the Vernon Church school-house, 
after which he helped his father on the farm 
and for four years was employed in railroad 
construction. After marriage he came to 
Union District, Kanawha County, and settled 
on his present three-houndred acre farm, two 
hundred of which he has since cleared. The 
improvements he has made include the erection 
of all the present substantial farm buildings. 
He has brought his land to a high state of cul- 
tivation and is numbered with the prosperous 
farmers of the district. In politics he is a 
Democrat, but has never accepted any public 
office except one connected with the public 
schools and for six years he has been a member 
of the board of trustees of Union District 
schools. 

Mr. Tormey was married in Kanawha 
County to Miss Mary Ryan, a daughter of 
Patrick Ryan. She was reared near Gallipolis 
Ferry, Mason County, W. Va., but her parents 
were born in Ireland. Five children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Tormey, namely : John, 
a promising youth, who died at the age of 
seventeen years ; Frank, who resides on the 



home farm and assists his father; Robert, who 
is a street car conductor at Charleston; and 
Annie and Katie, who are at home, the latter 
still attending school. Mr. Tormey and fam- 
ily belong to the Roman Catholic church. 

WILLIAM EDWARD KELLER, who 
owns a valuable farm of one hundred acres, 
which lies in Charleston District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., was born May 2, 1848, in 
what is now Cabell County, W. Va., but then 
was a part of the old state of Virginia. His 
parents were Adam and Nancy (Arthurs) 
Keller. 

Adam Keller was born in Germany and was 
brought to the United States when between five 
and ten years of age and was reared in Cabell 
County. W. Ya. He there married Nancy 
Arthurs, a native of that county, and twelve 
children were born to them, the survivors be- 
ing: William Edward, Henry. Mrs. Rhoda 
Ray, and Mrs. Maria Ray. Adam Keller lived 
to be eighty years of age and was a well known 
man of his community, a leading member of 
the Presbyterian church. In his political views 
he was a Democrat. 

W illiam Edward Keller remained on the 
home farm assisting his father until he was 
twenty-one years of age. when he came to Kana- 
wha County. At the time of marriage he 
owned about three acres of his present farm, 
and to that small tract he has kept adding until 
he now has a large estate, one that is carefully 
cultivated and is proportionately productive. 
All the farm industries are well looked after, 
including crop raising, stock raising, dairying 
and fruit growing. 

Mr. Keller married Miss Mollie Williams, a 
daughter of Henry Williams, of Kanawha 
County, and they have six children; Eursa. 
Mont. William H.. Alonzo. Beatrice and Ira L. 
All have attended school, Mr. Keller being in- 
terested in public education, having served 
many terms on the school board. He is a 
staunch Democrat. For fourteen years he was 
postmaster at Mound, the post office being on 
his farm. 

H. EUGENE SHADLE. president and 
general manager of the Morgan Lumber 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



and Manufacturing Company, at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., is an alert and enterprising 
business man, thoroughly representative of 
modern ideas and methods and a trained 
and experienced one along the line of his 
own industry. He was born February 22, 
1866, at Williamsport, Pa., of German an- 
cestry. 

In 1900 Mr. Shadle came to West Vir- 
ginia and became interested in the lumber 
business at Parsons and in Tucker and 
Randolph counties, giving six years of his 
life to this business in those sections, and 
then became similarly interested in Clay 
and Nicholas counties, in all sections doing 
an unusual amount of business and still 
owns a mill and manufactures lumber at 
Yankee Dam, in Clay county. Pie has 
bought, sold and traded in lumber and es- 
timates that he has disposed of more than 
fifty thousand acres of lumber and timber 
lands. Since coming to Charleston he has 
devoted himself heart and soul to the fur- 
thering of business interests here and is 
recognized as a very important factor not 
only in the lumber industry but in other 
directions concerned with the upbuilding of 
the city's commercial prosperity. 

The Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing 
Company is an enterprise that was con- 
ducted by John Morgan from 1884 until 
1890, he having succeeded its founder, J. C. 
Roy, now of the Knight Lumber Company. 
For some time Mr. Morgan had Fred Gard- 
ner as a partner, some four years, after 
which the firm became John & J. S. Mor- 
gan, both now deceased. John and J. S. 
Morgan sold their interest to the Morgan 
Co. and afterwards sold to the Morgan 
Lumber Co., a corporation, which existed 
as such for seven months, when, in 1908 H. 
Eugene Shadle took over all the interests 
and some months later had affairs in such 
excellent shape that with no difficulty he 
was able to establish the present company 
which does business under the stvle of 
Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing" Com- 
pany. The officers of this company are all 
men of high standing in the business world : 
H. Eugene Shadle, president and general 



manager ; S. L. Huffman, vice president ; 
S. C. Peeler, treasurer; and I. E. Hodge, 
secretary. The mill of the company is sit- 
uated on Pennsylvania avenue, on the Elk 
river, a thoroughly up-to-date plant with 
capacity for two million feet of lumber and 
a 135,000-foot dry kiln. In its machinery 
equipment it is probably one of the most 
modern and complete in the whole country. 
The company has its own electric plant, all 
machines are eletcrically driven, each ma- 
chine having its own motor. The company 
is manufacturer of interior finish and furni- 
ture and mill work of all kinds is done and 
of such a character that the services of an 
architect is continually required, the com- 
pany having in A. P. Henneman a very 
competent one. Employment is given in 
the mill to seventy-five people. 

Mr. Shadle was married in Pennsylvania 
to Miss Sarah Bitner, who was born in 
1869, at Center Hall, Pa., of German par- 
entage, and they have one son, Harold, who 
was born December 6, 1893, who is a high 
school student at Charleston. Mr. and 
Mrs. Shadle are members of the Baptist 
church. Their handsome residence is at 
No. 1426 Quarrier street, Charleston. Mr. 
Shadle is identified with a Masonic lodge 
in Pennsylvania. In his political views he 
is a Democrat. 

SQUIRE BENNETT JARRETT, one of 
the well known resdents and prominent 
public men of Elk district, who is now liv- 
ing retired after many years of active effort, 
is the owner of the old family homestead, 
known as Jarrett's Ford, on Elk river, Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., where he was born 
July 2, 1853, a son of Eli and Nancy (New- 
house) Jarrett. 

Owen Jarrett, the grandfather of Squire 
B. Jarrett, came from Greenbrier county, 
Va., during the early days and settled on 
the Jarrett homestead, being the second 
pioneer to locate on the Elk river, and the 
second to build a log cabin there. He died 
at the age of fifty-three years, in 1852, in 
the old home, where his wife, who had 
borne the maiden name of Elizabeth Ven- 



576 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



son, also passed away. Eli Jarrett was 
born near the Elk river in 1809, and his 
life was spent in farming and lumbering on 
the family homestead, where his death oc- 
curred in 1897. He married Nancy New- 
house, a daughter of Michael Newhouse, 
also an Elk river pioneer, and she died in 
1899, aged eighty-eight years, having been 
the mother of these children : Squire Ben- 
nett ; Eli T., living in Dickinson Station, 
W. Va. ; John T., a lumberman of Kelly 
Creek; Mark S., who conducts a hotel at 
Charleston; Mary E., who married Mar- 
shall Depew of Roane county; Caroline, 
who is the wife of Burdett Price, of Elk 
river; and Nancy Catherine, who married 
D. S. Jarrett of Hunt, W. Va. 

After completing his education in the 
common schools, Squire Bennett Jarrett 
worked for his father until his marriage at 
the age of twenty-six years, when he 
started out on his own account. For ten 
years he operated a property on Wills 
creek, and at the end of that time removed 
to Charleston, where he engaged in a livery 
business for seventeen years. He is now 
retired, having rented his Charleston prop- 
erty and his Elk river farm. 

Mr. Jarrett was married to Mary J. Vick- 
ers, who was born in 1864. daughter of 
Henry and Emma (Pawley) Vickers, farm- 
ing people of Elk district. Squire B. Jarrett 
is a member of the Baptist church. His 
politics are those of the Democratic party 
and he has served two terms as a member 
of the council and one term as deputy 
sheriff. 

J. EUGENE DANA, a retired coal oper- 
ator of Charleston, who has also been ac- 
tive in public life, was born at Worcester, 
Otsego county, N. Y., August 14. 1844, son 
of John, Jr., and Catharine (Frink) Dana. 
He is a grandson of John Dana. Sr., who 
came of French Huguenot stock, his ances- 
tors taking refuge in England from the per- 
secution which raged against Protestants 
in their native land, whence they subse- 
quently emigrated to the colony of Massa- 
chusetts, going from there to the colony or 



State of New York, in vtfhich some of their 
members achieved prominence. 

John Dana, Sr., was born in Massachu- 
setts and subsequently removed to Otsego 
county, N. Y., where he passed the rest of 
his life, his occupation being that of mill- 
wright. He and his wife had one son and 
three daughters. 

John Dana, Jr., was born in Otsego 
county, N. Y., in 1825 and for the greater 
part of his life was engaged in business as a 
flour mill operator. He died at Richfield 
Springs, Otsego county, N. Y., in 1880. In 
politics he was an old line Whig and later 
a Republican. A Methodist in his earlier 
years, he later became a member of and an 
active worker in the Presbyterian church. 
His home was for many years a place of 
hospitality, and refreshment for ministers, 
elders and other church people. He mar- 
ried in Otsego conuty, Catharine, daughter 
of Stephen Frink. her mother's maiden 
name being Low. She was born in Otsego 
county about 1830 and died in Brooklyn, 
N. Y., when sixty-four years of age. Her 
parents went to Otsego county from 
Connecticut, Stephen Frink having been a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War. His 
father was massacred at a fort in Connecti- 
cut during the French and Indian War, 
about 1755 or '56. The subject of this 
sketch possesses his grandfather Frink's 
old hall clock, with wooden works, a fine 
specimen of its kind. John Dana, Jr., and 
his wife were the parents of nine children, 
of whom four are now living, our subject 
being the only one residing in West Vir- 
ginia. 

J. Eugene Dana was the youngest but 
two of his parents' children, and he was 
only nine years old when they moved to 
Richfield Springs, where he was educated 
in the public schools. He was not quite 
eighteen years old when, on July 18, 1862. 
he enlisted in Company M, 3d N. Y. Light 
Artillery, and with his regiment he partici- 
pated in a number of engagements, the 
forces of which his regiment formed a part 
operating in the vicinity of Newport News, 
Va., and Newbern, N. C. as well as at other 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



577 



points, in 1864 having active work all along 
the line. His battery was the first to enter 
Richmond when that city was evacuated by 
the Confederates. Promoted to corporal, 
he exercised minor commands in that ca- 
pacity, and he was honorably discharged 
after three years of pretty active service. 

After the close of civil strife, he came to 
Kanawha county, W. Va., to join his 
brother, who was engaged in the coal busi- 
ness here, and they were among the early 
coal operators of this section. Owing to 
the lack of railroads in those days, the coal 
was floated down the Kanawha and Ohio 
rivers to Cincinnati, where it found a ready 
market. Mr. Dana continued in the busi- 
ness until his retirement therefrom about 
eight years ago, operating extensively on 
Campbell creek, and for four years was gen- 
eral manager of the Campbell Creek Coal 
Co., which has been in operation for thirty- 
eight years and which has shipped many 
million of tons, being one of the largest, if 
not the largest, shipper in this great coal 
section. Mr. Dana is still a director of the 
company. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Dana has 
been quite active in the councils of his 
party. He was a delegate to the Repub- 
lican_National Convention that nominated 
Rutherford B. Hayes for President in 1876, 
and also to the convention that nominated 
Benjamin F. Harrison in 1892, to the con- 
vention that nominated William McKinley 
at St. Louis, and to the Republican Na- 
tional Convention of 1900. He has also 
served as a delegate to many state conven- 
tions. Of President McKinley he was a 
personal friend and entertained him at his 
home. Although he never sought but al- 
ways declined political preferment, he was 
appointed postmaster of Charleston by 
President Roosevelt, and served in that 
office for four and a half years with credit. 
Among his political acquaintances and per- 
sonal friends, in addition to President 
McKinley were Presidents Harrison and 
Roosevelt, Mark -Hanna. Richard and 
Charles Dana and other men of prominence 



in national affairs with whom he often con- 
versed on matters of importance. 

Mr. Dana was married at Richfield 
Springs, N. Y., to Miss Maria A. Swift, a 
native of Newport, N. Y., and daughter of 
Aaron and Mary Swift. Her parents, who 
were natives of New York state, lived and 
died in Otsego county, that state. Mr. and 
Mrs. Dana have three children, Mary C, 
Elizabeth A. "and John S. Mary C. is the 
wife of,E. W. Knight, a member of the law 
firm of Brown, Jackson and Knight, of 
Charleston. Elizabeth A. married a Mr. 
Smith of Charleston and they have five 
children. John S. Dana, who graduated 
from Princeton College, is ex-secretary and 
vice president of the Abney-Barnes Co., a 
wholesale dry goods firm of Charleston. He 
married Launie Abney, and they have three 
children, all daughters. The family are 
members of the Kanawha Presbyterian 
church. 

WILLIAM O'BRIEN, whose excellent 
farm of eighty-three acres lies two miles 
out from Charleston, W. Va., in Loudon 
district, was born in Ireland and was 
brought to what is now Wood county, W. 
Va., in infancy, a son of Richard and Jo- 
hanna (Lundegren) O'Brien. 

Richard O'Brien came with his family to 
Wood county in 1850 and at first was em- 
ployed in flour milling and distilling, after- 
ward was a grocer and still later, his health 
failing, engaged in the liquor business. His 
death occurred at the age of forty-five 
years and four of his six children survive. 

William O'Brien attended school in 
Wood county and afterward was variously 
employed, working as a carpenter and on 
the railroad for a number of years. After 
the death of his wife, in 1883, he came to 
West Virginia and followed carpenter work 
and building until 1890, when he purchased 
his farm and has devoted himself to agricul- 
tural pursuits ever since. 

Mr. O'Brien was married first in 1875 to 
Mary Farrell, who died in 1884. having 
been the mother of four children : Edward, 



578 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



who is deceased; William, who lives in the 
state of Washington ; Richard, who resides 
in Ohio ; and Mary, who is deceased. Mr. 
O'Brien was married second to Mary Kis- 
sane, and they have a family of seven chil- 
dren, namely : Bernard, Thomas, Henry, 
Margaret, Robert, Anna and Helen. With 
his family, Mr. O'Brien belongs to the 
Catholic church. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat. 

EDWARD S. IRWIN, formerly a well 
known business man of Charleston, W. Va., 
was born in 1825, in Maiden district, Kan- 
awha county, and died at his home in 
Charleston, in Febraury, 1891. He was 
reared on a farm and 'was educated at Gal- 
lipolis, O., and started into business in this 
city as a grocery merchant. Some years 
later he went into the livery business which 
he continued until his last sickness. 

The parents of the late Edward S. Irwin 
were David and Mary Irwin. The father 
owned salt furnaces in Kanawha county 
and operated the same until the outbreak 
of the Civil War, when he moved with his 
family to Gallia county, O., where he pur- 
chased a farm and spent the remainder of 
his life there. He and wife were Presby- 
terians. They had a number of sons, rec- 
ords of two, John and David, being as fol- 
lows : John continued in Gallia county, a 
farmer, married Mary A. Clark and they 
had a large family. She survives but he 
died at the age of seventy years. David, 
known as Captain David, was commander 
of a boat for some years on the Ohio and 
Mississippi rivers but later retired to his 
farm in Gallia county, where he died at the 
age of seventy-three years. He married a 
native of Indiana, an educated lady who 
was formerly a teacher. She died in 1910, 
in her eighty-first year, the mother of three 
sons and one daughter. 

Edward S. Irwin was married at Cincin- 
nati to Miss Elizabeth A. Nevius, who was 
born March 3, 1845, and was reared at 
Charleston and resides in her beautiful 
home situated at No. 1506 Ouarrier street, 
which she erected in 1909. Her parents 



were James and Mary (McCleland) Nevius, 
the former of whom was born in Rock- 
bridge county, Va., a son of Abraham Ne- 
vius, who was one of the venerable men of 
that county at the time of death. He was 
of Scotch extraction and of Presbyterian 
religious faith. James Nevius was a black- 
smith and when he came to Charleston 
conducted a smithy for some years and was 
known as a man of strength and skill. For 
twenty years before death he lived retired. 
In early life a Whig he subsequently be- 
came a Republican and during the Civil 
War was outspoken in his support of the 
Union cause. He was a working member 
of the Kanawha Presbyterian church. His 
first wife, the mother of Mrs. Irwin, died in 
1849, when a little over forty years of age. 
His second marriage was in Kanawha 
county, to Panoply Kendrick, a native of 
New Hampshire and a daughter of a Bap- 
tist minister. She left no children. 

Mrs. Irwin is the youngest of three sons 
and four daughters, all of whom grew to 
maturity, as follows : Nancy, who is the 
wife of Frank Cart, resides in Colorado and 
they have twelve children: John, who died 
in 1902, at Gallipolis, owned and operated a 
wharfboat there for twenty-five years, mar- 
ried Julia Baxter, who lives there with their 
one daughter, Ida ; Fannie, who died in 
Missouri, aged sixty years, was the wife of 
James Sharrock. who is also deceased ; 
Robert Logan, who died in Colorado, had 
lived there many years, married Elisabeth 
W ilson who lives there with one son and 
two daughters: George, who now lives at 
Huntington, O.. is a retired lumberman, 
married Emma Murphy and has four chil- 
dren ; and Mrs. Irwin. She has three chil- 
dren: Mary N. ; Bessie K.. who is the wife 
of Washington L. Goldsmith, a prominent 
insurance man and has one son ; and Rob- 
ert F., who is a commercial salesman. Mrs. 
Irwin and family are members of the Kan- 
awha Presbyterian church. 

LIEUT. JOHN A. CROCKETT, who was 
for many years a highly esteemed resident of 
Charleston. W. Va.. where he died April 10, 



LIEUT. JOHN A. CEOCKETT 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



581 



1896, belonged to a notable old Southern fam- 
ily, being a kinsman of the famous scout and 
Indian fighter, David Crockett, massacred at 
the Alamo, Texas, one year before the birth of 
our subject. The latter was born in Loudon 
district, Kanawha county, (now) West Vir- 
ginia, March 22, 1837, his parents being John 
Bearsford and Parphina (Morris) Crockett. 

John B. Crockett was born in Kentucky and 
was a young man when he came to Kanawha 
county, W. Va. He engaged in farming in 
Loudon district, near Brownstown, and there 
he married a daughter of Leonard Morris, who 
was a prominent citizen of the locality and a 
man of large estate. After their marriage they 
lived at Brownstown, where Mr. Crockett died 
at the age of seventy years and his w T ife when 
aged seventy-seven years. John B. Crockett 
was a Democrat in politics and he served as 
magistrate for many years. He had been a 
soldier in the Mexican War. In religion he ad- 
hered to the Presbyterian church in which he 
had been reared; his wife, however, was a 
Methodist. Their family numbered nine chil- 
dren. 

John A. Crockett had good educational ad- 
vantages. For many years after his school 
days were over he devoted himself to the man- 
agement of his large farming interests. ' He 
inherited a large part of the Morris estates and 
owned hundreds of acres of fine land, on which 
extensive agricultural operations were carried 
on for years under his supervision. From this 
property, which was situated in Loudon and 
Maiden districts, he . subsequently retired to 
Charleston, where he spent the rest of his life 
as an active citizen, occupying a handsome resi- 
dence at No. 1025 Lee street, where his widow 
still resides. 

Lieut. Crockett earned his military title in 
the Confederate service, enlisting in 1861 as 
private in Company I, Eighth Virginia 
Cavalry, Capt. Irving Lewis and Colonel Jen- 
kins, commanding. He served all through the 
war, taking part in many hotly contested bat- 
tles, among them Chancellorsville, Winchester 
and Lewisburg, and whether in victory or de- 
feat always showed himself a brave and stead- 
fast soldier, by his efficiency and courage win- 
ning advancement to the rank of lieutenant. 



He was frequently in charge of scouts, some- 
times penetrating into the Union lines and se- 
curing valuable information. He made many 
captures of men and material, but, being by na- 
ture and breeding a true gentleman, was always 
as kind and considerate to his prisoners as the 
exigencies of the service permitted. He him- 
self was never captured or wounded, though he 
suffered more or less from sickness as the result 
of the hardships he had to endure in common 
with most of his comrades. 

Soon after the close of the war Lieut. Crock- 
ett was married, at Dego, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., to Miss Elizabeth Hannah daughter of 
Samuel Hannah both natives of this county. 
She died fourteen years after their marriage, 
leaving no issue. 

In 1882 Mr. Crockett was married in Mai- 
den district to Miss Caroline Q. Smithers, who 
was born near Maiden, Kanawha county, in 
1847, a daughter of Benjamin S. and Eliza 
(Shrewsbury) Smithers, and a granddaughter 
on the maternal side of Joel and Sally (Dickin- 
son) Shrewsbury, all old families of this sec- 
tion. 

Benjamin S. Smithers was born September 
14, 1809, at Long Reach, on the Ohio River, in 
the western part of what is now West Vir- 
ginia, while his wife was born in Franklin 
county, Va. They were married in Maiden dis- 
trict and lived in the village of Maiden. Benja- 
min S. Smithers was a son of Rev. David and 
Ruth (Smith) Smithers, natives of Delaware. 
Mr. Smithers became associated with Dickinson 
and Shrewsbury in salt manufacturing, after- 
ward purchasing about 600 acres of land in 
Maiden district. He was a representative man 
of his section, in early days a Whig but later a 
Democrat, and was a liberal contributor to the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was 
a member. He married Eliza Shrewsbury, 
who was born July 1, 1814, and died May 5, 
1898, while on a visit to her daughter at Gal- 
lipolis O. She also was a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, a tender mother and de- 
voted wife, an admirable woman whose virtues 
are still remembered. 

To Benjamin S. Smithers and wife the fol- 
lowing children were born: David S., who is 
deceased, married Emma Whittaker, who is 



582 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



also deceased, three children surviving; Samuel 
T., who died unmarried at the age of forty-two 
years; Sallie D., who is deceased, was the wife 
of R. F. Watson, also deceased, and they are 
survived by two sons, Benjamin and Robert ; 
Julia E., who is the wife of Frank Donnelly, of 
Gallipolis, O., and they have children: Ruth A., 
who is the widow of Gaston Norvell, has a large 
family; and Caroline O., who is the youngest 
surviving member of the family. 

Mrs. Crockett was educated at Charleston 
and College Hill, O. She is the mother of two 
sons, John Benjamin and David Bernard, both 
of whom reside at home, neither being married. 
The former was born February. 5, 1884, and 
the latter December 5, 1886. They are well 
educated and both are enterprising young busi- 
ness men and the former is connected with the 
Standard Oil Company. Like their late father, 
they are Democrats in politics. Mrs. Crockett 
owns a large amount of property consisting of 
city realty and farm and coal lands, all of which 
she capably manages for herself. With her 
sons she is a member of the First Presbyterian 
church at Charleston. 

JEFFERSON DAVIS MARSHALL, a 
pioneer merchant at Mammoth, W. Va., of 
which prosperous town he has been a resi- 
dent for the past eighteen years, was born 
on his father's farm in Carroll county, Va., 
March 9, 1862, and is a son of John and a 
grandson of John Marshall. The grand- 
father was an early settler in Carroll 
county and the father spent his entire life 
there. There were four children in his fam- 
ily: Jefferson Davis, William K., Joanna 
and Henry W., the two last named being 
deceased. 

Jefferson Davis Marshall spent his boy- 
hood on the home farm but when he 
reached manhood determined to see more 
of the world. Having little capital he 
showed that he had determination and 
courage, for he walked the whole distance 
to that section of Ohio where were located 
the iron ore mines and good wages were 
paid industrious workmen. He remained 
in those mines for some time and then came 
to West Virginia and worked in the mines 



in Fayette county for awhile and from 
there went to Boone county, Ind., and 
worked on a farm. Mr. Marshall afterward 
returned to West Virginia, where he en- 
gaged in farming in the summer and 
worked in the mines in the winter until the 
spring of 1892, when he went into the mer- 
cantile business in a small way at Cedar 
Grove. From there he moved to Mam- 
moth and opened the first store on the 
creek, this being before the railroad was 
construtced. In 1898 he moved to his pres- 
ent location, where he was shortly after- 
ward burned out, but subsequently rebuilt. 
In addition to his store, Mr. Marshall has a 
small truck farm. He is a successful busi- 
ness man and respected citizen. 

In 1885 Mr. Marshall was married to 
Miss Alice Bowe, a daughter of the late C. 
H. Bowe, and they have four children: 
Minnie, who is the wife of D. S. Meyers; 
Ida May, who is the wife of Homer Dunbar 
and they have one child, Kathleen ; William 
A., and James Corbett. Mr. Marshall and 
family belong to the Baptist church. He 
is a Democrat in politics and takes a good 
citizen's interest in public matters. Mr. 
Marshall belongs to the Odd Fellows and is 
a member of the Encampment at Mam- 
moth ; to the Knights of the Golden Eagle, 
also at Mammoth; and to the Senior Order 
of American Mechanics, at Ward, W. Va. 

JAMES F. LEWIS, who was born on the 
banks of the beautiful Kanawha River, at 
Charleston, W. Va., August 3, 1830, and 
died in his native place, January 31, 1908, 
passing away with the respect and esteem 
of his fellow citizens with whom he had 
been associated in business and public move- 
ments for so many years, was a son of James 
Alexander and Prudentia (Wilson) Lewis. 

James Alexander Lewis was born and 
reared in old Virginia. Soon after mar- 
riage he came to Charleston and embarked 
in a mercantile business through which he 
accumulated a substantial fortune. He 
married Prudentia Wilson, who was born 
in Ireland and was brought to Virginia in 
childhood. They had twelve children born 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



583 



to them, all of whom are now deceased, but 
few reaching maturity. One son, John, was 
killed at the battle of Winchester, Va., dur- 
ing the Civil War, and his body was never 
recovered. 

James F. Lewis completed his education 
at the University of Virginia. In 1853 he 
visited California, by way of the Isthmus 
of Panama, and remained four years in the 
far West and then returned on account of 
his father's failing health, the latter dying 
in the following year, and his wife in 1865. 
In 1861, James F. Lewis enlisted as a pri- 
vate in the 22nd Va., known as the Kanawha 
Riflemen, Confederate Army, for service in 
the Civil War, and shortly afterward was 
put on detached duty and made secretary to 
General Wise, with whom he remained until 
detailed in a similar capacity- on another of- 
ficer's staff in the commissary department. 
He remained in the service until the termi- 
nation of the war and then engaged in the 
mercantile business at Charleston. In the 
panic of 1873 he suffered heavy losses but 
from these he recovered honorably and re- 
sumed business and with a competency re- 
tired some years before his death. He was 
a Democrat in his political opinions through 
out life. , 

On June 17, 1868, Mr. Lewis was married 
at Charleston, to Miss Anna Maria Brad- 
ford, who was born in what is now Putnam 
county, W. Va., November 10, 1836, a 
daughter of Alexander Slaughter and Mary 
Walker (Clarkson)' Bradford. Alexander 
Bradford was born in Bedford county, Va.. 
and in 1834 married Mary Walker Clark- 
son, of Albemarle county, Va., a daughter 
of James and Maria (Wood) Clarkson, in 
the following year moving to what is now 
Putnam county, where he died in 1839, of 
scarlet fever. His widow survived until 
December 3, 1878, her age being sixty-six 
years. They were attendants of the Epis- 
copal church. The grandparents of Mrs. 
Lewis were William A. and Anne (Slaugh- 
ter) Bradford, all prominent people in Put- 
nam county. Three children were born to 
the parents of Mrs. Lewis : Anna Maria, 
Mrs. Lewis ; Alexander Henry, who was 



accidentally killed by a comrade during the 
Civil War; and Mary M., who was married 
in 1861 to Charles P. Rogers, of Albemarle 
county, Va., and died suddenly a few 
months later, and his death occurred in 
1863. Mrs. Lewis was three years old 
when her father died and she was reared at 
St. Albans and at Charleston and educated 
in Dr. Brown's private school in this city. 
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Lewis : Comyn, who resides at South Ruff- 
ner, married Nannie Peyton; Henry B., 
who is cashier of the Kanawha Banking & 
Trust Company, married Anna Johnson of 
Baltimore, and Sue L., who is the wife of 
John Henshaw, of Fairmont, W. Va. Mrs. 
Lewis and family are members of the Epis- 
copal church. 

CHARLES F. OSBORNE, who is cashier 
of the First National Bank of Clendenin, W. 
Va., is otherwise interested in business enter- 
prises of importance, being favorably known in 
business circles generally. He was born Feb- 
ruary 4, 1883, in Roane county, W. Va., and 
is a son of Millard Fillmore and Flora H. 
(Stump) Osborne. Both parents were na- 
tives of that part of Virginia now known as 
West Virginia. The father, Millard F. Os- 
borne, was a merchant and is now employed in 
a general store at Clendenin conducted by the 
Robertson-Parrish Co. The subject of this 
sketch was the second born of his parents' chil- 
dren, the others being: Harry, Clyde, Ray- 
mond, Jack and Luther, with one who is de- 
ceased. 

Charles F. Osborne attended the public 
schools and afterward was engaged as a clerk 
in business houses of Clendenin, for ten years. 
In 1908 he became cashier of the First National 
Bank at Clendenin having been assistant cashier 
since 1907, Jasper Young now being assistant 
cashier. Mr. Osborne is also treasurer of the 
Koontz Oil and Gas Company of Clendenin, is 
a director of the First National Bank of Clen- 
denin, and is a stockholder of the Royalty Oil 
Company of Lincoln county, W. Va. In poli- 
tics he is a Democrat but has never accepted 
public office. He is prominent in Masonry, be- 
longing to the Blue Lodge at Clendenin; and 



584 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the Chapter, Commandery and Shrine at 
Charleston. 

GEORGE GOSHORN, deceased.— One of 
the old and representative business names of 
Charleston, W. Va., is that of Goshorn, which 
for many years has been identified with mercan- 
tile interests here. The founder of this family 
at Charleston was George Goshorn, the grand- 
father of George A. Goshorn, of the present 
generation, by whom the commercial interests 
of the family are still conserved. George Go- 
shorn was born in Pennsylvania, February 29, 
1790. From his birthplace he moved to Bel- 
mont county, Ohio, later to Wheeling, W. Va., 
and in May, 1822, he came to Charleston. 

George Goshorn deserves to be recalled in 
compiling a history of this section. He was a 
man of much business enterprise. He kept one 
of the early hotels and also, for years, operated 
what was known as the Goshorn Ferry. Being 
thus a man of importance he also became widely 
known through his business interests, these 
bringing him into contact with people from 
other sections, and the name of Goshorn was 
widely known even before the present business 
house was founded. George Goshorn died Tune 
24, 1845. He married Jane Farrier, who died 
at Charleston in her eighty-fourth year. Seven 
children were born to them, the eldest of whom 
was John H. Goshorn, who, for so long a time, 
was unusually prominent in the business affairs 
of Charleston. 

John H. Goshorn was born at McManus 
Creek, Va., in 181 3, and in 1822 accompanied 
his parents to Charleston. In 1839, with his 
brother, William F. Goshorn, he embarked in 
business, occupying a building on the river bank 
opposite the court-house. In 1844 they opened 
a dry goods store in an upper room of the 
building later utilized by the firm of T- H. & 
W. G. Goshorn Company, subsequently adding 
dry goods, hardware and groceries to the com- 
modities they handled. In 1855 they added to 
their floor space and continued to do a large 
business in all lines until 1876, when the firm 
disposed of the dry goods stock. In the same 
year they opened up a wholesale and retail 
hardware business and turned the whole build- 
ing into one large store. The brothers con- 



tinued their business relations for forty-three 
years when a break occurred occasioned by the 
death of William F. Goshorn, in May, 1882. 
Then the late John H. Goshorn organized the 
firm of J. H. & W. F. Goshorn Company, tak- 
ing into partnership his two nephews, William 
F. and H. D. Goshorn, and his son, George A. 
Goshorn, residents of Charleston. 

' The above business has been continuously 
conducted for sixty-two years, the present style 
being the Goshorn Hardware Company, with 
the following officers : President, William F. 
Goshorn, who resides at No. 1775 Washington 
street, Charleston; vice president, H. B. Smith; 
secretary, Julius A. de Gruyter; and general 
manager, Henry D. Goshorn. This concern is 
still managed according to the sound business 
principles under which it was organized, and is 
now one of Charleston's most important and 
prosperous- enterprises and in its management 
and ownership perpetuates a name that has 
been honored here for more than a half century. 

GEORGE MINSKER, president and gen- 
eral manager of the Kanawha Woolen Mills, 
an important business enterprise of Charleston, 
W. Va., founded by his father, the late Solo- 
mon Minsker, is a grandson of Ludwig and 
Henrietta (Keen) Minsker. They were na- 
tives of -Germany and came to America and 
settled in Pennsylvania, where they reared 
children and lived into old age. 

Solomon Minsker was born in Dauphin 
county. Pa., in 1832, and died on the stroke 
of midnight, . February 1, 1908, in his home 
at Charleston, W. Va. He learned first the 
carpenter trade and later that of millwright, 
and was sent to West Virginia by the Win- 
frede Coal Company, as a skilled mechanic, 
and proved so acceptable and reliable an em- 
ploye that he was shortly afterward made pay- 
master for the company and afterward en- 
trusted with large amounts of monev. In 
1857 he came to Charleston and was given a 
contract to complete an unfinished flour mill 
and this work was so satisfactory in character 
when done that he was offered a partnership 
in the milling business and afterward became 
an active mill man and continued his interest 
in this line until the December before his death 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



565 



in the following February. About the close 
of the Civil War he started a woolen mill on 
the Kanawha River on the present site of the 
Charleston Utility Company's plant, and in 
1869 the firm became known as Parsons, Ap- 
pleton & Co., and in 1874 they erected the new 
woolen mill on Clendenin and Virginia Streets. 
The plant was operated by this company for 
some years but in 1903 the business was incor- 
porated and since then George Minsker has 
been president of the company. Frank Wood- 
man being treasurer and being identified with 
the business since 1876, Mr. Minsker' s connec- 
tion having covered a period of thirty-seven 
years. 

Solomon Minsker was married in Kanawha 
county to Mary High, who was born in 1840. 
in the Kanawha Valley and spent her life at 
Charleston, dying in 1901. She was a daugh- 
ter of George and Barbara High, the former a 
native of Bucks county. Pa., and the latter of 
Harrison county. Va. Mrs. Minsker had been 
reared in the Methodist faith. Xine children 
were born to the above marriage and of these 
George was the eldest and six of the seven sur- 
viving members are married and have families. 

George Minsker was married to Miss Flor- 
ence Clark, who was born near Maiden, Kan- 
awha county, a daughter of Alexander and 
Eliza (Keis) Clark, who spent the greater part 
of their lives at and near Charleston. They 
were members of the Baptist church. Mr. and 
Mrs. Minsker have two daughters: Lucille H., 
who resides at home; and Genevieve K. who, 
like her sister, has been carefully educated and 
resides also at home. These young ladies with 
their mother are active workers and members 
of the First Presbyterian Church. In politics 
Mr. Minsker is a Republican with independent 
tendencies. 

W. A. LAWSON, a prosperous farmer of 
Loudon district, whose well cultivated tract 
of forty acres lies five miles from Charleston. 
W. Va., on the road leading to that city, was 
born in Lincoln county, W. Va.. August 14. 
1870, and is a son of John and Lucretia 
(Cooper) Lawson. 

John Lawson was born in Tennessee and 
came from there to Logan county and later to 



Lincoln county and still later moved on the 
Coal River in Kanawha county, in all sec- 
tions following farming, his death occurring in 
this county at the age of sixty-eight years. 
He married Lucretia Cooper, who is also de- 
ceased. They had eight children, four of 
whom are living: R. L., Valeria O., W. A. and 
Anthony. 

W. A. Lawson attended school in Lincoln 
county and then worked on his father's farm 
until he was twenty-eight years of age, almost 
continuously, and then bought his present farm 
of J. H. Hiding & Co. Mr. Lawson undoubt- 
edly has one of the most productive farms of 
the district and successfully raises all kinds of 
vegetables and fruit, making something of a 
specialty of berries which are of the finest qual- 
ity and command an excellent price. 

Mr. Lawson was married to Miss Catherine 
W. Thaxton. a daughter of Obediah Thaxton, 
who is a farmer on Coal River, and they have 
two children — Ottie and Freeda, while three 
intermediate ones are deceased. They were 
Sylvia and twin babies. In politics Mr. Law- 
son is a Democrat. He belongs to the Odd 
Fellows and attends lodge at Spring Hill. 
W. Va. 

JOHN F. SOUTHWELL, manager of the 
Elk Hotel, one of the fine hostelries of Charles- 
ton. W. Va., is one of the younger business 
men of this city to which he came in Septem- 
ber, 19 10, when he assumed his present respon- 
sibilities. He was born March 2, 1880. in 
Franklin County. Va., coming from an old 
family of that section, his grandfather, Finney 
Southwell, having been born in 1816, after his 
people had come there from New Hampshire. 

Finney Southwell was a well known planter, 
an extensive farmer and an early tobacco 
grower in his locality. He lived in what was 
known as the Taylor Stone District, where his 
death occurred in 1900. He was a large- 
hearted, generous, free living man as regards 
hospitality and no one was more respected or 
esteemed in Franklin county than he. irrespec- 
tive of religion or politics. In the former he 
was a member of the southern body of the 
Methodist Episcopal church and in the latter 
he was a Democrat. He married in Franklin 



586 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



county and a large family was reared the three 
survivors being: John T., father of John F. ; 
William, who occupies the old homestead ; and 
Martha, who is the wife of James Tobias, a 
farmer in Franklin county. 

John T. Southwell was born in Franklin 
county, Va., July 2, 1846, and has spent his 
life in the same county, now residmg on his 
farm near Hale's Ford, on the Staunton River. 
He is one of the prominent Democrats of his 
section and is also a liberal supporter of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He married 
Miss Julia Pasley, a native of Franklin county, 
a daughter of Robert Pasley, who, at one time 
was sheriff of Franklin county and a man of 
fortune and prominence. To John T. South- 
well and wife there were born seven children, 
one of whom, Ewell J., died at the age of 
eighteen years. The record of the living is as 
follows : Othel E. formerly was in the can- 
ning business but now lives on a farm in Frank- 
lin county, is married and has three children. 
William R. lives at Bedford City, Va., and is 
connected with the American Tobacco Com- 
pany. Ophelia K. is the wife of Thomas Mor- 
gan and they have children and a pleasant home 
near Pine Hook, Va. John F. is the fourth 
member of the family. Grover C. resides at 
Huntington, W. Va., being connected with the 
C. & O. Railroad. Minnie is the wife of 
Thomas Poindexter and they live in Franklin 
county and have three children. 

John F. Southwell was educated in Franklin 
and Roanoke counties, graduating from the 
Roanoke Business College in the class of 1903, 
after which he was express and station agent 
for the C. & O. Railroad at Huntington until 
the fall of 19 10, when he came to Charleston. 
The Elk Hotel, of which he is manager, is a 
handsome building situated at the head of 
Broad Street, opposite the K. & M. Railroad 
depot, a very convenient location for the trav- 
eling public. The hotel contains seventy 
rooms, forty of these being finely fitted up for 
guests. Mr. Southwell proves that he under- 
stands one great desideratum in a hotel, and 
that is a fine cuisine, and his table is supplied 
with the best the market affords. His bar is 
one of the features of the house and liquors and 
vintages to suit every taste are provided. 



Mr. Southwell was married at Huntineton 
to Miss Rosa Schwartz, who was born in Wer- 
temberg, Germany, September 20, 1887, and 
accompanied a sister and two brothers to Amer- 
ica in 1894. She was educated at Cincinnati 
and Huntington. Her parents were Michael 
and Elizabeth Schwartz and they died in Wer- 
temberg, Germany, in middle life. The father 
was a baker by trade and he and wife were in- 
dustrious and estimable people. They be- 
longed to the Lutheran church. Mrs. Schwartz 
was the kind and loving mother of nine chil- 
dren and seven of these came to the United 
States, two of whom, Herman and Michael, 
died in Huntington, unmarried. Three sisters 
of Mrs. Southwell, Elizabeth, Catherine and 
Fredrica, live at Huntington, two of them being 
married. One brother, August, lives in the 
city of Cincinnati, where he has a family. Mr. 
and Mrs. Southwell have one daughter, Helen 
J., who was born May 8, 1910, and was but a 
few months old when her parents moved to 
Charleston. 

MISS AMANDA J. DERRICK, who was 
born on Derrick's Creek. Poca District, Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., fifteen miles north of 
Charleston, is a daughter of John and a grand- 
daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Haynes) 
Derrick. 

Jonathan Derrick was born in Botetourt 
county, Va., where he married and was the 
first pioneer settler in Poca district, on the 
stream which was named in his honor, Der- 
rick's Creek. To Jonathan and Mary Derrick 
the following children were born: Elizabeth, 
who married George Boggas, and they lived on 
Poca River and both died there; Mary, who 
married Solomon Aultz, and they lived on Mar- 
tin's Branch, in Union District; John, who 
lived in Poca district, all three having been 
born in Botetourt county; Katherine, who was 
the first one born in Kanawha county, married 
George Hainey and they moved to the West 
and the family has lost record of them; Mar- 
tha, who died aged two years ; Rachel, who 
died when aged thirteen years ; Nancy, who 
married Witson Jordon. and they also went 
to the West ; George, who was a carpenter, went 
to Kentucky and married and died there; An- 




JAMES M. PAYNE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



589 



drew, who lived and died on Derrick's Creek, 
married first Katherine Jordan, and second, 
Elizabeth Arthur; Michael, who lived on Poca 
River, married Julia Dawson and both are de- 
ceased; Leroy, who died at home of typhoid 
fever ; Agnes, who also died from an attack of 
typhoid fever ; and Amanda, who died on Sandv 
River, in Jackson District, was the wife of Ter- 
emiah Gallahue. Jonathan Derrick had about 
400 acres of land and cleared about all of it 
before his death, which occurred when seventy 
years of age. His wife died in her sixty-fifth 
year. They were buried in the family ceme- 
tery on Derrick's Creek. Both were worthy 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and attended services in the log building at Sis- 
sonville. 

John Derrick, father of Miss Amanda T- 
Derrick, was born March 30, 1809, in Boto- 
tourt county, Va., and had comparatively 
meager school advantages. His main school- 
book was a speller and the pupils sat before a 
huge fireplace into which whole logs were 
rolled, the floors were sometimes of rough logs 
and slabs did for seats. In those days school- 
ing did not continue long but enough was 
learned to lay a foundation upon which reading 
and subsequent association with others could 
build up a fair amount of knowledge. John 
Derrick was a man of natural intelligence and 
became a prominent man in his district, a mem- 
ber of the board of Education and a justice of 
the peace for a number of years. After his 
marriage he settled on a farm adjoining that 
of his father, containing something over 300 
acres, which land he cleared himself. In Octo- 
ber, 1835, he married Mrs. Katherine Smith, 
widow of Stephen Smith and daughter of Jo- 
siah Thomas. She was born September 1, 
1804, in Kentucky, and died December 16, 

To John and Katherine Derrick the follow- 
ing children were born: Jonathan M., who was 
a soldier in the Civil War, died in the army May 
8, 1865, of measles, aged twenty-nine years, 
nine months and twenty-nine days; Josiah T., 
who died March 23, 1874, aged thirty-six 
years, ten months and twenty days, married 
Susan McMann, a daughter of Dr. McMann, 



and is survived by one son; Mary Margaret, 
who died August 2, 1902, was the wife of John 
Goff and her burial was on Martin's Branch, 
in the McClanaghan Cemetery; Lucretia Ann, 
who died when one year old ; and Amanda Jane, 
the only survivor. The father died March 2, 
1877, and both he and wife were buried on the 
old Derrick farm in Poca district. No family 
in all this section has been better known or 
more highly esteemed and respected. 

Miss Amanda J. Derrick was born July 3, 
1843, an d nas spent her whole life on a farm. 
She bought her present valuable property, what 
was known as the old Aultz farm, on November 
19, 1908, from H. F. Aultz. It contains 107 
acres of excellent land, is situated eight miles 
north of Charleston, on the Charleston and 
Sissonville turnpike road, and her residence is 
probably the best and most comfortable of any 
in Poca district. She directs the management 
of the farm herself, with the assistance of a 
niece and nephew, and hires considerable help. 
Miss Derrick is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

JAMES MONROE PAYNE, one of the 
leading members of the Charleston bar, of the 
law firm of Payne & Payne, belongs to an old 
Virginia family that traces an honorable an- 
cestry many generations back. He was born 
May 21, 1848, in Giles county, Va., and is a 
son of Charles H. and Rebecca (Price) Payne. 

Charles H. Payne was born in Franklin 
county, Va., a son of Thomas Payne, of Camp- 
bell county, Va., and Frances (Powell) Payne, 
of Franklin county. Agriculture was the main 
business of the older generations of Paynes. 
They did not seek public office. 

James M. Payne was reared in his native 
county and enjoyed the educational and social 
privileges which the prominence and wealth of 
his family made possible. From Roanoke Col- 
lege, where he spent some years, he entered 
upon the study of law and was admitted to the 
bar of Craig county, Va., in October, 1871. 
For two years he engaged in the practice of his 
profession there and then came to Charleston 
where he has remained ever since. His first 
partner in law practice was S. S. Green, with 



590 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



whom he was associated until 1895. His pres- 
ent firm was formed in 1897 and his business 
office is in the Kanawha Valley Bank Building. 
The very significant change in the law of evi- 
dence, applicable to the trial of suits in eject- 
ment laid down in the case of Stockton against 
Morris, decided by the Supreme Court of Ap- 
peals of this State, was made at his initiative 
and presentation to the Court. 

In October, 1880, Mr. Payne was married 
to Miss Belle Abney, who was born in Louisiana 
and died at Charleston in 1906. They had 
three sons: Arnold Abney, James Monroe and 
Francis Worth. The eldest son is a lieutenant 
in the United States Army. In 1908, Mr. 
Payne was married to Miss Virginia Austin, 
of Lewisburg, W. Va. They reside at No. 
12 10 Virginia street, Charleston. Mr. Payne 
is an elder in the First Presbyterian church, 
which he and his family attend. 

Mr. Payne is a Democrat in sentiment and 
by inheritance, but he has never been unduly 
active as a politician and the only public office 
he has ever filled was that of councilman, local 
issues at that time convincing him that he could 
be useful in civic legislation. He has been offi- 
cially identified with numerous important busi- 
ness enterprises. He organized and was the 
president of the Charleston Home Telephone 
Company for some years. He has served also 
on many charitable committees and benevolent 
boards, and has lent his influence to everything 
that has promised permanent advantage to his 
city. Mr. Payne is one of the trustees of the 
Presbyterian Orphans' Home, of Lynchburg, 
Va. He has traveled extensively in his own 
and in foreign countries. 

CHARLES C. LEWIS, capitalist and 
largely interested in the coal industry in the 
Kanawha Valley, has been identified with many 
of the important business interests which have 
served to increase and develop the commercial 
importance of Charleston.' He was born in 
Kanawha county, Va., now West Virginia, 
April 15, 1839, and is a son of John D. and 
Ann (Dickinson) Lewis, and a grandson of 
Col. William Dickinson, one of the earlv ex- 
ploiters of this section, a man of great courage 
and of public importance. 



John D. Lewis, father of Charles C, was 
born June 6, 1800, in Bath county, Va. His 
parents moved to Mason county in his in- 
fancy and for the larger part of his life he 
lived near the mouth of Campbell's Creek, 
where he acquired large tracts of coal and salt 
land and became prominent in the development 
of both. 

Charles C. Lewis enjoyed academic advan- 
tages in his youth and gained his first business 
experience as a clerk for his maternal grand- 
father. From 1 86 1 until 1869 he was identi- 
fied with his father in the salt manufacturine 
industry and afterward passed two years in 
agricultural pursuits. In 1870 he became pres- 
ident of the Kanawha Valley Bank and re- 
mained at the head of this stable old institution 
for fifteen years. On removing to Charleston, 
he bought property on the corner of Kanawha 
and Brooks Street, and built a residence where 
he is residing at this time. In 1882, in part- 
nership with P. H. Noyes, he organized the 
wholesale grocery firm of Lewis, Hubbard & 
Co., which is one of the largest enterprises of 
its kind in West Virginia. He retired from 
active participation in its affairs when he was 
called on to give his time and attention to ad- 
ministering on the large estates of his father 
and other members of his family. Since 1894 
he has been actively interested only in his coal 
enterprises. 

Mr. Lewis was married in 1864 to Miss Eliz- 
abeth Wilson, a daughter of Nathaniel Wilson, 
and six children were born to them. The eld- 
est son, Charles C, Jr., is connected with the 
wholesale grocery house of Lewis, Hubbard & 
Co. The second son, John D., is secretarv 
and treasurer of the Charleston Milling: and 
Produce Co., and his residence is at No. 1206 
Virginia Street. Mr. Lewis and family are 
members of the First Presbyterian church at 
Charleston, in which he is an elder. Mr. 
Lewis has always been a man of broad-minded 
view and generous sympathies. At times he 
has served in civic offices, for a number of terms 
being city treasurer, but business has always 
been more interesting to him than politics. 

JOHN LEONARD, postmaster at Hughes- 
ton, W. Va., where he is also a general mer- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



591 



chant, was born in County Roscommon, Ire- 
land, August 12, 1838. When four years old 
his parents, Michael Leonard and wife, took 
passage with their family for America. They 
both died on the ship and were buried at sea 
and it was fortunate for the orphan boy that 
his half-brother, James Donlan, was one of the 
party. The latter took care of the child not 
only until land was reached but until he was 
seventeen years of age, Mr. Donlan dying in 
Erie county, in 1878. Young himself, he 
found his first paying work on a farm in New 
York and while there saved enough to enable 
him to buy land in Erie county, Pa., and the 
brothers moved there in 1853 and there John 
Leonard found employment on a farm at $4 a 
month. He grew into an industrious young 
man and worked on farms and in livery sta- 
bles, in fact at anything that was honest, until 
i860, when he went to the oil fields of Pennsyl- 
vania and had been there a few months when 
the Civil War broke out. In 1861 he enlisted 
for sen-ice in the 10th Pa. Reserves, and served 
two years in Co. H. under Captain Patridge, 
and during this time took part in the seven 
days of fighting in front of Richmond, the 
second battle of Bull Run, and the battles of 
South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg. 
Being discharged on account of sickness he re- 
turned to Pennsylvania and then went to New 
York City and while there supported himself 
by driving an omnibus. After his return to 
Pennsylvania he drove a stage between Pitts- 
burg and Franklin, Pa., until 1867, when he 
came to Kanawha county, W. Va. Here he 
drove the stage from Charleston to Hughes 
Creek, his present place of residence, for two 
years and then spent a summer in Missouri. 
In the fall of 1869 he returned to Kanawha 
county and engaged in clerking for John Mc- 
Anney, who was one of the pioneer merchants. 
In 1870. when the C. & O. Railroad was being 
constructed through this section, Mr. Leonard 
went into business for himself. 

In partnership with J. B. Malone, he bought 
the saloon business and privileges from a Mr. 
Morris at what was then known as Clifton but 
now is called Pratt, Kanawha county, but con- 
tinued there only one year when he sold and 
with his former partner obtained a lease of 100 



acres on New River, from William Lewis. 
They engaged in merchandising on that tract 
until December, 1872, when Mr. Leonard 
moved to Cannelton, W. Va., where he pur- 
chased a building from Dr. C. R. Lewis, and 
went into business for himself. In 1877 he 
bought forty-six acres of land, on which he 
now lives, from A. S. Trimble and wife and 
moved his family here but continued his busi- 
ness at Cannelton until 1882, when he sold to 
his brother-in-law, Robert Beirne. Mr. Leon- 
ard then began the improvement of his prop- 
erty and erected his present store building and 
in 1883 opened for business. In 1893 he 
erected his comfortable ten-room residence, and 
after purchasing more land, sold seventy acres 
to a coal company but still has twenty acres. 
He is a Democrat in politics and has been post- 
master since 1893. 

On January 5, 1875, Mr. Leonard was mar- 
ried to Miss Ann Beirne, who was born in Mon- 
roe county, W. Va., a daughter of Charles H. 
and Margaret Beirne, and they have four chil- 
dren, namely: Margaret, who is the wife of 
T. N. Jacob and they live at East St. Louis; 
Bettie Lee, who is the wife of Charles Collins, 
and they reside with Mr. Leonard and have two 
children — Sarah Lee and John Leonard ; and 
Charles B. and John K, twins. The family 
belongs to the Catholic church. 

JOHN FRANKLIN HUBBARD, whose 
birth took place in Bedford county, Va., in 
1 83 1, and his death at his home in the city of 
Charleston, AY Va., No. 1010 Kanawha Street, 
in June, 1894, was an upright and honorable 
business man of Kanawha county for many 
years and served one term as sheriff. The 
Hubbard family has long been prominent in 
different lines in Bedford county and before 
the Civil AA'ar were people of large estate. 
The father of the late John F. Hubbard was 
Graves Hubbard and a number of the repre- 
sentatives of the family live in Kanawha 
county. 

John F. Hubbard became a clerk in a mer- 
cantile store as soon as his school davs were 
over and at the age of twenty years came to 
Maiden, Kanawha county and entered the 
general store of Col. AA'illiam Dickinson. 



592 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Some years later he embarked in the mercan- 
tile business at Maiden for himself and contin- 
ued there until 1881, when he came to Charles- 
ton, where the remainder of his life was spent. 
In politics he was a Democrat and while re- 
siding at Maiden was quite active but in later 
years was less interested. He united with the 
Presbyterian church at Maiden under the pas- 
torate of Rev. Dr. Brown, who survives him 
and is now a venerable resident of Lewisburg, 
W. Va. 

In 1861 Mr. Hubbard was married at Mai- 
den, to Mrs. Anna M. (Wilson) Holloway, 
who was born at St. Albans, Kanawha county, 
June 14, 1837, and was educated at Charles- 
ton and at Cincinnati, O. Her parents were 
Robert and Lucy (Jones) Wilson, the former 
of whom was born in Virginia and the latter 
in Georgia. They owned a large farm near 
St. Albans, on which they resided for some 
years and then moved to Maiden, where Mr. 
Wilson was a merchant. His death occurred 
prior to the Civil War, at the age of seventy 
years, his widow living to be eighty years of 
age. They were Presbyterians. Mrs. Hub- 
bard was married first to Peter Holloway, who 
died two years later, leaving one daughter, 
Ella, who died at the age of eighteen years. 
To the second marriage the children born were : 
Robert Graves, Julia Frances, John W., Maude 
and Nell M. Julia Frances was born Decem- 
ber 23, 1863, and married Julius W. Staehlin, 
a native German, who was educated in the city 
of Munich and graduated from a college there 
when seventeen years of age. Later he ac- 
companied an uncle to the United States and 
lived for several years at Gallipolis, O., and 
then came to Charleston and was admitted to 
partnership in the wholesale grocery firm of 
Hubbard, Bedell & Co. Mr. and Mrs. Staehlin 
have three children : Robert H., born August 
17, 1889, who is a clerk in his father's store; 
John E., born January 1, 1892, is a student in 
Hampden-Sidney College, a member of the 
class of 191 5 ; and Anna Pauline, who was born 
October 14, 1895. John W. Hubbard was born 
November 24, 1865, and is with the above 
named grocery house. He married Carrie 
Seashols and they have one daughter, Eliza- 
beth. Maude married John L. Dickinson, 



cashier of the Kanawha Valley Bank and they 
have five daughters: Mary Lewis, Anastatia, 
Nell Carmichael, Dorcas and Rebecca Gray. 
Nell M., who was born June 2, 1877, is the 
widow of Randolph Tucker Carmichael, who 
died at Charleston, in December, 1910. Mrs. 
Hubbard and her family are members of the 
Presbyterian church. 

MATHIAS SIERS for many years was a 
well known resident of Charleston, W. Va., 
where he conducted a shoe business and for- 
merly had been a farmer in Kanawha county. 
He was born October 15, 1831, in Greenbrier 
county, Va., a son of W'illiam Siers, and died 
at his home in Charleston, May 17, 1884. 

Mathias Siers grew to manhood in Green- 
brier county and worked on his father's farm. 
W r hen the Civil War broke out he was a mem- 
ber of the Clay County Home Guards, in 
which organization he served for two years, 
and then enlisted in Co. K, 7th W. Va. Cav., 
and served through one year. He came then to 
Kanawha county, where, in 1865, he was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Amanda (Vandall) Burgess, 
widow of William T. Burgess, who died while 
in. the army, in 1864. After a period of farm- 
ing in Kanawha county, Mr. and Mrs. Siers 
moved to Charleston, where he opened a shoe 
shop and continued in business there until the 
close of his life. Two children were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Siers, one son surviving, Leon- 
idas. He is an engineer and resides at Hunt- 
ington, W. Va. He served two years with the 
rank of corporal in the 1st U. S. Regulars, in 
the Philippine Islands. Mrs. Siers resides with 
her eldest son. John W. Burgess, of Elk dis- 
trict, Kanawha county. By her first marriage 
she has one other son, George W., residing in 
Carroll county, O., and a daughter, Josephine, 
who is the wife of J. Montgomery, a business 
man of Charleston. Mrs. Siers is well known 
and very highly esteemed. 

CHARLES DE LA BOULAY FON- 
TAINE, was born in Henry county, Va., 
February 3, 1827, and died November 1, 1883, 
at Parkersburg, W. Va. He was of French 
Huguenot ancestry and the first of the family 
to come to America settled in Halifax county. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



593 



Va., where the family became prominent and 
contributed many patriots who served in the 
Revolutionary War. John Fontaine, as the 
name was sometimes spelled, was the grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch and was 
born in Virginia. He was a slave owner in 
Henry county and had large plantations. He 
married Martha Henry, a daughter of the or- 
ator and patriot, Patrick Henry. One of their 
sons, John James Fontaine, who was born about 
1780, was a commissioned officer in the Mex- 
ican War. He died in 1850, in Henry county, 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
his ancestors having been Episcopalians. John 
James Fontaine married Mary Redd, and all 
of their seven children, with one exception, 
grew to maturity. 

Charles De la Boulay Fontaine grew to man- 
hood in Henry county and was educated in his 
native state. In 185 1 he went to Mississippi 
and lived on a farm near Okolona. During 
the Civil War he was a private soldier for two 
years in a Texas regiment which was com- 
manded by General Forest. His health failed 
and he secured an honorable discharge. He 
suffered the loss of his home and property 
through the ravages of war and died while 
making a visit to a son at Parkersburg, West 
Va. He was a strong Democrat all of his life, 
and for many years was identified with the 
Masonic fraternity. 

In Okolona, Miss., he was married on Au- 
gust 6, 1857, to Miss Mary Triplette Dearing, 
who was born at Tuscaloosa, Ala., August 6, 
1837, a daughter of Wyley and Eliza T. Dear- 
ing, the former of whom was born in North 
Carolina and the latter in Virginia. They 
were married in Alabama and both died in Mis- 
sissippi. They were members of the Presby- 
terian church, in which the father of Mrs. Fon- 
taine was an elder. Her mother, who died at 
the early age of thirty-six years, was a daugh- 
ter of John Nooe, who was a descendant of the 
colonial Governor Slaughter of Virginia, 
through his daughter Ann. The name is an 
honored one in Virginia. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine eight children 
were born. The eldest were John and Ida N., 
twins. The former was a lumberman and met 
an accidental death by drowning in the Guyan- 



dotte River. W. Va., in 1889 while booming 
logs during the Johnstown, Pa., flood. He 
married Estella Hagan, of Huntington, who 
survives and has one daughter. Ida N. is a 
very competent stenographer and resides with 
her mother at Charleston. Martha, who is 
now deceased, was the wife of Dr. Walter Bol- 
tan, now of Arkansas. Charles D. resides on 
a farm in Utah, married Grace Strong and they 
have three children : Maude, Paul and Harold. 
W r iley Dearing, who is a commercial traveler, 
lives at Charleston. He married Wilia Casto 
and they have three children : Charles Mauray, 
Douglas and John Wiley. Mary Bird, who is 
a teacher in the Charleston High School, resides 
with her mother. W. Robert and Emma P. 
both died in infancy. After the death of her 
husband, Mrs. Fontaine moved to Clarksburg, 
West Va., and from there came to Charleston. 
She and family attend the Presbyterian church, 
with the exception of Mary B., who is a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal church. 

HUGH PIKE, who is an enterprising and 
representative business man of Handley, Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., owning and operating 
a general store, dealing in ice and also conduct- 
ing a dairy, was born at Franklinville, N. C, 
January 22, 1859, and is a son of Alfred and 
Martha (Shelton) Pike. 

The father of Mr. Pike was a native of 
North Carolina, and the mother came from 
West Virginia. In 1859, after the birth of 
their son Hugh, they started westward in 
search of a new home, packing their belongings 
in a stout wagon with the children, and in their 
journeying passed through South Carolina, 
Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, 
and entered Texas. They met with numerous 
adventures and mishaps but when all were 
prostrated with fever the situation became se- 
rious and finally the father and one daughter, 
Jennie, died. Alfred Pike had been previously 
married and his five children of that marriage 
were in the family party. The daughter died 
and the four sons : Oliver, William, David and 
John remained in Texas, where Oliver and 
John still reside. To the second marriage six 
children were born : Winston ; Calvin, who is 
deceased : Hugh ; Almeda, who is the wife of 



594 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



David Sanders ; Hill, who is deceased ; and 
Alfred. After the death of her husband, Mrs. 
Pike returned to the East with her own chil- 
dren. Her parents had settled near what is 
now Pratt, and she joined them in Kanawha 
county. Her death occurred on New River, 
over the line in Fayette county, at the age of 
sixty-three years. 

After reaching Kanawha county, Hugh Pike, 
then being nine years old, was made a member 
of the household of his cousin, William Shel- 
ton, where he worked for board and clothes 
and remembers that he cut corn on the land 
which is now covered by the tracks of the C. & 
O. Railroad. Later he worked on the same 
financial basis for seven years for his uncle, 
Hiram Johnson, and during this time had two 
months of schooling, in this period mastering 
the alphabet. His next work was as water boy 
for the construction gang of the C. & O. Rail- 
road, and was paid fifty cents a day. From 
this humble position Mr. Pike steadily climbed, 
his next position being messenger boy for the 
old Kanawha Coal Company at Coalburg, and 
continued until the company was dissolved and 
then became cart boy at Crown Hill. He also 
was employed around the house of Superin- 
tendent B. Smith and was afforded an oppor- 
tunity to attend school, one which he appreci- 
ated and later, after saving some money he 
spent nine months in a commercial college at 
Cincinnati. He remained connected with the 
Crown Hill Coal Company for twenty years 
in different capacities. At times, when the 
company had shut down for a season, he 
worked on Government construction on the 
river and was employed at No. 3 lock, at Paint 
Creek. On the suggestion of Manager Gordon 
he went to the Sunnyside Mines, two miles 
above Hawks Nest, in 1889, and invested $1000 
in stock there and served for two years as gen- 
eral manager, when he sold his interest and 
more or less gave up mining. Mr. Pike bought 
his present place at Handley, erected his store 
building and stocked it and began his mer- 
chandising in 1891. In a comparatively short 
time the business outgrew his quarters and he 
rebuilt and subsequently has erected other 
buildings as his undertakings have been in- 
creased. He is doing well in the ice business 



and buys about ten cars of ice a season. His 
dairy is conducted with five cows and has been 
made profitable. In addition to the real estate 
that he owns at Handley, he has a residence and 
eight acres of land at St. Albans. 

In 1889 Mr. Pike was married to Miss Anna 
L. Lee, who died September 5, 19 10, a daugh- 
ter of the late S. L. Lee. To them eleven 
children were born, all of whom survive with 
the exception of the second: Frank S., a phy- 
sician; Alice, wife of L. B. Hayes; and Georgia, 
Donald, Alexander, Victor, Florence, Eugene, 
Joseph and Louisa. Mr. Pike has never been 
very active in politics but is a good and law- 
abiding citizen. 

JAMES E. ADKINS, of Adkins Brothers, 
dairymen and dealers in groceries at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., who have been in business for 
fifteen years, with quarters at No. 401 Court 
Street since March 1, 191 1, before that in 
Loudon district, is one of three brothers, J. E., 
L. F., and L. B., making up the firm. James 
E. Adkins was born November 27, 1872, in 
Loudon district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
and is a son of Hamilton and Elizabeth (Ar- 
thur) Adkins. 

Hamilton Adkins came to Kanawha countv 
in 1850 and resided on a farm in Loudon dis- 
trict until 1906, when he retired and now re- 
sides on State street, Charleston. He married 
Elizabeth Arthur, who was also born in West 
Virginia, and nine children have been born to 
them and all grew to maturity. One son, Will- 
iam, died after marriage to Sallie Stone, who 
survives with their one son. Mamie is the 
wife of Frank Hall and they reside at Charles- 
ton and have three children. James E., was 
the next in order of birth. Richard is a car- 
penter residing at Charleston, married Rosa 
Kinser and they have four children. George 
V., married Julia Bird and they have one son. 
Ella, and Leon F., and Leonard B.,- twins, and 
Bessie, are all at home. 

James E. Adkins was reared on the home 
farm and attended the country schools. He 
has been in the dairy business almost his en- 
tire life and has been in the distributing busi- 
ness for fifteen years. When the present quar- 
ters were selected the firm went into the gro- 




JAMES F. HUDSON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



597 



eery line in connection with their milk business. 
They handle and produce the very best products 
known to the trade and have a very large 
amount of patronage, in milk alone handling 
100 gallons daily. 

Mr. Adkins was married in Loudon district, 
to Miss Wanena F. Haws, who was born and 
reared there, and they have five children : Wil- 
ber and Edgar, both of whom died young; and 
Arthur, Maggie and Lorena. Mr. Adkins is 
a Republican. 

W. H. MORRIS, superintendent of the 
Marmet Coal Company, at Hernshaw, W. Va., 
is a thoroughly experienced mine man and in 
his present connection has responsibility over 
five openings : the New Butler, Lens Creek and 
Black Band mines at Hernshaw, and two at 
Monarch, where he served as assistant super- 
intendent. He was born in 1868, at Blue 
Creek, Kanawha county, W. Va., and is a son 
of E. M. and Mary F. (Bowen) Morris. 

E. M. Morris was born in Virginia and came 
as a young man to Kanawha county, where he 
worked for a time in the mines but later ac- 
quired a farm and farming and timber con- 
tracting were his main activities. His death 
occurred at the age of sixty-two years. He 
married Mary F. Bowen, and they had seven 
children. 

W. H. Morris obtained a public school edu- 
cation and afterward worked on his father's 
farm for a short time. He then went into the 
mining business and continued for a number 
of years and learned every detail. In 1907 he 
came to Monarch and served as assistant super- 
intendent for the Marmet Coal Company until 
19 10, when he was made general superintend- 
ent of both mines — Hernshaw and Monarch — 
having an assistant at Monarch. The output 
of this company is 800 tons and employment is 
found for 300 men. The company owns the 
W. Va. & Southern Railway for about a four- 
mile stretch of standard gauge track, and owns 
about eighty cars and two locomotives. Mr. 
Morris is superintendent of this railroad. 
These are all drift mines. Mr. Morris is well 
qualified for the position he fills and enjoys the 
respect of his employers and the confidence of 
the men. 



Mr. Morris married Miss Myrtle Crawford, 
a daughter of Andrew Crawford and they have 
three children, Lee, William and Langdon. In 
politics he is a Republican and fraternally he 
is identified with the Odd Fellows and the 
Knights of Pythias. 

JAMES F. HUDSON, postmaster at 
Charleston, AV. Va., and one of the most effi- 
cient incumbents that this office has ever had, 
has been an important factor in the Republican 
party since attaining manhood and has filled 
many public positions. He was born December 
14, 1869, in Kanawha county, W. Va., and is 
a son of Anderson and Roxey L. (Holstein) 
Hudson. 

James F. Hudson was reared on the home 
farm and remained there until he had acquired 
a complete enough education in the public 
schools, to enable him to become a teacher., 
Three years as a schoolmaster sufficed and he 
then turned his attention to merchandising. In 
1 90 1 he became chief deputy for James Jarrett, 
sheriff of Kanawha county, and served in that 
capacity until 1905, and then accepted the po- 
sition of county tax assessor and served one 
year under appointment by W. M. O. Dawson. 
Mr.. Hudson in 1897 became a citizen of 
Charleston and in 1902 was elected a member 
of the city council and during the four years 
that he served on that body his vote and influ- 
ence were always given to advance the best in- 
terests of the city. Since 1900 he has served 
almost continuously either as a member of the 
Kanawha county Republican committee or of 
the Congressional or Senatorial Committees. 
On March 29, 1909, Mr. Hudson was appointed 
postmaster at Charleston and his office force in- 
cludes an assistant, Joseph A. Hudson, nineteen 
clerks and thirteen letter carriers. He has sys- 
tematized the work, and in economy and effi- 
ciency can present to the authorities at Wash- 
ington, D. C, a most satisfactory showing. 

Mr. Hudson was married in 1893 to Miss 
Sallie B. Jarrett, a daughter of Enos Jarrett, 
a substantial citizen of Kanawha county. They 
enjoy a comfortable residence situated at No. 
1424 Lee street, Charleston. Mr. Hudson is 
a member of Charleston Lodge of Elks. No. 
202. 



598 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



JOHN H. GOSHORN, deceased, whose 
name was closely identified with the mercantile 
business at Charleston, W. Va., for many years, 
was born in West Virginia, at McManns Creek. 
August 13, 1813, and died May 30, 1892. He 
was a son of George and Jane (Farrier) Gos- 
horn and the eldest of their six children. 

John H. Goshorn was nine years old when 
his parents settled at Charleston, in the year 
1822. The father, George Goshorn, engaged 
here in a hotel and a ferry business and the son 
gave assistance until 1839, in which year the 
latter formed a partnership with his brother, 
William F. Goshorn, in the mercantile business. 
This house, founded sixty years ago, was, in 
the lifetime of its organizers, developed into a 
large enterprise and when the original members 
passed away the interests were taken over by 
the younger generation, George A., son of John 
H. Goshorn, and two cousins of the former, 
William F. and H. D. Goshorn. In all that 
pertained to business, John H. Goshorn was an 
example of industry and integrity, and his 
name will ever be recalled as one of the able 
and constructive business men of early Charles- 
ton. 

Mr. Goshorn was married in 1855, to Miss 
Betty A. Cowey, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
James Cowey, who came to this country from 
England, bringing her with them, she being 
then a child. Mr. Cowey was a salt manufac- 
turer here for some time, in the early days of 
that industry. Later he went to Illinois, where 
he was engaged in the coal business. Mr. and 
Mrs. Goshorn had three children: Mattie C, 
George A. and Maggie P. Mrs. Goshorn died 
in 1887. 

GEORGE W. BRADY, a general merchant 
doing an excellent business at Handley, W. 
Va., has been a resident of Kanawha county 
since 1904 and is thoroughly identified with 
the interests of this section. He was born Oc- 
tober 12, 1874, in Cabell county, W. Va., and 
is a son of James S. and Mary E. (Moore) 
Brady. 

James S. Brady was born in Ireland and 
came to America as a boy, accompanying his 
aunt, as he was an orphan. He lived in the 
city of Philadelphia until he was fifteen years 



of age and then worked with a raidroad con- 
tractor and later became a contractor himself 
and was associated with Ryan and Austin in 
the grading of two miles of the C. & O. Rail- 
road at Cotton Hill, his first work for this 
road being at Barboursville, where he met 
Mary E. Moore, whom he subsequently mar- 
ried. Mr. Brady became a farmer but for sev- 
eral years he has been associated with his son. 
James T. Brady, in a mercantile business at 
Barboursville. He has seven children : Charles, 
George W., Margaret, Valett, Lucy, James T. 
and Walter. 

George W. Brady was reared on his father's 
farm three miles distant form Barboursville 
and attended the public schools and later the 
Morris Harvey College for two years. Mr. 
Brady was then associated with C. Davis in 
the meat business at Huntington, for a short 
time and afterward took charge of a restau- 
rant for H. O. Via, at that place. After three 
years as a clerk in the general store of L. V. 
Waugh, he went back to the home farm, where 
he was needed, and followed farming for two 
years, when he accepted a clerkship in the Mc- 
Donald Colliery Company store, under Mana- 
ger James Faulkner, but the mine strike came 
nine months later, and the store was closed and 
he went back to his old employer, Mr. Waugh, 
for another year. For some eighteen months 
he served as clerk in the company store at Pow- 
ellton. In 1904 he came to Handley and in 
partnership with F. B. Irwin, bought his pres- 
ent business and in 1907 he purchased Mr. Ir- 
win's interest. In politics Mr. Brady is a Dem- 
ocrat but he has devoted closer attention to 
business affairs all his life than to public mat- 
ters, being no seekr for office. 

In May. 1910. Mr. Brady was married to 
Miss Reba Sevy, a daughter of J. W. and Edith 
Sevy, of Charleston, W. Va.. and they have 
one daughter, Phyllis. Mr. Brady owns real 
estate at Handley and is one of the representa- 
tive men of the place. 

IDON E. HODGE, secretary and a director 
in the Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing 
Company of Charleston, W. Va., and also one 
of its incorporators, was born in Mason county, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



599 



W. Va., May 13, 1870, and is a son of William 
B. and Virginia (Boggess) Hodge. 

William B. Hodge was a son of W. Burgess 
Hodge, a native perhaps of Scotland, certainly 
of Scotch parentage. The family home was 
in Ritchie county, Va., where W. Burgess 
Hodge died at the age of eighty-eight years. 
His son, William B., was the eldest of his large 
family. He was born in Ritchie county in 
1810, and in 1876 moved with his family to 
Middleport, O., where he engaged in the prac- 
tice of dentistry. He married Virginia Bog- 
gess, who was born in Virginia but was reared 
in West Virginia. They had six children : 
Ethie, Idon E., Sallie, John, Mabel and Harry. 
Ethie is the wife of Emil H. Flick, who is 
cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Spring- 
field, O. Sallie is the wife of F. R. Van Ant- 
werp, who is superintendent of the waterworks 
at Princton, W. Va. John is a dentist in Ohio. 
He married Stella Weed and they have a 
daughter, Virginia. Mabel lives at home. 
Harry is bookkeeper for a firm of Youngstown, 
O., married Josephine Webster and they have 
one son, Webster B. 

Idon E. Hodge was well educated and had 
training in a business office before he came to 
Charleston to become cashier for the Elk Rail- 
road Company. About two years later he be- 
came secretary of the Deveraux Lumber Com- 
pany and continued in this connection until 
October, 1904, a period of thirteen years. For 
the next two years he was connected with the 
Elk River Stave Company as bookkeeper and 
then for three years was with the Collins Lum- 
ber Company. At this time he became inter- 
ested in the Morgan Lumber and Manufactur- 
ing Company and when incorporation was ef- 
fected he became secretary of the company and 
his interest and activity may be counted among 
the real assets of this important enterprise. 

Mr. Hodge was married at Charleston to 
Miss Margaret M. Reed, who was born here 
April 11, 1870, a daughter of Henry and The- 
resa (Huber) Reed, natives of New York and 
of Germany respectively. The father died at 
Charleston and since then the mother has re- 
sided with Mrs. Hodge, one of her five chil- 
dren, and one of the three survivors. Mrs. 
Hodge has a twin sister, Katherine, who is the 



wife of Richard Watts, and they have a hand- 
some home in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, New 
York. Mr. Watts is a contractor. They have 
one son, Richard. Charles B. Reed resides at 
Alderson, W. Va., connected with a mercan- 
tile house. He married Mrs. Mary (Winkler) 
Laidly and they have two children : Charles B. 
and Henry W. To Mr. and Mrs. Hodge two 
sons have been born: Idon M., April 11, i8g6; 
and Alvin Reed, Sept. 20, 1893. They are 
students of promise iri the public schools. Mrs. 
Hodge was reared in the Roman Catholic 
church and she and children with her mother 
attend the same. In National politics Mr. 
Hodge is a Republican but is independent in 
local issues. 

JAMES T. MELTON, whose beautiful 
farm of 365 acres lies on Derrick Creek, in Poca 
district, Kanawha county, W. Va., fourteen 
miles northwest of Charleston, was born July 
10, 1857, in Putnam county, now in West Vir- 
ginia, and is a son of William Addison and Lu- 
anda (Lanum) Melton. 

The parents of Mr. Melton both belonged to 
old Putnam county families and they were born, 
reared and married there. William Addison 
owned about 500 acres of land in Putnam 
county, on the Kanawha river and was an ex- 
tensive raiser of cattle. Additionally he was 
widely known as a preacher in the old regular 
Baptist church, his ministerial missions taking 
him frequently to other states. He lived to 
the age of eighty-three years, his wife passing 
away when aged seventy years. The follow- 
ing children were born to them : Harvey, who 
lives in Union district, Kanawha county ; Jane, 
who lives at Kansas City, Mo. ; Charles, who is 
deceased; Silas N., who lives on the old home 
farm in Putnam county; Julia, who is deceased ; 
Fannie, who is the wife of Paul Davis; James 
T. ; Everett, who resides in Putnam county : 
Dilla, who lives in Putnam county, married 
Virginia McClanahan; and Altha, who lives at 
Pittsburg, Pa. 

James T. Melton attended school in Poca dis- 
trict, Putnam county, and for some time after- 
ward continued to live in his native county and 
then came to Kanawha county and after his 
marriage lived first in Union district and came 



600 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



from there to his present farm in Poca district. 
On his many acres of fine grazing land he 
raises cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, finding 
a ready market for all he can produce. 

Mr. Melton was married April 4, 1878, to 
Miss Sidney Bailey, who was born in Kanawha 
county, December 20, 1859, a daughter of Al- 
fred and Ann (Agee) Bailey, and they have 
had children as follows: Adar, who is the wife 
of Edward Martin, residing in Putnam county, 
and they have four children — Verda, Cecil, 
Clement and James ; Gertrude, who is the wife 
of Elbin C. Crane, lives on an adjoining 
farm ; Shelby, who married Erna Sisson, a 
daughter of Benjamin Sisson, has three 
children — Crane, William and James; Mary, 
who is the wife of Arnold Beane ; Harold, 
who lives at Charleston, married Wilda 
Johnson; and Lennie, Vela, Addison and 
Lelie, all at home. Mr. Melton and fam- 
ily attend the Baptist church. Like his fa- 
ther, Mr. Melton has always been a Democrat 
but is not unduly active, taking more interest 
in his own business than in public matters. He 
is a stockholder of the Kanawha and Putnam 
County Telephone Company. 

DAVID T. FARLEY, who is filling the of- 
fice of assistant county assessor at Charleston, 
W. Va., in a very capable and satisfactory man- 
ner, was born February 22, 1852, in the village 
of Maiden, Kanawha county, W. Va., and is 
a son of Francis and Frances (Shelton) Farley. 

Francis Farley was born in Virginia and 
died. in 1861, at the age of forty-five years. 
He was a tailor by trade. He married Frances 
Shelton. who was born in the Kanawha Vallev 
in 1824, and died in 1902. She was a sister of 
the gallant Captain Winston Shelton, who was 
an officer in the Confederate Army during the 
Civil War and later was elected a member of 
the West Virginia Senate. Seven children 
were born to Francis Farley and wife, as fol- 
lows : Martha, who is now deceased, married 
James Johnson, a Federal soldier at that time, 
and left children; Sarah, who married a Mr. 
Hines, died shortly afterward, in California; 
Fannie, who resides in Greenbrier county, is 
the widow of William Williams ; David T. ; 
Mary M., who is the wife of George C. Corn- 



well, of Charleston, and they have two sons 
and three daughters ; Samuel, who has his home 
at Charleston, with wife and one daughter, 
is a commercial traveler for the Arbuckle Coffee 
Company; and Nannie L., who died in the 
prime of life was survived by her husband, D. 
C. Lydnor. 

David T. Farley was quite young when his 
parents came in 1861 to Charleston, which city 
lias ever since been his home. He attended the 
public schools but the larger part of his educa- 
tion he undoubtedly obtained through observa- 
tion and natural talent. In 1865 he started as 
a clerk in the store of P. W. Morgan, with 
whom he continued for twelve years, going then 
into the mining regions, where he filled clerical 
positions until 1882, when he became identified 
with the Black Band Iron and Coal Company, 
with which he remained until 1896. For the 
five following years he was in business for him- 
self, then becoming connected with official life 
in city and county. He is very popular, being 
pleasant and adaptable, and his accuracy as an 
accountant makes him of great value in his 
present position to the business community in 
particular. 

In 1886 Mr. Farlev was married to Miss 
Mary Cavin. who was born in 186^. at Charles- 
ton. Her parents were of Irish birth but were 
long residents of Charleston, where they died 
in old age, respected by all who knew them. 
They were members of the Catholic church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Farley have had six children, 
namely: Julia, who was born in April, 1887. 
and was educated in the common and High 
Schools of Charleston, now fills the responsible 
position of cashier for the firm of Covle & 
Richardson; Katherine T., who was born in 
1889. is a teacher in the public schools; Nan. 
who was born in 1891, married but has no chil- 
dren; Alfred, who is a plumber by trade, fol- 
lows the same at Charleston and lives at home : 
David T., who is a student in the High School 
at Charleston; and Mary, who attends the pa- 
rochial school of the Sacred Heart Roman 
Catholic church, to which Mrs. Farlev and 
children belong. In politics Mr. Farlev is a 
Republican and he is serving in his second term 
as a member of the board of education of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



601 



Independent School District of the city of 
Charleston. 

MRS. NANCY A. BOGGS, widow of Levi 
J. Boggs, who, for many years was a well 
known and highly respected resident of Elk 
District, Kanawha county, W. Va., is a daugh- 
ter of James and Mary Ann (Ellison) Weis- 
man, and was born in Monroe county, Va., 
May 6, 1844. 

James Weisman was a native of Monroe 
county and prior to the Civil War he came to 
Kanawha county from Roane county, settling 
on the Elk River. Six years later he moved 
to Brook and engaged in farming for three 
years and died on Sorrell's Branch, in iqoi, 
aged seventy-four years. He married Mary 
Ann Ellison, who died in 1905, aged eighty- 
four years. She was a daughter of John and 
Nancy (Cunningham) Ellison, natives of Ire- 
land. The paternal grandfather, Isaac Weis- 
man, was a native of Germany and came to 
Monroe county with two brothers and there en- 
gaged in farming. James Weisman served in 
the Civil AVar as a member of the 4th Va. Vol. 
Cav., in the Union Army. 

Nancy A. Weisman grew to womanhood in 
the home of her parents and in 1862 was mar- 
ried to Levi J. Boggs. He was born in Nich- 
olas county, Va., and was a son of John Boggs, 
who was one of the early salt men in the Ka- 
nawha Valley. Levi J. Boggs was a shoemaker 
by trade but he became interested in salt manu- 
facturing, first at Maiden, and after marriage, 
on Mill Creek, where he also carried on oil re- 
fining after the old process, and at the same 
time engaged in farming. During the Civil 
War he went out as a soldier in the Union 
Army and served for three years as a member 
of Co. H, 4th Va. Vol. Cav., and was wounded 
at the battle of Fayetteville. In politics he was 
a Republican but took no active interest. He 
was a member of the Baptist church for many 
years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Boggs the following chil- 
dren were born : Fleta, who is in business at 
Charleston; Mollie, who is the wife of Tames 
Light, of Fayette county, and they have one 
child, Fleta; Nellie, who was the widow of 
John Hunter is now the wife of John Lowe, 



and has five children and one grandchild; and 
Lida May, who is the wife of John Anderson, 
of Charleston, and has one child, Earle. Mrs. 
Boggs' great-grandchild is a daughter of Al- 
pha, wife of H. Sampson. Mrs. Boggs was 
the third born of her parents' family, the oth- 
ers being : Hezekiah, who is a contractor and 
teamster at Charleston; Joseph, who lives at 
Kanawha city; Augustus A., who is a resident 
of Mill Creek; Susan Jane, who is the wife of 
Thomas Pritte, of Mill Creek; Ellen, who is 
the wife of Richard Mays, of Elk City; and 
Margaret, who is the wife of John Page, of 
Elk City. Mrs. Boggs is a member of the Bap- 
tist church at Mill Creek. 

FLETCHER L. TURNER, commission 
merchant at Charleston, W. Va., and a reliable 
and representative citizen, belongs to an old 
county family of Holland descent. He was 
born August 25, 1853, near Maiden, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., and is a son of William H. 
and Elizabeth E. (Harkins) Turner. 

William H. Turner spent a long life of al- 
most eighty years in West Virginia, his death 
occurring February 1, 1909. He was a practi- 
cal salt-maker and was active in the salt indus- 
try for many years, manufacturing and ship- 
ping this commodity. Personally he was re- 
spected for his sterling character and his ad- 
vice was often asked on business questions and 
public matters because of his known ability and 
integrity. For forty years he was a deacon in 
the Baptist church and for about thirty years 
church secretary. In early life he became a 
member of Lodge No. 27, F. & A. M., at Mai- 
den, and for thirty years before his decease, 
was treasurer of this body. He was married 
in the Kanawha Valley to Elizabeth E. Har- 
kins, who passed her life in Kanawha countv 
and died near Maiden, in 1868, the mother of 
six children, as follows : James, who is a mine 
foreman at Hanley, W. Va. Fletcher L. ; 
Alice E., who is the wife of Charles R. Brown, 
of Alden, W. Va. ; Dewitt C, who resides with 
his family in Ohio ; William, who died in early 
manhood; and Daniel, who died in West Vir- 
ginia. 

Fletcher L. Turner was educated in the pub- 
lic schools and grew to manhood at Maiden, 



602 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



where he entered into business as a merchant, 
locating across the Kanawha River at Alden, 
on the C. & O. Railroad. He continued his 
interests there for fourteen years and then came 
to Charleston, where he became a commercial 
broker. After eight years he went into a gen- 
eral mercantile business in Charleston, which 
he continued for several years and then be- 
came a commercial or commission merchant, a 
business he still is engaged in, representing 
houses in Ohio and Michigan, in the general 
hay, grain, feed and produce lines. 

Mr. Turner was married at Charleston to 
Miss Hester A. Adkins, who was born in Ka- 
nawha county, in 1868, and is a daughter of 
John and Letta (Atkins) Adkins. The father 
of Mrs. Turner was born in Giles county and 
died in Kanawha county at the age of fifty 
years. Her mother was born in Cabell county 
and died at Charleston in 1898, aged seventy- 
four years. She was a member of the old 
school Baptist church. Twelve children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Adkins, seven of whom 
survive and all the married ones live in West 
Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have no chil- 
dren of their own but they have given parental 
care and affection to two whom they have 
adopted, Alice and Levi. Alice is the daugh- 
ter of a sister of Mr. Turner and is now the 
wife of George H. Belches, who is chief book- 
keeper in the Charleston National Bank. His 
mother survives and lives at No. 427 Columbia 
Avenue, Charleston. She is the widow of 
George E. Belches, formerly postmaster at 
Charleston and a deacon in the Baptist church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Belches have a daughter, Lelia 
Louise, who was born December 27, 1905. 
Levi, the adopted son, who is now twenty-two 
years old, is a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. He 
is married and has two children, Ira L. and 
Eugene. Mr. and Mrs. Turner are members 
of the Baptist church. In politics he is a Dem- 
ocrat and occasionally has accepted local offices 
and when he was elected county assessor for 
the south half of the Lowery District of Ka- 
nawha county, it was on account of his personal 
popularity as the district was largely Republi- 
can at that time. He is a member of Salina 
Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., at Maiden, and 
belongs to the Odd Fellows at Charleston. 



J. R. DODSON, whose excellent farm of 
sixty-four and one-half acres is situated on the 
middle fork of Davis Creek, in Loudon district, 
Kanawha county, W. Va., was born on this 
farm, May 26, 1848, and is a son of lames Mon- 
roe and Margaret (Daggs) Dodson. 

James Monroe Dodson was also born in Ka- 
nawha county, his father having come to this 
section from Rockbridge county, Va. Prior to 

1848, James Monroe Dodson purchased the 
present farm, for which he paid twelve and one- 
half cents an acre. He did not live long to 
enjoy his purchase, his death occurring here in 

1849, when he was but twenty-eight years of 
age. He married Margaret Daggs, who was 
a daughter of Reuben Daggs, who was born in 
the fort in this neighborhood, which had been 
built in Indian days. Five children were born 
to James M. Dodson and wife, namely: Sarah 
C, who is deceased; Andrew ]., who lives on 
Davis Creek ; Mary Frances, who is the widow 
of D. H. Snodgrass ; J. R. ; and Margaret 
Alice, who died young. 

J. R. Dodson attended the old subscription 
schools. He was but fifteen years of age when 
he enlisted in the 7th W. Va. Cav., Federal 
Army; served from March until August, by 
that time being convinced that army life was too 
great an undertaking for a boy, in its every 
feature being work for hardy manhood. He 
returned to the home farm and ever since has 
continued here, no longer being very active, 
however, his sons taking the heavy work of the 
farm on themselves. 

J. R. Dodson was married first to Minerva 
A. Childres, and three children were born to 
them : Sidney A. ; Romeo, who is deceased ; 
and an infant that died. Mr. Dodson was 
married secondly to Sidney A. Pauley, of 
Kanawha county, and they have had five 
children, the eldest being deceased, as fol- 
lows: a babe ; James O. ; Philip S. ; Laura 
U., who is the wife of B. Snodgrass ; and 
Robert Richard. Mr. Dodson and family 
are members of the Missionary Baptist 
church. Politically he is a Republican and 
he is a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, having won recognition by his boy- 
ish courage, in time of war. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



605 



ANDREW J. DODSON, who owns forty- 
five acres of fine land in Loudon District and 
also operates a coal bank, was born one-half 
mile from his present farm, known as the John 
Spencer farm, June 16, 1845, a son °f James 
Monroe and Margaret (Daggs) Dodson. He 
attended the early schools and afterward en- 
gaged in farming on the homestead and contin- 
ued until he enlisted in 7th Va. Cav., and re- 
mained in the army for two years, during this 
period seeing hard service. After he returned 
home he resumed farm operations on the old 
place and remained for two years, and then 
started out for himself. He bought his present 
farm quite recently. He leases the coal bank 
that he operates and has charge of all the Iron 
and Coal Company's property. 

Andrew J. Dodson married Margaret Holley 
of Mason, Va., and they have had seven chil- 
dren: Anna R., who married Thomas John- 
son and has one child; Mary, deceased, who 
was the wife of Fred England and left four 
children; an infant that died; James William, 
who lives on the farm; Alondos, who lives at 
home; Benjamin, who is a mail carrier; and 
Lena Leota, who married Thomas Townsman 
of Indiana. Mr. Dodson is a Republican and 
has served his district in the office of school 
trustee. 

ULYSSES B. ATKINSON, justice of the 
peace and a member of the bar at Charleston, 
W. Va., was born July 23, 1879, in Elk dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, W. Va., and is a son of 
Rev. Benjamin Franklin and Nancy (Young) 
Atkinson. , 

Rev. Benjamin F. Atkinson was born in Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., in 1846, and is a son of 
John F. and Nancy (Samuels) Atkinson, na- 
tives of what is now Kanawha county. John 
F. Atkinson was a farmer and miller and a part 
of his life was spent in Missouri but he re- 
turned to W. Virginia before his death, in ad- 
vanced age. He was the father of a large 
family and one of his sons, Rev. Benjamin F. 
Atkinson, father of Ulysses B., still survives. 
The latter resides with his wife at Hunt, W. 
Va., where he continues in active work as a 
minister in the Baptist church. He married 



Nancy Young, a daughter of Rev. Thompson 
Young, who was also a Baptist minister, and 
they have had seven children born to them, 
namely: William T., who is a carpenter and 
contractor at Hunt, W. Va., married Delia Ray, 
a daughter of Rev. Daniel Ray, of Braxton 
county, and they have four children — Robert 
E., Dulsie, Myrtle and Maybell; John M., who 
lives on a farm in Elk district, married Loretta 
Elkins and they have two children; James A., 
who is a farmer in Elk district, married Dora 
Gunnoe and they have one daughter, Emma; 
Ulysses B. ; Alpha, who is the wife of D. L. 
Salisbury, an attorney at Charleston, and they 
have one child ; Mary M., who died at the age 
of seventeen years; and Robert, who died in 
infancy. 

Ulysses B. Atkinson was educated in the 
public schools and for thirteen years engaged in 
teaching school, becoming widely known and 
highly regarded in this profession. For three 
years he was principal of the Coalburg schools, 
went from there to Crown Hill and subse- 
quently was principal of the East Bank graded 
schools and for two years was chairman of 
Cabin Creek Institute. He was also secretary 
of the Kanawha County Teachers' Institute for 
five years. In the meantime he studied law and 
in 1910 was admitted to the bar. From early 
manhood he has been identified with the Repub- 
lican party and frequently has been a delegate 
to county and state conventions. He has served 
the Capital city in several offices, being assessor 
before he was elected a justice of the peace in 
1908, for a term of four years. 

Mr. Atkinson was married at Charleston to 
Miss Hannah Ada Flowers, who was born in 
Mason county, February 17, 1877, and was 
educated in the Charleston schools. Four chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Atkin- 
son, namely : George W., Ada Virginia, Ulysses 
Donald, and Benjamin C, who died at the age 
of three years. Mr. Atkinson is a member of 
Morning Star Lodge, Odd Fellows, No. 63, 
and also of the Encampment; of Glendale 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias; and of the A. O. 
U. W. He belongs to Bowman M. E. church 
and is a member of its official board, and for 
the past three years has been superintendent 
of the Sunday school. 



606 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



DANIEL E. BAIRD, one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of Charleston, W. Va., who 
for many years has been identified with the 
hardware business in that city, was born Feb- 
ruary 13, 1858, in Erie County, Pa., and is a 
son of Jackson and Nancy (Williams) Baird. 

Jackson Baird was a native of Pennsylvania, 
where in his early life he was engaged in the 
lumber business, but later he took up farming, 
and for several years had lived a retired life in 
the city of Sharon, Pa., where he lived, when 
he died at the age of seventy-four years. He 
was a Republican in his political views, and 
both he and his wife were members of the Meth- 
odist church. Of their seven children, Ida May 
died when about three years of age; George, 
now residing in New York, is married; Daniel 
E. is residing in Charleston; Robert, a resident 
of Sharon, Pa., is married; Charles, who lives 
in Idaho, is also married; William, living in 
New York, where he is engaged as a printer, 
has been married twice, and by his first wife 
had a daughter, Bessie; John W., now living in 
Canfield, Ohio, is married and has three chil- 
dren. 

Daniel E. Baird was educated in the public 
schools of Pennsylvania, and when he had at- 
tained his majority started out to make his own 
living. In 1885 he came to Charleston, W. Va., 
where he became a clerk in the hardware store 
of N. S. Burlew, and continued with that com- 
pany for twenty-one years, acquiring a thor- 
ough knowledge of every detail of the business. 
In March, 1907, deciding to enter the field on 
his own account, he erected a large building at 
the corner of Charleston street and Ohio ave- 
nue, which he opened with a complete line of 
hardware, large and small cutlery, building ma- 
terials, farming implements, paints and oils, 
and such other articles as are in demand by pa- 
trons of a first-class establishment. He has 
prospered in his business affairs and is num- 
bered among Charleston's substantial business 
citizens. 

Mr. Baird was married at Chagrin Falls, O., 
to Miss Alice Bartlett, who was born in that 
state in 1859, a daughter of D. P. and Mary 
(Emmerson) Bartlett, the former of whom 
still makes his home in Ohio, being more than 
ninety years of age, while the latter has been 



dead for some years. Mrs. Baird's only sister, 
Ella, is the wife of George Pelton, of Milwau- 
kee, Wis., who has a married daughter, Alice, 
and an adopted daughter, Helen. Mr. and 
Mrs. Baird have been the parents of three 
children: Floyd E., born in Pennsylvania in 
1883, who is engaged in business with his 
father, married Anna Thurman; Marion, born 
in 1886 and educated in Charleston, W. Va., is 
the wife of William Fletcher and lives in 
Charleston; and Daniel Bartlett, born in 1893, 
is now a student in the Charleston High School. 

Mr. Baird is a member of Glendale Lodge, 
Knights of Pythias, and the National Union. 
With his family he attends the Bowman Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, of which he is treasurer 
and trustee. 

JOHN FISHER, who is one of the well 
known citizens of Poca District, of which he 
has been a lifelong resident, is a retired farmer 
and at one time was the owner of eight hun- 
dred acres of land, which he has distributed 
more or less among his children. He was born 
on a farm that adjoins his present homestead 
of three hundred and twenty-nine acres, in Poca 
District, Kanawha County, W. Va., May 1$, 
1829, a son of John and Lucretia (Harrison) 
Fisher. 

William Fisher, the grandfather, came from 
Germany to America and settled in the city of 
Philadelphia, where his son, John Fisher, was 
born. The Fisher brothers, Henry, Conrad, 
Leonard, William, George and John, all came 
to what is now West Virginia, the three older 
ones settling in Jackson County and the others 
in Ivanawha County. John Fisher settled on 
Poca River and at the time of his death left an 
estate of seven hundred acres. He married 
Lucretia Harrison, who was born in Augusta 
County, Va., and they passed the greater part 
of their lives on the Poca River, where he died 
at the age of eighty years, and she in her 
seventy-eighth year. Their burial was in the 
private family burying ground on their own 
land. They were active members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, and it was mainly 
through their interest and liberalitv that the 
church at the forks of the Poca River was 
erected. They were the honored and beloved 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



607 



parents of numerous children and there are 
many descendants in the younger generations. 
The eldest, Rebecca, became the wife of Joseph 
Miller, who learned the blacksmith trade in the 
city of Cincinnati. They lived and died in 
Poca District and had eight sons and two 
daughters. Mary Ann married John Fisher, 
and they lived and died in Jackson County. 
They had eight daughters. Harrison died on 
the home farm. He married Tina Post, who 
died six months later. Franklin died on his 
farm on First Creek, Poca District. He was 
married first to Nancy Kountz and second to 
Nancy Shaver, and seven children were born 
to each union. George moved to Kansas and 
died there. He was married first to Patsy 
Bogus and they had three sons and two daugh- 
ters ; second to Mary Sugartaker, and they had 
one son, and third to Eliza Sugartaker, and 
they had two sons and three daughters. Rachel 
is the wife of Anthony Hall, and they live in 
Poca District and have three daughters and two 
sons. Lucinda married Silas Carney and both 
died in Putnam County, the parents of thirteen 
children. John, who bears his father's name, is 
the eighth in order of birth. Letha married 
Conrad Fisher and died in Missouri. America 
is the wife of Hood Milan and they lived and 
died in Jackson County, and had eight children. 
Albin died at the age of sixteen years and his 
burial was in Poca District. 

In his boyhood John Fisher attended a sub- 
scription school that was held in the Tupper's 
Creek school-house and continued at his books, 
although irregularly, until he was eighteen 
years of age. Afterward he worked on the 
home farm and in the timber, and later put a 
tenant on his land and gave his time mainly to 
lumbering, having interests in this, and in 
Roane, Jackson and Putnam Counties. He 
erected the buildings now standing and im- 
proved two-thirds of the present farm. He has 
been very generous to his children, giving each 
one a farm as well as affording them many ad- 
vantages. 

Mr. Fisher was married December i, 1853, 
to Miss Mary A. Shirkey, who was born across 
Poca River, a daughter of David and Mary 
Shirkey, and they have had eight children, 
namely, David S., who resides in Kansas 



City, married Gertrude Wagoner and they have 
three children — Faun, Fern and Noble; John 
H., who lives in Poca District, married Nancy 
Johnson, and they have four children — Heber, 
Ola, Gertrude and Nora ; William, who resides 
in Kansas, married Dora B. Kimes and they 
have seven children — Josephine, Ernest, Corda, 
Mayme, Ruby, John and Marcus; Henry, who 
is in the dairy business at Charleston, married 
Maud Crosby Smith; Mamie, who is the wife 
of Dr. Charles A. Ray, of Charleston, and they 
have three children — John, Cebert and Albey; 
G. P., who is a physician; Osa, who is the wife 
of S. F. Bonham, who is manager and owner 
of the Charleston Laundry Company at Charles- 
ton; and Charles, who resides at Tupper's 
Creek, married Erna Thaxton and they have 
one son, Noble. Mr. Fisher attends the Baptist 
church, while his wife is a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. 

C. EVERETT WOODRUM, a leading 
business man of Charleston, W. Va., who is 
in partnership with his brother, John Wood- 
rum, Jr., operating under the firm name of the 
Woodrum House Outfitting Company, with 
commodious business quarters at Nos. 502-504 
Kanawha street, belongs to an old Kanawha 
County family, and was born in Elk District, 
in 1877, a son of John R. and Minerva ( Jar- 
rett) Woodrum. 

John R. Woodrum, who is one of Charles- 
ton's most respected citizens, now lives retired, 
having a comfortable home on Randolph street, 
He was born in 1847, m Summers County, Va. 
(now W. Va.). When but sixteen years of age 
he enlisted from Summers County in the Con- 
federate army, and served three years as a 
private. He survived all the dangers to which 
he was exposed and after the war was over 
came to Kanawha County and assisted in the 
building of the capitol at Charleston. He was 
one of the first appointed policemen and served 
as an officer for a number of years, and after- 
ward was street commissioner for some years 
longer. He has always been actively identified 
with the Democratic party. He married Mi- 
nerva Jarrett, whose father was one of the early 
settlers in Elk District, where he became a man 
of large estate. He married there and reared 



608 



HISTORY OF KAXAWHA COUNTY 



a large family. To John Woodrum and wife 
the following children were born : Lydia, who 
died at the age of thirty-seven years, and is 
survived by her husband. J. W. Perry, and 
three daughters; Myrtle, who is the wife of 
F. H. Kelley, of Charleston; C. Everett; Tohn 
Jr., who is associated with his older brother in 
the house furnishing business, married Mary 
Crawford; Clara M., who is chief bookkeeper 
in her brothers' business house; and Harrv, a 
resident of Charleston, who married Edna 
Busby, and they have a daughter, Margaret. 

C. Everett Woodrum attended school in Elk 
District and Charleston, being about ten years 
old when his father settled permanently. His 
first work was as a clerk in a general mercantile 
store, and later he was with the Prindle Furni- 
ture Company. In 1906, in partnership with 
his brother, he established the Woodrum House 
Furnishing or Outfitting Company, and the 
business has been so well managed and is so 
securely financed that it now stands at the front 
in its line in the county. They carry a full line 
of carpets, stoves, bedding and general house 
furnishings and occupy a three-story brick 
building, having over 30,000 feet of floor space. 
Their large fire-proof warerooms and bams are 
on the corner of Tennessee ave. and Virginia st. 
They operate three large delivery wagons, give 
steady employment to twenty-two people, and 
carry a stock which has a valuation of not less 
than $30,000. Both partners are practical busi- 
ness men who prepared for their enterprise by 
years of special training. 

Mr. Woodrum was married at Charleston in 
1897, to Miss Gertrude Bell Young, who was 
born in this city in 1877, and is a daughter of 
Jack and Martha J. (Hammack) Young, the 
former of whom died some eleven years since. 
Mr. Young was a member of the city council 
of Charleston and an active Republican politi- 
cian. His widow survives and resides with Mr. 
and Mrs. Woodrum. She is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, as was Mr. Young. 
Mr. and Mrs. Woodrum have four children, 
namely: Edward Yeuell, a bright youth of 
twelve ve^rs. who stands well in his classes at 
school: Pos?lie, nine years old, who is also in 
school: Thomas Dana and Havern. Mr. 
Woodrum is a member of the Chamber of Com- 



merce and the Business Men's Association and 
belongs to the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias 
and the Elks. 

W. F. GOSHORX, deceased, for many 
years was one of the able and successful 
business men of Charleston, W. Va., and 
stood as high in the personal esteem of his 
fellow citizens as he did in the regard of 
his business associates. He was born at 
Wheeling, W. Va., Setember 5, 181 5, and 
his death occurred at Charleston, May 26, 
1882. His parents were George and Jane 
(Farrier) Goshorn, who settled at Charles- 
ton in 1822. 

W. F. Goshorn spent his life from the age 
of seven years, at Charleston. In 1839 he 
entered into partnership with his brother, 
the late J. H. Goshorn, an association 
which continued uninterruptedly for forty- 
three years and was only terminated by his 
death. The business then established still 
continues, its present firm style being The 
Goshorn Hardware Company. Following 
the death of W. F. Goshorn. a new firm was 
organized, under the title of J. H. & W. F. 
Goshorn & Co., which continued until the 
death of J. H. Goshorn and the retirement 
of George Goshorn. At present, William 
F. and Henry D. Goshorn, sons of the late 
W. G. Goshorn, and H. B. Smith, have 
large interests in the Goshorn Hardware 
Company, of which William F. Goshorn is 
president, H. B. Smith is vice president, and 
Henry D. Goshorn is general manager, 
while J. A. de Gruyter is treasurer. It is in- 
corporated as jobbers of shelf and heavy 
hardware, imported and American cutlery, 
sporting goods, guns, ammunition, farming 
implements, paint, sash, doors, building 
material, nails, wire, and iron and steel 
mine supplies. Its location is at Xo. 206 
Capitol street, Charleston. 

W. F. Goshorn prospered as a business 
man but he was much more and his Avorth 
was understood and recognized by those in 
authority in public matters when they 
sought useful men for prominent positions. 
He was appointed a member of the board 
which had charge of the improvement and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



609 



navigation of the Great Kanawha river, 
first by Governor Jacobs and subsequently 
by Governor Matthews and Governor Jack- 
son, serving with the greatest efficiency 
and fidelity to the public for nine years, and 
during the larger part of this periol was 
president of the board. He was identified 
with the Democratis party. 

In 1847 W. F. Goshorn was married to 
Miss Eliza Daggett and they had a family 
of six children, namely: Ellen B., who mar- 
ried Dr. Lawrence Carr ; William F., who 
married Effie Ward; Belle F., who married 
Hon. W. A. McCorkle; Henry D., who 
married Ettie Minsker; Addie J., who mar- 
ried J. W. Kennedy; and Edward H. 

ABRAHAM BOIARSKY was a success- 
ful business man and respected citizen of 
Charleston, W. Va., for many years and 
was active and prominent in the affairs of 
the Jewish temple, at the time of his death 
being president of the congregation. He 
was born in 1863, in Central Russia, and 
was well educated in his native tongue be- 
fore he left Russia, at the age of eighteen 
years, to come to America, where he had 
the new language to learn, in which he be- 
came proficient. 

In company with an older brother, Fisher 
Boiarsky, Abraham left Russia for Ham- 
burg, Germany, where a steamer was taken 
for the United States, and early in 1881 the 
brothers were safely landed at Castle Gar- 
den, N. Y., and from there proceeded to 
Cincinnati, O. A few years afterward they 
came to Charleston, where Abraham Boi- 
arsky opened a china and queensware store 
on his own account, and after some four 
years of successful business, became a 
wholesale and retail jeweler, establishing 
himself at No. 714 Kanawha street. He 
continued in this line of business during the 
remainder of his life, his death occurring 
March 13, 1905, at his handsome home, No. 
1 5 10 Virginia street, Charleston. During 
his years of prosperous business he ac- 
quired property, a part already improved 
and other parts improved by him, and his 
estate included much real estate along Ka- 



nawha street, also on Virginia street, a sub- 
stantial property on Clendennin street and 
lots in the Glenwood addition. He was an 
orthodox Jew and was a faithful member 
of the Hebrew faith and a liberal supporter 
of the "synagogue. No man in Charleston 
was more charitable and his benevolent 
acts were by no means confined to the 
needs of the Jewish people. In politics he 
identified himself with the Republican 
party. Fraternally he was a Knight of 
Pythias, a charter member of the Odd Fel- 
lows and encampment and belonged to 
other organizations. 

On July 3, 1894, Mr. Boiarsky was mar- 
ried at Charleston to Miss Jennie Frankle, 
who was born in Russia in 1876, and was 
six years old when she accompanied her 
parents, Abraham and Esther (Frank) 
Frankle, to the United States. They lived 
for a time at Cincinnati, O., and for three 
years at Ironton, in Ohio, and then came to 
Charleston, where Mr. Frankle has been 
engaged in the jewelry business ever since. 
He resides with his family at No. 305 
Bibby street, Charleston. Both he and wife 
are members of the congregation of the 
Jewish temple. To Mr. and Mrs. Frankle 
two sons and two daughters were born, 
namely: Harry, who is married and has 
two children; Jennie, who is Mrs. Boiarsky; 
Rebecca, who is the wife of Jacob Gluck, 
has three children; and William, who is 
connected with the May Shoe Company. 
Mr. and Mrs. Boiarsky had three children: 
Leah, who is now sixteen years old, is a 
pupil in the Charleston high school; Julius, 
who is also a high school student; and 
Mary, who attends the public school. 

A. M. NORMAN, who is engaged in 
farming and mining in Elk district. Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., was born at Graham 
Mines, November 23, 1879, and is a son of 
Gabel P. and Celia (Anderson) Norman. 
The father of Mr. Norman was born in Vir- 
ginia and brought his wife from there and 
settled at Graham Mines, in Elk district, 
where he was a farmer and coal operator 
He married Celia Anderson and both are 



610 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



now deceased, his father dying February 
28, 1905, and the mother surviving his loss 
only one day. 

A. M. Norman obtained his education in 
the public schools. He was reared in a 
farming and mining district and naturally 
began his self-supporting work in these in- 
dustries, mining until he married and since 
then also giving attention to his valuable 
farm situated near Mill creek. He has al- 
ways been industrious and provident and is 
prosperous. 

Mr. Norman was married to Miss Martha 
Vickers, who was born December 14, 1880, 
and they have an interesting family of five 
children, with ages ranging from ten to 
one year: Irene, Ouida, Martin Lee, 
Everet and Nellie B. Mr. Norman has 
never taken any active interest in politics 
but is numbered with the good and law- 
abiding citizens of his district. He is a 
member of the fraternal order of Red Men. 

LOVELL C. GATES, hardware mer- 
chant at Charleston, W. Va., a prominent 
and representative citizen of forty-one 
years' standing, was born August 21, 1845, 
on his father's farm of about one hundred 
acres, lying on Tucker's creek, in W irt 
county, now West Virginia, and his parents 
were Thomas D. and Anna (Marsh) Gates. 

The Gates family, according to its early 
preserved records, was originally of Eng- 
land, several brothers of the name coming 
to the Virginia coast, and it is possible that 
they were among the settlers at Jamestown 
and Alexandria. One of the name who 
claimed a title, Sir Thomas Gates, is the 
forefather, six generations removed, from 
those who at present bear the name in this 
section. For some years the Gates family 
owned estates near Washington, on the 
Potomac river, and possibly a residence in 
the city of Washington. 

Thompson Gates, grandfather of Lovell 
C. Gates, was born in 1783 in or near Wash- 
ington, the family home being in Virginia. 
His near relative was the brave General 
Gates of Revolutionary prowess. Thomp- 
son Gates was the only son of David Gates. 



He followed an agricultural life, after his 
marriage moving to Wood county near the 
present site of Parkersburg, and from there 
to Wirt county, where he acquired a farm 
near Elizabeth. Some years later he 
moved to fertile land up Tucker's creek and 
while he lived there the county divisions 
were made that changed the sections in 
Wood and Wirt counties to some degree, 
his land falling in Wirt county. His death 
occurred in 1867. He and wife were mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. Of his children 
the following names have been preserved: 
James, David, Thomas D., and Eliza. 
James has surviving descendants. His 
death was occasioned by lightning. David 
died in Iowa and his descendants still live 
there. Eliza married Martin Gross, of 
Gallia county, O., who moved to Indianap- 
olis, Ind., where she died and he still lives. 

Thomas D. Gates was born in 1820, at 
Parkersburg, on the Ohio river, and was 
reared on a farm and later resided on the 
old star route from Wirt Courthouse, now 
Elizabeth, W. Va., to Point Pleasant at the 
mouth of the Kanawha river. He was mar- 
ried there to Anna March, who was ten 
years his senior, her birth having taken 
place in the State of New York, and she 
accompanied her parents from there to 
Point Pleasant. While their children were 
still young, Thomas D. Gates and wife 
moved first to Point Pleasant, and then 
across the Ohio river and located at Addi- 
son, in Gallia county, to take advantage of 
free schools, where he embarked in the 
mercantile business which he continued un- 
til the close of the Civil War. He then lo- 
cated at Burning Springs, on the Little 
Kanawha river, in Wirt county, where he 
sold merchandise for ten years. After his 
children were grown he sold out and moved 
to Bidwell, in Gallia county, continuing 
there as a merchant. His wife died in 1899 
and he then came to Charleston and spent 
his last six years at the home of his son, 
Lovell C. Gates. Both he and wife were 
members of the Baptist church. For some 
years he was an active Republican but later 
became a Democrat and while living at Bid- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



611 



well was appointed postmaster by Presi- 
dent Cleveland. After coming to Charles- 
ton he reviewed public questions very 
thoughtfully and resumed his affiliation 
with the Republican party. 

Ten children were born to Thomas D. 
Gates and wife, two of whom, Eliza and 
Anna, died young. The survivors are : 
Alexander P., a well known photographer 
at Charleston, married Mary Leonard, and 
they have one son and one daughter, the 
former of whom is also a photographer; 
Lovell C. ; Thomas J., who resides on his 
farm near Lincoln, Gage county, Neb., 
married and has one son and two daugh- 
ters, the latter being teachers at Marietta, 
O. ; Harriet, who is the widow of Sherman 
Parker, of Nebraska, has a large family; 
William D., who is a carpenter by trade, 
lives at Grantsville, W. Va. ; Almond D., 
who is an agent for typewriters, sewing 
machines and musical instruments at 
Charleston, married first a Miss McCona- 
hay, who left three sons and two daughters, 
and married second, India Parker, of Galli- 
polis, O., and has one son, Alexander; 
Rosetta, who is the wife of Baz Whims, is 
a resident of Elizabeth, Wirt county, and 
they have two daughters; and Charles 
Amos, who is a well known grocer at 
Charleston, has a son and daughter. 

Lovell C. Gates reached his age of legal 
responsibility while the family lived in Gallia 
county, O. In 1864 he enlisted for service 
in the Civil War, as a drummer boy, when 
nineteen years of age, entering Co. E, 141st 
O. Vol. Inf., under Captain Rothgeb, and 
remained with this regiment until the close 
of the war. In December, -1870, he came to 
Charleston and embarked in the feed and 
grocery business in which he continued for 
twelve years. In 1883 he started in his 
present line, builders' hardware and paints, 
from the first being on Kanawha street and 
at present being located in a building which 
he has occupied since 19 10. Mr. Gates has 
always been a steady Republican but has 
never accepted political office for himself, 
and is ever ready to perform the duties that 



good citizenship demands in time of any 
extremity or public calamity. 

Mr. Gates was married first at Burning 
Springs, W. Va., to Miss Ellen Houchin, 
who was born and educated in Wirt county, 
W. Va., and died at Charleston in 1888, at 
the age of forty years. She was a daughter of 
John and Rachel Houchin. She was survived 
by one son, John C. Gates, who was born at 
Charleston in 1873, was educated in this city 
and now is business manager of a newspaper 
published in the state of Missouri. He married 
and has one son, Charles F. Gates, who is a 
resident of Baltimore, Md. 

On April 21, 1891, Lovell C. Gates was 
married second to Miss Callie Parrish, of 
Charleston. Mr. and Mrs. Gates are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Mr. Gates is prominent in the Masonic fra- 
ternity. He belongs to Kanawha Lodge 
No. 20, F. & A. M. ; Tyrian Chapter, No. 13; 
Kanawha Commandery No. 4 and Beni- 
Keedem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He 
has frequently been an officer in the differ- 
ent branches of the order and is a regular 
attendant on occasions of unusual interest, 
both at Charleston and other points. He 
belongs also to the George Crook Post, No. 
3, G. A. R., of which he is past commander 
and of which he has been quartermaster for 
the past ten years. 

WESLEY WILLIAMS, deceased, who 
for many years was a well known farmer 
in Loudon district, where he owned one 
hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, 
was born November 19, 1835, at Glen 
Easton, Marshall county, now West Vir- 
ginia, a son of Harmon Williams, who was 
a lifelong resident of that county. 

Wesley Williams obtained his education 
in the schools of Marshall county and after- 
ward engaged in farming there with his 
father and later with an uncle, and after 
marriage lived for several years in Putnam 
county, later in Nicholas and Fayette 
counties, residing in the last named for 
nineteen years. He then came to Loudon 
district, Kanawha county, and was en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits here during 



612 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the remainder of his life. His one hundred 
and twenty acres is valuable, all being un- 
derlaid with coal, and there are twenty-five 
acres in timber. There are over three hun- 
dred bearing trees in the orchards. During 
the Civil War, Mr. Williams was a soldier 
in the Federal army and took part in many 
battles under General Grant and was also 
in the siege of Port Royal and the terrible 
battle of Gettysburg. He was never 
wounded but had many narrow escapes. 

Mr. Williams was married to Pauline 
Schmitter, who was born in Switzerland, in 
the valley of St. Imier and was educated in 
the Buffalo Academy, under Prof. Rosseter. 
Her parents were Frederick and Malanie 
(Bedicheck) Schmitter, who came to 
America in 1847, when she was nine years 
old and located on Eighteen Mile creek, on 
a farm not far from Buffalo. In Switzer- 
land her father owned a pottery. Both of 
her parents died in their home near Buffalo, 
well known and highly respected people. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Williams the following 
children were born: Annie, who married 
William Crow of Penbrook, and has seven 
children; Louis N., who was an artist, died 
at the age of forty years; Josephine, who is 
the wife of B. F. Carper and has six children; 
Adele, who married Edward Anderson, and 
has five children; Sallie and Nettie, both of 
whom are deceased; Harmon, who married 
Zelda Adkins, and has three children; John 
D., who lives at Chillicothe, O. ; Lena M., 
who is the wife of Alexander Stover, and 
has three children; Benjamin F., who mar- 
ried Stella Lewis, and has five children; and 
George, who is deceased. They also 
adopted and reared a nephew, Paul L. 
Mitchell. For fifty-four years Mrs. Will- 
iams has been a member of the Church of 
Christ. The death of Mr. Williams oc- 
curred on February 2, 1910. He was the 
one that was chosen to drive the gold spike 
on the completion of the B. & O. Railroad. 
He was a man of high standing in his dis- 
trict and was a trustee and an elder in the 
Church of Christ. 



HON. PETER CARROLL, who has 
served as representative in the General Assem- 
bly of West Virginia and has frequently been 
elected to the Charleston city council and to 
other prominent positions by his fellow citi- 
zens, is equally a leader in the business con- 
cerns of Kanawha county and for years has 
been extensively identified with the lumber in- 
dustry. He was born in Perry county, O., 
June 2, 1856, and is a son of James and Ellen 
(Mallen) Carroll, and a grandson of James 
Carroll. 

The grandparents of Mr. Carroll never left 
Ireland. They were honest, hard-working 
people and they reared a large family, four of 
whom, James, Peter, Elizabeth and Bridget, 
came to the United States. All married and 
left descendants. 

James Carroll, father of Peter Carroll, was 
horn in County Kildare, Ireland, in 181 7, and 
was not more than fourteen years old when 
he came with his brothers and sisters to the 
United States. The voyage was made on one 
of the old slow-going sailing ships and the 
party landed at Castle Garden, New York, and 
from there made their way to near Lexington, 
Perry county, O. There James Carroll lived 
until his death. He was a highly respected 
man, a member of the Roman Catholic church, 
and he became a farmer but died before he had 
accumulated much property to leave his widow 
and children. He was married in Perry 
county to Ellen Mallen, who was also born in 
Ireland and was three years old when her par- 
ents, John and Katherine Mallen, made the 
long voyage of seven weeks' duration between 
Ireland and New York. They settled about 
1820 at Chapel Hill, in Perry county, O., and 
they were among the founders of St. Ber- 
nard's Roman Catholic church at that place. 
They had five children, all of whom have 
passed away, Mrs. Carroll, who was born in 
1 81 7, surviving until 1882. James and Ellen 
Carroll had seven children, as follows : 
Michael, a merchant at Moxahala, O., who 
married Margaret Q. Brine ; Mary, who is a 
resident of St. Louis, Mo. ; Peter, subject of 
this sketch ; Catherine, who is the wife of Al- 
bert Hilles, lives on a farm near Moxahala 



HON. PETEE CARROLL 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



615 



and has ten children; Anna, who is the wife 
of James Hillis, a farmer in Perry county, O., 
and has six children ; Ellen, deceased, who was 
the wife of Richard Farrell, of Columbus, O., 
and had four children ; and James, who died in 
1896, at the age of twenty-five years, married 
Katherine Breece and left one son. 

Peter Carroll is one of Kanawha county's 
capitalists at the present time but his boyhood 
was one of more or less deprivation and it was 
entirely through his own industry and perse- 
verance that he succeeded in gathering to- 
gether enough means to start himself in a lum- 
ber business on a very small scale, when he was 
already twenty-four years of age. He was 
but thirteen years old when his father died 
and he remained on the farm until he was sev- 
enteen, and after he secured employment on 
the public works he took care of his mother 
until he was twenty-one years old. He carried 
on his lumber business at Moxahala, O.. until 
1895, when he came to Charleston and started 
in the lumber business on the Elk river, in 
Clay county, organizing the Clay Lumber 
Company, of which he is treasurer and general 
manager. This company has done an exten- 
sive and successful business. He is also presi- 
dent of the Flynn Lumber Company, of Swiss. 
W. Ya.. where it operates largely, turning out 
50,000 feet of lumber per day; is vice-presi- 
dent of the C. L. Munger Lumber Company, 
at Meadow river, W. Ya., which owns a con- 
trolling interest in fifteen thousand acres of 
timber land: is president of the Carroll Hard 
Wood Lumber Company, owning twenty-six 
thousand acres in Kentucky: and is a director 
of the Kanawha Banking and Trust Company. 
Only a man with wonderful grasp of business 
could continue foremost in such large enter- 
prises, and that he has brought about his own 
prominence, without assistance, makes the fact 
of greater weight. Aside from business Mr. 
Carroll has also taken a hearty interest in pub- 
lic matters and has been a prominent factor 
in the Democratic partv in this section. He 
has filled numerous public offices and has per- 
formed their various duties with an efficiency 
that has added to his refutation. 

Mr. Carroll was married October 1^. i88q, 
at Moxahala, O., to Miss Ellen McGonagle. 



who was born and educated in Perry county. 
Her parents, R. J. and Lydia (Spencer) 
McGonagle, were also natives of Perry 
county, where the former died in 1908, at the 
age of eighty years. His widow survives. 
She is a member of St. Pius Roman Catholic 
church at Moxahala, as was her husband. 
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Carroll, namely: Richard J., who is a bright 
young business man associated with his father, 
was born in 1886 and was educated at George- 
town University; Bertha A., who was born 
June 10. 1888, was educated at St. Aloysius 
Academy, graduating in the class of 1906, and 
is the wife of Ignatius Wallen, of Charleston; 
Mary E., who was born August 17, 1890, is 
a graduate of 1908, from the above institu- 
tion, and resides at home, an accomplished 
young lady; William A., who was born Au- 
gust 11, 1892, is a student of the class of 1912 
in the Charleston high school: Kathleen, who 
was born November 8, 1895, is also a student 
in the high school. Mr. Carroll and family 
are members of the Sacred Heart Roman 
Catholic church of Charleston. He belongs 
to the Knights of Columbus and also to the 
Elks. 

ADAM W. HOLZ, proprietor of a meat 
market at No. 713 Virginia street, Charles- 
ton, W T . Va., a member of the firm of Holz 
Brothers, is a representative business man 
of this city, which has been his home since 
he was two years of age. He was born in 
Meigs county, O., July 5, 1884, and is 
son of Philip E. and Margaret (Sharf) 
Holz. 

His grandparents on both sides were 
born in Germany and settled in Ohio, where 
their children were born. The maternal 
grandmother still survives and at the age 
of ninety-six years is one of the most ven- 
erable residents of Minneapolis, Minn. She 
has been a member of the Lutheran church 
since girlhood. Philip E. Holz came to 
Charleston from Ohio in 1886 and he and 
wife reside at No. 139 Court street. He 
owns an excellent farm of one hundred and 
thirty-one acres situated south of the city 
in Loudon district. He has been engaged 



616 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



in the butcher business all his active life. 
In politics he is a Democrat and he and wife 
belong to the Lutheran church. Of the 
twelve children born to them, nine survive, 
only one of whom, Arthur J., has married. 
His wife was formerly Lucy Meadows. 
The names of the surviving children are : 
Adam W., Tillie, Arthur J., Helen, Philip 
E., Jr., Lydia, William, Margaret and Kath- 
erine, the younger three being yet in school. 

Adam W. Holz obtained his education in 
the Charleston schools and then learned the 
butcher's business and as a practical butcher 
thoroughly understands the handling and 
preservation of meats. In 1905 Adam W. 
and Carl Holz took over the business of the 
Allen Meat Company at Charleston. Carl 
Holz died in 1908 and since March, 191 1, 
Adam W. Holz has had Joseph Hess as a 
partner. The business is both wholesale 
and retail and only first class stock is 
handled. The firm owns its own refriger- 
ating plant and caters to the most exacting 
trade and is one of the most prosperous 
concerns in the city. 

JAMES P. TUCKER, farmer and mer- 
chant and also proprietor of a blacksmith 
shop, owns twenty-five acres of excellent 
land near Hugheston, in Cabin Creek dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, W. Va. He was 
born at Cannelton, W. Va., three miles dis- 
tant from his present farm. January 28, 
1851, and is a son of Littleberry and Mary 
(Lykens) Tucker. 

Littleberry Tucker was born in Bote- 
tourt county, Va., and was brought to Kan- 
awha county when seven years old, by his 
parents, who located at the mouth of Smith- 
ers creek, just over the line in Fayette 
county, where the father soon afterward 
died. Littleberry was only a boy at the 
time but he managed to find enough work 
to enable him to support himself and 
mother and when he grew older settled 
on Hughes creek, which was then almost a 
wilderness, and spent the rest of his life 
there, his death occurring in October, 1884. 
His widow survived until April, 1885. She 
was born in 1826, in Fayette county, now 



West Virginia. They had ten children, two 
of whom died young, and three others, 
Mack, Aaron and Nannie are also deceased, 
the last named having been the wife of 
Daniel Pritt. The survivors are: Jarrett, 
James P., John, Charles and Delilah, the 
latter being the wife of John Long. 

James P. Tucker was brought to his 
present place of residence by his parents 
during the Civil War and inherited a part 
of his land and purchased the rest of it. In 
1892 he erected his comfortable residence 
and in 1901 built his store. He is a busy 
and practical man and when not attending 
to his blacksmithing, farming or merchan- 
dising, is engaged in teaming. 

Mr. Tucker was married February 22, 
1875, to Miss Alice J. Huddleston, a daugh- 
ter of Job and Elizabeth (McCoy) Hud- 
dleston, the latter being a daughter of one 
of the pioneers on Paint creek, Kanawha 
county, Samuel McCoy. He was born at 
Richmond, Va., in 1778, and came to Ka- 
nawha in 1820 from Kentucky, locating at 
the mouth of Paint creek, and ten years later 
buying a farm twelve miles up the creek and 
died there in 1846. His early neighbors were 
Indians and he and family lived mainly on 
game that was then plentiful all through this 
section. He married Elizabeth Graves, who 
was born in Wales. Mrs. Huddleston survives 
and resides with Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. She 
recalls that when she first went through 
Charleston, as a child of ten years, the pres- 
ent beautiful capital city was but a few 
houses surrounded by corn-fields. On Sep- 
tember 19, 1844, she married Job Hud- 
dleston, who was born in Bedford county, 
Va., and died in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Hud- 
dleston had ten children, as follows: 
George M., Thomas, Samuel, Alice, Luella, 
Hamilton M., Otho, Mary Cecely, Job and 
Calvin. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker the following 
children have been born : Albert, who mar- 
ried Hattie Dorman ; Ernest W., who mar- 
ried Nettie Swiney; Anna, who is deceased, 
was the wife of Cyrus Bennett: Demmick, 
who married Rooney Keenan : George Mil- 
ton, who married Jessie Harrison; Carl, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



617 



who married Virgie Proctor; Edwin, who 
married Maude Willis; and Collie, Irvin 
and Elizabeth. Mr. Tucker and family are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. He is identified with the 
Odd Fellows at London, W. Va., and the 
American Mechanics at Hansford. Politi- 
cally he is a Democrat. 

THOMAS C. HALL, oil well contractor 
and producer, in Kanawha and other coun- 
ties, is vice president of the Jarvis Oil Com- 
pany, whose present interests are in Harper 
district, Roane county, W. Va. He was 
born at Harrisville, Ritchie county, W. Va., 
April 18, 1857, and is a son of Hon. Cyrus 
and Amelia (Scott) Hall. 

More than one hundred and forty years 
ago the great-grandfather of Mr. Hall came 
to the American colonies and settled at 
Leesburg, Va., and there lived and died. 
His history is traditional but it is thought 
that he was a farmer, as the old Hall estate 
of many acres is still there, and it is the 
reasonable ambition of Thomas C. Hall to 
some day possess it, as it was the home of 
the founder of his family in this country. 

William Hall, grandfather of Thomas C. 
Hall, was born about 1790, on the old 
homestead near Washington, D. C, and 
died in Wirt county, now West Virginia, at 
that time being eighty-nine years of age. 
He had married Sallie Lowther, who lived 
to be seventy-nine years old. Her father 
was Col. Lowther, whom General Wash- 
ington appointed a colonel to command 
local forces in the wilds of Harrison county, 
now West Virginia, where he had his head- 
quarters. A brother of William Hall, Rev. 
Ephraim Hall, was a pioneer preacher in 
the Territory of Ohio, and was a member of 
the first Constitutional Convention that 
completed the organization of that State. 

Cyrus Hall, son of William and father of 
Thomas C. Hall, was born in Harrison 
county, now West Virginia. During the 
days of the Confederacy, he was a member 
of the Virginia senate and had many honors 
accorded him. He was a brilliant lawyer 
and during the Civil War period practiced 



at Richmond, later at Parkersburg and still 
later at Charleston, having been in the in- 
terim, for some years, interested in the oil 
business. His death occurred at Charles- 
ton on January 15, 1909, at the age of 
eighty-seven years. He was married to 
Miss Amelia Scott, who was born in Ran- 
dolph county, now West Virginia, and died 
in Charleston in 1891, having lived out her 
three-score years and ten. Both she and 
husband were members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. They had six children, 
two of whom, Campbell and Flora, died in 
childhood. The survivors were : Loretta, 
who is the wife of H. T. Shefifey, residing 
at Charleston; Thomas C. ; Cyrus W., for- 
merly a leading attorney and jurist, who 
died at Charleston in 1910, married Myrtle 
Wood, who survives with two sons — 
Sheffey and Cyrus C. ; and Benjamin B., 
who resides at Blue Creek, Kanawha 
county, married Susan Rawson and they 
have three children — Bessie, Helen and 
Snyder. 

Thomas C. Hall had excellent educa- 
tional advantages and when ready to enter 
upon a business career, interested himself 
in oil and gas, and with the exception of 
two years when he was a clothing merchant 
at Parkersburg, and two years during 
which he was a resident of Pittsburg. Pa., 
he has been continuously connected with 
these industries. Mr. Hall came to 
Charleston in 1879. He has sunk about 
forty oil and gas wells and is one of the 
owners as well as vice president of the Jar- 
vis Oil Company, which was organized 
some three years since and now has six 
producing wells. The other officers of this 
company are: John Davidson, president, 
and Peter Tillman, secretary and treasurer. 

Mr. Hall was married at Charleston in 
1881, to Miss Ella F. Bender, who was 
born here, a daughter of George and Sarah 
(Rundele) Bender. Her father was born in 
Germany and when he came first to the 
United States, settled at Maysville, Ky., 
moving from there to Charleston, where he 
became a merchant and spent the remain- 
der of his life in this city. He married a 



618 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



lady who was born at Wheeling, Va. They 
were members of the Presbyterian church. 
John Rundle, an uncle of Mrs. Thomas C. 
Hall, was the founder and editor of the 
first newspaper ever printed at Charleston. 
He was born at Wheeling, W. Va., and 
later lived at Cincinnati, O. Then he and 
sister came here, she as his housekeeper. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children: 
Sadie B., who is the wife of Jesse V. Sullivan, 
a newspaper man of Charleston and Elsie 
G., who is a graduate of the Charleston 
high school, as is also her sister. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hall are members of the Episcopal 
church. He is a Republican in politics and 
has served prominently in conventions and 
as a delegate to important meetings of his 
party. He is identified with Masonic bod- 
ies at Harrisville and Charleston. 

HON. J. A. DE GRUYTER, who served 
twice as mayor of the city of Charleston, 
W. Va., is one of the representative busi- 
ness men of the place, being the senior 
member of the well known insurance firm 
of de Gruyter & Frasier, and also secretary 
and treasurer of the Goshorn Hardware 
Company. His parents were M. F. and 
Julia (Crockett) de Gruyter. 

J. A. de Gruyter has been connected with 
Charleston business enterprises since he 
was a school boy, early displaying unusual 
commercial qualifications, and later also a 
conception of public responsibilities that 
cad'sed his election to a civic office before 
he had attained his majority. Since then 
he has served in many responsible positions 
and during his two administrations as 
mayor the city enjoyed great prosperity. 
He is widely known in his business connec- 
tions and is held in universal esteem for 
those qualities which West Virginians ad- 
mire in their public and representative men. 
The insurance firm of de Gruyter & Frasier 
is made up of J. A. de Gruyter and R. L. 
Frasier, with business offices at No. 122^4 
Capitol street, opposite the Hotel Ruffner, 
Charleston. They deal in fire, bonds, rents, 
health, tornado, elevator, steam boiler, 
plate glass, employers' liability, personal 



accident and bank burglary insurance. Mr. 
de Gruyter was married in 1889 to Miss 
Mary Noyes. They reside at No. 1598 Ka- 
naw-ha Avenue, Charleston. 

ROBERT F. WASHINGTON, the genial 
proprietor of the Washington Hotel, at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was born on the old family home- 
stead in Putnam County, W. Va., April 19, 
1864. and is a son of George Franklin and 
Mary L. (McGraw) Washington. 

Charles Washington, the great-grandfather 
of Robert F. Washington, was a brother of 
Gen. George Washington, with whom he shared 
many family characteristics. He lived and died 
in Jefferson County, at Charleston, which was 
named in his honor. Samuel T. Washington, 
his son, was born at Charleston, in 1780, and 
was a plantation owner and was interested also 
in steam boats. He married and had three sons 
and one daughter : George Franklin and Frank, 
twins, the descendants of the latter living in 
Putnam County; Samuel T., Jr., who died in 
Mason county, is survived by one son, Champ 
Washington, who lives at Buffalo, W. Va. ; and 
Judith, who married a Mr. Hughy, and both 
died near Marmet. in Kanawha County. 

George Franklin Washington, father of 
Robert F., was born in 181 2, at Charlestown, 
Jefferson County, and was young when his par- 
ents moved into what is now Kanawha County, 
where he lived until twenty-one years of age 
and then, with his twin brother, Frank, went to 
Putnam county and took possession of prop- 
erty consisting of farm lands in Union District. 
The remainder of his life was passed in Put- 
nam County, his time being occupied with agri- 
cultural pursuits. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat. He was married in Putnam County to 
Miss Mary L. McGraw. who was born there 
in 1828, and died August 3, 1885. She was a 
daughter of Thomas McGraw, who was a na- 
tive of Ireland. Two children were born to the 
above marriage. Robert F. and Samuel T. 
The latter was accidentally killed by a fall in 
the air shaft of a mine. He left a widow, for- 
merly Catherine Hedrick, and a son, Albert 
Washington, who lives in Favette Countv. 
W. Va. 

Robert F. Washington attended school in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



619 



Putnam County and then turned his attention 
to merchandising, opening a store at Bancroft, 
where he continued until 1897, when he came 
to Charleston and went into the hotel business. 
He has successfully conducted hotels in differ- 
ent places and since 1908 has been proprietor 
of the Washington Hotel, which is situated at 
Nos. 127-133 Summers street, Charleston. 
This well kept hostelry has abundant accommo- 
dations for the traveling public, having sixty 
rooms, all equipped in modern style with every 
reasonable comfort and convenience. Mr. 
Washington is an experienced host and thor- 
oughly understands the art of entertaining his 
guests. 

Mr. Washington was married in Putnam 
County to Miss Corra D. Older, who was born 
July 7, 1868, a daughter of Edward and Cathe- 
rine (Aultz) Older. Mr. and Mrs. Washing- 
ton have had eight children, namely : Lola C, 
who married Reuben J. Haskin, and they re- 
side at Columbus, Ohio; and Callie F., George 
F., Goldie E., R. Lawrence, Leslie, Harley, 
Martha and Wilbur, the last named dying in 
childhood. Although Mr. Washington himself 
is very modest about it, there are many of his 
friends and acquaintances who see a marked re- 
semblance in his features to those of his illus- 
trious ancestor. 

J. B. MAIRS, a general farmer and repre- 
sentative citizen of Poca District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., residing on his fine estate of 
two hundred and fifty-one acres, was born in 
Poca District, June 25, 185 1, and is a son of 
the venerable Dr. William Mairs, a former 
prominent physician and one of the leading 
politicians of Kanawha County for a number 
of years. He still resides in the county, mak- 
ing his home with a daughter in Union District. 

J. B. Mairs attended school in Poca District 
and afterward taught five terms of school in 
Poca and Union Districts, his marriage taking 
place during his second term. He then settled 
on his present farm which lies on the right fork 
of Tupper's Creek, and has devoted himself 
since then to its cultivation and improvement. 
He has seventy-five acres in valuable woodland. 
Mr. Mairs is one of the district's wide awake 
and interested men and he has served his sec- 



tion very acceptably in numerous offices for a 
number of years. He has served as a member 
of the Republican County Committee for six 
years; as constable for two years; and in 1884 
was elected assessor of Kanawha County for 
four years, when the county court appointed 
him for a term of two years more, and his serv- 
ice thus covered six years. He has also been 
land assessor and census enumerator. 

On October 24, 1871, Mr. Mairs was mar- 
ried to Miss Elmina M. Derrick, who was born 
September 29, 1853, in Poca District, and is a 
daughter of Michael and Julia (Dawson) Der- 
rick. The following children have been born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Mairs : William M., who lives 
at Charleston, married Martha Slater, a daugh- 
ter of Nelson Slater, and they have four chil- 
dren — Lucy, Orl, Oscar and Frank; Myrtus B., 
who is a resident of Charleston, married Ada 
Morgan, and they have nine children — Bessie 
May, Ida Belle, Tisdel Harrison, Gladys Gol- 
die, Harry, Carl K., Vernard Gondola, Robert 
L. and Ernest; Thomas F., who was a brave 
soldier in Co. C, 2d W. Va., Inf., in the Span- 
ish-American War, died at the age of twenty- 
seven years and was buried in the family ceme- 
tery ; Rosa, who is the wife of Osborne Tasker, 
and they reside at Charleston and have one 
child, Russia; Mark R., who is employed at 
Charleston; Fred C, who lives at Charleston, 
married Lulu Presson, and they have one son, 
Chester; Albert R. and Lloyd who have never 
married, the latter being employed at the 
Hawk's Nest mines ; Lillie, who died at the age 
of three months and twenty-five days ; and John 
H., Otis, Delia and Rome, all of whom live at 
home. Mr. and Mrs. Mairs are mentbers of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he has 
always been affiliated with the Republican 
party. He is a member of Lodge No. 147, 
Odd Fellows, at Sissonville, W. Va. 

SAMUEL H. WILSON, oil and gas ope- 
rator in Kanawha County, with headquarters 
at Charleston, is also a veteran of the Civil 
War, serving in the Federal army from 1862 
until 1865. He was born on the water of 
Wheeling Creek, Va., May 20, 1847, and is a 
son of James and Clarinda (Hagerman) Wil- 
son. 



620 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Joseph Wilson, the grandfather, was born 
on Short Creek, in what is now Ohio County, 
W. Va., in 1804. He came of English people 
and Maryland parentage, while his wife was of 
Scotch ancestry. When his parents came from 
Maryland to Short Creek District, the Indians 
were yet very troublesome and the settlers en- 
dured all the hardships of pioneer life. Joseph 
Wilson subsequently located in that section cut 
off from Ohio County that became Marshall 
County, and on the shores of Wheeling Creek 
hewed out and built of logs his first rude cabin. 
He spent his life there and died in i860. He 
married Martha Downey, who survived her 
husband for many years, her death occurring 
when she was seventy-five years old. They had 
eight children, all but two of whom are now 
deceased: Samuel, who is a farmer in Mar- 
shall County; and Mary, who is the wife of 
Alexander Woodburn, living in Marshall 
County. 

James Wilson, son of Joseph and Martha 
Wilson, was one of the elder sons of the family 
and was born on Wheeling Creek, in 1818, and 
died in Newton County, Ind., a few years after 
moving there, at the age of seventy-six years. 
He was a contractor. In his early voting days 
he was a Whig but later became identified with 
the Republican party. He was married in Mar- 
shall County to Miss Clarinda Hagerman. who 
was born in 1828 and died at the age of fifty- 
six years. The ancestors of her family founded 
Hagerstown, Md., and were the early iron men 
of that section. Ten children were born to 
James Wilson and wife and five sons and three 
daughters still survive and all are married and 
have families. James Wilson and wife were 
members of the Presbyterian church. 

Samuel Hagerman Wilson was reared and 
educated in Marshall County. On June 12, 
1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, 
entering the 12th Va. Vols., under Captain 
Roberts and Colonel Curtis, which regiment 
was immediately sent to the front and took part 
in the battle of Winchester. Mr. Wilson went 
all through the Shenandoah Valley campaign 
and was a part of the brave body of soldiers 
that fought step by step to the gates of Peters- 
burg and took that city. At the time of the 
surrender of General Lee he was at Appomat- 



tox with his regiment, and many of the notable 
events of that occasion are indelibly impressed 
on his memory. Although he was frequently 
in danger and ever at the post of duty, he es- 
caped all serious injuries. He belongs to the 
George Crook Post, G. A. R., at Charleston. 

When the war terminated, Mr. Wilson re- 
turned to Marshall County and remained there 
until the fall of 1868, when he went to Grundy 
County, 111., where he engaged in farming and 
later followed the same occupation in Newton 
County, Ind., where he remained until 1889, 
and then moved to Elk District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va. From there, in 1905, he came 
to Charleston and since then has been connected 
with the Jarvis Oil Company, and the Kettle 
Oil and Gas Company, and is also agent for W. 
Seymour Edwards, the prominent coal mag- 
nate. Mr. Wilson is a director and stockholder 
in the Jafvis Oil Company, and a stockholder 
in the Kettle companies. He is not particu- 
larly active politically, but votes the Republican 
ticket. 

Mr. Wilson married Miss Mary A. Hager- 
man, who was born and reared in Marshall 
County, and they have three daughters, namely : 
Hattie M., a highly educated lady who is prin- 
cipal of the Mercer School at Charleston ; Lucy 
A., who is the wife of Floyd M. Conner, and 
they live in Elk District and have four sons 
and three daughters; and Luella, who is the 
wife of Dr. George L. Ramsey. Dr. and Mrs. 
Ramsey live at Powhatan Point. Belmont 
County, Ohio, and have two sons. Mrs. Wil- 
son and daughters are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. 

WILLIAM E. DAVIS, mine superintendent 
for the Clay Coal Company, at Berrien Creek. 
Kanawha County, W. Va., has had years of 
experience in coal mining, in fact has been 
identified with the coal business ever since his 
school days ended. He was born June 19, 1872, 
in Fayette County, W. Va.. and is a son of 
Lorenzo L. and Jenny (Vandall) Davis. 

Lorenzo L. Davis was born in Maryland and 
came from there to West Virginia, locating in 
Fayette County, where he was engaged in a 
mercantile business for a number of years, and 
in 1898 came to Kanawha County. He was a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



621 



carpenter by trade and worked at the same for 
a time but later conducted a meat market and 
then became a merchant. His death occurred 
in August, 1910, at the age of sixty-eight years. 
He was four times married, first to a Miss 
Wamsley, who, at death, left one son, S. B., 
who is a merchant at Holly Grove. His second 
marriage was to Jenny Vandall, a daughter of 
Joseph and Betty (Fox) Vandall, who died in 
1883, leaving one son, William E. To the 
third marriage, with Alice McGary, three 
children were born : C. L. and Minnie surviv- 
ing, the latter the_wife of S. W. Maurice, of 
Indian Creek. Mr. Davis was married a fourth 
time to Lilly B. Pitzer, who survives and re- 
sides in Fayette County, and of this marriage 
there are six surviving children. 

William E. Davis was but twelve years old 
when he started to work in the coal mines in 
Fayette County, W. Va., and remained in that 
coal district until 1909, when he came to Kana- 
wha County as assistant mine foreman of the 
Windal Coal Company, and in 191 1 he was ap- 
pointed superintendent of the Clay Coal Com- 
pany. Mr. Davis is well known to the mine 
men of this section and his reputation for re- 
liability is no less than that for efficiency. 

Mr. Davis married Miss Sally Norman, a 
daughter of R. M. and Laura (Anderson) 
Norman, of Mill Creek. Five children have 
been born to them, the three survivors being: 
Loris, aged eleven years ; Gaston, aged nine 
years, and Rancil, aged three years. Farns- 
worth and Laura are deceased. For fifteen 
years Mr. Davis has been a member of the or- 
der of American Mechanics, at Pinch, Kana- 
wha County. He is a good and law abiding 
citizen, but has never identified himself with 
any political party. 

MOSES FRANKENBERGER, deceased, 
was born in 1834, in Westheim, Bavaria, Ger- 
many, and died at his home in the city of 
Charleston, W. Va., March 21, 1902. He came 
of German ancestry and his people were of 
Hebrew stock. 

In 1 85 1, with his brother Philip, Moses 
Frankenberger embarked on a sailing vessel for 
the United States, and landed at the port of 
New York. From there the brothers went to 



Pittsburg, Pa., where Moses became first a 
clerk and then a bookkeeper. Later he came to 
Charleston where he opened a clothing store 
on Kanawha street and conducted so careful a 
business that before the outbreak of the Civil 
War he had already accumulated quite a prop- 
erty. Although of foreign birth he took a de- 
cided stand in public matters and came out defi- 
nitely in favor of the Union and this attitude 
caused him to lose a large part of his fortune, 
and also to be held for three months a prisoner 
of war. 

When peace came again Mr. Frankenberger 
soon regained his old place in the business cir- 
cles of Charleston and in the course of years 
was one of the organizers of the Citizens' Bank, 
of which he was elected president. During his 
administration that bank was one of the most 
successful financial institutions of the Kana- 
wha Valley. He subsequently retired from the 
bank some years before his death. He owned 
a large amount of improved property including 
a block of store buildings on the corner of 
Kanawha and Summers streets and his fine 
residence at No. 1014 Lee street. In politics 
he was a Republican and his party had so much 
reliance on his business acumen and personal in- 
tegrity that at one time it made him its candi- 
date for state treasurer. 

His burial, while under the care of the Rabbi 
of the Jewish Temple, was also under the super- 
vision of the Masonic order to which he be- 
longed. Mr. Frankenberger set an example in 
bestowing charity and probably no more liberal 
citizen ever belonged to Charleston. He was a 
member of the building committee that erected 
the beautiful Jewish Temple at Charleston and 
was a generous contributor, but he also gave 
largely to other religious bodies. He was a de- 
voted family man, one who considered the wel- 
fare of his home people and loved to be with 
them. Mr. Frankenberger was a man of real 
worth and in his death Charleston lost an ad- 
mirable citizen. 

In 1873, at Louisville, Ky., Mr. Franken- 
berger was married to Miss Fanny Ellinger, 
who was born near Munich, Bavaria, Germany, 
in 1852, and is a daughter of Samuel and Janet 
( Widelshofer) Ellinger. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Frankenberger eight chil- 



622 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dren were born, of whom six are living. Ame- 
lia, the eldest, is the wife of Dr. Edwin Zug- 
smith, a prominent physician of Pittsburg, Pa. 
They have one son, Thomas E. Rika, is the 
wife of G. I. Barkus, and they reside with Mrs. 
Frankenberger. They have two sons, Freder- 
ick M. and Philip. Samuel, the eldest son, was 
graduated in 1902 from the United States Mili- 
tary Academy. Hugo was graduated from the 
United States Naval Academy in 1905. Leo 
was educated at Charleston. Bertram was edu- 
cated at Charleston and at St. John's Military 
Academy at Manlius, N. Y. 

JAMES ANDERSON GARNES, D.D.S., 
who is engaged in the practice of dentistry 
at Clendenin, W. Va., was born in Jackson 
county, W. Va., July 12, 1866, and is a son 
of Franklin and Amanda (Miller) Games, 
and a grandson of Tapley and Anna (Par- 
sons) Games, natives of Giles county. Va. 

Franklin Games was born October 1, 
1836, in Jackson county and remained as- 
sisting his father on the home farm until 
he was twenty-one years of age, after which 
he worked as a blacksmith, operated a 
threshing machine and also, when not en- 
gaged in managing his farm, worked at 
stone masonry, being a busy and resource- 
ful man. He married Amanda Miller, who 
was born February 29, 1839, in Poca dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, a daughter of 
George S. and Emily Miller. She still lives 
on the old homestead in Jackson county, 
West Virginia. Of the family of eight chil- 
dren, the following survive: James Ander- 
son; William, living at East Liverpool, O. ; 
Hal, residing with his mother; Launa. wife 
of L. Bush; and Ada, wife of H. Board, re- 
siding at Sandyville, Jackson county, W. 
Va. 

As soon as his school days were over, 
James A. Games began the study of den- 
tistry which he continued at Point Pleasant 
and in Charleston. After a season of farm- 
ing on the homestead, he resumed his stud- 
ies and entered into practice first at St. 
Albans, W. Va., coming from there to 
Clendenin in 1909, where he has built up a 
substantial and satisfactory practice. Dr. 



Games keeps abreast of the times in his 
profession and has a thoroughly equipped 
modern office. 

Dr. Games was married first to Miss 
Letha Fisher, who was born in Jackson 
county in 1871 and died in 1890 — a daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Polly (Dawson) Fisher. 
One son was born to that marriage. Clar- 
ence, who is engaged in farming in Jack- 
son county, unmarried. Dr. Games was 
married second to Miss Mollie Rollins, who 
was born December 10, 1872, at Sissonville, 
Kanawha county, a daughter of Henry and 
Elizabeth (Skidmore) Rollins. Dr. and 
Mrs. Games have four daughters: Mabel, 
Opal, Dulcie and Helen, their ages ranging 
from eighteen to seven years. In politics 
he is identified with the Republican party 
but takes only the interest of a good citizen. 
He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of 
America, at Clendenin, and is chief of rec- 
ord, of Chippewa Tribe, Xo. 12, Red Men, 
also at Clendenin. 

VIRGIL AXSOX LEW IS, who is one of 
West Virginia's distinguished men of letters 
and occupies the honorable office of state 
archivist and historian, was born near West 
Columbia, Mason county, W. Va., July 6, 1848, 
and is a son of George W. and Lucy (Ed- 
wards) Lewis. 

Liberally educated, Mr. Lewis received his 
A.M. degree in 1893, from the West Virginia 
University, earlier in life having prepared for 
the practice of the profession of law, being 
admitted to the bar in 1879. His tastes, how- 
ever, led him into the wide field of literature 
and for many years his name has been a fa- 
miliar and honored one in educational and 
journalistic circles. In boyhood he worked in 
a printing office and- his • ambition to own a 
paper of his own was partially satisfied when 
he became financially interested in the West 
Virginia Monitor. In 1892 he founded the 
Southern Historical Magazine, at Charleston, 
and from 1893-97 was the editor and pub- 
lisher of the West Virginia School Journal, 
and during the same period was state superin- 
tendent of schools. Mr. Lewis has been hon- 
ored by his section and state on many occa- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



625 



sions, his learning and scholarship and his 
high standing as a man and citizen receiving 
generous recognition. In 1892 he was sent as 
a delegate to the Southern States Industrial 
Congress, held at Asheville, N. C. ; was a 
member of the state board of public works in 
W est Virginia from 1893 until 1897, and was 
a member and secretary of the West Virginia 
commission to the Jamestown Exposition in 
1907. In 1890 he organized the West Vir- 
ginia Historical and Antiquarian Society, and 
he is a member of the Southern Educational 
Association, the National Geographical So- 
ciety, the Mississippi Valley Historical So- 
ciety and the Ohio Valley Historical Society. 

Recognizing the value of books as educa- 
tional tools, Mr. Lewis has devoted a part of 
his time to the writing of volumes which are 
accurate historical annals and they find a place 
not only in every complete library but with the 
records of historical societies everywhere. In 
1889 he issued a History of West Virginia; in 
1 89 1. the Life and Times of Ann Bailey, 
the Pioneer Heroine of the Great Kanawha 
Valley; in 1896 a Graded Course of Study 
for Country and Village Schools; in 1903, 
the Story of the Louisiana Purchase; in 1904, 
Early Educators of West Virginia; and in 
1905. Civil Government in West Virginia. 
This list does not include a vast collection of 
valuable reports containing accurate data on 
historical matters pertaining to the United 
States and in particular to AVest Virginia. In 
1905 Mr. Lewis was made state archivist and 
historian. 

On October 31. 1886, Mr. Lewis was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Stone. He is interested 
in the leading fraternal bodies, being a Mason, 
a Knight Templar, and member of the Lodge 
of Perfection of the Scottish Rite; is a mem- 
ber of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows, and 
is past grand chancellor of the Knights of 
Pythias. He has recently been elected to his 
second term of six years as a member of the 
board of directors of the Knights of Pythias 
Orphans' Home, of which body he is chair- 
man. 

LEONIE E. BURDETT for many years 
was interested in West Virginia in the lum- 



ber business, both as dealer and manufac- 
turer. He was born October 10, 1863, in 
Monroe county, W. Va., a son of Washing- 
ton and Susan (Longanacre) Burdett, and 
died at his home in' Charleston. 

Washington Burdett and wife were born 
in Monroe county, where their parents had 
been early settlers. He was a farmer and 
spent his entire life in his native section.' 
He was twice married, first to Susan Long- 
anacre and secondly to Mrs. Anna (Ballen- 
gee) Nowland, of Summers county, who 
still survives, residing at Alderson. The 
death of Washington Burdett occurred in 
June, 1908. 

Leonie E. Burdett was one of a family of 
ten children, all of whom survive except 
he and all have married and have issue. He 
remairied on the home farm until he was 
sixteen years of age and then -became in- 
terested in the lumber business, in which 
he continued until the close of his life. For 
a number of years he was both dealer and 
manufacturer and' a practical worker in 
lumber in Summers, Fayette, Clay and Ka- 
nawha counties and was a successful busi- 
ness man. In 1901 he transferred his in- 
terests to Charleston where he started a 
planing mill and operated the same until 
his death. Since then his city interests 
have been looked after by his brother, 
Plummer W. Burdett, under the name of 
the Kanawha Planing Mill Company, the 
controlling interest being owned by Mrs. 
Burdett. In politics he was a Republican 
but was never an aggressive politician. He 
was a member of the Baptist church. 

Mr. Burdett was married to Miss Betty 
Withrow, of Summers county, who, at 
death, left two children, Bertha B. and J. 
Homer, both of whom were carefully edu- 
cated by their father, the latter having the 
added advantage of military training, and 
both reside at home. Mr. Burdett was mar- 
ried secondly, on February 25, 1891, to 
Miss Zora E. Graham, who was born De- 
cember 25, 1869, in Summers county and 
was reared and educated there. Her par- 
ents were Joseph U. and Sarah (Flint) 
Graham, and her grandparents were David 



626 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and Sarah (Alderson) Graham. The 
grandmother died some thirty years since, 
but the venerable grandfather, now ninety 
years of age, still survives and lives with 
his son at Hinton, W. Va. Joseph U. Gra- 
ham was a farmer and lumberman for many 
years but for the past decade has been a 
business man at Charleston and is manu- 
facturer here of all kinds of boxes. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Burdett four children 
were born, namely: Clarence E., who was 
born December 22, 1891 ; Frank E., born 
September 1, 1893; Ashley G.. born No- 
vember 9, 1895; and Hugh, born January 
11, 1903. Mrs. Burdett and family are 
members of the Baptist church. 

J. F. WICK, a general farmer, residing 
three and a half miles from Charleston, 
owns forty acres of land in Loudon district, 
six acres of which is improved, the rest be- 
ing in timber. This land is all very valu- 
able, being underlaid with several seams of 
coal. Mr. Wick was born in 1853, near 
Millerstown, in Butler county. Pa., and is 
a son of John D. Wick, who brought his 
family to Putnam county, in 1867, and spent 
the rest of his life there, mainly as a miner. 

J. F. Wick was fourteen years of age 
when he came to West Virginia and had 
already attended school in his native state. 
He went to work as a miner and continued 
until 191 1, when he moved to Kanawha 
county and settled on his present farm, 
which he had bought in 1903 ; he built his 
house in 1910. His land was almost en- 
tirely covered with timber, much of it very 
valuable. 

Mr. Wick was married in Putnam 
county, in 1876, to Miss Mary Rudolph, 
who was born in Alleghany county. Pa., 
and they have four living children, three 
being deceased. The living are : David, 
thirty-four years old, who married Hattie 
French and has two sons — Hugh and 
Ralph ; John, thirty-two, who married 
Annie Dempsey, of Fayette county, and has 
one son, Clarence ; and Everett, twenty- 
two, and Nellie, twenty. Mr. W r ick votes 
the Republican ticket. 



H. A. SHIRKEY, whose valuable farm 
of five hundred acres is situated in Poca 
district, Kanawha county, W. Va., sixteen 
miles north of the city of Charleston, was 
born on this farm, August 21, 1845, and is 
a son of David Shirkey and a grandson of 
John Shirkey. who was born in County 
Donegal, Ireland, and there married Mary 
Jefferson. They had three children, 
namely: John J., who died in 1884, in Poca 
district, Kanawha county; Mary J., all rec- 
ord of whom has been lost ; and David, who 
was born three days after his parents 
landed in America, his mother dying on 
the same day. 

David Shirkey secured some school ad- 
vantages in Monroe county, W. Va.. and 
grew to manhood on a farm and made 
farming his business through life. After 
his marriage in West Virginia, to Mary 
Samuels, he settled in Poca district. His 
wife was a daughter of Greenbury and 
Esther (Slack) Samuels, the former of 
whom was a man of importance and was 
one of the first jailors in this part of the 
county. David Shirkey was enterprising 
and industrious and acquired five hundred, 
and fifty acres of land on Poca river, a part 
of which he improved and here he passed 
the remainder of his life, his death occur- 
ring in his eighty-fourth year. He was a 
magistrate in Poca district for many years. 
In early days he was a W T hig but after the 
Civil War he cast his vote with the Repub- 
lican party. His wife died when aged sev- 
enty-six years and their burial was in a 
cemetery near their farm. They were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. They had eight children born to 
them, as follows: G. T., Araminta and 
John G.. all of whom are now deceased; 
Mary A., who is the wife of John Fisher, 
residing in Poca district ; Emily C, who is 
the wife of Scott Jenkins; P. S.. who is a 
resident of Charleston : H. A. ; and Louisa 
E., who is now deceased. 

H. A. Shirkey attended school in Poca 
district but as opportunities were poor here 
at that time, his father sent him to Law- 
rence county. O., for two terms, after which 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



627 



he returned home and assisted on the farm, 
and farming has been his main business 
ever since, although he has also been in- 
terested to some degree in timbering, and 
cattle raising has been an important indus- 
try in which he still engages but no longer 
ships cattle as formerly. He took up his 
residence on the farm following his mar- 
riage and has lived here 'ever since, clearing 
and improving the larger part of the land. 
The substantial buildings now standing, 
Mr. Shirkey put up, using the old sites but 
erecting them according to modern ideas 
of comfort and convenience. He is his own 
manager and superintendent and declares 
that he works harder than he did when 
twenty years old, and in his vigor and ro- 
business shows that these responsibilities 
have been beneficial, many of his neighbors 
having called themselves old enough to re- 
tire long since. Mr. Shirkey is one of the 
men who will never rust out. 

In addition to his large business interests, 
Mr. Shirkey has frequently been called 
upon by his fellow citizens to accept the 
cares and duties of public office and in every 
case has justified their confidence in him, 
proving a reliable and efficient officer. For 
four years he served as deputy under Sher- 
iff John \Y. Sence, and was later made the 
candidate of the Republican party for as- 
sessor and carried the county, overcoming 
a normal Democratic majority of fifteen 
hundred, and served four years in that 
office. He was then appointed United 
States marshal, -and served three years, re- 
tiring then more or less from politics and 
since then has devoted himself closely to 
his large property and farm activities. 

Mr. Shirkey was married May 19, 1867, 
to Miss Elizabeth J. Rose, who was born in 
Kanawha county, February 28, 1849, a 
daughter of William S. and Faunetta 
(Dawson) Rose, the former of whom was 
born in Alleghany county, Va., and the 
latter in Kanawha county, a daughter of 
John R. Dawson. Eight children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Shirkey, namely: 
David AY., who is a resident of Montgom- 
ery, AY. Va., married Matilda Colwell; 



Mary Leslie, who is the wife of Dr. O. L. 
Aultz, of Charleston; C. P., who resides at 
Lumberport, AY. Va., married Stella Ed- 
ward; Emma E., who died at the age of 
thirty years, was the wife of AW H. Mor- 
gan ; H. Dilbert, who resides on a part of 
his father's farm, married Erna Allen and 
has two children — Mary G. and Emma; 
Judith, who resides at Youngstown, O., 
married H. Frank Stover; E. B., who lives 
at Charleston, married Josephine Robin- 
son; and I. G., who lives at home. Mr. and 
Mrs. Shirkey are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. He is identified 
with the Odd Fellows at Sissonville, W. Va. 

COL. FRED PAUL GROSSCUP is one 
of Charleston's most active and enterpris- 
ing citizens, through whose efforts the nat- 
ural resources of this section have become 
widely known and immense capital has 
been directed to Charleston and vicinity 
for profitable investment. Col. Grosscup 
was born in Ohio in the middle sixties and 
the name is well known in that and other states. 

Col. Fred Paul Grosscup has been active 
in the affairs of Charleston for the past 
eighteen years and has served on the city 
conucil at times. He was the first business 
man to become prominent in natural gas 
production in southern AA r est Virginia, 
which had its first commercial development 
some ten years ago. He is the prime mover 
in the developing of the suburban town of 
Dunbar and is making it one of the chief 
manufacturing centers of this state and in 
doing this plans to supply the manufactur- 
ers with cheap fuel and to make Charleston 
the Pittsburg of the South. He is presi- 
dent of the Charleston-Dunbar Natural Gas 
Company which furnishes natural gas to 
both places. Mrs. Grosscup is a member 
of the public library board at Charleston. 

ULRICH AA'ANNER, a general farmer 
in Elk district, but practically a resident of 
Charleston, W. Va., is a well known citizen 
of Kanawha county, having been officially 
connected with public affairs for a number 
of years. He is a native of Switzerland, 



62« 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



born July II, 1854, and is a son of Michael 
and Agnes (Bechtoel) Wanner. 

The parents of Mr. Wanner came to 
America with their children in 1865, the 
father selecting Sharpsburg, Pa., as the 
temporary home. He was a weaver by 
trade and a musician but provided for his 
family after coming to Elk district, Kana- 
wha county, in 1866, by the fruits of his 
toil as a farmer. Both he and wife survived 
into advanced age, his death occurring in 
his eighty-second year and hers when in 
her seventy-ninth. There were four daugh- 
ters and two sons in the family: Elizabeth, 
who is the wife of Joseph M. Hill, of Blue 
Creek, Elk district; Anna, who was the 
wife of J. W. Hill, a farmer; Barbara, who 
is the wife of H. P. Wagner, a farmer in 
Elk district; Katherine, who was the wife 
of Lawrence Wippel ; John, who resides on 
the old homestead; and Ulrich. The par- 
ents of the above family were members of 
the Lutheran Reformed church. 

After completing his period of school at- 
tendance, Ulrich W r anner assisted his father 
and until he was thirty years of age worked 
the land during the summer seasons and 
spent the winters in logging. In 1900 he 
came to Charleston and this city has con- 
tinued his place of residence. A stanch Re- 
publican, he has been a party worker for 
many years and has served in numerous 
county offices. For four years he was 
deputy assessor under John Herrman. in 
1900 became deputy sheriff and served four 
years, and since 1907 has been custodian 
of the Kanawha county courthouse. He 
has a wide circle of friends and in every 
public position has won approbation for the 
efficiency with which his duties have been 
performed. 

Mr. Wanner was married to Miss Minna 
Milbee, who was born in 1882 in Poca dis- 
trict, a daughter of Dr. John and Margaret 
(Hoffman) Milbee, and they have two chil- 
dren : Mabel, who is eight years old. and 
Helen, who has passed her sixth birthday. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wanner are members of the 
Presbyterian church. 



JOHN R. SHANKLIN. The Shanklin 
family of West Virginia, a leading member 
of which is John R. Shanklin, a representa- 
tive business man of Charleston, traces his 
ancestry back to Scotland and the family 
record is as follows: 

Richard Shanklin. the great-grandfather 
of John R. Shanklin, was born October 25, 
1772. in Dundee. Scotland. He came to 
America after the Revolutionary War was 
over and settled in what is now Monroe 
county, W. Va., and died in 1841. He was 
an architect and builder. He built the old 
Sweet Springs Hotel, at Old Sweet Springs. 
Monroe county, W. Va.. also the first house 
in the town of Union. Monroe county, in 
the year 1800, which building was used as 
an inn. It has since been owned by a 
Shanklin. .He was married in Monroe 
county to Catherine Alexander, who was 
also of Scotch parentage, and they lived 
and died in Monroe count} - . 

Richard Vayer Shanklin. always called 
Dicky Vayer. was probably the eldest son 
of Richard and Catherine Shanklin. He 
was born at Union. Monroe county, June 
20. 1800. and died in 1864. He was a 
farmer and a well known man in his com- 
munity. He married Amanda Crow, who 
was born in Virginia and died in 1875. tne 
mother of one son. Andrew Madison 
Shanklin. 

Adam Madison Shanklin was born in 
Monroe county. Va., in 1840. During the 
Civil War he served as a member of the 
Chapman battery. Confederate army, a 
brave and gallant soldier, but lost his life 
from the bullet of a sharpshooter, in 1865. 
at Leetown, Va. He was then only twenty- 
five years of age and was survived by a 
widow and one son. the latter. John R. 
Shanklin of Charleston. Mrs. Shanklin re- 
mained a widow for a time but subse- 
quently married William Barrar. who was 
born in England, April 12, 1841, and died 
October 24. 1904. His widow survived un- 
til December 27, 1909. Her maiden name 
was Mahala Bare. One son was born to 
the second marriage. W. G. Barrar, who is 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



629 



secretary of the W est Virginia Heating and 
Plumbing Company, of which his half- 
brother. John R. Shanklin. is president. 
Mr. Barrar was married at Huntington, 
W. Va., to Miss Zaidee Point, and they have 
two children. William George and Dorothy 
Salome. 

John R. Shanklin was born at Union, 
Monroe county, W. Va., July 13. 1863. 
where he was reared and educated. Being 
of a mechanical turn of mind, he decided' 
to learn the machinist's trade and for this 
purpose went to Illinois and afterward to 
New York city, where he became a stu- 
dent in the trade school and in 1885 was 
graduated in the line of plumbing and heat- 
ing. In 1887 he came to Charleston to ac- 
cept the contract calling for the plumbing 
of the Ruffner Hotel, which, at that time 
was the largest hotel of the state. That 
contract was satisfactorily concluded and 
since that time Mr. Shanklin has made a 
specialty of heating and ventilating as an 
important part of his business. He is 
prominently identified with a number of 
large concerns at Charleston and in addi- 
tion to being president of the Vest Virginia 
Heating and Plumbing Company, he is 
president of the Charleston Sheet Metal 
Works and vice president of the Capital 
City Supply Company. 

The West Virginia Heating and Plumb- 
ing Company was started in 1890 and oper- 
ated by Mr. Shanklin and J. H. Dowman 
for one year, when Clark Howell was ad- 
mitted to partnership and five years later 
the name of the firm was changed to How- 
ell & Shanklin. and they continued in the 
heating and plumbing business until 1901, 
when they sold out to the Capital City Sup- 
ply Company, of which Mr. Howell was 
made president, and Mr. Shanklin vice presi- 
dent, and that business still continues. The 
West Virginia Heating and Plumbing Com- 
pany was then given to the new venture, Mr. 
Shanklin becoming president and general mana- 
ger and later. \Y. G. Barrar. who was one of 
the original incorporators of this enterprise, be- 
came secretary and treasurer. In 1906 the busi- 
ness carried on as the Charleston Sheet Metal 



Works was organized. Mr. Shanklin being 
made president and Mr. Barrar secretary and 
treasurer, these works being located at Fife 
street near Capital. The company built a 
commodious four-story building of reen- 
forced concrete at No. 233 Hale street for 
their heating appliances, and a four-story 
building of like material for the Capital 
City Supply Company. The latter is con- 
ducted as a mill and mining supply house 
and is one of the city's important plants. 
O. E. Howell is manager and the business 
is a wholesale one in West Virginia, while 
the heating and plumbing business is con- 
ducted in West Virginia and in adjacent 
states. All these concerns are in an ex- 
ceedingly prosperous condition and much 
of their success has resulted from the per- 
sonal efforts of Mr. Shanklin. 

Mr. Shanklin was married at Hunting- 
ton, W. Va.. to Miss Emma V. Shelton. a 
native of Barboursville, Cabell county, born 
in 1865. They have two children: Hazel, 
who was born July 29, 1890, and John A., who 
was born August 29, 1891, and is a student 
dent in the University of West Virginia. 
Mr. Shanklin was made a member of the 
Society of Heating and Ventilating En- 
gineers in June, 1909. In Masonic circles 
he is prominent, being a Shriner. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. 

JOSEPH WEBER, one of Loudon Dis- 
trict's enterprising and successful men, owns 
two hundred and forty-four acres of valuable 
land here, which is situated within three miles 
of Charleston. He was born in Germany, in 
1854. a son of Deitrick Weber, a mechanic. 

Joseph Weber went to school in boyhood and 
helped his father afterward and learned the 
cabinetmaking trade. In 1871 he came to the 
United States and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
There he started in the furniture manufactur- 
ing business in 1881, and was in that business 
for ten years. For ten more he was in the gro- 
cery trade and then came to Kanawha County 
and invested in the land which constitutes his 
present farm, and which at that time was all 
covered with a heavy growth of timber. Mr. 
Weber started upon its clearing at once and put 



630 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



it under cultivation as soon as cleared, and in 
a comparatively short time had the whole extent 
of his land ready to be made profitable. It is 
generally acknowledged that he has the best 
farm in the district and in addition to general 
farming he also carries on a wholesale dairy 
business. 

Mr. Weber was married in 1880 to Miss 
Catherine Leising, who was born in 1857, a 
daughter of Henry Leising, of Oldenberg, In- 
diana, and they have a sturdy family of nine 
children, all surviving and but one married, this 
being Margaret, the eldest, who is the wife of 
George Rohling, of Cincinnati. The others 
are: Joseph T., Antoinetta, Louisa, Clement, 
Catharine, George, Lawrence and Edward. 
The family belongs to the Catholic church. In 
politics Mr. Weber is a Democrat. He belongs 
to the great Catholic Order of Knights of Co- 
lumbus. 

ANDREW J. W r ATKINS, deceased, was a 
well known business man of Charleston. W. 
Va., for a number of years and for a still longer 
period was connected with boating on the Kana- 
wha River, being well and favorably known for 
many miles up and down the old Kanawha. He 
was born in 1840, at Buffalo. Mason county, 
Va,. obtained his education there, and began 
river life as a cabin boy and later as steward on 
a steamboat, which was owned by his uncle, 
Capt. Isaac Parker. 

Early in the Civil War Mr. Watkins entered 
the. Confederate army, in which he served as a 
private in the ranks for two years, and was 
then assigned to hospital work and continued in 
this until the close of the war. He returned to 
Mason County and resumed work on the river 
and perhaps would never willingly have given 
it up had not a serious accident occurred to his 
boat, the Cottage No. 2, about 1866 or 67, it 
being an explosion in the boilers. This disaster 
caused the loss of a number of lives and Mr. 
Watkins was so severely injured that he was 
confined to a hospital for six months, when he 
resumed river work. Two years after his mar- 
riage he gave it up and embarked in the gro- 
cery business in partnership with his brother- 
in-law, Herman L. Gebhart, and continued so 
interested until his death, February 2, 1872, 



two years after locating at Charleston. Mr. 
Watkins is still remembered by old river men 
with sentiments of affectionate regard and 
many can tell of his kindness of heart and gen- 
tleness of disposition. He belonged to the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, a member of Buffalo Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M, and to the Odd Fellows at 
Charleston'. He was a Democrat. 

Mr. Watkins was married in 1868, at 
Charleston, to Miss Mary M. Gebhart, who has 
been a lifelong resident of this city and still 
occupies her beautiful residence. No. 11 17 
Ouarrier street. Her parents were Lawrence 
and Catherine ( Bender) Gebhart, natives of 
Germany, who accompanied their parents to 
America and were married at Cincinnati, Ohio. 
They came to Charleston about 1846, where the 
father died in 1853, at the age of thirty-two 
years. He had conducted a successful grocery 
business. Mrs. Watkins has one brother : Her- 
man L., and two sisters. Laura and Anna, both 
of whom reside with her. One brother. Joseph, 
died at the age of twenty-nine years. The 
mother of Mrs. Watkins was subsequently 
twice married, her death occurring July 27. 
1895, at Gallipolis. Ohio, when aged seventy- 
two years. She was a member of the Lutheran 
church. Mrs. Watkins owns considerable valu- 
able property at Charleston and is quite capable 
of looking after her business interests. She is 
a member of the First Presbyterian church at 
Charleston as was her late husband. 

E. C. CRANE, one of Poca District's most 
substantial citizens, who is a large farmer and 
extensive cattle raiser, and has five hundred 
acres in his home farm which is situated four- 
teen miles north of Charleston, and has a sec- 
ond farm of three hundred acres, sixteen miles 
north of Charleston, together with a third farm 
of one hundred acres, lying near the Jackson 
County line in Kanawha County. W. Ya. Mr. 
Crane was born in Jackson County, West Vir- 
ginia. February 10, 185 1, and is a son of Will- 
iam and Ellen (Dawson) Crane, and a grand- 
son of Nathaniel Crane. 

Nathaniel Crane was a soldier in the War 
of 18 1 2. He was born and reared in King and 
Queen County. Va., near Richmond, and when 
he came first to Poca District he secured 160 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



631 



acres of land from Henry O. Middleton, the 
same now being owned by the Milan Brothers. 
The land was mainly utilized for grain raising 
during Mr. Crane's life. He died at the age of 
seventy-seven years. The name of his wife was 
Ellen and she was an admirable woman, a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a 
kind neighbor and a second mother to E. C. 
Crane, taking him after the death of his father, 
who died early. To Nathaniel Crane and wife 
eight children were born : Mary, who was the 
wife of John Fisher, both being deceased; 
Nancy, who married George Games, and they 
are survived by twelve children ; William, who 
died when but twenty-four years of age and his 
burial was at Richmond : George, who was 
eighty-one years old on April 7, 191 1, has lived 
with his nephew. E. C. Crane, for twelve years, 
was four times married ; Peter, who located in 
Indiana in early manhood has a family there ; 
Sarah, who married Calvin Rawlings was killed 
by a falling tree, and it was a remarkable coin- 
cidence that her son met death in the same man- 
ner : James, who died in 1862 in Jackson 
County; and Hannah, who is now deceased, 
was the wife of \Y. S. Dawson, and they had 
three children. William Crane of the above 
family, married Ellen Dawson, a native of 
Kanawha County, and a daughter of Noah and 
Rachel (Fisher) Dawson. To this marriage 
two sons were born: an infant that died, and 
E. C. After the death of her first husband, 
Mrs. Crane married Wylie A. Berry, a native 
of Kentucky, and a veteran of the Civil War, 
who served in the Union army. The Crane 
family was Union in sentiment and six uncles 
of E. C. Crane were soldiers in the Federal 
army. Mrs. Berry survived to the age of 
seventy-seven years, dying after a brief illness 
of three days. She was a faithful member of 
the Adventist church. 

E. C. Crane was eighteen months old when 
he was brought to the home of his grandparents 
in Poca District, and here went to school. He 
was more or less trained as a farmer and stock- 
raiser but from early manhood has been elected 
to serve in public offices, the duties of which 
have occupied him to some degree. When but 
twenty-two years of age he was elected con- 
stable on the Republican ticket, and served four 



years as such. Afterward he served as deputy 
sheriff under Rome Pickens for one term and 
later served four years under Sheriff Peter Sill- 
man. His large acreage is very valuable land 
for general farming or grazing and possibly 
profit will be found in the development of a 
vein of limestone which runs underneath. He 
is interested as a good citizen in furthering lo- 
cal enterprises and is a director in the Kana- 
wha and Putnam County Telephone Company. 

Mr. Crane was married November 7, 1907, 
to Mrs. Gertrude C. (Melton) Jones, who was 
born in Kanawha County, W. Ya., and is a 
daughter of J. T. Melton and a granddaughter 
of Rev. Addison Melton, and the widow of 
James Jones. She had two sons : Homer and 
Delbert Jones. Mr. Crane belongs to the Red 
Men, the Forresters and the Odd Fellows, all 
at Sissonville, at which point he also receives 
his mail. He is widely known through Poca 
District, and is considered one of the represen- 
tative men. 

J. AUGUSTUS RUFFNER, who is en- 
gaged in the insurance business at Charleston, 
•W. Va.. is a member of one of the old and vig- 
orous families that has belonged to the Kana- 
wha Valley for generations. His birth took 
place at Charleston, on what is now Kanawha 
street. November 28. 1853, and he is a son of 
Joel and Diana (Marye) Ruffner, and a grand- 
son of Daniel Ruffner. The emigrant founder 
bore the name of Peter Ruffner, and the first 
to locate in Kanawha Valley was Joseph who 
came from Shenandoah Valley in 1795. 

Joel Ruffner was born and spent his entire 
life at Charleston. He married Diana Marye, 
who was born in Page County. Shenandoah 
Valley, Va., a daughter of William Stage and 
Mary ( Ruffner) Marye. of French extraction. 
William Stage Marye and wife spent their days 
in Page County. The}' were members of the 
Episcopal church. Sixteen children were born 
to Joel and Diana Ruffner, and the youngest 
was named J. Augustus and is one of the nine 
survivors. The eldest living is Anna, who 
never married, and is now in her seventy-sev- 
enth year. Two of the sons, Daniel and' Joel, 
were brave soldiers in the Civil War, the for- 
mer of whom was killed in Tennessee, during 



632 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the second year of the war. Joel enlisted while 
still attending school, and assisted in raising the 
company of which John Swan was captain, he 
becoming lieutenant. He died of typhoid fever 
at White Sulphur Springs, Va. 

J. Augustus Ruffner was educated in a pri- 
vate school, at the Upper Canada College at 
Toronto, and later took a commercial course in 
a business college at the same place. His uncle, 
George T. Marye, was, at that time a banker 
and broker at Virginia City, Xev., and the 
young man learned practical business methods 
with him and remained in what w as then con- 
sidered the far West, for seven years. He then 
visited other sections — Arizona, California and 
Washington — mining and prospecting during 
the greater part of the thirteen years he spent 
in those sections, for two years of the time en- 
gaged in merchandising in Arizona. In 1893 
he returned to Charleston and embarked in the 
wholesale produce business and in other lines 
up to some twelve years since, when he became 
interested in the insurance business, which he 
has carried on ever since. 

Mr. Ruffner was married at Tucson. Ari.. 
to Miss Carrie Boeh, who was born in Califor- 
nia, February 1, 1858, a daughter of Sabastian 
and Amelia (Christian) Boeh, the former of 
whom came from Alsace-Loraine, and the lat- 
ter from Hesse Castle, Germany. They were 
married in California and Mr. Boeh died at 
San Francisco at the age of fifty-five years. 
Prior to that he had been a merchant in Ore- 
gon. Mrs. Boeh died at Virginia City, Xev.. 
aged thirty-eight years. She was a member of 
the Lutheran church. Mrs. Ruffner was the 
second born in a family of four children, the 
others being: Fred, a business man at Port- 
land, Ore., who has a son named for himself; 
Rose, who is the wife of C. B. Session, lives at 
San Francisco, and has one son, Volney; and 
Louis, who is a resident of San Jose, Cal.. and 
has a daughter. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ruffner have four children, 
namely : Louis Chapin, who was born in Ari- 
zona, who was educated at Charleston, and is 
now engaged in business at Cincinnati. O., as 
a coal dealer ; Rose Amelia, born in Arizona, 
who was educated at Charleston, married 
Harry Leinbach, of Syracuse. N. Y.. and 



has a son, Harry ; Ethel Marye, born in El 
Paso, Tex., who is the wife of McLean Nash, 
of Charleston; and William Alexander, who 
was born at Charleston and resides at home. 
Mr. Ruffner and family are members of the 
Presbyterian church. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat. He has never united with any fraternal 
organizations. 

JOSEPH GRISHABER, whose fine farm 
of one hundred acres is situated in Loudon 
district. Kanawha county, W. Va., was born 
January 6. 1861, three miles from the upper 
bridge, in Kanawha county, and is a son of 
Lawrence and Elisabeth (Whorley) Grisha- 
ber. 

Lawrence Grishaber was born in Germany 
and when he came to Kanawha county. W. 
Va.. he lived on what is now the site of 
Charleston's stately capitol building, his em- 
ployer being S. Ruffner. Farming continued 
to be his occupation throughout his entire life, 
his death occurring when he was about sixty 
years of age. After marriage he settled on a 
farm three miles from Charleston and there 
his four children were born, namely: Joseph. 
Agnes, Charles and Elisabeth. The mother 
of this family died when the eldest son was 
fourteen years of age. 

Joseph Grishaber attended school in boy- " 
hood until he was old enough to become self- 
supporting and then worked in a brickyard 
and later helped to lay the brick in the build- 
ing of the capitol. Subsequently he became a 
brick contractor and in this capacity was con- 
cerned in the building of the Arcade Hospital, 
three big schoolhouses. the poor farm build- 
ings, over one thousand buildings at Charles- 
ton, the Lincoln county jail, and man} 7 struc- 
tures at Cincinnati and in other places. He 
has always been a practical, hard-working 
man and since he has been engaged in farm- 
ing has labored to make his place the best and 
most attractive and productive in this section. 
His first purchase was a tract of sixty-two 
acres and he has been settled on his present 
farm for about twelve years. In addition to 
farming- he raises cattle for his own use. 

Mr. Grishaber was married to Miss Sarah 
Elizabeth Lude. near Wheeling, W. Va.. and 



JOSEPH GKISHABEK 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



635 



the}- have had seven children, two of whom 
died earh', the survivors being: Lawrence. 
Eula, Frances. Joseph and Louis. Mr. Gris- 
haber is a member of the Roman Catholic 
church, while his wife belongs to the Lutheran 
church. In politics he is a Democrat. 

GUY A. PORTER, a well known business 
man largely interested in lumber and in coal 
lands, owns a valuable farm of sixty-five acres 
in Loudon District, Kanawha County, W. Va. 
He was born May 13, 1852, at Charleston, and 
is a son of B. F. and Mary (Matthews) 
Porter. 

B. F. Porter was a well known resident of 
Loudon Distirct and owned the farm which is 
now the property of his son, on Porter's Branch, 
his death occurring there at the age of sixty- 
seven years. He was a man of much business 
enterprise and was a farmer, merchant and rail- 
way contractor. He married Mary Matthews 
and of their eight children there are three liv- 
ing: Guy A., Stewart and Mrs. Helen Ball. 

Guy A. Porter attended school at Charleston 
and afterward was a railroad man for a time, 
but subsequently became interested in lumber 
and has developed his enterprises into large 
concerns. He buys, sells and leases coal lands, 
and at present has leased a fine^ tract in Buffalo 
District which is being opened. 

Mr. Porter married Miss Mary C. Haddel- 
ston. a daughter of Job Haddelston, and they 
have had five children, namely : Frank H.. who 
is in the lumber business, married Sadie Muck- 
low, and they have one son, Guy Robert : and 
L. A., C. G., Elizabeth M. and Mary Louise, 
all residing at home. In his political views, Mr. 
Porter is a stanch Democrat. 

HARRY S. BARR, D.D.S.. who has been 
established in the practice of dentistry at 
Charleston. W. Va., for the past ten years, is 
a native of this state, born at Winfield, Put- 
nam County, October 31, 1876, and is a son of 
Walter S. and a grandson of Jacob Barr. 

Jacob Barr was born in Washington County, 
Pa., of German parentage, and moved into 
Putnam County, now West Virginia, when his 
son. Walter S.. was a boy. Both he and his 



wife, who belonged to an old German family by 
the name of Miller, lived into advanced age and 
died in Putnam Count}'. They were Metho- 
dists in their religious faith. 

Walter S. Barr, father of Dr. Barr, was one 
in a large family. He grew to manhood on his 
father's estate, early took an interest in public 
affairs and at present (1911) is serving in the 
office of sheriff of Putnam County. His busi- 
ness has always been of an agricultural nature. 
In Putnam County he married Miss Victoria 
Middleton, who was born in Virginia, a daugh- 
ter of Jackson and Catherine (Rippetoe) Mid- 
dleton, the former of whom died in the fall of 
1910, and the latter in the spring of 1909. 
They were members of the Baptist church. To 
Walter S. Barr and wife the following children 
were born : Charles, who died in childhood ; 
Harry S. ; Hugh, who is deputy sheriff under 
his father, married Lillian West ; and Russell, 
who resides at home. 

Harry S. Barr was liberally educated and 
after four years at Huntington, where he had 
academic advantages, he entered the Ohio Den- 
tal College, at Cincinnati, where he was gradu- 
ated with his degree in the class of 1901. Dr. 
Barr came then to Charleston and is in the en- 
joyment of a large and lucrative practice and 
has a high standing in his profession and among 
his fellow citizens. 

Dr. Barr was married at Charleston to Miss 
Laura Spencer, who was born at Hockingport. 
Ohio, but was educated at Charleston, where 
her parents settled when she was a child. She 
is a daughter of Warwick B. and Virginia 
( Mitchell) Spencer, both of whom were natives 
of Virginia. Her father died at Charleston in 
1906, where he had been in the wholesale pro- 
duce trade for some years. In 1849 he started 
to cross the plains to California, in a prairie 
schooner, with his father, Jonathan Spencer, 
who died in the wilderness and the son interred 
him there, marking the spot with small spruce 
sprouts which have grown into trees and are 
still protecting the lonely grave. The mother 
of Airs. Barr resides on Lee street. Charleston. 
She is a devoted member of the Baptist church. 

Dr. and Mrs. Barr have two sons : Charles 
H., who was born August 4. 1904; and Walter 
Bradford, who was born August 10. 1906 



636 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Dr. Barr is a thirty-second degree Mason and a 
member of Ben Kedem Shrine. 

' MRS. BARBARA SEAFLER WAN- 
NER, a highly respected resident of 
Charleston, W. Va., widow of Alexander 
Wanner, was born October 5, 1837, and is a 
daughter of Christopher and Anna Mary (Fry) 
Seafler, and a granddaughter of Peter Seafler, 
who spent his life in Germany, where he died 
at the age of eighty-one years. 

Christopher Seafler was born March 26, 
1795, in Wittenberg, Germany, and died in 
Beaver county, Pa., December 28, 1865. In 
1832 he left the province of Saxony, Germany, 
for America, being accompanied by his wife 
and five children. During the long and stormy 
passage of eighty days one child died and an- 
other was born. The family landed at Balti- 
more, Md., and from there went to Beaver 
county, Pa., where Christopher Seafler followed 
farming for the remainder of his life. In his 
native land he had been a baker and also kept 
an inn. He married Anna Mary Fry. who was 
born November 28, 1808. and died August 27, 
1850, in Beaver county, Pa. Besides the chil- 
dren above mentioned nine others were born in 
America. 

Barbara Seafler was reared in Beaver coun- 
ty and was married at Big Chimney. W. Va., 
on February 2, 1871, to Alexander Wanner. 
He was born in Switzerland, a son of Ulrich 
and Catherine Wanner, the former of whom 
died at Blue Creek, Kanawha county, W. Va.. 
in 1870, aged eighty years. The Wanners set- 
tled first at Sharpsburg, Pa., in 1865 coining to 
West Virginia, where Alexander Wanner fol- 
lowed farming and gardening near Wood 
Creek, Elk District, Kanawha _ county, until 
1870, and then moved to Charleston, where he 
kept a hotel for some years and then retired. 
Mrs. Wanner has two sisters and three broth- 
ers living and one brother deceased. Catherine 
is the widow of John Guenther, of Charleston. 
Louisa is the wife of Charles Falk. Isaac lives 
retired at Pittsburg, Pa. Jacob lives retired at 
Charleston, and Abraham lives at Pittsburg. 
Peter Seafler, the one deceased, was born in 
Germany, October 22, 1828, and died in Elk 
District in 1893. He located at Big Chimney 



and followed farming there until within three 
years of his death, when he moved to Charles- 
ton. He married Louisa Kramer. 

JOSHUA DAVIS, who has been a resident 
of Charleston, W. Va., for but a short time, is 
well known, however, throughout Roane coun- 
ty, w here he has been largely interested in oil 
production. When prepared to lay aside a part 
of his business responsibilities, after many 
years of successful effort, he chose Charleston 
as a desirable spot in which to establish a per- 
manent home, its beautiful location and the cul- 
ture and charm of its people contributing to his 
decision. He was born June 5. 1846. in Ve- 
nango county, Pa. 

Joshua Davis, the grandfather of Joshua 
Davis of this record, was born in Maine and 
was a young man when he served as a soldier 
in the War of 1812. after which he moved to 
Allegheny county. Pa., where he married a 
Miss Gates. After her death he moved to 
Georgetown. Del., where he lived to be an aged 
man. having reached his ninety-third year when 
he visited the Centennial Exposition at Phila- 
delphia, in 1876. He was a Presbyterian in 
religious faith and in his later years cast his 
vote with the Republican party. He had three 
children: Mary J., who became the wife of C. 
P. Ramsdell. Andrew J., who was a well 
known minister of the Methodist faith at 
Georgetown, Del., married Elsa Shannon, who 
survives; and William, who was a major of 
militia and was known as Major William Davis. 

Major Davis was born about 18 18 and died 
in Venango county, Pa., in 1853. His business 
was farming and he owned land in Pennsyl- 
vania. He married Lavica Myers, who was 
born about 1820. in Venango county, and died 
in February, 1906, near Oil City, Pa., when 
aged eighty-six years. She married second to 
Samuel Coulter, who died in 1904. aged ninety- 
three years. To William Davis and wife the 
following children were born : Jane, who is the 
wife of John Wilson, living near Dover, Del. ; 
Joshua : Emma, who is the widow of Bradford 
Wilson, lives at Oil City, Pa. : and Zachariah. 
died when aged eighteen years. 

Joshua Davis was born June 5, 1846. He 
was seven years of age at the time of his fath- 
er's death. He was given good educational ad- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



637 



vantages and remained at home with his grand- 
father until he enlisted for service in the Civil 
War, then being seventeen years old. He en- 
tered Co. C, 5th Pa. Vol. Cav., and served 
from 1863 until the close of the war. He wit- 
nessed the surrender of General Lee to General 
Grant, at Appomattox on April 2, 1865, and re- 
ceived his honorable discharge in the August 
following. He took part in many serious bat- 
tles, but the nearest he came to the death that 
was on every side of him, was when his horse 
was shot from beneath him on the morning of 
the surrender of General Lee. 

Mr. Davis then went back to Venango coun- 
ty and became interested in oil development, at 
first in a small way, but good judgment, fore- 
sight and business prudence has attended him 
and he has become one of the prominent oil 
men of Pennsylvania. He has developed hun- 
dreds of wells in that state and has 107 wells 
to his credit in Roane and Kanawha counties, 
in West Virginia. He has also sunk artesian 
wells at Greely, Colo., and at Fort Worth, Tex. 
He still has large interests at Grape Island in 
West Virginia, on the Ohio river. In 19 10 
he came to Charleston, in part retiring from 
active business life, but not altogether, his 
numerous enterprises still holding considerable 
interest for him in their management. 

On November 7, 1877, Mr. Davis was mar- 
ried at Prospect, Butler county, Pa., to Miss 
Elizabeth Young, who was born in 1855, in 
Lawrence county, Pa., but was reared and edu- 
cated in Illinois. Her parents were Stephen 
and Matilda (Gett) Young, who moved to 
Parkersburg, W. Va.. some years after the 
Civil War, where Mrs. Young died in 1900. 
She had married a second time, Mr. Young 
having died in Pennsylvania, to John Phillips, 
who is now a resident of California. Mrs. 
Davis had one sister, Rose, who is the wife of 
D. C. Merriam, of Long Beach, Calif. To the 
second marriage of Mrs. Young three daugh- 
ters and one son were born. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davis have five children, 
namely: Luther G., who was born November 
27, 1880, and was educated in Texas. He is 
associated in business with his father and re- 
sides on Grape Island. He married Fay Dill- 
worth. Zella Ellen, the eldest daughter, was 



born in Pennsylvania, December 25, 1883, and 
was educated at Parkersburg. She married 
Dr. Howard Hively of Walton district, Roane 
county, on August 16, 191 1. Joshua J., who 
was born June 10, 1889, is a graduate of the 
Parkersburg college and is manager and book- 
keeper for his father. Matilda Lavica and 
Galen S., are the younger members of the fam- 
ily, the former born March 19, 1896, and the 
latter November 9, 1902, and both attend 
school at Charleston. Mr. Davis is one of the 
city's capitalists and for the successful accumu- 
lation of his large fortune he attributes much 
credit to the prudence and thrift shown by 
Mrs. Davis, whose good judgment and cheerful 
encouragement have been never failing. 

JOHN C. GILMOUR, whose right to the 
title of expert mine advisor has been won 
through long years of continuous association 
with the coal industry, resides in Union dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, W. Va., where he owns 
a valuable tract of thirty-three acres of land, 
situated one-quarter of a mile south of Lock 
No. 7. He was born in Scotland, January 11, 
i860, and is a son of John and Agnes (Steven- 
son) Gilmour. 

John Gilmour was born in Scotland and was 
a coal miner all his active life, dying in his 
native land at the age of fifty-two years. He 
married Agnes Stevenson, a daughter of Alex- 
ander Stevenson, of Scotland, and they had the 
following children: John C. ; Elizabeth, who 
married John Stuart, of N. Dakota; Katherine, 
who married D. W. Congrieve, of Chicago, 111. ; 
Mary, who married James Peacock, residing 
on a farm in Scotland ; Alexander, who lives on 
Cabin Creek, married Mary Mackey; Agnes, 
who is the wife of Thomas Gracy, living at 
Huntington, W. Va. ; Annie, who is the wife of 
William Graham, living at Stonington, 111.; 
George, who is a resident of St. Louis, Mo. ; 
and others who died in infancy. The parents 
of the above family were members of the Pres- 
byterian church. 

John G. Gilmour attended school in Scotland 
until he was eleven years of age, when, being 
of sturdy build and in perfect health, his fath- 
er considered him old enough to go to work in 
the coal mines where he was laboring to sup- 



638 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



port a large family. The boy worked in the 
mines there from eleven to nineteen years. In 
the meanwhile he had heard many a tale of the 
better advantages offered coal miners in Amer- 
ica and before he was twenty-one years of age 
he had worked for two years in Will county, 
111., U. S. A. He advanced rapidly for he was 
even then a competent miner, and soon was 
made foreman of the work when shafts had to 
be sunk, and after working for several years 
both as day and night foreman, he was made as- 
sistant mine boss. By this time he had gained an 
assured position and went back to Scotland 
and while there was married and continued to 
live in his native land for two years. He was 
not idle during this time, however, but worked 
at mine repairing, a branch of the great coal in- 
dustry that is as necessary as any other. 

Upon his return to America, Mr. Gilmour 
settled for a few weeks at Houtzdale. Clearfield 
county, Pa., and then accepted a position with 
Col. Berry at Stone Cliff. Fayette county. W. 
Va., where he mined for six months and then 
opened the Beachwood coal mine at Claremont, 
taking charge as foreman and remaining there 
for five years. From there he went to Coving- 
ton, Va., where he was engaged for eleven 
months, and then returned to Col. Berry and 
for four months attended to all the mine repair 
work. For one year he then did contract work 
for the Fire Creek Coal company and was en- 
gaged for the same company, for four years 
as mine boss and superintendent at Caperton. 
When the company sold out. Mr. Gilmour 
bought an interest in the Dimmock mine at 
Dimmock, W. Va., but changed the name to 
Big Bend and operated it for eleven months 
under the style of the Big Bend Coal Company, 
at the end of that time selling his interest and 
returning to Caperton. There he became gen- 
eral manager for the Victoria Coal and Coke 
Company, after which he opened and operated 
at Cabin Creek for about five years, his only 
partner being G. T. Thayer. In January. 1907, 
they sold to the Cabin Creek Consolidated Com- 
pany. Mr. Gilmour was elected a justice of the 
peace in 1905, on the Republican ticket, in Cab- 
in district, and served until 1909, doing little 
in this interim except attending to the business 
that came to him as a magistrate. He then 



went with the Carbon Coal Company of Cabin 
Creek as superintendent of the Republic group 
of mines and later was engaged for the Repub- 
lic and Carbon groups, leaving in December, 
1909. In January, 1910, he went with the C. 
& O. Railroad as car allotment and commis- 
sioner for their coal fields, later returning to 
the Carbon Coal Company as superintendent of 
the West Virginia group of mines and con- 
tinued until December, 1910, when he practical- 
ly retired from coal mining, holding himself in 
readiness, however, to visit any part of the 
country as mine advisor. Mr. Gilmour then 
bought his present little farm and he also owns 
a prosperous meat market at Ouincy. W. Va., 
where he spends a part of his time, handling 
meat both wholesale and retail. 

Mr. Gilmour was married in Scotland, as 
mentioned above, to Miss Harriet Hutton. a 
native of Fifeshire, and they had one son when 
they came to America. John C, who is now 
superintendent for the Quincy Coal Company, 
at Quincy, W. Ya. Their second son, Alexan- 
der H.. who was born at Claremont. W. Va., is 
mine electrician for the Ouincy people. Mar- 
garet S., the third child and only daughter, was 
born at Fire Creek and is a student at Lewis- 
burg. Mr. Gilmour has been a Republican ever 
since he attained citizenship in the United 
States. He and wife are members of the Pres- 
byterian church. He is identified with the 
order of M. W. of A., at Glen Ferris, and with 
the Knights of Pythias at Sewell, Fayette 
county. W. Ya. 

COL. DAVID LEWIS RUFFNER — The 
family of which the subject of this sketch was 
a conspicuous member is one that has been 
prominent in Virginia and West Virginia for 
some five or six generations and has had much 
to do with the development of these two states. 
Its founder in America was Peter Ruffner. a 
native of Switzerland, who came to this coun- 
try when a young man, bringing with him an 
only sister. The latter married a Mr. Strickler 
and they became the founders of the Strickler 
family of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 

Peter Ruffner settled in the same section, 
after a previous residence, however, in Lan- 
caster. Pa., where he married Marv Steinman. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



639 



His settlement in the Shenandoah was made in 
1739, he being one of the first German-speaking 
settlers in that section. Prof. John W. Way- 
land of the University of Virginia, in a work 
published in 1907 and entitled "The German 
Element in the Shenandoah Valley," says: 
"One of the largest land holders in the Shen- 
andoah Valley was Peter Ruffner, who was 
the first of the name in Virginia and settled at 
the large spring on the Hawksbill creek, in 
1739, now close to the town of Luray. His 
wife was Mary Steinman, whose father gave to 
them a large tract of land on the said creek, 
extending eight miles from its mouth on both 
sides, and then Peter added to this estate, ex- 
tending it four miles further up the same." 

In some legal documents dated 1746 the 
name is spelled Ruffnaugh and Ruffner, the lat- 
ter spelling having been generally adopted by 
the family. Peter Ruffner became the admin- 
istrator of the estate of his brother-in-law, 
Abraham Strickler. Prof. Wayland says that 
Peter was of the Menonite sect, but Daniel 
Ruffner, a grandson, says that the Ruffners, 
including himself, were Lutherans. 

Peter and Mary Ruffner were the parents of 
some seven or eight children, including the fol- 
lowing : Benjamin, Catherine, Peter Jr., Reu- 
ben, Tobias, Elizabeth, Emanuel and Joseph, — 
of whom Joseph was the only one to come to 
the Kanawha Valley. 

Joseph Ruffner was born in September, 1 740, 
and died in March, 1803; on May 22, 1764, 
he married Anna Heistand, who was born in 
Shenandoah in 1742. They moved to Kana- 
wha in 1795. He had made a previous visit to 
this section during which he had purchased 502 
acres of salt property, including some at the 
mouth of Campbell's creek, from Col. John 
Dickinson, of Jackson's river. Joseph was an 
active, energetic man, full of enterprise and de- 
termination and able to see and take advantage 
of an opportunity for self advancement. He 
became interested in the town of Charleston, 
purchasing all the land that the Clendenins had 
not sold. He owned all the salt property that 
was then known and was connected actively 
with every proposition or enterprise that had 
for its object the upbuilding and prosperity of 
the town and county. As we have seen, his 



death took place in 1803, when he was sixty- 
three years old. His wife survived him for a 
number of years, dying in 1820 at the age of 
seventy-eight. They are both buried in the 
Ruffner family cemetery. Their children were 
seven in number, namely : Esther, who died 
young in Shenandoah ; David, who will be more 
particularly mentioned in this article; Joseph, 
who died in 1837 in Cincinnati, O. ; Tobias, 
who died in 1836; Eve, who married N. Wood 
and went to Ohio; Daniel, who died in Ken- 
tucky in July, 1865 ; and Abraham, who died in 
Ohio. 

David Ruffner, born in 1767, who succeeded 
his father, Joseph, as the practical head of the 
family, and who is next in the present line of 
descent, was, like his father, engaged in the 
salt business and was widely known as a man 
of affairs. He also served as justice of the 
peace, in which office he showed conspicuous 
ability, both native and acquired. He resided 
in Maiden, where he was a very prominent per- 
sonage. As a justice he "cared nothing for 
limited jurisdiction and his decisions were often 
compromises and arbitrations, but always for 
the best for both parties." He was married in 
1788 to Lydia Anne Brumbach and they both 
lived to be quite aged. They had four children, 
as follows: Henry, born 1790, married Sally 
Lyle and then Laura Kirby; Anne E., born 
1792, married Dr. Richard Putney; Susan, 
born 1794, married Moses Fuqua; Lewis, born 
October 1, 1797, married Elizabeth Shrews- 
bury and then Viola Knapp. This Lewis Ruff- 
ner, more generally known as General Lewis 
Ruffner, was an able man and one of the best 
known citizens of his day. He was the first 
white child born in Charleston, the date of his 
nativity being October 1, 1797. He was a salt 
maker and a member of the legislature, and 
was prominent in the formation of the state of 
West Virginia. He lived to an advanced age 
and at his death left three sons — Lewis, jr., Er- 
nest, and Joel. There were four daughters : 
Madelon, who married John Robinson, of 
Louisville, Ky. ; Sarah, who married Mr. 
Smith ; Julia, who married Mr. Gwynn, and 
Stella, who married a Mr. Wiley. His son 
Ernest is now a retired officer in the engineer 
department of the United States army, while 



640 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Joel Ruffner, who died in 191 1 at Maiden, 
taught Booker Washington all he learned in 
his West Virginia home. 

Henry Ruffner, son of David above men- 
tioned and father of the direct subject of this 
sketch, was born in the Shenandoah Valley, 
Va., in 1790. He was a man of great intellec- 
tual capacity and thorough education. He was 
a preacher in the Southern Presbyterian church, 
organizing the first Presbyterian church in 
Charleston, and was president of Washington 
and Lee University when it was yet known as 
Washington college. A writer of ability, he 
was the author of the "Ruffner Pamphlet," 
which advocated gradual emancipation of the 
slaves and attracted national attention. He 
married Sarah Montgomery Lyle, of Rock- 
hridge county, Va., and they later settled in the 
Salines of Kanawha county. Their children 
were William Henry, Anne Brumbach (who 
married Arthur Howell of Philadelphia), Julia 
and David Lewis, all of high talent and ability. 
William Henry has been called "The greatest 
of Virginia's schoolmen." Julia was a teacher 
of great ability and wide reputation, and of 
David Lewis we have now to speak more par- 
ticularly. 

, David Lewis Ruffner was born at Lexing- 
ton, Rockbridge county, Va., January 10th, 
1829. Like the other members of his parents' 
family he received an excellent education. His 
profession was that of a civil engineer, in 
which he "had no peer." He was also a law- 
yer, being associated at one time in the practice 
of the law with William A. Quarrier. Like 
most southern gentlemen of good family, he 
took an interest in military matters and was 
the original captain of the Kanawha Riflemen, 
a noted organization of this city during the 
Civil War, and served on the staff of General 
Williams, with the rank of Colonel. After the 
close of the war he took up his residence in 
Charleston, where he passed the remainder of 
his life, few men being better known and none 
more highly esteemed. He not only possessed 
all the old time courtesy of the true southern 
gentleman, but also that innate kindness of 
heart which made him lavish in his charities. 

Col. David L. Ruffner married Miss Frances 
Eleanor Ruffner, a daughter of Joel and Diana 



(Marye) Ruffner, and a granddaughter of 
Joseph Ruffner, who was a descendant of Peter 
Ruffner, the Swiss immigrant heretofore men- 
tioned. To this marriage four children were 
born — Sallie Lyle, Joel Henry, David Lewis, 
and Ethel Marye. Sallie L. and Joel H. and 
Ethel M. are residing in Charleston. Joel H. 
married Dorcas Laidley. David Lewis, who 
was prominently connected with the Kanawha 
Valley and Charleston National banks, died in 
Charleston in 1904, being survived by his wid- 
ow, formerly Blanche Lynch. 

The parents were devoted members of the 
Presbyterian church and the children have fol- 
lowed in their footsteps. 

JASPER YOUNG, bookkeeper and assist- 
ant cashier of the First National Bank of Clen- 
denin, W. Va., who was engaged in education- 
al work in Kanawha county for thirty-two 
years before identifying himself with this 
financial institution, was born on Mill Creek. 
Kanawha county, November 14, 1851, and is 
a son of James S. and Mary E. (Griffith) 
Young. 

James S. Young was born on 2-Mile creek, 
in Elk district. Kanawha county, in August. 
1822. a son of John B. Young and a grandson 
of Charles Young, who was one of the oldest 
settlers in Elk district. James S. Young was 
a farmer, lumberman and teacher, a well known 
man and a worthy representative of this old 
and honored family. He married Mary E. 
Griffith, who was born December 17, 1831. in 
Elk district, a daughter of William and Ma- 
hala (King) Griffith, the former of whom was 
born December 25, 1797. in Kentucky and the 
latter in 1808. in Nicholas county. Va. Of his 
parents' children. Jasper Young was the oldest, 
the others being: Minnie, who is the wife of 
William S. Brawley, of Clendenin; Laura, who 
is the wife of J. H. Belcher, of Clendenin; 
Cora M., who is the wife of J. R. Snyder, of 
Queen Shoals, Va. : P. J., who is a resident of 
Clendenin; B. G.. who lives in Clay county; 
and P. S., whose home is at Clendenin. The 
father of the above family died in 1867. 

Jasper Young was only fifteen years old 
when his father died and heavy responsibilities 
fell on him as the eldest of the family. He 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



641 



continued to manage the home farm and still 
pursue his studies but when nineteen years of 
age became a teacher and continued to teach 
school until 1901, being then the oldest teacher 
in point of years of service, in Kanawha county, 
For some four years he was a salesman but in 
1905 became bookkeeper and assistant cashier 
of the First National Bank at Clendenin, where 
he has remained. Few men are better known 
in all parts of the county and Mr. Young has a 
wide circle of friends. Politically a Democrat, 
he has served by the will of that party in num- 
erous' offices, has been councilman of Clen- 
denin and also secretary of the district board of 
education. 

Mr. Young married Miss Henrietta A. King, 
who was born October 16, 1884, in Clay coun- 
ty, a daughter of Ralph and Mahala (Griffith) 
King. They are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church and for some years Mr. 
Young was superintendent of the Sunday- 
school. He has passed all the chairs in the local 
lodge of Odd Fellows, belongs to the order of 
Rebeccas and also to Clendenin lodge of Amer- 
ican Mechanics. 

HENRY BRADFORD LEWIS, cashier 
of the Kanawha Banking and Trust Company, 
at Charleston, W. Va., belongs to an old Vir- 
ginia family that originated in France, but took 
refuge in Ireland from the persecutions which 
followed the assassination of Henry IV of 
France. The first of the name that came to 
America was John Lewis, who settled in Au- 
gusta county, Va., where he left children at 
death, his sons bearing the names of Thomas, 
Andrew, William, and Charles. 

Thomas, the eldest, represented the county 
of Augusta for many years in the House of 
Burgesses, was a member of the convention 
which ratified the Constitution of the United 
States and afterwards formed the Constitution 
of Virginia. Andrew, William and Charles 
were soldiers in the Revolutionary War and 
took part in the battle of Point Pleasant, now 
West Virginia, Andrew having rank as a gen- 
eral in command. William was an officer also. 

William Lewis, the great-great-grandfather 
of Henry Bradford Lewis, died at Sweet 
Springs, Monroe county, Va., leaving seven 



children, one of whom was Alexander, the 
father of James Alexander Lewis. James A. 
Lewis, the grandfather, was born and married 
in Virginia, and then came back to the Kana- 
wha Valley, subsequently locating at the point 
that is now the capital city, it then being known 
as Kanawha courthouse. He was postmaster 
for sixteen years. He took part in the War of 
1812 and was always a loyal and patriotic citi- 
zen. His death occurred at Charleston in i860 
and his widow survived him for seven years. 
They were strict members of the Presbyterian 
church. In politics he was a Democrat. 

James F. Lewis, son of James A., and father 
of Henry Bradford Lewis, was born at 
Charleston, August 3, 1830, and died in this 
city January 31, 1908. He served through the 
Civil War as a private in the Confederate 
Army and was with his brother, John Lewis, at 
the battle of Winchester, when the latter was 
killed. After the close of the war he returned 
to Charleston and embarked in the mercantile 
business, his time being so occupied and with 
the duties pertaining to civic offices until his 
death. With his family he was a member of 
the Episcopal church, in which he had been a 
vestryman for twenty-five years. James F. 
Lewis was married at Charleston to Miss Anna 
M. Bradford, who was born November 10, 
1836, in Putnam county, and now resides at 
Charleston. Three children were born to them, 
namely: Comyn, Henry Bradford and Sue. 
The eldest son was born at Charleston in 1871 
and is engaged in business here as a manufac- 
turer. He married Nannie M. Peyton and 
they have three sons and two daughters : Wil- 
liam Peyton, Anna, Comyn, Jr. (who died in 
infancy) ; Nannie Mann, James Frederick and 
Madison. Sue, the youngest, was educated at 
Staunton, Va., and is the wife of John Hen- 
shaw, of Fairmont, W. Va. 

Henry Bradford Lewis was born at Charles- 
ton, July 22, 1873, and was educated here. 
Almost his entire business life has been con- 
nected with banks and banking. He began as 
a clerk in the Charleston National Bank, where 
he remained for three years and then became 
identified with the Kanawha National Bank, 
where he continued for some years more until 
1 90 1, when the Kanawha Banking and Trust 



642 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Company was incorporated and he became 
cashier. He is favorably known in financial 
circles and his business rating is high. He is 
active in many local avenues and is a member 
of the Country Club. 

Mr. Lewis was married at Charleston, to 
Miss Anna Johnson, who was born in 1875, at 
Baltimore, Md., and was educated I in private 
schools, a cultured and accomplished lady. She 
is a daughter of Alexander T. and Louise 
(Duy) Johnson, the former of whom was a 
successful merchant in that city. Mrs. John- 
son survives and resides at Charleston. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have one son, Henry 
Bradford, Jr., who was born at Charleston, 
May 6, 1904. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were 
reared in the Episcopal church. They belong 
to the pleasant social life of the capital city and 
have a wide acquaintance and many friends. 

JAMES H. WILKINSON, general farmer, 
residing fifteen miles north of Charleston, W. 
Va., where he owns eighty-seven acres of valu- 
able land, situated in Poca District, is one of 
the well known men of Kanawha County and 
was born June 7, 1832, in Union District. He 
is a son of David and Nancy (Thomas) Wil- 
kinson. 

David Wilkinson was born in Bedford 
County, Va., was reared there and was mar- 
ried to Nancy Thomas, daughter of a neigh- 
bor. They remained in Bedford County for 
some years and then came to Kanawha County 
and settled in Union District, on Frogg Creek, 
where Mr. Wilkinson acquired 350 acres of 
land. He remained on this place during the 
rest of his life, his death occurring at the age 
of fifty-nine years. He followed both farm- 
ing and lumbering. Although he voted the 
Democratic ticket he was never active in pol- 
itics, being a man of quiet life and never will- 
ing to hold an office. Both he and wife at- 
tended the Methodist Episcopal church and 
reared their children carefully and uprightly. 
Four of these were born in Bedford County: 
Ambrose. Susan, Joseph and William, all of 
whom are deceased. After reaching Kanawha 
County four more children were born: James 
H., Almagraw Ransom and Zibia, the last 
two being now deceased. The death of the 



mother preceded that of the father by three 

years. 

When he was a boy, James H. Wilkinson at- 
tended a subscription school in Union District 
and afterward was employed on the home 
farm until his marriage in 1858, and remained 
on the homestead until the next year when he 
purchased fifty-one acres on the Sissonville and 
Charleston turnpike road, which farm he sub- 
sequently traded for his present one in Poca 
District. Here he had the larger part of improv- 
ing to do, which included the erection of the 
farm buildings. He has everything very com- 
fortable about him and has carried on a gen- 
eral farming line and raises some cattle. 

Mr. Wilkinson was married March 4, 1858, 
to Miss Mary Kelly, who was bom in 
Fayette County, W. Va.. a daughter of Will- 
iam Kelly, and they have had the following 
children : . Sarah Jane, who is the wife of James 
Shivedaker, residing in Poca District, and has 
seven children — Perry, William, Verda, Ernest, 
Tressie, Oscar and Violet ; Alice and Katherine, 
both of whom are deceased; Malissa, deceased, 
who was the wife of Melton Bibbs, of Fayette 
County, (they had one daughter, Annie) ; Eliz- 
abeth and William, both of whom are deceased; 
Jack, who is a resident of Charleston, mar- 
ried Myra Holmes and has one daughter, Ruth ; 
Alvera, who resides at Charleston is the wife 
of Solomon Bailey and has one son, Ray ; and 
Victoria, who is the wife of Robert Stewart, 
residing in Poca District. They have six chil- 
dren : Goldie, Dewey, Esther, James, Vira and 
Clark. Mr. Wilkinson casts his vote with the 
Democratic party. He has seen many changes 
take place in this section during his long and 
busy life and many of the old families have 
passed away. He is the oldest resident on Der- 
rick Creek. 

JAMES D. WOODROE, president of the 
American Company, dealers in stocks, bonds 
and real estate, which company was established 
and incorporated in May, 1909, is one of the 
most active and enterprising voung business 
men of Charleston. He was born in 1875, in 
Texas and is a son of Toseph I. and Elizabeth 
(Foyles) Woodroe. 

The parents of Mr. Woodroe were born in 



CHARLES I. HUBBARD 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



645 



North Carolina, to which state the Woodroe 
family moved from Pennsylvania, and the 
Foyles emigrated from Scotland to North Caro- 
lina. The Woodroes of the older generations 
were merchants, and planters in the mother's 
side, and the family religion has been Baptist. 
Joseph I. Woodroe died at the age of thirty- 
five years but his widow survived to the age of 
sixty years. There were three sons in the fam- 
ily:' James D. ; Edgar F., who died in Wil- 
mington, N. C, at the age of twenty-four 
years: and Clarence, who died when aged nine 
years. 

James D. Woodroe attended school in his 
native state and later the National University 
at Washington, D. C, where he was graduated 
in the class of 1903, and in 1904 was admitted 
to the bar of West Va., after which he became 
a law partner of Walter L. Ashby, and con- 
tinued his law practice until he became inter- 
ested in his present enterprise, of which he 
has since been president, with J. M. Woodroe 
as vice president and Hugh W. May as sec- 
retary and treasurer. 

Mr. Woodroe was married at Savannah, 
Ga., to Miss Jane Welles May, who was born 
in Georgia and attended the High School in 
Savannah. She is a daughter of Dr. William 
F. and Catherine (Cohen) May, the former 
of whom is a medical practitioner at Savannah. 
The mother of Mrs. Woodroe died at the age 
of sixty years, the mother of five children. Air. 
and Mrs. Woodroe have three children : Eliz- 
abeth Newcomb, William May and Clarence 
Foyles. They are members of the Episcopal 
church. Mr. Woodroe is a Democrat in pol- 
itics but has never taken a very active interest 
in political matters. 

CHARLES I. HUBBARD, who enjoys 
the distinction of filling the first appointment 
as city sergeant appointed under the new char- 
ter, at Charleston. W. Va., has been identified 
with public affairs here for a number of years 
and has efficiently served in numerous offices. 
He was born in 1869, in Alleghany county, 
Va.. and is a son of Robert A. and Elizabeth 
(Wolf) Hubbard, and a grandson of Samuel 
Hubbard. 

Grandfather Samuel Hubbard was born in 
Franklin county. Va. He went into Ohio and 



became an enlisted soldier in the Federal army. 
At the close of the Civil War he came to 
Maiden, W. Va., where he died, his burial 
being at Spring Hill cemetery, Charleston. 

Robert A. Hubbard, father of Charles I. 
Hubbard, was born in 1828, at New Castle, 
Craig county, Va., and died in 1889 and was 
buried in Alleghany county. He was a car- 
penter and cabinetmaker. He married Eliza- 
beth Wolf, w ho was also born in Craig county 
in 1830, and died in 1885, aged fifty-four 
years. Both she and husband were members 
of the Christian church. Her father, Isaac 
Wolf, was a well known resident of Alleghany 
county. Charles I. Hubbard was the eldest 
born of his parents' children and he had one 
sister, Carra B., who was born in 1871 and 
died in 1888. She was the wife of Madison 
Simmons and was survived by one daughter, 
Maybell, who is the wife of George Parr, re- 
siding in Virginia, and they have a daughter. 

Charles I. Hubbard was reared on a farm 
and later learned practical mechanics and 
painting. He obtained his education in the 
public schools. In 1892 he came to Charles- 
ton and has been a resident here ever since 
and is numbered with the useful and public 
spirited citizens. For some years he engaged 
in contracting but later duties of office have 
engaged the larger part of his time. He has 
served as peace officer, for twelve years w T as a 
member of the city's committee that acts for 
the election board, and in 1908 was appointed 
city sergeant by the Charleston Board of Af- 
fairs, which office makes him collector of all 
delinquent taxes. 

Mr. Hubbard was married first in 1893, to 
Miss Barbara Seafler, who was born in 1871. 
in Kanawha county, who died in the same 
year, leaving an infant son, Charles E.. who 
survived only six months. Mr. Hubbard was 
married second in 1895. at Lowmore, Va., to 
Miss Nettie R. Gillespie, who was born in 
Rockbridge county. Va.. in 1873. She is a 
talented and educated lady and prior to her 
marriage was a teacher in the public schools. 
She is a member of the Presbyterian church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard have three children : 
Helen E.. who was born September 24. 1894; 
Robert D., who was born June 19, 1900: and 
Nellie E., who was born December 21. 1907. 



646 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Mr. Hubbard is active in several fraternal or- 
ganizations and belongs to Keuka Lodge No. 
26, Knights of Pythias, and to Lodge No. 
5719, M. W. A. 

C. A. GRISHABER, whose fine farm of 
113 acres is situated in Loudon District, Ka- 
nawha County, W. Va., two miles south of 
Charleston was born on the old Judge Summers 
farm, at Glenwood, Kanawha County, Va., 
June 27, i860, and is a son of Edmund and 
Elizabeth (Pendell) Grishaber. 

Edmund Grishaber was born in Germany, 
where he followed gardening prior to 1853, 
when he came to America. He crossed the 
Atlantic Ocean on an old sailing vessel that 
required six weeks to make the voyage but 
was safely landed at New York, his brother, 
on another vessel, which landed him at New 
Orleans, being on the water as many months. 
From New York he went to Philadelphia and 
then made his way across the state to Pittsburg, 
when, from motives of economy, he walked 
from Wheeling to Charleston. It was winter 
time and he found no work and traveled on 
until he reached St. Louis, where he remained 
until 1856, when he returned to Charleston and 
entered the employ of Judge George Sum- 
mers, with whom he continued until the open- 
ing of the Civil War, when he was employed 
in the commissary department. In 1865 he pur- 
chased property on Lewis Street, Charleston, 
where he lived until 1875, when he bought a 
farm on the south side of the city and oc- 
cupied it until 1896, when he returned to his 
Lewis street home, which he subsequently 
sold to the C. & O. Railroad, which corporation 
erected its depot on the site. He then re- 
turned to the south side, where his death oc- 
curred June 19, 1903, and his burial was in 
the Spring Hill cemetery. He married Eliz- 
abeth Pennell, of Charleston, and eight chil- 
dren were born to them, as follows : C. A. ; 
Irvin, who lives at Indianapolis, Ind. : Ella, 
who married William H. Lewis, is a resident 
of South Side Charleston; Ida, who is de- 
ceased, was the wife of Peter Young; Emmie, 
who is a trained nurse, is following her profes- 
sion at Panama; George A., who lives in 
Washington State; and Edmund and Walter, 



both of whom are deceased. The mother of 
the above family survived until November 28, 
1900. 

C. A. Grishaber obtained his education in 
the schools of Charleston and afterward was 
employed on steamboats until 1890, when he 
bought his present farm, which he has greatly 
improved, having built a handsome residence 
and other substantial structures. He carries 
on general farming and is in the enjoyment 
of well earned prosperity. He married Miss 
Anna Kidd, of Lincoln County, W. Va., and 
they have had seven children: Edmund, 
Margaret, Irene, Gladys. Thelma. Theodore 
and Bertha, the youngest being deceased. Mr. 
Grisbaber is a Republican in his political af- 
filiation. 

CHARLES E. STUMP, M. D., physician 
and surgeon at Clendenin, W. Va.. bears the 
distinction of being one of the oldest accredited 
men of medicine in Kanawha County and has 
been a resident of this pleasant village since 
1902. Dr. Stump was born in Kanawha 
County, July 29, 1847, and is a son of Henry 
and Permelia (Welch) Stump. 

Henry Stump was born in what is now Lewis 
County, W. Va., a son of Michael Stump, who 
came with three brothers from Germany to 
America and settled in Gilmer County, Va. 
Henry Stump came to Kanawha County and 
opened a store on the bank of the Elk river, 
about 1846, on the present site of Clendenin, 
and was the first merchant here. Three years 
later he moved to Jackson County and en- 
gaged there in a mercantile business for fifteen 
years, and then to Roane County, where he 
died in 1909. aged eighty-seven years, having 
been retired for some years. He married Per- 
melia Welch, a daughter of John and Eliz- 
abeth (Arnold) Welch. She died also in 1909. 
They had the following children : Irvin C, 
who is an attorney in the city of New York; 
Melvina. who is the wife of Isaac Jones, of 
Roane County; Lavina. who is deceased; Mary, 
who is the wife of Henry Taylor; Louisa, who 
is the wife of L. D. Osborne, of Roane County; 
Lulu, wife of P. Osborne, of Clendenin, and 
Charles E. 

In his boyhood Charles E. Stump attended 
the best. schools the section afforded and after- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



647 



ward assisted his father in his store until he 
was twenty-three years of age. In 1869 he en- 
tered the Louisville Medical College, where he 
completed the required course and afterward 
devoted his life to medical practice. During 
the early years his practice through Roane and 
Jackson Counties was an arduous one and Dr. 
Stump had many very interesting experiences. 
In 1902 he came to Clendenin, where he still 
practices to some extent but is ready to retire 
from professional effort after this long career 
of usefulness. He is a member of the Kanawha 
County Medical Society, belongs to the Masonic 
lodge at Clendenin, the Knights of Pythias at 
Charleston and the Odd Fellows in Roane 
County. Dr. Stump is identified with the Re- 
publican party and has ever been an inter- 
ested citizen and in 1909 served in the village 
council. He is a stockholder in the First Na- 
tional Bank of Clendenin. 

Dr. Stump married Miss Elizabeth Hughes, 
a daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth Hughes 
of Pennsylvania, and the following children 
have been born to them : Irwin, who is a 
physician and is superintendent of a mine in 
Big Sandy District; Rudolph, who is a mer- 
chant in Roane County, is married and has 
four children; Benjamin, who is associated with 
his father; Dennie E., who is a merchant, mar- 
ried Dolly Young and has one child ; Harry C, 
who is a clerk; Homer C. ; Lula, who is the wife 
of T. R. Simmons, of Roane County; Cora, 
who is the wife of School Superintendent T. 
L. Davies, and has one child; and Kittie, who 
is the wife of Eugene Engle, of Clendenin and 
has two children. Dr. Stump and family are 
members of the Baptist church. 

ALBERT P. RAND, a representative and 
reliable business man of Charleston, W. Va., 
who is interested in the lumber industry, being 
an exporter of logs, was born in Iowa City, 
la., October 2, 1844, and is a son of Christopher 
C. and Nancy (McArthur) (Pines) Rand. 

William Rand, the grandfather of Albert P. 
Rand, was born in 1776, at Westminster, Mass. 
The Rands came originally from England and 
the first record in the American colonies was of 
Robert Rand, whose birth took place probably 
in 1599. The family is still perpetuated in New 



England. William Rand, born July 13, 1776, 
was married in 1798, in Massachusetts to Lucy 
Jackson, who was born January 25, 1780. In 
1800 they moved to Rutland, Vt. They had the 
following children : Jacob, born February 26, 
1799, at Westminster, Mass., became a well 
known educator; Christopher C, born at Rut- 
land, Vt., in September, 1800; Louise (1), born 
in 1805, died in infancy; Louise (2), born in 
1807; William J., born in 1809; and Chauncy 
and Alexander Hamilton, twins, born in 181 1, 
the former of whom died in infancy and the 
latter, in New Orleans, at the age of eighteen 
years. 

Christopher C. Rand came to Charleston in 
1 8 19 and went into business on the south side 
of the Kanawha River, as a salt maker, when 
this industry was yet conducted along primi- 
tive lines. He also engaged in merchandising 
at Maiden and after retiring from the salt 
business went into partnership with Ennos S. 
Arnold and William Rand, in general mer- 
chandising. Other interests called him to Iowa 
but he returned to Charleston about 1845 an d 
died in this city in July, 1865. He opposed the 
secession of his state at the opening of the 
Civil War, but when he found such action was 
inevitable, joined his fortunes with the people 
with whom he had lived so many years in 
friendship and business connection. He was 
married at Charleston, W. Va., April 23, 1833, 
to Nancy McArthur Pines, who was born at 
Lexington, Ky., in 181 5, and died at Charles- 
ton, in 1894. She was a member of the Meth- 
odist Eiscopal church, while her husband was 
a Presbyterian. They had ten children, the 
survivors being: Lucy, who is the wife of 
Edward Bibby; Albert P.; Virginia, who re- 
sides at Charleston with her children, the widow 
of James M. Gates; Nannie, who married John 
C. Roy, and they have four children. 

Albert P. Rand was quite young when his 
parents returned to this section from Iowa and 
he was educated at Charleston. In 1866 he 
went to New York city and for eighteen years 
was a traveling salesman for the firm of Clark 
Brothers, after which he came back to Charles- 
ton and embarked in a general mercantile busi- 
ness, under the firm name of A. P. Rand & 
Co., which later became Rand & Goshorn. In 



648 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



1896, Mr. Rand sold his interest and since then 
has been engaged in the exporting of log lum- 

In 1877 Mr. Rand was married at Charles- 
ton, to Miss Mattie C. Goshorn, who was born 
and reared here, a daughter of John H. and 
Bettie A. (Cowey) Goshorn, who were prom- 
inent people here for many years. Mrs. Rand 
is a member of the Presbyterian church, as were 
her parents, and Mr. Rand has been an elder 
for some years. In his political views he is a 
Democrat. 

JAMES M. HANSON, a general farmer 
residing in Elk Creek District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., was born in Greenbrier 
County, now West Virginia, March 29, 1846, 
and is a son of John and Mary Jane (Shuck) 
Hanson, and a grandson of William C. and 
Martha Hanson. 

John Hanson was born in Greenbrier County 
and after learning the carpenter trade com- 
bined work at it with farming. In 1865 he 
moved to Elk District, Kanawha County and 
bought what remained of the homestead, on" 
Mill Creek, and there he died at the age of 
eighty-two years. He married Mary Jane 
Shuck, whose death preceded his by but two 
weeks. Her parents were Moses and Rachel 
Shuck and the older generation belonged to 
Greenbriar county. Eight- children were born 
to John Hanson and his wife, as follows: 
Charles A., who is a farmer on Two-Mile 
creek; James M. ; Franklin M., who lives near 
Mill creek; George C, who lives in Elk dis- 
trict; Ruth A., who is the wife of Rev. George 
Spangler, a Baptist minister residing at 
Charleston; Harvey E., who resides on Two- 
mile Creek ; John Floyd, who lives on Elk river 
and one who died young. 

After his school days were over, James M. 
Hanson engaged in farming on the home place, 
moving after his marriage to a tract on the 
Elk river and from there one year later to near 
Two-mile creek. Four years afterward he lo- 
cated on Elk river again for a year, and then 
bought his present valuable property on Mill 
creek. He carries on farm industries and 
works as a carpenter, a busy, practical and suc- 
cessful man. 



Mr. Hanson was married to Miss Martha 
Scott, who was born in 1848, in Kanawha 
county, a daughter of James Scott, originally 
of Elk river. He retired to Charleston where 
he fell a victim of cholera during the epidemic. 
He married Mary Jane King, also deceased. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Hanson the following child- 
ren were born: Charles E.. married Lucy Car- 
ter and they have five children ; Wesley, who 
is in business at Mill creek married Virgie 
Matheny and they have nine children; Sarah, 
who is the wife of R. W. Morris, a farmer of 
Elk river, and they have nine children; John 
Luther, who is a farmer in Clay county, mar- 
ried Lizzie Matheny and they have five child- 
ren : Hezekiah and Joseph, both of whom 
reside at home : Thomas, who lives in Clay 
county, married Virgie Morton; and Philip, 
who lives on Elk river, married Irene Clay. 
Mr. Hanson and family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church and he has been 
class leader and superintendent in the Sunday- 
school. A Republican in politics, he has taken 
a good citizen's interest in district affairs and 
has served as a trustee. 

ALBERT J. HUMPHREYS, vice presi- 
dent and managing director of the Elk Bank- 
ing Company, of Charleston. W. Va.. and 
ex-vice president of the city's board of affairs, 
is one of Charleston's leading business men 
and a citizen held in high esteem. Mr. Hum- 
phreys was born in Kanawha county about 
forty-eight years ago. a son of James Spicer 
and Cynthia (Martin) Humphreys. 

James S. Humphreys, who was born of 
Virginia parents, in the Shenandoah A'alley, 
near Charlottsville, in Albemarle county. Va.. 
came to Kanawha county before his marriage, 
settling at Sissonville, where for some time he 
followed the occupation of carpenter, and con- 
tractor, afterward becoming a merchant and 
continuing in this line until his retirement some 
twenty-five years ago. He now resides with 
his son Albert, a venerable man, having passed 
his eightieth birthday. He is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, south, and is a 
Democrat in politics. His wife, Mrs. Cynthia 
(Martin) Humphreys, is still living, having 
attained the age of seventy-three years. Like 



ALBERT J. HUMPHREYS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



649 



her husband she belongs to the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, south. 

Albert J. Humphreys, the only child of his 
parents, was born in Poca district, Kanawha 
county, and was there educated in the public 
free schools, and at the State Normal School, 
at Lebanon, O. About 1890 he came to 
Charleston, and having acquired a knowledge 
of the mercantile business in his father's stores, 
embarked in business here as a merchant. 
Being a man of good judgment and great 
energy, he made a decided success, and as a 
credit man ranks first in the city. The bank- 
ing business in which he is now engaged, was 
established by him and Harrison B. Smith, its 
president in 1904. It is capitalized at $50,000, 
with $9,000 surplus and about $200,000 in de- 
posits. The bank has had a healthy growth, 
and the company owns the building in which 
they are located, on the corner of Tennessee 
avenue and Charleston street. Mr. Hum- 
phreys has been active in local affairs, serving 
for two terms as a member of the city council 
and for two years as one of the city board of 
affairs, during which period he showed him- 
self to be a man having a good understanding 
of the public needs and with a high conscien- 
tious regard for his public duties. 

Mr. Humphreys was married in Charleston, 
W. Va., to Miss Gertrude Harless, a native 
of this county and daughter of ex-Judge Le- 
roy Harless, who for many years was judge 
of the Kanawha county court, and who is still 
a resident of Charleston. Mrs. Humphrey's 
mother, who in maidenhood was a Miss Kee- 
ney. died in 1894. Both Judge Harless and 
wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal 
church, as also does their daughter, Mrs. Hum- 
phreys. Mr. Humphreys is a Democrat in 
politics. He belongs to the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and to the Knights of Pythias, 
in the latter case to the highest branch of the 
order. 

MICHAEL HAAS, a retired farmer living 
on his estate on Mink Shoals, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., has been a resident of this 
county for forty-two years and is well known 
and highly respected. He was born October 
4> !839, in Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of 
John and Margaret (Zeitland) Haas. 



John Haas was born also in Bavaria, in 
1803, and died in his own land in 1856. He 
married Margaret Zeitland, who was born in 
Germany in April, 1808, and died in 1874. 
Her father, John Zeitland, was a farmer. Of 
their five children, Michael is the only survivor. 
He had school advantages in his boyhood and 
afterward learned the mason trade and thus 
was self supporting before he came to the 
United States in 1866. He spent the first 
three years in Beaver county, Pa., and from 
there came to West Virginia, reaching Ka- 
nawha county on November 29, 1869, and 
he took up his residence on Cooper creek. 
Some years later he bought his present place on 
Mink Shoals and has followed farming and 
work at the mason trade ever since, not being 
quite as active in recent years as formerly. 

In Beaver county, Pa., Mr. Haas was mar- 
ried to Miss Kate Forster, who died August 
4, 1909, aged seventy-two years. She was 
born in Germany and came to America in girl- 
hood and at the time of marriage lived at 
Beaver Falls, Pa., Five children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Haas, namely : Maggie, who 
is the widow of William Rowsome, and has 
one son, Julius A., Mary, who is the widow 
of Ed. B. Tully, and has two children— Hubert 
and Shirley; Anna, who resides in the city of 
Cincinnati ; Minnie, who is the wife of C. H. 
Bodkin, and has four children — John, Nellie, 
Amelia and Malinda; and John, who is a resi- 
dent of Cleveland, O., married Anna Heebner 
and has two children — Ada and Clarence. Mr. 
Haas is a member of the Lutheran church at 
Charleston. In his political views he is a 
Democrat but has never been willing to accept 
the cares of office. 

JOE COTTRELL, for a number of years 
was a successful business man and highly 
valued citizen of Charleston, W. Va., identified 
with many of the interests which go to the 
making of a large city. He was born in Gallia 
county, O., June 29, 1865, and died at his home 
in Charleston, June 26, 1910. His parents 
were Joel and Mary (Patterson) Cottrell. 

Joel Cottrell, Sr., was born in Gallia county 
O., where he spent his life, following agri- 
cultural pursuits, dying at the age of seventy- 



650 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



six years. He married a member of the old 
Patterson family of Gallia county, and she 
survived to be sixty-eight years of age. They 
became the parents of eight children, namely: 
Silman, who conducts a blacksmith business, 
married Emily Loucks and they have four sons 
and one daughter; Cordelia, who resides with 
her eleven children at Charleston, is the widow 
of John Wallace; Emmeline, deceased, is sur- 
vived by her husband, Sylvanus Wallace, who 
lives in Colorado; Isabel, who is the wife of 
John Roadarmour, a farmer in Gallia county; 
Edward, who died in early manhood; Joel; 
Alvan, who is a fanner living in Gallia county, 
married Anna Clark, and they have two sons ; 
and Qunicy, who lives at Charleston, married 
Susan Riley and th.ey have one son. 

The late Joel Cottrell was reared and at- 
tended school in Gallia county and then learned 
the carpenter trade. In 1890 he came to West 
Virginia and started into business as a builder 
and house carpenter at Charleston, and con- 
tinued during a large part of his active life, 
later going into the general insurance business. 
He was an active and interested citizen and 
was prominent in the councils of the Republi- 
can party, serving in numerous local offices and 
for ten years was a justice of the peace. He 
was of a kind and charitable disposition and 
was a man of moral life, a valued member of 
the Christian church. He was quite promi- 
nent in Odd Fellowship, belonging to the pri- 
mary branch and the Encampment, and was 
identified also with the American Mechanics 
and. the A. O. U. W. 

In Gallia county, O., in August, 1886, Mr. 
Cottrell was married to Miss Ella M. Northup, 
who was born in that county, October 7, 1867, 
a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Gilling- 
ham) Northup. The parents of Mrs. Cottrell 
still live on their farm in Clay Township. 
Gallia county. Her father served throughout 
the Civil War, participating in many of its 
battles from which he fortunately escaped 
unhurt, but he was imprisoned for fourteen 
months in a Confederate fortress and is a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
Henry Northup is a son of George and Han- 
nah (Six) Northup, the former of whom was 



born in New Hampshire and the latter in New 
York. They were pioneers in Ohio, where 
they married, and George Northup improved 
a farm. They were Quakers. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell one son was born, 
Howell Frank, on November 12, 1887, He 
was educated in the Charleston schools and is 
now a commerical traveler, representing the 
wholesale department of the Goshorn Hard- 
ware Company, of this city. He married Miss 
Pearl Messer, a social favorite and an accom- 
plished young lady of Charleston. Mrs. Cot- 
trell and all her family are members of the 
Christian church. She has many interests and 
is a member of the Relief Corps of the order of 
the State Rebecca Assembly. 

Mr. Cottrell was married first to Miss Cora 
Craft, who was born in Ohio. She survived 
her marriage but one year and died eight days 
after the birth of a daughter, Cora Edna, who 
was bom March 27, 1886. The latter is 
the wife of Moffatt Luddington, who is an 
electrician in business at Charleston. They 
have one son, Joel Cavendish, who was born 
April 10. 1909. 

CARL WIERSTEINER. general farmer, 
in Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va. ? a 
well known and respected citizen, was born 
September 14, 1862, in Coblenz, Prussia- 
Germany, and is a son of Freidrich and Marg- 
aret (Stahl) Wiersteiner. 

Freidrich Wiersteiner was born in Esh- 
weiler, Germany in 181 7, and died May 2. 
1890. He studied architecture and later fol- 
lowed contracting and building until i860, 
when he built a gas factory in his town and 
operated it until his death, when the public 
authorities bought his plant. He married 
Margaret Stahl, a daughter of Mathew and 
Elizabeth (Art) Stahl. She was born in the 
Eifel, Germany, June 23, 1832, and died in 
April, 1897. Her father was burgomaster of 
his town. The children of the above mar- 
riage were: Rudolph. Carl. Maria. Richard 
and Conrad. Maria married in Germany and 
Richard also lives in the old country. 

Carl Wiersteiner attended German schools 
in boyhood and then learned the soap manu- 
facturing business. In 1894 he came to Amer- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



ica and located first at Charleston and later 
went to Pittsburg, where he spent five years 
as a general laborer. He then returned to 
Germany and passed one year in his native land 
and then came back to Charleston and shortly 
afterward bought his farm, the old Swartz 
place, and here he has engaged in farming 
ever since, a quiet, industrious man, a good 
neighbor and a fine type of citizen. 

In 1899 Mr. Wiersteiner was married to 
Miss Mary Haid, who was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, February 3, 1867, a daughter of Bene- 
dict Haid, a farmer on Blue creek, Kanawha 
county. They have six children: Margaret, 
Christina, Olivia, Agnes, Herman and Carl, 
their ages ranging from twelve to three years. 
The family belongs to the Catholic church, con- 
nected with the Sacred Heart parish at Charles- 
ton. Air. Wiersteiner casts his vote with the 
Democratic party. 

CHRISTOPHER SUMMERS, who at 
different times has been officially connected 
with the communities in which 'he resided, 
is engaged in the mercantile business at No. 
711 Watts street, Charleston, and is also a 
successful insurance agent. He was born in 
what is now Roane county, W. Va., but at 
that time was a part of Kanawha county, Jan- 
uary 26, 1850, six years before the formation 
of the new county. His parents were James 
and Sophia (Phillips) Summers. 

The father of Judge Summers was born in 
1826 and the mother in 1828 and both died in 
Roane county. The paternal grandfather was 
St. Clair Summers, a native of Pendleton 
count}-, Va., who came to what is now Ka- 
nawha county as early as 181 o, and was mar- 
ried m Elk district to Susan Hammock a 
daughter of Martin Hammock, who was a 
frontiersman. His wife was a member of a 
family named Wease, of Monroe county Va 
Toward the close of the AA ar of 1812 he en- 
listed and started for New Orleans but the war 
ended before he reached there. Tudgp Sum- 
mers now owns his grandfather Martin Ham- 
mock s farm of forty-three acres, in Elk 
district. James Summers, like his father, was 
a farmer and hunter. He was a justice of the 
peace m Roane county, which he helped to 



651 

organize. Two of his sisters survive: Ari- 
minita, who is the wife of William A. Ray, of 
Roane county, and Artemia, who is the widow 
of Lyle.Paxton, lives in Jackson county, while 
an older brother, Henry, lives in Roane 
county. James Summers married Sophia 
Phillips and they had nine children, seven of 
whom grew to maturity. One son. John H. 
was drowned in the Poca river, at the age of 
twenty-five years. Isaac L. died at Charles- 
ton m 19 10, the father of ten children. The 
survivors are: Christopher: Sarah J., who is 
the wife of J. H. Cummings, a farmer in 
Roane county; Cynthia who was married first 
to J L. Hiveley and second, to Fred Sparks 
resides at St. Marys; Ella, who is the wife of 
I. H. Cummings, of Clendenin; and A \y 
who is m the oil business at Circleville, O. 

Christopher Summers who resided in Roane 
county until he was forty years of age, attended 
the local schools and worked on the home 
farm until he was twenty-five years old. He 
has always been a Republican and is one of 
the representative men of Kanawha county in 
party matters. He served four years as re- 
corder of the village of Elk, was police justice 
for four years, county coroner for seven years 
and a member of the council for one 'term' 

coun^r 1 ^ t ° 1 Cl }^ st ^- While in Roane 
county he served also as a justice of the peace 
wo terms as member of the board of educa- 
tion, being secretary during one term, and was 
assistant clerk of the legislature for one term 
Mr. Summers also served as revenue collector 
±or one year and was census enumerator of 
-tuk in 1900. 

Judge Summers was married first in Roane 
county to Miss Rebecca Ward, who died at the 
age ot thirty-two years, leaving one son J 
Otis He served three years in the U. S. Army 

S °l hVO w? ° ne " haIf 0f these wa * corpo- 
ral of the 4 th U. S. Inf. After his honorable 
discharge he returned to West Virginia and 

united buel & Gas Company. He married 
Malissa Arnett, of SpenL,' Roane ™ 
Judge Summers was married second to Mrs 

Foo r * ( 7 U , 1Iey) Gilbert ' who die d May 20 
1901 aged thirty years. Judge Summer and 
son are members of the Methodist Episcopal 



652 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



church. In 1872 he united with the Masonic 
fraternity and his son is a Knight of Pythias. 

PATRICK LAWRENCE BRANNEN*, 
who resides on his excellent farm of fifty-three 
acres, situated in Cabin creek district, near East 
Bank, W. Va., was born in Greenbrier county, 
Va., April 21, 1859, and is a son of Michael 
and' Ellen (Gillespie) Brannen. 

Michael Brannen was born in Ireland and 
when he emigrated to America settled in 
Pennsylvania where he met and married Ellen 
Gillespie, also a native of Ireland. From 
Pennsylvania they came to what is now West 
Virginia, locating in Greenbrier county, and 
from there moved to Snow Hill, in Kanawha 
county, afterward to Levi and still later to 
Marmet. Michael Brannen was in the employ 
of railroads and companies for many years and 
was highly considered for his executive ability 
and general knowledge of tunnel construction, 
and being able to handle men, was made boss 
of large gangs. In 1877 he moved to East 
Bank, where he died in the following year. 
His widow survives with four of their child- 
; ren : Dennis ; Margaret, who is the wife of 
Bartley Ferry; Patrick L., and William P. 
Michael and several infants are deceased. 

Patrick Lawrence Brannen remained with 
his parents until he reached manhood but his 
father saw that his time was not wasted and 
set him to work around the mines when he was 
quite young and he followed mining for ten 
years. He also worked for two years on river 
boats between Charleston and Montgomery 
and afterward, for two years, was postmaster 
and a merchant at East Bank. Later he was 
made janitor of the Charleston post-office, a 
responsible position. He was then appointed 
mine inspector by Governor MacCorkle and 
served three years and for three years was 
president and superintendent of the East Bank 
Coal and Coke Company, of which he was one 
of the organizers. A man of intelligence and 
public spirit, active in local affairs, he was 
elected on the Democratic ticket, secretary of 
the Cabin creek district school board. 

Mr. Brannen was married September 27, 
1880, to Miss Eliza Johnson, a daughter of the 
late James F. Johnson, and they have had 



nine children, two of whom are deceased. The 
survivors are: Sarah, wife of Donald Cham- 
bers; Helen, wife of Andrew C. Smith; and 
James, Kenna, Frank Michael and Margaret. 
Mr. Brannen and family are members of the 
Roman Catholic church at Coalburg. 

DEWITT G. COURTNEY, one of 
Charleston's men of business importance, who 
has been engaged as a dealer and manufac- 
turer of cooperage stock supplies and lumber, 
at Charleston, for the past thirty-two years, 
was born in Mercer county. Pa., December 15, 
1848, and is a son of David Franklin and 
Jane Coleman Courtney. 

David Franklin Courtney was born in 1822 
on the old homestead farm in Liberty town- 
ship. Mercer county, Pa., where he died when 
more than eighty years of age. The family is 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry. During the early 
settlement of Mercer county. Anthony Court - 
nev. an ancestor, was killed by the Indians. 
Captain Thomas Courtney, grandfather of 
Dewitt G. Courtney, was a soldier in the War 
of 181 2. He was born in Chester county. 
Pa., about 1780 and died in 1840 in Mercer 
county. He was a man of worth and influence 
in his locality. His first wife was named Rob- 
inson and his second was Catherine McDowell 
and to the last marriage the following chil- 
dren were born : Thomas. Nancy. Catherine. 
David Franklin, and Amanda. Amanda still 
survives of this family and lives in Pennsyl- 
vania. 

David Franklin Courtney was a fanner by 
occupation. He took a good citizen's interest 
in the affairs of his neighborhood, kept well 
posted and was always a strong anti-slavery 
man. He married Jane Coleman who was 
born in 1824 and died in 190 1. She came of 
one of the sturdy old families of Mercer 
county and grew into self-reliant womanhood 
and throughout a long life was noted for her 
sterling virtues and high Christian character. 
She was the beloved mother of a large family 
and by precept and example led them in the 
way of right living. Three of the children of 
David Franklin Courtney and wife are de- 
ceased and the following survive: Nancy R. 
Uber, who lives on the old homestead and has 




DEWITT G. COURTNEY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



635 



one son, Dewitt; Mary Cynthia, who lives on 
the old homestead; Alberta Jane, who is the 
wife of George G. Roberts, who looks after 
the branch office of Mr. Courtney's business 
at Toledo, O. ; Amanda Lavina, who keeps 
house for her brothers at Charleston; Thomas 
Ephraim, who is associated with his brother, 
Dewitt G., in business, married Lena G. Oshel 
and they have six children— John Franklin, 
Dewitt G., Dorothy Jane, Mary Horton and 
Florence Amanda; and Samuel C, who is in 
business at Charleston with his brothers. 
Both Thomas and Samuel P. Courtney are 
prominent Masons and Elks and all the Court- 
neys are Democrats. Dewitt G. is the oldest 
of the above family. 

Dewitt G. Courtney was reared and edu- 
cated in Mercer county and was in business 
there from 1873 until 1879. He still calls 
his birthplace home and the people of Mercer 
county claim him, nevertheless he has so many 
important business interests and such a wide 
circle of friends in West Virginia, that he is 
led to denominate Charleston as his second or 
adopted home. He has conducted the same 
business since 1873 and has his two brothers, 
Thomas E. and Samuel P. Courtney, associ- 
ated with him as assistants. West Virgina 
offers the varieties and abundance of timber 
necessary in the large manufacturing indus- 
tries of this business, which has a trade terri- 
tory that covers the whole country. Mr. 
Courtney owns some twenty thousand acres 
of land in West Virginia and from this land 
he draws his supplies for manufacturing pur- 
poses. He is also interested in coal and oil. 
He has never either sought or held political 
office, and while a Democrat is independent 
and liberal minded and gave support to Pres- 
ident Taft in his endeavor to secure reciproc- 
ity with Canada. 

CHARLES A. KAUFF, one of the pros- 
perous and enterprising business men of Hans- 
ford, W. Va., dealing in meat, groceries, 
produce and ice, was born October 3, 1871, in 
Hartford City, W. Va., a son of Jacob and 
Mary (Walter) Kauff. 

The parents of Mr. Kauff were born in Ger- 
many and they were married at Pittsburg, Pa. 



Jacob Kauff was nineteen years of age when 
he accompanied his parents to America and 
they reached the United States during the ex- 
citement incident to the Mexican War. Young 
Jacob became interested in the military talk 
he heard and it resulted in his running away 
to become a soldier. That kind of patriotism 
seems to have in no way appealed to his sen- 
sible father, who immediately followed the son 
and as the latter was not of age, had no 
difficulty in bringing him back home. For 
many years Jacob Kauff lived in the city of 
Pittsburg, where he worked as a miner, brick- 
mason, glass worker and butcher and later 
moved to Hartford City, W. Va., where he 
operated a bakery, and also owned and culti- 
vated a truck farm in Mason county, where he 
died in 1894, aged sixty-six years. His wife 
died in 1891, aged sixty-four years. They 
had ten children, three of whom died young, 
the others being: Mary, wife of J. L. Lewis; 
George and William; Amelia, wife of John 
Brown; and John, Elizabeth and Charles A. 

Charles A. Kauff grew to manhood in Ma- 
son county and was only thirteen years of age 
when he started to work in a nail factory at 
Clifton. Later he helped his father on the 
truck farm and afterward was variously em- 
ployed, working at mining, blacksmith ing, and 
for a time was in the employ of the Standard 
Oil Company, working between Kane, Pa., and 
Cleveland, O. In October, 1907, he moved 
from Gamoca, Fayette county, to Hansford, 
where he rented business quarters until 19 10, 
when he built his own establishment, which 
he has fitted up in modern style. Lie handles 
a large trade. 

Mr. Kauff was married at Pomeroy, O., 
December 19, 1893, to Miss Docia Wetzel, a 
daughter of Robert and Mary Jane (Hensley) 
Wetzel and they have had six children, namely : 
Mary, who died when aged one year and two 
days; May; Carl; Nellie, who died at the age 
of ten months ; Helen L. and Clifford. Politi- 
cally Mr. Kauff is a Democrat. He is iden- 
tified with the Knights of Pythias at Pome- 
roy, O. 

EVERETT E. ROBERTSON, attornev at 
law, with offices at No. 508^ Kanawha street. 



656 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charleston, W. Va., was born at Jarrett s 
Ford, Kanawha county, March 9,. 187 1, and 
belongs to one of the old families of the county 
that was established here by his grandfather. 
He is a son of George W. and Delilah E. ( Mel- 
ton) Robertson. 

George W. Robertson was born in Kanawha 
county and spent his active life as merchant. 
During the Civil war he was a soldier for a 
time in the Confederate army. His parents 
were James A. and Polly A. (Lewis) Robert- 
son, both of whom came from Virginia and 
made their home on Elk river at an early day. 
James A. Robertson survived into old age, his 
death occurring in 1896. George W. Robert- 
son married Delilah E. Melton, who was a 
daughter of Rev. Benjamin and Sarah (Jar- 
rett) Melton, the former of whom was a teacher 
and a minister of the Baptist church at Jar- 
rett's Ford. Eight sons and one daughter 
were born to George W. Robertson and his 
wife, namely: James, who is a merchant at 
Clendenin; Nancy who is the wife of W. H. 
Canterbury, a farmer at Hunt, W. Va. ; Ever- 
ett E., Morgan M., who is an attorney at 
Charleston; Alvin B., Sidney H.. and Edgar 
G., who all are merchants at Clendenin, George 
W., who is a farmer near Hunt; and Grover 
C, who is a physician and surgeon at Clen- 
denin. George W. Robertson and wife re- 
side at Clendenin, Kanawha county. They are 
members of the Baptist church. 

Everett E. Robertson attended the public 
schools and later taught school for some years, 
mainly in Kanawha county, after which he 
entered the law office of Thomas Swan and 
Frank Cork, where he pursued his law studies 
until he completed the course, and was admitted 
to the Kanawha county bar in 1898, since which 
time he has been actively and successfully en- 
gaged in practice. Mr. Robertson has always 
been considered a close and careful student 
and his clients have found him a man thor- 
oughly informed on every principle of law 
and a wise and reliable counselor. At present 
he practices alone but for one year was in 
partnership with his brother, M. M. Robertson. 
Politically he is a Democrat. Everett E. Rob- 
ertson married Miss Cynthia L. Pauley, 



daughter of Rev. A. B. and Isabel (Acre) Pau- 
ley, residents of Hunt, W. Va., and they have 
two children. Mabel aged thirteen and Macel 
aged seven years. 

M. M. Robertson was born at the mouth of 
Blue creek, February 10, 1873, and after his 
school days taught school for a time and then 
read law in the offices of Capt. Swan and John 
S. Sw^an, and has been a member of the Kana- 
wha bar since 1900. As noted above he was a 
law partner of his brother, Everette E. Robert- 
son, for one year, but since 1901 the brothers 
have practiced alone. M. M. Robertson was a 
member of the city council, his term expiring 
in 191 1, and he was the nominee of the Inde- 
pendent Democrats in the last election for 
membership on the board of affairs He was 
about two years of age when his father lo- 
cated at Kettle Rock and lived there until 
twenty-two years of age. 

M. M. Robertson married Miss Chloe Gil- 
bert, a daughter of John C. and Elizabeth 
(Gibbons) Gilbert, of Jarrett's Ford, Ka- 
nawha county, in 1894, and they have two 
children: Stacy. Alberta and Okey B., aged 
fifteen and thirteen years respectively. M. M. 
Robertson is an Odd Fellow. 

C. M. TUDOR*, a prominent citizen of 
Loudon distrist, Kanawha county, W. Va., re- 
siding two miles south of Charleston, was born 
in Mason county, Ky., near Maysville, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1845, and is a son of Thomas and 
Caroline (White) Tudor. 

Thomas Tudor who was born in Africa, 
came to the United States in early manhood 
and spent his entire life in Kentucky, where 
he died at the age of eighty-seven years. He 
was a tinner by trade. He married Caroline 
White, who was born at Troy, N. Y., and they 
had seven children: C. M., Leonora, who died 
in 1901 ; Thomas, who is deceased; Thomas 
(2d) ; and William, Edward and Robert. 

C. M. Tudor was educated partly in private 
and partly in the district schools in Kentucky. 
He afterward worked as a shoemaker for a 
number of years and then moved to his present 
farm of twenty acres, which is operated by his 
son. In politics, a Republican, he is also a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



657 



public official, being overseer of the poor of 
Loudon District and sealer of weights and 
measures for Kanawha county. 

Mr. Tudor married Miss America J. Burgess, 
of Maysville, Ky., and they have four chil- 
dren: Charles T., who is the home farmer; 
Addie, who is a public school teacher ; Anna, 
who married Lucien Haws, and has one son, 
Frank ; and William, who is a stenographer in 
the employ of the Standard Oil Company. 

HON. ALBERT M. HOWERY,' secretary 
of the East Bank Mining Company, at East 
Bank, Kanawha county, W. Va., of which he 
was one of the organizers, is a representative 
and enterprising business man of Cabin creek 
district and East Bank, and in 1908 he served 
as mayor of his city. He was born December 
16, 18,72, at Coalburg, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., and is a son of Charles D. and Mahala 
(Holden) Howery. 

Charles D. Howery was born in Pennsylvania 
and was reared at Philadelphia and engaged 
in clerking there prior to the Civil war, during 
which period he served in the capacity of cook 
in the Confederate army. After its" close he 
settled in Kanawha county and went into the 
salt industry near Maiden and afterward came 
to Coalburg and found work in the coal mines. 
He was married there in 1870 and four years 
later moved to East Bank, where he opened a 
general store, an enterprise he continued until 
his death on July 5, 1906, he being then aged 
sixty-three years. In 1870 he married Mahala 
Holden, who was born in Mercer county, W. 
Va., and died in 1895, a g e d forty-nine vears. 
Their children were Albert M.. Sidney L.. Hol- 
ley, C. Harry and Myrtle. Holley was 
drowned at the age of seven years. 

A. M. Howery attended the public schools 
of Coalburg, worked as a clerk for his father 
and also in the office of the K. & M. railroad 
at Cedar Grove, and then took a business 
course in a commercial college in Kentucky 
where he was graduated in 1895. He resumed 
work in his father's store and^also was again 
with the above railroad, in the office at Dickin- 
son, but in 1908 became one of the promoters 
and organizers of the East Bank Mining Com- 
pany. This company operates with a capital of 



$10,000. and its officers are all well known 
business men of this section ; Edward Clark, 
president; P. S. Banister, vice-president; S. I. 
Johnson, treasurer; and A. M. Howery, secre- 
tary, while W. J. Sigman is also one of the di- 
rectors. Employment is given twenty men. 

In December, 1896, Mr. Howery was mar- 
ried to Miss May Banister, a daughter of P. 
S. and Ella (Mankin) Banister, and they have 
one son. Frank B. Mr. and Mrs. Howery 
suffered the loss of their residence in February, 
1909, by a fire, but they have rebuilt and have a 
handsome dwelling. In politics Mr. Howery 
is a Democrat and is more or less active in 
local politics. He is identified with the Im- 
proved order of Red Men at East Bank and is 
secretary of the local body. 

ADAM H. CONKER, senior member of the 
firm of Conker & Guill, who conduct a planing- 
mill and do a large lumber business on Watts 
street. West Charleston, W. Va., was born in 
the town of Ripley, Jackson county, Va., April 
11, 1849, and is a son of Jonathan and Lydia 
C. (Cunningham) Conker. 

Jonathan Conker was born in Pennsylvania 
and was a son of John Conker, who was an 
only son of a Revolutionary soldier who lost 
his life at Yorktown. When nineteen years 
of age, John Conker settled in Pennsylvania 
but late in life moved to Jackson county, O., 
where he died in his eighty-seventh year. In 
many ways he is recalled as a remarkable man, 
having retained his strength and energy into 
advanced age and at the time of death had 
few gray hairs. He married a Miss Schwaub, 
a daughter of a Hessian soldier who had been 
captured by Washington's troops and later was 
paroled and settled on a tract of land given him 
by the government, in Pennsylvania. Prior 
to the early manhood of Jonathan Conker, the 
family name had been spelled Conger, but 
Jonathan had an English emplover with whom 
he was long associated and this employer in- 
sisted on the latter spelling and it has been 
accepted by this branch of the family. In 
Jackson county, W. Va., as at present, Jonathan 
Conker met and married Lydia Cunningham, 
who was born and reared on the south branch 
of the Potomac river, a daughter of William 



658 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Cunningham. Jonathan Conker was a lumber- 
man and he erected the first sawmill with a 
circular saw equipment in what was then all 
Virginia. He remained in Jackson county, 
peacefully and successfully carrying on his lum- 
ber business until the outbreak of the Civil 
War, when, on account of his strong Union sen- 
timents, he decided to move into a northern 
state. Hence, he disposed of his affairs in 
Jackson county and moved to Meigs county, O., 
but later in life came to West Virginia, and his 
death occurred at Raymond city, Putnam 
county, at the age of fifty-eight years. His 
widow survived him for many years, her death 
occurring at Charleston, December 25, 1908, 
when aged about eighty-nine years. She had 
been reared a Presbyterian but he was a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran church. Before the Civil 
War he was captain of a company of local mi- 
litia. In every way he was a man far beyond 
the ordinary and was beloved by his family and 
respected by his business associates. Twelve 
children were born to Jonathan and Lydia Con- 
ker and of this large family there are five sons 
and one daughter yet living. Of these Adam 
H. is the eldest. Two brothers. Charles and 
Edward are general contractors at Charleston, 
while Robert, the fourth brother, is a carpen- 
ter, and William is a clothing salesman. The 
. one surviving sister is Mrs. Alexander Turley, 
also of Charleston. 

Adam H. Conker started into the lumber 
business with his father when little more than 
a boy and has continued to be interested along 
this line ever since. He accompanied the fam- 
ily to Ohio in 1861 and attended school in 
Meigs county. About 1900, Mr. Conker be- 
gan in the lumber business at Charleston, in a 
small way, later associating John H. Guill with 
him, when the firm became as at present. Con- 
ker & Guill. For three years the firm operated 
a rim-bending plant, but in 19 10 they enlarged 
the scope and volume of their business, erecting 
a sawmill and planing mill. They are heavy 
dealers in hickory and white oak lumber, excel- 
lent wagon supply stock, and take the raw ma- 
terial and convert it into all kinds of wagon- 
making products. It is rare that any firm do- 
ing so large a business as this one, carries it on 
on a strictly cash basis, but for the past fifteen 



years that has been its policy and it has proved 
eminently satisfactory to all concerned. The 
standing of the firm is very high and there is 
scarcely any limit to its credit if it should ever 
ask for it. 

Mr. Conker was married in Jackson county, 
W. Va., to Miss Margaret Hughes, a daugh- 
ter of John and Mary (Rhodes) Hughes, the 
former of whom died when she was young and 
the latter, who survives, living with a son in 
Logan county, W. Va. Mr. and Mrs. Conker 
have had two children: Henry K., who was 
born in 1877, died in 1906; and Inez, who was 
born in 1879, and resides with her parents, who 
came to Charleston in 1882, where she was 
educated. In his views on public questions Mr. 
Conker is in sympathy with the Socialist party. 
He is identified with the Odd Fellows. 

JOHN W. TAWNEY,* one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of Big Sandy district, where 
he owns a productive coal mine and one of the 
most extensive farms, was born on the old 
Tawney homestead, December 20, 1872, and is 
a son of William and Annie (Cox) Tawney. 

W illiam Tawney was born in Roane county, 
Va., and is still living. He married Annie Cox, 
a daughter of Valentine Cox, who was a soldier 
in the Civil War, a member of the West Vir- 
ginia Cavalry. Mr. Cox lived to the age of 
seventy years and was survived by his widow, 
Hannah (Hill) Cox. To William and Annie 
Tawnev. the following children were born: 
John W.. W alter W., Frank S., Charles W'., 
David Luther, Minnie C. and Ocella, who is the 
wife of B. Taylor, of Porter's Creek. All sur- 
vive except David Luther. 

During boyhood, John W. Tawney attended 
school but as soon as he was old enough for the 
hard work, he entered the coal mines and so 
continued until he was twenty-five years of age. 
since when he has been engaged in farming and 
in operating a valuable coal mine on his own 
large farm. Mr. Tawney is a hard-working, 
practical man and is known as a very reliable 
one and did he so desire could undoubtedly be 
elected to local offices on the Republican ticket. 

Mr. Tawney married Miss Addie Patton, 
who was born in Roanoke county, Va., a daugh- 
ter of Rev. W. H. and Elizabeth (Deal) Pat- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



659 



ton, and they have an interesting family of six 
children whose ages range from twelve to two 
years, namely : Dixie, Pearl, Ethel, Kelly, Ros- 
coe and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Tawney attend 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

JOHN BANISTER, a property owner at 
East Bank, W. Va., where he erected his com- 
fortable residence in 1877 and has lived ever 
since, for many years was very actively engaged 
in business in Kanawha county and has a wide 
acquaintance. He was born at Cedar Grove, 
Kanawha county, where he is also a property 
owner, November 9, 1846, and is a son of 
Robert and Martha (Grinstead) Banister. 

Robert Banister was born at Knob Shoals, on 
the present site of Buffalo, Kanawha county, a 
son of Bennett Banister. The latter came to 
this section with his wife from the south branch 
of the Potomac river and engaged in farming 
near what is now Buffalo, where he died, leav- 
ing children : Robert and Sophia were of one 
marriage and Joseph was of another, all now 
being deceased. Robert Banister was the 
youngest of the family. He came to Kanawha 
County to work as a cooper for the salt manu- 
facturers and located at first at Burning 
Springs, near Maiden. Later he acquired land 
at Cedar Grove and there followed farming in 
addition to working at his trade and when his 
neighbors spoke of him they attached the word 
"honest" to his name. He died at Cedar Grove 
in 1877, at the age of sixty-six years. He mar- 
ried Martha Grinstead, whose parents, William 
and Elizabeth Grinstead, brought her in child- 
hood from Albemarle county, Va., and she sur- 
vived until 1905, being then aged ninety-one 
year. To them weer born eight children : Will- 
iam, who is now deceased, was a member of 
Co. I, 8th Va. Cav., C. S. A.; Robert F., who 
was a member of an artillery regiment; Charles 
Lewis, who also served in the 8th Va. Cav. ; 
John; Mary, who is the wife of W. J Cald- 
well ; and Preston, Van G. and Victor. 

John Banister grew to the age of twenty 
years on his father's farm and then went to 
work in the coal mines, where he continued for 
eight years and then became a producer. He 
was president of the Cedar Grove Mining Com- 
pany that opened the Cedar Grove field. In 



1887 he retired from the coal business and then 
took charge of the ferry between Cedar Grove 
and East Bank, Kanawha River, which is now 
operated by Victor Banister. In 1877 Mr. Ban- 
ister built his house at East Bank and moved 
here in 1878. He belongs to Morning Star 
Lodge, No. 63, Odd Fellows, and to Kanawha 
Lodge, No. 16, Knights of Pythias, both at 
East Bank. He took no very active part in 
political matters in recent years but is identi- 
fied with the Republican party. 

Mr. Banister was married December 26, 
1877, to Miss Maggie Hull, a daughter of John 
L. Hull, and they have two children: Mary 
Swan, who is the wife of W. B. Shaver, of East 
Bank, and they have five children: Mary A., 
Margaret B., Abraham C, John B. and Wil- 
helmina ; and James Lentz, who resides with 
.his father, is a civil engineer with the Sunday 
Creek Coal Company. Mr. Banister is a mem- 
ber of the Missionary Baptist church at East 
Bank. 

CHARLES C. CUNNINGHAM, a well 
known retired resident of Charleston, W. Va., 
formerly a stationary engineer, and still earlier 
identified with life on the river, was born at 
Spring Hill, in Jefferson district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., December 12, 1844, a son of 
William Harrison Cunningham and a grand- 
son of William H. Cunningham. 

William H. Cunningham, the grandfather, 
was of Scotch-Irish stock, but he was born in 
Virginia, was a lawyer by profession and a 
stone mason by trade and spent the greater 
part of his life in Kanawha county, his death 
taking place at Charleston in 1858 when aged 
eighty years. He married a member of the old 
Wilson family and they had eight children. 
One son, William Harrison, was born about 
1810, in Maiden district, Kanawha county. He 
learned the mason trade and assisted in the 
erection of many of the old stone buildings 
which are county landmarks, including the Lit- 
tlepage and Goshorn residences. His last years 
were spent on his farm in Union district. In 
early life he attended the Presbyterian church 
but later became a Baptist. During the Civil 
War he identified himself with the Democratic 
party. He married Frances Lane, a daughter 
of William H. and Mary (Mattox) Lane, old 



660 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



residents of Kanawha county. She survived 
her husband some five years. Her father was a 
soldier in the War of 1812 and later settled on 
a farm and after Putnam was separated from 
Kanawha county, was elected sheriff of the 
former division. Ten children were born to 
William Harrison Cunningham and wife, nine 
of whom grew to maturity, all of whom mar- 
ried and had issue and the following survive : 
Charles C. ; Philip, who is retired from busi- 
ness and lives with his family at Charleston; 
Thomas, who is also a retired citizen of 
Charleston; Frances, who resides with her six 
children on her farm in Union district, and is 
the widow of Thomas Milan; and Emaline, who 
is the wife of Kelley Groff, of Charleston. 

Charles C. Cunningham was reared in Kan- 
awha county and attended school through boy- 
hood, afterward taking farm duties on himself 
and for some years carried on agricultural op- 
erations in Union district. In 1874 he came 
to Charleston and for a number of years was in 
the river trade, mainly concerned with the tow- 
ing of vessels. He then became a stationary 
engineer. In his political views, Mr. Cunning- 
ham is a Democrat. 

Mr. Cunningham was married in Union dis- 
trict, to Miss Mary E. Lyon, who was born in 
1852, in Albemarle county, Va., and was 
brought to this section when six years old and 
lived in Kanawha county until her death oc- 
curred, October 12, 1906. Her parents were 
James W. and Eliza (Burfet) Lyon and Mrs. 
Cunningham was the eldest of their family of 
eight children. Six children were born to 
Charles C. Cunningham and wife, as follows : 
Henry Evert, who is a successful business man 
of Little Rock, Ark., married Grace Bishop 
and has one son, Howard B. ; Edward E.. who 
is a marine engineer, and resides in Charleston ; 
Charles L., a moulder by trade, who is employed 
at Charleston, married Ora Burford. and has 
five children; Emma B.. who is a teacher in 
the public schools and lives at home; James C, 
a graduate of the Baltimore Medical College, 
who is a physician at Little Rock, Ark. ; and 
Ada B., who resides at home. The family be- 
longs to the Calvary Baptist church. Charles- 
ton. 



EDWARD CLARK, president of the East 
Bank Mining Company and a resident of East 
Bank, Kanawha county, W. Va., for the past 
thirty years, was born July 19, 1864, at Cov- 
ington, Va., and is a son of Patrick and Cath- 
erine (W inters) Clark. 

Patrick Clark was born in County Galway, 
Ireland, and came to America in early man- 
hood, locating at Baltimore, Md., where he en- 
gaged for a time in merchandising. In 1859 
he came from there to Covington, Va., where, 
during the Civil War, he conducted a store. In 
1867 he came to Charleston and became a miner 
of coal at Snow Hill, moving from there two 
years later and engaging in mining at Coalburg 
in Kanawha county. In 1878 he came to East 
Bank and during his still later years was an 
active and useful man, being the mail carrier 
between East Bank and Cedar Grove. His 
death occurred in 1896, at the age of seventy- 
three years. He married Catherine Winters, 
who was a native of Baltimore and her death 
took place in 1869. after the birth of eight chil- 
dren, namely: Mary, Susan, Thomas, Cather- 
ine, John. Michael, Edward and Anna, there 
being three survivors : Susan, Edward and 
Anna. 

Until he was fourteen years of age, Edward 
Clark attended school, but was then considered 
old enough to contribute to his own support 
and entered the mines at Blackberry, Kanawha 
county, and he continued in the mining indus- 
try until he had reached the position of fore- 
man, working in different mines on the river, 
including Cedar Grove, Monarch and Belmont. 
He was one of the organizers of the East Bank 
Mining Company, in 1909, of which he is mine 
boss. He is a Democrat in politics. Mr. Clark 
is one of the leading mine men of this section 
and is a respected and representative citizen. 

McCLUNG BROTHERS & McCLUNG 
FAMILY.* A Virginia and West Virginia 
family that has been well known for years in 
both states and which has numerous members 
in Kanawha county, many of them being prom- 
inent in business life, has worthy representa- 
tives in the four sons of Joseph A. McClung — 
Albert J., William. Joseph and Samuel. 




JAMES P. CLAEK 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



663 



Albert J. McClung was born in Putnam 
County, W. Va., in 1871, and is the eldest son 
of Joseph A. and Cally (Doyle) McClurg. The 
father who was born near Blue Sulphur 
Springs, in Greenbrier county, Va., served in 
the Confederate army all through the Civil 
War. He married Cally Doyle, who was born 
at Maiden, now in West Virginia, where her 
father engaged in manufacturing copper pipe 
after coming from Marietta, O. She still sur- 
vives and resides with her sons, but her hus- 
band died in 1909, at the age of sixty-eight 
years. Airs. McClung has two brothers, James 
and Albert Doyle. Albert was the first cashier 
in the old Dickinson Bank of Richmond, Va., 
and James who now lives at Huntington, ran 
the first foundry at Maiden. Five children 
were born to Joseph A. McClung and wife, the 
four sons already mentioned and a daughter, 
Harriet, who met an accidental death in 1878. 

Albert J. McClung attended school through 
boyhood and was reared at Kanawha City 
where his father owned property. When he 
entered into business it was as a traveling rep- 
resentative for a real estate firm. Twelve years 
ago he leased his present farm from the Kana- 
wha Land Company — a tract of 200 acres — and 
here carries on extensive farming operations. 
He married Dolly Holden, who was born in 
Georgia, and they have two children : Harriet, 
who is aged four years, and Lester, who is 
one year old. Mr. McClung and his three bro- 
thers all vote the Democratic ticket. 

William McClung was born at Maiden, Kan- 
awha county, September 30, 1873. After his 
school days were over he was engaged in farm- 
ing on the home place until 1891 and then came 
to the present farm, on which he built his house 
and carries on general agriculture. He owns 
several properties and also leases land. He 
married Mary B. Hoge, of AYinfield. He and 
wife attend the Presbyterian church. 

Joseph McClung was born at Maiden, De- 
cember 28, 1876, and has followed farming all 
his life. He married Margaret Oakes. All 
three brothers, with the mother reside together. 
The family is very well known through this 
section and is held in very high regard. The 
brothers are all practical business men and all 
but Samuel are farmers. He resides at Cedar 
Grove, Kanawha county. 



JAMES PATRICK CLARK, one of the 
successful business men of Charleston, where, 
for the past thirty years he has been in the 
wholesale whiskey business, owns a large 
amount of valuable property in this city and 
in other parts of Kanawha county, including 
his beautiful home at Spring Hill. He was 
born at Pomeroy, O., April 15, i860, and is 
a son of Patrick F. and Margaret (Daley) 
Clark. 

Patrick F. Clark was of Irish ancestry but 
both he and wife were born in England. His 
father, Patrick Clark, was accidentally killed 
in Scotland, and his widow after remarriage 
came to America and died at Mason City, W. 
Va. Patrick F. Clark was in sympathy with 
the cause of the South during the Civil War 
and was thrice drafted for service in the Union 
arm)-, in which his brother, James Clark, was 
a soldier and lost his life. Patrick F. Clark 
was a mine expert and was interested in the 
coal business for some years, but in 1874 em- 
barked in the mercantile business at Shawnee, 
O., where his death occurred in August, 1888, 
at the age of fifty-two years. His first mar- 
riage was to Margaret Daley, who died when 
but twenty-three years old, the mother of four 
children, namely: Mary, wife of John T. 
Joyce, of Corning, O. ; Frank, an electrician, 
of Shawnee; James Patrick; and Catherine, 
widow of S. R. Grant, of Shawnee, O. Pat- 
rick F. Clark married Annie Foster for his 
second wife and nine children were born to 
them, as follows : Patrick, Ellen, Michael, 
Charles. Cecelia, Gertrude, Thomas, John and 
Emmett. 

James Patrick Clark had but meager school- 
ing, being largely self-made and self-educated, 
having been thrown upon his own resources 
when a boy. He was nineteen years of age 
when he crossed the Rocky Mountains as a 
member of the construction gang engaged in 
building the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad 
through the Black Canyon of Colorado, and 
he remained in the West for a number of 
years afterward, principally engaged in min- 
ing, and he continued to be interested along 
this line after returning to the East, until 
1882. In that year he entered into business 
at Trimble, Athens county, O.. two years 
later removing to Columbus, where he was in 



664 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



business for nearly one year and afterward for 
two years was at Murray City, and for a lit- 
tle more than one year at Gallipolis, O. In 
1890 he came to Charleston and has been in 
business here for himself for a long period, 
prior to which he traveled for several leading 
business concerns. Mr. Clark is a typical 
American business man, active, alert, quick to 
see a good business investment and possess- 
ing the judgment to properly guide him in 
taking it up, and at the same time he has the 
pride and public spirit which makes the ideal 
citizen. He has been a hard and indefatig- 
able worker all his life and has built up a 
fortune entirely through his own efforts. 
Among his many valuable pieces of real estate 
at Charleston is the Stag Hotel, a hostelry 
with fifty rooms; his own business quarters, 
Nos. 24, 26, and 28 Summers street ; a drug 
store on the corner of Smith and Capital 
streets; the Roth drug store building; one fine 
residence on Lee street and another on Mc- 
Corkle Hill, South Side; eight eight-room 
dwellings; twenty smaller properties, together 
with many of the vacant lots within the city 
limits, the value of which for prospective 
building is daily increasing. On July 22, 
1908, he purchased the handsome residence of 
Capt. James Sintz at Spring Hill, and he and 
family have resided there ever since. 

Mr. Clark was married February 3, 1885, 
to Miss Margaret Geoghan, of Massillon, O., 
a daughter of William and Ellen Geoghan, 
and they have the following children : Mary, 
who is the wife of Dr. J. P. Kuntz, of Hunt- 
ington, W. Va. ; and Margaret, Leo, Virginia, 
Joseph Staunton, Julia, Evelyn, James and 
Agato. The family belongs to the Sacred 
Heart Roman Catholic church at Charleston. 
All the children have been given superior edu- 
cational advantages. Mr. Clark was reared 
in the Democratic party but his personal atti- 
tude at present is complete political independ- 
ence. He exerts a wide influence as an ear- 
nest, interested and helpful citizen and is one 
of the ready contributors to all charitable and 
benevolent movements. 

JOHN DAVIDSON, oil operator and for a 
number of years largely interested in contract- 



ing and building at Charleston, W. Va., comes 
of one of the old families of Virginia,- his 
grandparents having lived and died in what is 
now Taylor county, \Y. Va. Prior to the Civil 
War the family estates were cultivated by 
slaves and their plantations were managed 
along old-time lines, much social activity being 
the rule and a lavish hospitality offered to 
guests. The early Davidsons were all mem- 
bers and liberal supporters of the Baptist 
church. To the grandparents ten children were 
born, all of whom reached maturity and all 
married but one. 

Rev. George Davidson, father of John Dav- 
idson, was born in Taylor county, Va., in 1825, 
was reared on his father's farm and was given 
educational advantages. W hen he reached the 
age of mature judgment he found that his in- 
clinations led in the direction of a ministerial 
life and when twenty-five years old he became 
an accredited member and minister of the Bap- 
tist church. It was while serving a church at 
Pomeroy, O., that the place was visited by an 
epidemic of typhoid fever and first and fore- 
most in caring for the stricken and encouraging 
the well, was Mr. Davidson, whose unceasing 
devotion to the afflicted so undermined his 
strength that he, himself, fell a victim and 
within two weeks of being attacked, passed 
away, his lamented death occurring in 1883. 
He was a prominent member of the Baptist de- 
nomination and for years was known and be- 
loved in the ministry in West Virginia and for 
a protracted period was president of the Bap- 
tist General Association. The closing two 
years of his life were passed at Pomeroy, O. 
He was reared a Democrat but later was im- 
pressed with the leading principles claimed by 
the Republican party. 

Rev. George Davidson was married in Tay- 
lor county to Miss Elizabeth Ann Harr, who 
was born there and died at Charleston in 1897, 
aged sixty-seven years. She was a daughter of 
Richard Harr, who was a native of Taylor 
county, where he spent his life and died when 
aged ninety-five years. During the Civil War 
he was a Union sympathizer. To George Dav- 
idson and wife a large family was born and 
three of these still survive: George, Wayland 
F., a designer and architect, who is associated 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



665 



with his older brother in business, married 
Sallie L. Carroll and they have three children 
— Andra, Alice and Francis; and Urban C, 
who is a merchant at Charleston, who married 
Mamie Fordice. 

John Davidson was born in 1863 in Taylor 
county, now in West Virginia, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools. For some years he 
engaged in the mercantile business, but in 1892 
he came to Charleston, where he became asso- 
ciated with his brother, Wayland F., in build- 
ing and contracting. This firm, unquestionably 
stands at the head- of their line here, having 
planned and built more of the fine residences 
than any other firm, together with many of 
the public and business structures. They have 
done a large amount of building at other points, 
notably at Philippi, where the beautiful and 
stately Boaddus Colleeg was erected, a fine 
specimen of the architectural taste and substan- 
tial construction of the Davidson Brothers. In 
all that goes to makfle up a good and effective 
citizen, Mr. Davidson is prominent, ever taking 
a deep interest in all movements for the public 
welfare, and has served on the board of educa- 
tion and in the city council. He is a Republi- 
can in his political views. 

Mr. Davidson was married in Wood county, 
W. Va., to Miss Georgia Henderson, who was 
born and reared there. She is a daughter of 
John Henderson. She comes of Scotch ances- 
try and old Presbyterian stock, and her people 
were living at Dumfries, Virginia, during the 
Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson 
enjoy one of the most beautiful homes in this 
city of attractive residence sections, located at 
No. 1426 Kanawha street, its situation giving 
an extended view over river and valley. 

WILLIAM H. SAXTON, a building con- 
tractor and dealer in real estate, at Chelyari, 
W. Va., has been a resident of Kanawha coun- 
ty for the past twenty-seven years. He was 
born on his father's farm in Meigs county, O., 
October 27, 1848, and is a son of Thomas and 
America (Anderson) Saxton, the former of 
whom was born in Virginia and was a member 
of the old Saxton family from which also came 
the late Mrs. McKinley, who survived the 
tragic death of President McKinley for some 
years. 



William H. Saxton spent his boyhood on the 
home farm and attended the country schools 
and later the university at Athens, O. He then 
turned his attention to educational work and 
for thirty-six years was a successful teacher 
during twenty of these being principal of the 
Chelyan schools. When eighteen years of age 
he had learned the carpenter trade and while 
teaching engaged also in contracting and many 
of the school buildings in Cabin Creek district 
were erected by him. In politics he is a Re- 
publican and served in the office of assessor for 
two years, 1909 and 19 10, when he resigned. 
He has valuable property investments at Chel- 
yan. 

Mr. Saxton was married first in 1873, to 
Miss Barbara Fletcher, who died in 1885, with- 
out issue. In 1889 he married Sallie J. Hill, 
and they have three children : Pansy, Ruth and 
Amelia. He is identified with the Knights of 
Pythias, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Ameri- 
can Mechanics, Ladies' Temple and Pythian 
Sisters. 

NICHOLAS BARTH,* a prominent citizen 
of Elk district, somewhat retired from active 
business, is vice president of the Elk Gas and 
Oil Company, of Elk Creek, a heavy producing 
investment, and also vice president of the Shep- 
erd Oil and Gas Company, Mr. Barth was 
born July 20, 1858, in the Rhine province of 
Trier, Germany, and is a son of Peter and 
Margaretta (Teiten) Barth. 

Peter Barth was a linen weaver in Germany 
but after coming to America with his family, 
he engaged in coal mining at Schuylkill county, 
Pa. Later he followed his son Nicholas to 
Cincinnati, where they were associated in the 
bakery business for six years. In 1880 he came 
to Charleston and lived retired until his death. 
In Germany he married Margaretta Teiten, a 
daughter of Jacob and Maria (Mergner) Tei- 
ten, and they had ten children, namely : Nicho- 
las, Maria, who is the wife of Adolph Lenk- 
hardt, baker at Charleston; Barbara, who is 
the wife of Max Schaub, a baker at Charleston; 
John, who lives at Charleston; Margaret, who 
is the wife of A. McCowan, a groceryman at 
Charleston ; and others who died young. 

Leaving school at the age of fourteen years, 
Nicholas Barth worked in the coal mines for 



666 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



eight months and then learned the trade of 
linen weaving. When twenty years of age, he 
left Germany for the United States and at 
Binghampton, N. Y., learned the baker's trade. 
He worked as a baker in the city of New York 
and at Aurora, Ind., and then opened a bakery 
of his own in Cincinnati. After a successful 
period there he sold out and opened the Albion 
Hotel, which he conducted for one year and 
then came to Charleston. Here he started a 
bakery on the present site of the St. Albert 
Hotel, which he operated for four years and 
then sold. For twelve years Mr. Barth was 
engaged with a partner at Cincinnati, in the 
brewing business and then retired from active 
business life. He is a Democrat politically but 
has never accepted public office. 

Mr. Barth was married first to Christina 
Orth, a daughter of Mathias and Catherine 
(Klaen) Orth. She died November 19, 1888, 
aged thirty-four years, the mother of two chil- 
dren, of whom the one survivor is Fred Paul, 
who is a clerk in the postoffice at Charleston. 
He married Lena Williams and they have one 
child, Nicholas. Mr. Barth was married sec- 
ondly to Katy Crow, who was born January 1 , 
1868, of Irish parents. They have two sons: 
Nicholas A., who is an electrician; and John C, 
who attends school. Mr. Barth is a member of 
the Sacred Heart Catholic church. 

ALBERT KING, general merchant in busi- 
ness at Hansford, W. Va., has been a lifelong 
resident of Kanawha county, born in Elk dis- 
trict August 1, 1852, a son of George W. and 
a grandson of Charles King. 

Charles King came to this section from 
Nicholas County, Va., one of the old-time trav- 
eling preachers, probably of the Methodist 
faith. He settled on Mill Creek and there fol- 
lowed farming and continued his good works. 
On that place George W. King was born but 
later bought 160 acres in Elk district, where 
he engaged in farming and lumbering until his 
death at the age of fifty-two years. He mar- 
ried Rhoda Light, who survived him for some 
time. They had the following children : Floyd 
Jefferson, Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Robert 
Bibby; Edmund; Albert; Mary Alice, wife of 
William Ritter; Martha A., wife of R. L. Bib- 



by; and George \\'., Charity Catherine, and 
Charles, the last named being deceased. 

Albert King spent his boyhood on the farm 
and attended the country schools but was yet 
young when he accompanied his father into the 
woods to work. He assisted on the home farm 
until the age of twenty-one, after which he de- 
voted himself mainly to the lumber business for 
about ten years, until 1901, when he opened 
a store at Mammoth, Kanawha county, in 
partnership with R. A. Kirk. In the fall of 
the following year the business was moved to 
Hansford and later the partnership was dis- 
solved. Mr. King bought his present store 
block from Dennis Brannon and is well estab- 
lished, in fact is doing more than the ordinary 
amount of business considering that he has 
numerous competitors. In February, 1903, Mr. 
King was married to Miss Alice Susan Wal- 
dron. a daughter of Patrick and Ida Waldron, 
Mr. Waldron being the oldest settler now living 
at Hansford. In politics Mr. King is a Repub- 
lican. 

GEORGE W. BELLER,* wine merchant, 
who has been in business at Charleston, W. Va., 
since 1890. was born April 28, 1856, at Mai- 
den, Kanawha county, W. Va., and is a son 
of Frank and Agatha (Hurst) Beller. 

The parents of Mr. Beller were natives of 
Germany. The father came to America when 
twenty-two years of age, and the mother ac- 
companied her parents across the Atlantic 
ocean in her girlhood. Frank Beller had 
learned the shoemaking trade in his own coun- 
try and worked at it first in Cincinnati, O., and 
afterward in Kanawha county, where his death 
occurred in 1869. He was a faithful member 
of the Roman Catholic church. He was mar- 
ried to Agatha Hurst, in the United States, 
and she survives him and on February 8, 191 1, 
celebrated her seventy-eighth birthday. She 
also is a member of the Catholic church and a 
lady who has a wide circle of friends. To 
Frank and Agatha Beller seven children were 
born, two of whom died young. The surviv- 
ors are: George W. : Andrew, is in busi- 
ness with his brother George W., who is mar- 
ried and has five children; William, who is a 
resident of Cincinnati; Henry, who lives at 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



667 



Charleston; and Joseph, who resides with his 
mother. 

George W. Beller is one of the substantial 
and respected business men of Charleston but 
he is largely self made. He had but few early- 
advantages but through industry and care 
promoted his own fortunes, practically without 
assistance, and now occupies an independent 
position. Mr. Beller is open-handed in his 
charities and gives liberal support to the Cath- 
olic church, in which he was reared. He is a 
member of the Elks at Charleston and was one 
of the organizers of this order here, belongs 
also to the Eagles and has been admitted to the 
higher branches of Odd Fellowship. 

JOHN W. ASHLEY, who is a representa- 
tive business man of Charleston, W. Va., man- 
ufacturer of the widely known Tip Top 
bread, erected his business building, with di- 
mensions of 26x120 feet, at No. 1321 Wash- 
ington street, in 1907, which is properly 
equipped for the extensive business done, which 
is entirely wholesale. Mr. Ashley was born in 
Kanawha county, was educated in the public 
schools and has always lived here. He is a son 
of Lewis and Mary (High) Ashley. 

Lewis Ashley was born in what is now West 
Virginia, in 1848, and died at his home in 
Charleston, in 1894, having followed the car- 
penter trade during much of his active life. In 
politics he was a Republican and during the 
Civil War he served as a soldier for three years 
in the Union army, as a member of the 7th W. 
Va. Vol. Cav., and took part in many battles 
but was fortunate enough to escape injury. He 
was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church as is his widow, who lives with her son, 
John W.. at Charleston. 

In January, 1897, John W. Ashley started 
into his present enterprise in a small way at 
Charleston and is a practical baker. In a re- 
markable degree Mr. Ashley has developed 
this business and his market is Charleston. 
Perfect sanitary surroundings have been pro- 
vided by Mr. Ashley and he was the first manu- 
facturer in this city to wrap the loaves, an ad- 
mirable protection that has been appreciated by 
the consumers. 

Mr. Ashley was married in Philadelphia to 



Miss Jennie Kanary, who was born in that city 
thirty-six years ago and was educated in Bucks 
county, Pa. They have had four children, one 
of whom died in infancy. Grant L., now a 
bright student of fourteen years; Claude N., 
aged eleven, also in school ; and Aileen, a baby 
of three years, makes up the family circle. 

ULYSSES G. YOUNG, capitalist and well 
known citizens of Charleston, W. Va., owns 
one of the city's beautiful homes, his residence 
being located at No. 1323 Ouarrier street. He 
was born at Charleston, June 6, 1869, and is 
a son of Rev. Henry and Lucetta (Jones) 
Young, and a grandson of Mathias Geyhart 
Young. 

Rev. Henry Young was born in Wirt coun- 
ty, on Little Kanawha river, now in W. Va., 
some eighty years since and still resides on his 
father's old homestead, where he has passed the 
greater part of his life. This land is a part of a 
large estate, several thousand acres, which Ma- 
thias G. Young secured at a very date. It 
is related that he traded a rifle for some hun- 
dreds of acres lying on Two-mile Creek, where 
it empties into the Kanawha river. Mathias G. 
Young was married twice and had seventeen 
children, Rev. Henry Young being the youngest 
born to his first marriage, with Nancy Hick- 
man. For many years Rev. Young has been a 
minister of the 'Missionary Baptist church and 
has devoted a large part of his time to religious 
work, all through the county, and has never 
accepted any financial return for the same. He 
is a strong temperance advocate and in local 
affairs votes with the Prohibition party but is 
identified with the Republican party in national 
matters. He married Lucetta Jones, who was 
born in Kanawha county in 1840 and died in 
1876. She was a devoted member of the Bap- 
tist church. Of their children, three are de- 
ceased and four are living. Nancy, who sur- 
vived her husband, William Kesler, died at the 
age of thirty-four years, with both her chil- 
dren. William Thomas married Mary Carney 
and both are deceased, three children surviving. 
Lorenzo Dow. deceased, married Lizzie Hick- 
inbottom, and is survived by children. John M. 
lives near Charleston and is a carriage-builder 
by trade. He has been thrice married, his last 



668 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



union being with Ida Jones, and they have two 
children, Clarissa, who resides at Charleston, 
is the widow of Philip Holseaple, who left a 
large family. George B. McClelland is a resi- 
dent of Charleston. He married Georgia Pur- 
dy and they have three children. Ulysses Grant 
is the youngest of the family. 

Ulysses G. Young early displayed the enter- 
prise that has resulted in his accumulating a 
large fortune through his own efforts. W hen 
sixteen years of age he started out as a cabin 
boy on a steamboat and later became a deck 
hand, some years later transferring from water 
transportation to land, when he entered rail- 
road life, and still later worked in the construc- 
tion of public works on the Kanawha river. 
He was variously occupied for some years and 
then engaged in the horse business and oper- 
ated a livery stable, subsequently turning his 
attention to the handling of real estate, becom- 
ing also a note broker. With opportunity Mr. 
Young proved his extreme business capacity 
and is now numbered with the capitalists of 
Charleston. He has been an active and public 
spirited citizen for a number of years, served 
two years as street commissioner and two terms 
as a member of the city council from a Republi- 
can ward. 

On January 6, 1901, Mr. Young married at 
Gallipolis, O., to Miss Emma B. Gunter, who 
was born July 9, 1872, on Elk river. Kanawha 
county, a daughter of John W T . and Martha J. 
(Leavitt) Gunter. The mother of Mrs. Young 
died at Charleston at the age of forty-five 
years. The father, who is a veteran of the 
Civil War, serving four years in the Federal 
Army, resides on his farm in Elk district and 
is now in his sixty-fifth year. The family of 
Mr. and Mrs. Gunter consisted of six children, 
namely: Mrs. Young; Franklin S., who is a 
resident of Charleston, married Laura Samples 
and they have six children: Laura V., who is 
the wife of Walter Guyer, of Charleston, and 
they have one daughter, Dorothy J. ; Robert 
Lee, who lives at Charleston; Cora May, who 
resides with her father; Nellie A., who is the 
wife of A. Board, of Kanawha county, and 
they have one son, John. Mr. and Mrs. Young 
have one daughter, Maude A., who was born 



May 25, 1893. She married William Webber, 
and they live on a farm in Clark county, Ky., 
near Lexington. Mr. Young is a member of 
Elkanah Lodge, No. 38, Knights of Pythias. 

HENRY LEE BLAIR, general merchant at 
East Bank. W. Va., and a stockholder in the 
Tri-State Wholesale Grocery Company, at 
Kenova, W. Va., has been a resident of East 
Bank for the past twenty-six years. He was 
born July 6, 1863, in Putnam county, W. Va., 
and is a son of Samuel W. and Lucinda (Stat- 
en) Blair. 

Samuel W. Blair was of Irish ancestry. He 
was a shoemaker by trade and also taught 
school for many years in Putnam county, and 
owned a farm near Hurricane, where he died 
when aged seventy-six years. He was married 
in Buckingham county, Va., to Lucinda Staten, 
who died at East Bank, in her seventy-ninth 
year. They had six children, namely: Mary, 
who is deceased, was the wife of William 
Green; Samuel C, who formerly was county 
superintendent of schools in Kanawha county; 
Andrew C, deceased, who formerly was pro- 
secuting attorney of Kanawha county ; William 
R., who is a school teacher; Henry Lee; and 
Emma J., who is the widow of George E. Bene- 
dict. 

Henry Lee Blair spent his boyhood on the 
home farm and his education was pursued un- 
der the watchful superintendence of his father. 
He remained at home until the age of twenty- 
one years and then entered the employ of the 
company controlling the mines at East Bank, 
where he remained as coal weigher, for fifteen 
years. In 1900 he opened his store at East 
Bank, when he erected a new two-story build- 
ing, 44x60 feet in dimensions and carries a 
large stock. He owns other real estate, includ- 
ing his comfortable residence. He was one of 
the founders of the Tri-State Wholesale Gro- 
cery Company, which was organized in 1909. 

Mr. Blair was married June 25, 1884. to 
Miss Hattie May Buskirk, and they have four 
children: Charles, who resides at East Bank, 
married Bessie Coleman and they have one 
daughter, Nora; Armon C. who resides at 
home ; Warden, who is the wife of James Mar- 
tin (they have one child. Freda Lee, and live 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



669 



at East Bank) ; and Quinton. Mr. Blair and 
family belong to the Baptist church. He is a 
member of the senior order of American Me- 
chanics, No. 25, at East Bank, and of the 
Knights of Pythias, at Cedar Grove. Politi- 
cally he is a Republican and has served as city 
recorder and as a member of the council. 

ERNEST AUGUST MEYER,* who is a 
farmer in Elk district, and is also proprietor 
of a meat market, was born in Gallia county, 
O., October 11, 1874, and is a son of Frederick 
and Augusta (Raulph) Meyer. 

Frederick Meyer was born at Pittsburg, Pa., 
and was of German parentage. In childhood 
his parents moved to Gallia county, O., where 
Frederick grew to manhood and was engaged 
in farming until his death, at the age of thirty- 
five years. He had remained on the old Gallia 
county homestead. He married Augusta 
Raulph, a daughter of Christian and Anna 
Raulph, who were natives of Germany. Mrs. 
Meyer still resides in Gallia county and has 
passed her fifty-fourth birthday. The members 
of the family of Frederick Meyer and wife still 
living are : Emma, who is the widow of W. 
Lindell and lives in Charleston; Ernest Au- 
gust; and Millie Amelia, who is the wife of J. 
Jones, of Gallia county. After remaining a 
widow for some years, Mrs. Meyer married 
Washington Donohue, who is a farmer in Gal- 
lia county, and they have had three children. 

CHRISTOPHER C. RAND, chief of the 
fire department of Charleston, W. Va., a man 
of great executive ability, and an able and pub- 
lic spirited citizen, was born September 17, 
1858, near Charleston, and is a son of Chris- 
topher C. and Nancy McArthur (Pine) Rand. 

Christopher C. Rand, Sr., was a New Eng- 
lander, born at Rutland, Vt, and came to Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., with his two brothers, 
Jacob and William J., and they all engaged in 
salt manufacturing for some years. In politics 
he was a Whig and when the great questions 
came up that involved the country in civil war, 
he was a union man and was opposed to seces- 
sion. His death occurred at the age of sixty- 
five years, while the war was in progress. He 
married Nancy McArthur Pine, a lady from 



Kentucky. She survived her husband for a 
number of years, her death occurring after her 
seventieth birthday. She was a consistent 
member of the Methodist church, while her 
husband was a deacon in the Presbyterian 
church. Four sons and four daughters were 
born to them : Lucy, who is the wife of Edward 
Bibby of Charleston ; Virginia, who is the wid- 
ow of J. M. Gates, founder of the J. M. Gates 
Paint Manufacturing Company, who was suc- 
ceeded by his sons, and she resides on Broad 
street, Charleston; Nannie A., who is the wife 
of John C. Roy, who is identified with the 
Knight Lumber Company of Charleston; Al- 
bert P., who is a lumber buyer, resides at 
Charleston and married Mattie R. Goshorn; 
and Christopher C, the others being deceased. 

Christopher C. Rand was educated in the 
Charleston public schools. He has the record 
of five years service in the regular army, hav- 
ing been commissioned first sergeant of his 
company in August, 1881, and obtaining an 
honorable discharge in 1884. In 1888 he was 
appointed captain of the Governor's Guard, by 
Governor Wilson, and continued as such during 
Governor Wilson's administration. For eleven 
years he was in the insurance business. In 
May, 1907, when the Charleston Fire depart- 
ment was reorganized, the office of chief was 
tendered him, and subsequent developments 
have shown was a wise choice was made. Chief 
Rand has organized his men according to mili- 
tary regulations and the efficiency of the de- 
partment under his management is acknowl- 
edged gratefully by the citizens of Charleston. 
Since his appointment there have been no ser- 
ious fires, the department being so thoroughly 
trained that no opportunity is given for a con- 
flagration to gain headway. Chief Rand was 
appointed to this office by the mayor and he 
has authority to discipline his command. Like 
their leader, this fire department are fine speci- 
mens of manly vigor and they command the 
esteem as well as confidence of the public. 

Chief Rand was married at Charleston to 
Miss Joanna Trudgian, a native of this city, a 
daughter of John and Sarah Trudgian. They 
were born and married in England. The moth- 
er of Mrs. Rand resides in this city but the 
father is deceased. To Chief and Mrs. Rand 



670 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



a son was born, October 30, 1889, who bears 
the name of his father and grandfather, being 
the third Christopher C. Rand. He is with the 
Bell Telephone Company at Huntington. The 
family belongs to the First Presbyterian church 
at Charleston. Chief Rand is one of the trus- 
tees of Charleston Lodge, No. 202, Elks. 

FREDERICK GARDNER, a member of 
the city council of Charleston, W. Va., repre- 
senting that important section included in the 
eighth ward, for many years has been an hon- 
orable and respected business man here and is 
now one of the substantial citizens of the 
place. He was born December 27, 1845, m 
Hanover, Germany, of German parentage and 
ancestry. He is a son of Carl and Margaret 
Gardner. 

Carl Gardner followed the trade of rope, 
twine and net making, all his active life, his 
death occurring in 1854. He had lost his wife 
in 1848, she being a victim of cholera that 
was then prevailing. There were three chil- 
dren in the family, Frederick being the eldest. 
The two others, Carl and Georgiana may still 
live in Germany, although Mr. Gardner has 
not heard from them for a long period. 

Frederick Gardner was only three years old 
when his mother died and but nine years old 
when he lost his father. He lived with rela- 
tives until he was fourteen years of age, in 
the meanwhile attending school as opportunity 
afforded, and then started for the United 
States, alone and unaccompanied. He sailed 
from Bremen, on a three-mast vessel, and after 
thirty-seven days of tossing on the Atlantic 
ocean, was landed at Castle 'Garden, New 
York City, October 9, 1861. By some means 
he reached Wheeling, Va., and at once began 
work in a butcher shop and served an appren- 
ticeship to that trade for three years and six 
months. m He then went to Gallipolis, O., 
where he worked at butchering for three 
years and then came to Charleston and started 
into business on his own account and has con- 
tinued in the same line of business ever since. 
This record shows plainly what may be ac- 
complished by an industrious, persevering boy 
even when handicapped as was Mr. Gardner 
in the beginning, by his youth and inexperi- 



ence and lack of knowledge of a strange lan- 
guage. He attended closely to his own af- 
fairs and prospered and now owns consider- 
able property at Charleston, including his 
residence on Piedmont street and his market 
house on Washington street. 

Mr. Gardner was married first to Miss 
Molly Keiffer. a native of Charleston, where 
she died at the age of twenty-seven years, 
leaving six children, namely: Frederick. Jr., 
who resides with his family at Charleston and 
has three sons and one daughter; Henry, who 
also lives at Charleston, has one son and one 
daughter; Valentine, who is also a resident of 
Charleston, has one daughter; William M. ; 
John, who was accidentally killed while work- 
ing for a railroad company, left a family ; and 
Charles, also residing at Charleston, has two 
sons. Mr. Gardner was married second to 
Miss Fannie Keiffer. a cousin of the first Mrs. 
Gardner, and eight children have been born to 
them, as follows: Joseph, who is deceased; 
Augustus, an officer in the fire department at 
Charleston, who has one daughter: Herman, 
who is a lieutenant in the city fire department, 
and has one son ; Harry, also a resident of 
Charleston, who has one daughter; Albert, un- 
married, who resides in Mexico; Andrew, 
who is a clerk in the Kanawha Banking and 
Trust Company offices; Edward, who assists 
his father; and Margaret, who is a school 
girl. The family attend the First Presby- 
terian church. Politically Mr. Gardner is a 
Democrat and is serving in his sixth year as 
a member of the city council. He is a loyal 
member of his party and has frequently served 
as a delegate to conventions. He is a member 
of the social and insurance organization 
known as the National Union. 

CHARLES GRISHABER.* who is one of 
the substantial men of Loudon district, where 
he owns sixty acres of finely cultivated land, 
three miles from Charleston, and still another 
farm of eighty-one acres, a little farther away, 
has just reason to be proud of his success, be- 
cause it is all the result of his own energy and 
industry. He was born March 29, 1865, at 
Charleston, and is a son of Laurence Gris- 
haber. 



FREDERICK GARDNER 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



673 



In his boyhood, Charles Grishaber attended 
school in Loudon district. He afterward 
worked on a farm and learned to lay brick and 
still continues both occupations. For nine 
years he walked back and forth from his home 
to his work, a distance of eight miles every 
day. He worked at bricklaying and helped to 
build many of the fine structures in Charleston, 
and in the meanwhile he cleared his own farm, 
turned it into a truck garden and put up the 
substantial buildings now standing. 

Mr. Grishaber married Miss Clara Lude, 
who was born in Belmont county, O., and is a 
daughter of Michael and Sarah (Elder) Lude. 
Both parents were born in Ohio, the mother 
in Muskingum county; she died at the age of 
sixty-five years. The father of Mrs. Grishaber 
still survives. He was born November 12, 
1828, and hence is in his eighty-third year. 
Mr. and Mrs. Grishaber have four children : 
Julia, Ralph, Ray and Emmett. Politically he 
is a Democrat. With his family he is a mem- 
ber of the Catholic church. 

E. H. ESKINS, justice of the peace and a 
general merchant at Chelyan, Kanawha coun- 
ty, W. Va., was born November 19, 1867, i n 
Boone county, W. Va., spent his early boyhood 
on a farm and had to be contented with four 
months of school attendance. To send a child 
of thirteen years with a pick in hand into the 
black depths of a coal mine to earn his own 
living, seems to those who think seriously on 
these things a pitiful necessity, but Mr. Eskins 
was just this old when he became a miner in the 
Crescent mines, in Fayette county, W. Va. He 
learned the best methods of mining from a man 
named J. Petry. A part of his duty was to 
drive the mules along the underground track 
and also to help lay this track. When twenty 
years of age he moved to Winifrede, in Kana- 
wha county and there had employment as a 
regular miner, earning good wages and provi- 
dently saving them, so that in a few years he 
was able to purchase a home, finding property 
to his liking at Chelyan. For several years 
afterward he worked in the mines at Coalburg, 
W. Va., and again earned capital with which to 
embark in a small mercantile business and was 
appointed ticket agent for the C. & O. railroad 



at this point. He was then elected on the Re- 
publican ticket a district school comimtteeman 
and served for four years, until 1907, and in 
1909 was elected a justice of the peace. His 
personal popularity assisted him in this cam- 
paign as he was elected by a majority of eighty- 
three votes, while almost the whole ticket went 
Democratic. In the meanwhile, as he was ad- 
vancing financially through his own industry, 
Mr. Eskins was educating himself and when 
elected to his present responsible office, in which 
he is giving unqualified satisfaction, he in- 
stalled a fine library, added a typewriter, which 
he is able to operate for himself, and further 
equipped his office with a telephone. It is the 
quarters of a well informed, wide awake, mod- 
ern business man and broad minded official. 

Mr. Eskins married Miss Rhoda W. Clem 
dennin, a native of Putnam county, and they 
have two children : Eugenia and Edana. He is 
identified with the Odd Fellows at Marmet and 
with the Masons at Maiden. 

WILLIAM A. McMILLAN, M. D., physi- 
cian and surgeon and proprietor of the McMil- 
lan hospital, at Charleston, W. Va., was born 
in New Brunswick, and is a son of Thomas 
and Mary (Harvey) McMillan. The parents 
of Dr. McMillan were born in Scotland and 
from there crossed the Atlantic Ocean to New 
Brunswick, where they still reside, the father 
being engaged in the lumber business. The 
maternal grandfather of Dr. McMillan was 
Robert Harvey, who was a graduate of the 
University of Edinburg, Scotland. He came 
to Canada with his family and at the time of his 
death was aged ninety- four years and six 
months. 

William A. McMillan received an academic 
education in his native land and his medical 
training in the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons at Baltimore, Md., where he was grad- 
uated with his medical degree in 1903. Prior to 
this he had attended lectures while visiting in 
Europe. For one year he was a member of 
the staff of the Mercy hospital, at Baltimore, 
and then came to Charleston and in 1907 estab- 
lished his private hospital in this city, where 
he has accommodations for fifteen patients. 
He has other physicians of reputation on his 



674 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



staff and every comfort is provided for those 
who seek to benefit by his medical skill. He 
has been enthusiastically interested in medi- 
cine from boyhood and is a welcome contribu- 
tor to many medical publications. He is a val- 
ued member of the Kanawha county, West 
Virginia State and the American Medical As- 
sociations; is chief surgeon for the K. & M. 
railroad and the Charleston and Interurban 
Traction Company; is a member of the Asso- 
ciation of Military Surgeons of the United 
States and is ranking captain in the State Med- 
ical Corps. 

Dr. McMillan was married at Baltimore, 
Md., to Miss Ellen G. Owen, who was born and 
educated in that city. Her parents were John 
T. and Eleanor (Boggs) Owen, and her grand- 
father was Rev. Griffith Owen, who was a 
minister in the Presbyterian church at Balti- 
more. Dr. and Mrs. McMillan have three 
sons : William Owen, who was born November 
22, 1905 ; Thomas Harvey, who was born Sep- 
tember 12, 1907; and John Osier, who was 
born February 13, 1909. Dr. and Mrs. Mc- 
Millan attend the Presbyterian church. He is 
identified with the Masonic and other fraterni- 
ties. 

SYLVESTER CHAPMAN, formerly pros- 
ecuting attorney of Kanawha county, W. Va., 
and for twelve years county surveyor, has been 
a resident of East Bank, W. Va., since 1876. 
He was born January 1, 1833, in Giles county, 
Va., and is the eldest born of a large family, his 
parents having been Dr. David J. and Char- 
lotte (Hale) Chapman. 

Sylvester Chapman spent a happy boyhood 
on his father's plantation, his only cares being 
those pertaining to close attendance at school, 
completing his education at a well known 
Presbyterian college at Christianburg, Va. Af- 
terward he operated the plantation for his fath- 
er, whose professional duties occupied the 
larger part of his time, and so well fulfilled the 
father's expectations that the latter gave him 
an interest, in 1854, in many acres of wild land 
lying in Kanawha and Boone counties, known 
as the Banks. In 1856 Mr. Chapman came to 
Kanawha county and entered upon the study 
of law with Charles Hedrick and John A. 



W orth, and was admitted to the bar in i860, 
his license to practice bearing the names of 
those veteran jurists, Judges Baile, McWard 
and McCommis. The precipitation of Civil 
war changed his immediate plans as it did that 
of so many others, and in 1861 he entered the 
8th Va. Vol. Cavalry, as a private in the Con- 
federate army. In the same year he was as- 
signed to the commissary department and con- 
tinued so connected until the close of the war. 
The larger part of his service was in South- 
west Virginia and Eastern Tennessee, being 
with General John Morgan in his famous raids 
in Kentucky and other states, and was with 
him at the time that fearless leader was killed. 

After hostilities were ended, Mr. Chapman 
returned to Kanawha county and located at 
what is now known as Pratt, where he engaged 
in teaching school. A man of his education 
was needed, however, in public office and he 
was first elected county surveyor, and in the 
fall of 1888, prosecuting attorney, serving in 
the first office for twelve years and for four 
years in the second. He is now engaged in the 
real estate business which includes the handling 
of coal properties. 

In October, 1859, Mr. Chapman was married 
to Miss Mary L. Hansford, a daughter of Mil- 
ton Hansford, and the following children were 
born to them: J. Park, who married Maude 
Mitchell, resides at Beury, Fayette county, W. 
Va., and they have three children — Park, Syl- 
vester W., and Mary Charlotte; Charlotte H., 
who married James F. Gornto, and they live 
at Norfolk, Va., and they have two children — 
Philip S., and Lillian; Walter C, who died in 
December, 1909; David J., who resides with 
his family at East Bank; Lucy M., who lives 
at Norfolk, Va. ; Elizabeth A., who married 
James T. McMaster, of East Bank; and Will- 
iam M. In politics Mr. Chapman is a Re- 
publican. He is identified with the Odd Fel- 
lows and attends lodge at East Bank, and be- 
longs also to the Masonic lodge at Maiden. 
Kanawha county. 

MATHEW HOUSTON LOWE * a repre- 
sentative citizen of Elk District, where he is en- 
gaged in farming, also carrying on a general 
mercantile business at Elk View, was born 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



675 



April 1 8, 1858, in Roane county, W. Va., a 
son of Charles B. and Emeline (Meadows) 
Lowe, and a grandson of Mathew Lowe. 

Charles B. Lowe was born in Monroe coun- 
ty, Va., whence he removed to Roane county 
with his family, and there spent the remainder 
of his life in agricultural pursuits, his death oc- 
curring at the old family homestead when he 
had reached the age of eighty-six years. He 
was married to Emeline Meadows, the daugh- 
ter of John Meadows of Monroe county, and 
she died in 1901, having been the mother of the 
following children : Henry H., who resides in 
Roane county; Elizabeth, who married Will- 
iam Snyder; Perlina Warren, who married 
George Lawrence; John C, who resides in 
Roane county; Mathew Houston; James An- 
derson, who lives on the old homestead; Mary 
Anne, who married Dr. Punley; Louis, who is 
a painter in Roane county; and two children 
who died young. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe were 
members of the Advent church. 

Mathew Houston Lowe, after attending the 
common schools of Roane county, began work 
on the home farm, on which he continued to 
live until he was twenty years old. In the fall 
of 1879 he located on his own farm in the Elk 
district, Kenawha county, where he has carried 
on agricultural pursuits to the present time, 
and in 1908 he established himself in the mer- 
cantile line, opening a store at Elk View. Mr. 
Lowe has also followed the occupation of a 
carpenter, a trade which he learned in his youth. 
He is rated among the substantial men of his 
community, and may always be counted upon 
to work for the movements which he believes 
will advance his district. 

In 1878 Mr. Lowe was married to Miss 
Massey Verina Gander, who was born in 1854, 
a daughter of David and Jane (Casto) Gan- 
der, the former of whom was an early pioneer 
of Roane county, and the latter of whom died 
when Mrs. Lowe was an infant. Mr. and Mrs. 
Gander had children as follows: Mary C, who 
married Alf Snyder; Sarah, who married 
Thomas Shoulders ; Luranzy D. ; Sudie, who 
married L. Givens ; Gilbert, who lives in Roane 
county; and Massey V., who married Mr. 
Lowe. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lowe 
are: Cora, who married William Facemeyer; 



Charles, a farmer of Elk View, who married 
Abbie Donohue; Alonzo, who married Belle 
Neely; Flora, who married Alex Hoffman; 
Mary, who married A. Facemeyer; Howard 
Thomas, Everett, Silas, Amos, Ernie, and 
Denver, all at home; and Willie, who is de- 
ceased. Mr. Lowe is a member of the Advent 
church. 

WILLIAM R. HUGHE Y, M. D., who has 
been engaged in the practice of medicine at 
Charleston, W. Va., since 1905, was born at 
Bainbridge, Ross county, O., May 3, 1880, and 
is a son of Bernard and Jane (McMechen) 
Hughey, residents of Ohio. 

Dr. Hughey comes of professional ancestry, 
both father and grandfather having been phy- 
sicians of eminence. W. F. Hughey, the pa- 
ternal grandfather, was born in Ross county, 
O., and for many years was a practitioner at 
Bainbridge and Frankfort, his death occurring 
at the latter place. Bernard Hughey, son of 
Dr. W. F., and father of Dr. William R. 
Hughey, was born in Ross county, attended 
Otterbein college and in 1879 was graduated 
at Starling Medical college, Columbus, O. For 
thirty years he has been engaged in medical 
practice at Frankfort, O. He married Jane 
McMechen, who was born in Hardy county, 
W. Va., a daughter of William and Jane (Sey- 
mour) McMechen, the former of whom was 
killed while in the Confederate Army, during 
the Civil War, and two of her brothers also 
were killed in the service. Two children were 
born to Dr. Bernard Hughey and wife : Will- 
iam R., and Martha, the latter being the wife 
of J. R. Jamison, who is connected with the 
Willys-Overland Co., Toledo, O. 

William R. Hughey attended the public 
schools and then entered Salem Academy, 
where he was graduated in the class of 1896, 
and in 1900 was graduated at the Miami Uni- 
versity. He devoted the next four years to 
medical study, and in 1904 was graduated from 
the Ohio College of Medicine. In the same 
year he came to Charleston and entered the 
Charlestion and General Hospital as an interne, 
serving as such for one year, in 1905 begin- 
ning his practice, in which he has met with 
gratifying success. He is a member of the 



676 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Kanawha County and the West Virginia State 
Medical Associations, keeping fully abreast 
with the times in all matters of medical re- 
search and scientific discovery. 

In 1905 Dr. Hughey was married to Miss 
Joel Faut, a daughter of William H. and Kate 
(Ruffner) Faut. She was born at Owensboro, 
Ky., as were her parents, who later removed 
to Garden City and her father became inter- 
ested in agriculture in that state. Dr. and Mrs. 
Hughey have one daughter, Katherine. He 
has well equipped offices, occupying Nos. 601, 
602 and 603, in the Coyle and Richardson 
building, Charleston. 

ROBERT F. REYNOLDS, deceased, who, 
as merchant, postmaster and farmer, residing 
at Belle, Maiden District, Kanawha county. \\ . 
Va., was one of the best known residents of this 
section of the county, and was also one of the 
pioneer business men. He was born January 
30, 1826, in Monroe county, Va., and was a son 
of Thomas J. and Sarah (Hornickle) Rey- 
nolds, and died July 21, 191 1. 

Thomas J. Reynolds was born in Bucking- 
ham county, Va. Although the greater part of 
his life was spent as a farmer, he learned the 
tailor's trade in his youth and, had he found 
it necessary, could have supported his family by 
following it. His death occurred in Nicholas 
county, at the age of seventy-five years, having 
survived his wife. They had ten children, 
namely: Robert Ferguson, Charles K., Freder- 
ick S., John B.. William, Elizabeth, Mary, 
Nancy, Lucy, and Caroline. 

Robert F. Reynolds was thirteen years old 
when his parents moved to Nicholas county 
and he remained there until 1861, when he mar- 
ried and with his wife moved to Kanawha 
county and for one year lived on the Thomas 
Newton farm in Maiden District. In Feb- 
ruary, 1862, he rented a farm from a well 
known resident of the county, Billy Dickison, 
who owned 200 acres of land. Later, Mr. Rey- 
nolds purchased twenty acres of the farm and 
then thirty more, on which the present large 
brick residence stood. During the Civil War 
the soldiers of both armies passed through 
this section and Mr. Reynolds, like other farm- 
ers, suffered the loss of fences. In 1863 he 



opened his store and when General Grant be- 
came president of the United States, he was 
made postmaster. When the railroad was built 
to this point he was again appointed postmas- 
ter, this time by the late President Harrison, 
and served officially until his death. 

On June 6, 1853, Mr. Reynolds was married 
to Miss Bettie Burne, who was born in Ireland, 
June 3, 1839, and in girlhood came to America 
with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds had 
five children, nineteen grandchildren and eleven 
great-grandchildren. Mary C, the eldest 
daughter, married Charles Gardner and they 
resided with Mr. Reynolds. They have four 
children: Robert, Charles, Bettie and Fannie. 
John B., the eldest son, married Robertha Sal- 
mons, and they have five children : Catherine, 
Robert, Bettie, John and Elsie. They reside at 
Marmet, Kanawha county. Fannie married 
James Salmons and they reside at Putnam, W. 
Va., and have four children: Charles. Robert, 
James and Nettie B. Charles resides in Mason 
county. He married Stepto Keeney and they 
have four children : Bessie. Robert. Thomas and 
Catherine. Belle, the youngest of the family, 
is the wife of James Hill and they live at Put- 
nam and have two children : Anna B. and 
James. The great-grandchildren were: Charles 
E.. William, Leon, Mary C. and Helen L. Sal- 
monds, all surviving except the eldest, who was 
drowned when four years old; Charles Gard- 
ner Wyatt; Catherine E.. Franklin and Will- 
iam Elmer Backus : Earl R. Campbell : and 
Harold Adkins. The vigor of this family is 
only equaled by its uniform intelligence and 
Mr. Reynolds had even- reason to be proud 
of his numerous descendants. He was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. 
For the past thirty-five years he had been a 
member of Olive Branch Lodge. No. 38. Odd 
Fellows, at Brownstown. A Democrat in poli- 
tics, he had served frequently in township of- 
fices, such as trustee and supervisor. Mr. Rey- 
nolds had a fund of interesting reminiscences 
to draw on concerning this section and a visit 
with him was a pleasant experience. 

HON. JAMES H. HULING. prominent 
in the political and business life of the Kana- 
wha Valley, was born in Williamsport, Pa., 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



677 



March 24, 1844, the son of Col. Lewis G. 
Huling and Henrietta Brown Huling. He was 
educated at the Dickinson Seminary, at Will- 
iamsport, when Bishop Thomas Bowman was 
principal. He. entered the army at the age of 
17 years and for two years was commissary 
clerk under his father who was commissary of 
the nth Army Corps. Afterwards, he enlisted 
in the Pennsylvania Cavalry and served in the 
same until the regiment was mustered out of 
service. Returning to Pennsylvania at the end 
of the war he was in the lumber business at 
Kettle Creek, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, 
from the summer of 1865 to the spring of 
1869. 

Mr. Huling moved to Charleston, Kanawha 
county, West Virginia, in the spring of 1869 
and still resides there. He organized the lum- 
ber firm of Huling, Brockerhoff & Company 
and was the general manager of that company 
for a number of years. He also organized the 
Black Band Iron and Coal Company, with op- 
erations on Davis Creek of Kanawha county, 
and was the general manager of that organiza- 
tion. Mr. Huling always has taken a deep in- 
terest in politics. In 1880 he was elected chair- 
man of the State Republican Fusion Commit- 
tee, and was a member of the Republican State 
Central Committee for four years. He was 
elected mayor of the city of Charleston on the 
Republican ticket and served in that capacity 
during the two years of 1885 and 1886. Dur- 
ing the same period he was police judge and 
president of the city council of Charleston. 
He was vice president of the Citizens' National 
Bank, of Charleston, in 1892 and 1893, and in 
1894 he was elected to membership in the 54th 
Congress by the voters of the Third Congres- 
sional District. He has the distinction of be- 
ing the first Republican ' elected from that dis- 
trict, having defeated Hon. John D. Alderson, 
Democrat. Mr. Huling served in the National 
House of Representatives until March 4, 1897, 
when he declined to run again, preferring to 
return to private life that he might look after 
his business affairs. He is a past eminent com- 
mander of Commandery No. 4, Knights Tem- 
plar of Charleston, and is a "Shriner." 

Mr. Huling has been married twice. He 
first wedded Miss Ella Francis Werts, in Penn- 



sylvania, who died in 1872. In January, 1874, 
he was married to Miss Bettie C. Wood, daugh- 
ter of the late Col. Henry H. Wood and Ann 
R. Reynolds Wood. Col. Henry Wood was 
one of the early salt makers in the Kanawha 
Valley and owned the salt furnace opposite the 
town of Maiden, one of the principal points on 
the Kanawha river. Colonel Wood was born 
in Ovid, New York, June 1, 1809, and came 
to the Kanawha Valley in 1829 and died No- 
vember 23, 1883, Mrs. Ann Ruffner Reynolds 
wife of Colonel Wood, was born in Kanawha 
County, Virginia, December 24, 18 14, and died 
December 24, 1879. Both Colonel Wood and 
his wife, pioneers in the Kanawha Valley, are 
buried in the Spring Hill cemetery at Charles- 
ton. 

Mr. Huling is largely interested in the de- 
velopment of coal and timber lands in West 
Virginia. He is a progressive business man 
who has been engaged in the development of 
the natural resources of West Virginia, espe- 
cially of the counties in southern West Vir- 
ginia. He is a member of the Swedish Co- 
lonial Society, of Pennsylvania. 

J. W. THOMAS * whose fertile little farm 
of three acres lies on the south side of Porter's 
Hollow, in Loudon District, Kanawha County, 
W. Va., was born in 1861, at Spring Hill, Ka- 
nawha County. His parents were W. H. and 
Elizabeth (Hudson) Thomas. 

W. H. Thomas was born in Kanawha 
County and was reared on a farm. During the 
Civil War he was a soldier in the Union army, 
his company being commanded by Capt. 
Charles Smith, and, although he was in active 
and dangerous service for four years and two 
months, he was never wounded and but once 
captured. His imprisonment was of short 
duration, for he managed to escape from his 
captors and was not retaken. When he re- 
turned from the army he located on a farm at 
Spring Hill, where he spent the rest of his life, 
owning 116 acres. He married Elizabeth 
Hudson and they had eight children, of whom 
four survive: William H. H.. living at 
Spring Hill; Levi, living at St. Albans; Lucy, 
who is Mrs. Parsons, living at Spring Hill ; 
and J. W., of Loudon District. 



678 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



J. W. Thomas, after attending school at 
Spring Hill, went to work in the mines and 
thus continued for twenty-one years. He then 
became a farmer and dairyman, purchasing his 
present place in 1906. He keeps six cows, has 
a sanitary dairy and delivers milk and cream 
in Charleston, having the advantage of being 
very near the city. He has a steady trade and 
is prosperous. 

Mr. Thomas was married first to Miss Fan- 
nie Midkeff, who, at death left two children, 
Addie V. and W. A. The former is the wife 
of Albert Lewis, and they have four children. 
W. A. Thomas married Lillian Tillman of Lit- 
tle Rock, Ark., and they have one child. Mr. 
Thomas married Ida Hudson for his second 
wife. He takes no very great interest in poli- 
tics, but votes with the Republican party. 

HON. GEORGE RITTER, formerly mayor 
of the city of Charleston, W. Va., and for many 
years actively identified with public affairs and 
business activities here, is one of the most 
highly respected retired residents. He was 
born February 20, 1823, in Randolph County, 
Va., and is a son of Henry and Margaret 
Ritter. 

The parents of Mr. Ritter were natives of 
Pennsylvania. At one time Henry Ritter 
owned the land on which the city of Xenia, O., 
now stands, but when other claimants inter- 
fered he did not possess the means to carry his 
case into court, and thus lost this rich heritage. 
At an early date he moved with his wife to 
Randolph County, which is now in West Vir- 
ginia, and became a noted trapper and hunter, 
and was sometimes called the Daniel Boone of 
this region. He later moved to Braxton 
County and followed farming during the rest 
of a long life that in its earlier years had been 
full of adventure. He was a soldier in the 
War of 181 2 and took part in the battle of New 
Orleans. Of his five sons, George is the only 
survivor. 

George Ritter was only a boy when his par- 
ents moved to Braxton County, and was four- 
teen years of age when he came to this city, of 
which he is one of the most venerable residents. 
Alvin Goshorn having preceded him. He had 
few advantages of any kind in his youth, be- 



yond family affection and the loving teaching 
of a good, Christian mother, who was a de- 
voted Methodist, and he had his own way to 
make in the world. In spite of many disad- 
vantages, Mr. Ritter became a man of promi- 
nence in Charleston, interested as he was in 
all that promised to be of benefit to the city. 
In 1863 he was elected a justice of the peace, 
first under the state law and served in this office 
for four successive terms, at that time the juris- 
diction of the court being much more extended 
than at present. He was a member of the city 
council for two years and of the city school 
board for two years and at a time when the 
public had not yet become satisfied concerning 
taxation for the maintenance of free schools. 
Mr. Ritter was entirely in favor of this move- 
ment of educational progress and did all in his 
power to bring it about. He was elected mayor 
in 1868 and his administration was so satisfac- 
tory that he was re-elected in the following year 
and served out a second term. In his early po- 
litical life he was a Whig and later became a 
Republican. In the early days he was a char- 
ter member of the Charleston lodge of Odd 
Fellows. 

Mr. Ritter was married in 1850, at Charles- 
ton, to Miss Sophia C. Hatcher, who was born 
in Virginia, July 15, 1833, a daughter of 
Ulysses and Catherine (Hensley) Hatcher. 
Her father died in this city in 1849, of cholera, 
but her mother survived until she was eighty- 
two years of age. Mrs. Ritter has one brother, 
Henry, and one sister, Mrs. Alethia Monroe, 
both of whom are more than eighty years of 
age. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Ritter. Henry, the eldest son, died at the age 
of forty-two years. He married Lizzie Robin- 
son, whom he survived and they had one son. 
Hugh, who lives at Charleston. Lillian C, 
the second born, resides with her parents. She 
was educated at Charleston and for some years 
was a public school teacher. William Chauncy 
is a business man in Philadelphia, where he 
married Ann Green. Lydia M. married W. L. 
Robinson, of Charleston, and they have two 
children, J. Emmet and Marjorie R. George 
C, who is unmarried, resides at Huntington, 
W. Va. Elsie Cordelia, the youngest of the 
family, is the wife of William F. Calbreath, who 




WILLIAM B. MATHEWS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



681 



was born near Staunton, Augusta County, Va., 
where he was reared and educated. He is 
bookkeeper for the Capital City Supply Com- 
pany of Charleston. The family, as a whole, 
attend the Kanawha Presbyterian church. 

WILLIAM BURDETTE MATHEWS, 
one of the leading public men of Kanawha 
county, W. Va., was born August 27, 1866, 
in Marshall county, W. Va., and is a son of 
C. C. and Esther J. (Scott) Mathews. The 
paternal grandfather was James R. Mathews, 
a son of Thomas Mathews, originally of 
Queen Anne's county, Md. His paternal 
grandmother was Martha M. Davis, a daugh- 
ter of James and Nancy Ann (Parriott) 
Davis, the latter of whom was a daughter of 
Christopher Parriott, a Revolutionary War 
veteran, and his wife, Martha .(Clark) Par- 
riott. His maternal grandparents were John 
and Margaret (Ingram) Scott, who came to 
America from County Armagh, Ireland. 

After graduating from Waynesburg Col- 
lege, Waynesburg, Pa., in 1886, William B. 
Mathews taught school for several years and 
during this time did considerable law reading, 
so that when he entered the law department 
of the Columbian, now the George Washing- 
ton University, at Washington, D. C, in 1890, 
he was able to take the LL.B. degree, in 1891, 
and the LL.M. degree, in 1892. On April 18, 
1892, he was admitted to the bar of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. For a number of years he 
was engaged in the practice of law at Wash- 
ington, after which he returned to Marshall 
county and opened a law office at Mounds- 
ville. In 1897 he came to Charleston after 
being appointed chief clerk in the office of the 
state auditor, which position he filled through- 
out the term of Auditor LaFollette, and was 
reappointed to the same office by the succeed- 
ing official, Auditor Scherr. Later Mr. 
Mathews resigned the above position, having 
been appointed assistant attorney general, un- 
der Attorney General Freer. When a vacancy 
was created by the resignation of General J. 
A. Holley, the record Mr. Mathews had back 
of him for faithfulness and efficiency, won for 
him his appointment as clerk of the supreme 
court of appeals of West Virginia. In every 



office of trust and responsibility in which he 
has had a chance to demonstrate his capacity 
and fidelity, Mr. Mathews has proved thor- 
oughly satisfactory. His general efficiency 
and high personal character have also been 
recognized by his fellow citizens of Charles- 
ton, and they have repeatedly urged public 
office in relation to civic affairs, on his accept- 
ance. He is a Republican in his political 
views and has more than once been his party's 
choice. 

Mr. Mathews was married October 25, 
1900, to Miss Elizabeth Blundon, a daughter 
of Rev. Edgar B. Blundon (now deceased) 
and Sarah Frances (Young) Blundon. She 
is a descendant of John Young, one of the 
first settlers of Charleston, W. Va. Mr. and 
Mrs. Mathews have two daughters, Sarah 
Esther and Elizabeth. Mr. Mathews is active 
in the affairs of the Y. M. C. A. and the 
Methodist Episcopal church and was a lay 
delegate to the General Conference of that 
church which was held at Chicago, 111., in 
1900, and also to that held at Los Angeles, 
Calif., in 1904. He was also appointed a 
delegate to the Fourth Methodist Ecumenical 
Conference at Toronto in 191 1. He was on 
the program at the International Epworth 
League Convention, which was held at San 
Francisco in 190 1. He is prominently identi- 
fied with the Masons, Elks, and other frater- 
nities. Mr. Mathews and family reside at 
No. 1 501 Quarrier street, Charleston. 

MEREDITH LANDRESS,* one of the 
best known of the older residents of Elk Dis- 
trict, owns a farm at White Man's Fork, and 
previous to his retirement from business, con- 
ducted a store here. He was born in this 
county, May 30, 1839, and is a son of Mere- 
dith and Mary (Johnson) Landress, and a 
grandson of Meredith Landress, a member of 
an early Dutch family of this section. 

Meredith Landress, father of our subject, 
was born in what is now Putnam County, W. 
Va., and during life followed farming. He 
died shortly after his marriage with Mary 
Johnson, a daughter of Nicholas and Sarah 
Johnson, Virginia people. Two children were 
born to this marriage, a daughter, now de- 



68:> 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ceased, and a son, who was born after the death 
of his father. Mrs. Landress subsequently 
married James Bowen, and two of their five 
children survive : James, who lives at Charles- 
ton, and John who is engaged in the real estate 
business in the same city. 

Meredith Landress lived with his maternal 
grandfather, Nicholas Johnson, on Tyler's 
Creek, until he was eighteen years of age. In 
1862 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, 
entering Co. E, 13th Va. Infantry, which was 
first in the command of General Crook and later 
in that of General Sheridan. He participated 
in all the battles and marches of his regiment 
until September 3, 1864, when he received a 
severe injury from a gunshot. He was honor- 
ably discharged June 13, 1865, and resumed 
peaceful pursuits. He engaged at first in farm- 
ing on Aron's Fork and then bought his pres- 
ent farm. On this place stood the historic tree 
under which an Indian and a white man were 
killed by the rescuers of a boy they had stolen, 
and this incident gave the name to the place. 
Mr. Landress can recall many interesting events 
concerned with this section. He remembers the 
school he first attended. It was taught by a 
Mr. Pollock and was in Black Hawk Hollow, 
now Two-Mile Creek. 

Mr. Landress was married first to Mary 
Ann Bostick, who died in 1909, aged sixty- 
eight years. She was a daughter of Thomas 
Bostick. Of their nine children, six are yet liv- 
ing. For his second wife, Mr. Landress mar- 
ried Magnolia Holmes, a daughter of Campbell 
and Letha Ann (Guthrie) Holmes. They died 
leaving eleven children, Mrs. Landress being 
then but two years old. She lived with her 
uncle, Peter Guthrie, until she was ten years 
of age, and with N. B. Holmes three years 
more, and after that took care of herself until 
her marriage, becoming a very capable woman 
in every way. Mr. and Mrs. Landress are 
members of the Adventist church. 

VAN G. JONES,* postmaster at Island 
Branch, Poca District, was born on the main 
Poca river, near the mouth of Goose Creek, in 
Poca District, September 27, 1870, and is a 
son of Lewis and a grandson of Samuel Jones. 

Samuel Jones came to Kanawha from Gilmer 



County, Va., when his son Lewis was a boy, 
and settled near the mouth of Goose Creek, 
where he became possessed "of six hundred 
acres of land. He placed a part of his estate 
under cultivation and spent the remainder of 
his life there. He married Nancy Parsons and 
of their seven children, Sarah, the fourth born, 
is the only survivor, and still lives on the old 
homestead. 

Lewis Jones obtained the education he se- 
cured, in a subscription school, and in early 
manhood was married to Julia Canibery, who 
was born in Boone County, now West Virginia, 
a daughter of Thompson Canibery, who moved 
to Kanawha County when she was young. 
She was one of a family of seventeen children. 
To Lewis Jones and his wife the following 
children were born: Frank, who is a resident 
of Jackson County ; Letha, who is the wife of 
J. W. Cider, living on Elk River; Martha, 
who is the wife of Robert Thomas, residing in 
Jackson County; Louisa, who married Clar- 
ence Covey, and lives in Jackson County; Van 
G. ; Peter T„ who lives in Kanawha County ; 
Charles N., whose home is in Indiana; Allen 
P., who is a farmer in South Dakota; and 
Lillie, who is the wife of B. S. Ray, and resides 
in Roane County. After marriage Lewis Jones 
resided on a tract of twenty and one-half acres 
of land at the mouth of Goose Creek. He was 
a man of importance in his neighborhood; serv- 
ing as overseer of the poor for many years and 
was active in the matter of public improve- 
ments, working to have new roads opened so 
that farmers could market their products more 
advantageously, his own being wool, cattle and 
sheep, which he sold at Charleston. He was 
progressive and enterprising and was thought- 
ful for his family as was evidenced when he 
bought the second corn planter that was ever 
brought to this section, he also bought the sec- 
ond sewing-machine. He is a member of the 
Adventist church. During the Civil War he 
was a member of the Home Guards. He died 
comparatively early, at the age of forty-two 
years, and his burial was on his brother Sam- 
uel's land. His widow survives and resides in 
Poca District. 

Van G. Jones attended school at Camp Creek 
but as his services were needed at home he had 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



683 



but meager opportunities, having had but two 
months of schooling since he was eleven years 
of age. After marriage he resided in Kana- 
wha County, Weather ford, Okla., and Lafay- 
ette, Ind., and then came back to the section in 
which he was born and located at the mouth of 
Camp Creek, twenty-six miles north of Charles- 
ton, where he has thirty-six acres of land. He 
also operates the farm of his brother, Peter 
Jones, which contains fifty-six acres and is one 
mile distant. Mr. Jones is also a practical car- 
penter. He remembers many changes and im- 
provements that have taken place in this sec- 
tion during his life-time and recalls when the 
only way that a plank could be sawed by the 
old mills was by the use of a whip saw, with 
one man above and one below. He is interested 
in the Farmers' Telephone Company. Always 
a Republican, he has served in many local of- 
fices, was trustee of the Board of Education for 
Poca District for eight successive years, and is 
now president of the board. He succeeded 
Samuel Jones as postmaster of the Island 
Branch office and his duties require that he re- 
ceive and send out mail one each Tuesday, 
Thursday and Saturday. 

On September 24, 1899, Mr. Jones was mar- 
ried to Miss Laura Belle Price, who was born 
October 25, 1878, in Kanawha County, a 
daughter and the fifth child of John and Annie 
(Fields) Price, the former of whom is now 
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have four chil- 
dren : Charles D., R. Frank, Coda Ray and 
Byron C. The family belongs to the Second 
Advent church. The first church of this faith 
in this section was organized by Silas Whitt- 
ney ; it was located on Island Branch Creek and 
was called the Island Branch Organization. 

CHARLES CAPITO, president of the 
Kanawha _ National Bank, at Charleston, W. 
Va., and identified with many other important 
business interests of this city and vicinity, has 
been a resident for almost a' half centurv. He 
was born November 1, 1849, at Pittsburg, Pa., 
and is a son of Godfrey and Catherine (Mil- 
ler) Capito. Godfrey Capito was a native of 
Germany. In 1856 he moved with his family 
to Mason City, W. Va., where he was a well 
known business man for many years, first fol- 



lowing the blacksmith trade and later engaging 
in the brewing business. 

Charles Capito was seven years old when 
the family settled in Mason City and there he 
was reared and given school advantages which 
were later supplemented by six years of study 
in Concordia College, at Fort Wayne, Ind. Mr. 
Capito then returned to Mason City where he 
continued in business until 1872, first as a 
druggist and later as a grocer, and then came 
to Charleston, where he has resided ever since. 
For eleven years Mr. Capito conducted a fancy 
grocery and vegetable market at Charleston, 
after which he went into the wholesale liquor 
business, from which he retired in 1905. In 
later years he became identified with the city's 
banking interests, and since September 1, 1910, 
has been president of the Kanawha National 
Bank, of which he is also a director. He has 
been officially connected with other large enter- 
prises, being especially prominent in the Kana- 
wha Valley Building and Loan Association. 
He has ever been an active and useful citizen 
and energetic business man, and the material 
success which he has fairly earned is alike 
beneficial to himself and to the city in which he 
has lived so long. For eleven years Mr. Capito 
has been president of the Charleston Chamber 
of Commerce, a fair indication of the confi- 
dence placed in his judgment and business in- 
tegrity by his commercial associates. 

Charles Capito was married in 1877 to Miss 
Sophia Bentz, and they have had four children: 
Gustave, a physician at Charleston; Bertha; 
Henry, and Kate, who died aged twenty-two 
years. Henry Capito is also prominent in the 
business affairs at Charleston, and is superin- 
tendent of the Diamond Ice and Coal Company. 
The Capito home is one of the city's beautiful 
residences and is located at No. 1605 Virginia 
avenue, Charleston. Mr. Capito was identified 
with the Democratic party until 1893, since 
when he has been a Republican. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran church at Charleston. 

HENRY W. SENTZ, general manager of 
the Charleston Milling and Produce Company, 
of Charleston, W. Va., with which important 
enterprise he has been thus connected since its 
organization, was born in Kanawha County, 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



W. Va., forty-four years ago, and is a son of 
John W. and Sarah A. (Rhodes) Sentz. 

The parents of Mr. Sentz were born in Vir- 
ginia and were married in Kanawha County. 
In his earlier manhood, John W. Sentz was a 
drug clerk for some years and later was con- 
nected with salt manufacturing with Rev. Stew- 
art Robertson. Some years later Mr. Sentz 
was elected sheriff of Kanawha County, and 
served in that office for two terms, and subse- 
quently was elected president of the board of 
county commissioners, and at times was a use- 
ful member of the Charleston city council. He 
died at Charleston in 1887, at the age of fifty 
four years. He was a member of the Kanawha 
Presbyterian church. His widow survives, sub- 
sequently becoming the wife of C. G. Fell, late 
of Marietta, O. To the parents of Mr. Sentz 
nine children were born, six sons and three 
daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, all 
survive and all but one have domestic ties of 
their own. 

Henry W. Sentz was reared and educated 
in his native county and at the age of nineteen 
years became connected with the firm of Lewis, 
Hubbard & Co., and was commercial man for 
the firm for a number of years, having the line 
represented in the milling and produce depart- 
ment. He thus was well qualified to assume 
the duties of his present position. The Charles- 
ton Milling and Produce Company was incor- 
porated in 1902 with R. G. Hubbard as presi- 
dent; F. W. Abney, as vice president; and H. 
R. Hartman as secretary and treasurer. They 
are manufacturers and dealers in all kinds of 
milling products, and in grain, hay and produce 
of all kinds. The large main building occupied 
is 100 x 100 feet in dimensions, with wings 
with engine room and warehouse 120 x 80 feet, 
with other structures including a cooper shop, 
blacksmith shop and stables, all of brick con- 
struction, four stories in height, and is located 
on a spur of the K. & M. and C. & O. rialroads. 
The firm keeps ten salesmen on the road and 
there are sixty names on the pay roll. 

Mr. Sentz was married at Charleston to 
Miss Hope Reid, who was born at Charlotte- 
town, Prince Edward Island, Canada, a daugh- 
ter of J. H. Reid. The latter was also born in 
Prince Edward Island, but is now a resident of 



southern California, where he is an active busi- 
ness man. His wife was of English birth and 
died on Prince Edward Island. Mrs. Sentz 
was educated in a convent at Montreal, Canada. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sentz have one daughter, Muriel 
Hope, a bright student of twelve years, in the 
Charleston schools. Mrs. Sentz is a member 
of the Episcopal church. Politically he is a Re- 
publican, and he is a very active member of the 
Charleston Board of Trade. 

WILLIS BURDETT,* one of Elk District's 
well known citizens, a retired farmer, is a mem- 
ber of one of the first pioneer families to settle 
on Cooper's Creek, in Kanawha County, W. 
Va. He was born on the old homestead, June 
6, 1840, and is a son of William and Sarah 
(Young) Burdett. 

William Burdett was born in Greenbrier 
County, Va., and in 1838 was brought to Kana- 
wha County by his parents. His father owned 
what is now known as the Vinton Jordan farm, 
and that was the first home of the Burdett fam- 
ily in this county. William Burdett married 
Sarah Young, a daughter of Charles Young, a 
very early settler also in Elk District. She sur- 
vived until 1890, dying in her seventy-seventh 
year. 

After the death of his father, in 1863, Willis 
Burdett purchased the family estate, paying all 
the other heirs, and remained on the homestead 
until 1887, when he traded the homestead and 
moved to Charlestion. For three years he was 
in the United States mail service, and then 
moved to Link Creek, and from there to Four- 
Mile Creek, and afterward lived for fourteen 
years at Wolf Pen, on February 22, 1909. com- 
ing to his present place on Cooper's Creek. 
Mr. Burdett is a Republican in his political 
sentiments, and never fails to cast his vote, but 
he has been willing to accept no offices. His 
business was farming all through his years of 
active life. 

On July 17, 1859, Willis Burdett was mar- 
ried to Miss Melinda Jones, who was born May 
30, 1840, in Poca District, Kanawha County, a 
daughter of Thomas and Susanna (Schafer) 
Jones, the former of whom was born in Alle- 
gheny County, Pa. He accompanied his par- 
ents, Moses and Sarah (Brown) Jones, to 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



685 



Roane County, Va., and later came to Kana- 
wha County and died in 1866, in Poca District, 
aged fifty-four years. His widow, Susanna 
Jones, daughter of John and Mary (Parsons) 
Schafer, died March 3, 1906, aged eighty-seven 
years. To Mr. and Mrs. Burdett ten children 
were born and they have many grandchildren 
and five great-grandchildren, a large and pros- 
perous family. Miles Burdett, the eldest, lives 
in Raleigh County, W. Va. He married Alice 
Moles and they have one child. Amanda is the 
wife of J. Medley and they live on Lick Branch 
and have eight children. Albert follows farm- 
ing. He married Minnie Miller, who is 
deceased and has one child. Sarah is the wife 
of George Baxter, a farmer, and they have six 
children. Thomas is deceased. James S., who 
lives in Kanawha City, married Freda Mace 
and they have two children. Henry C, who 
lives at One-Mile Fork, married Nancy Davis, 
and they have four children. Harry M., who 
lives at One-Mile Fork, married Annie Thiel, 
and they have two children. Frank, who is a 
farmer on the above Fork, married Mamie 
Thiel, and they have two children. Fred L., 
the youngest son, is his father's farmer. He 
was born on the old homestead, February 2, 
1882. He married Eliza Eden, who was born 
May 21, 1893, on Wolf Pen Creek, a daughter 
of Benjamin J. and Mary Jane (Copen) Eden, 
and they have one son, Thomas Felix. Mr. 
Burdett and family are members of the Ad- 
ventist church. 

PERRY M. PRICE, who was engaged in 
the mercantile and real estate business at 
Charlestion. W. Va., for many years, and is 
well and favorably known all over Kanawha 
County, now lives retired, occupying his com- 
fortable residence located on Price street, West 
Charleston, the same having been named in his 
honor. Mr. Price was born November 14, 1850, 
in Greenbrier County, Va.. a son of John and 
also a grandson of John Price, both of whom 
were natives of Greenbrier County. 

The Price family is of Irish-German de- 
scent, and the name has been an honored one 
in Virginia for generations. Grandfather 
John Price was twice married and the son, 
John Price, Jr., was born to the first marriage. 



He was reared on his father's farm and re- 
mained there until 1865. In the meanwhile his 
two half-brothers, Jesse and Patrick Price, had 
both died of illness contracted while serving as 
soldiers in the Confederate army. In the above 
year, John Price, Jr., came to Kanawha 
County, and became a farmer in Union Dis- 
trict for a time and then moved to Spring Hill, 
Jefferson District, and from there to Ferry 
Branch, later lived on Blue Creek, and finally 
purchased the old Atkinson homestead on Elk 
river, where he was residing at the time of his 
death, on January 31, 1897, when aged eighty- 
three years and eleven months. He was a Re- 
publican in his political views and served for a 
protracted period as a justice of the peace. For 
many years he was an official in the Missionary 
Baptist church and officiated as superintendent 
of the Sunday-school. He was a man of cor- 
rectness of life, of kind and gentle demeanor 
and one whose influence could never have been 
otherwise than beneficial. He married Cather- 
ine Judy, who was born August 8, 1823, in 
Greenbrier County. Mrs. Price not only sur- 
vives but presents a beautiful picture of con- 
tented womanhood as she quietly goes about 
her accustomed domestic duties in the old home, 
her retention of all her faculties being as re- 
markable as the preservation of her physical 
powers. She is the mother of eight sons and 
two daughters, all of whom survive with two 
exceptions. Lizzie died in childhood. William 
died when aged forty-three years, from acci- 
dent. James H., resides with his own family 
at Cincinnati, O. Jacob T. is a resident of 
Kanawha County. Perry M. is the third child 
living. John C. lives with his venerable mother 
on the homestead. Susan C. is the wife of 
Daniel A. Moore, a farmer and merchant in 
Jefferson District, and they have one son. 
George F., Thomas D. and Elmer E., all reside 
in Kanawha County. 

Perry M. Price was fourteen years of age 
when his parents came to Kanawha County, 
where he grew to manhood and in 1892 came 
Charleston. For some years he was a clerk in 
a store and then embarked in the grocery trade 
for himself and continued a successful business 
man until he retired from that line in 1906, 
since when he has devoted himself exclusively 



686 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to looking after his property interests. For a 
number of years he has been concerned with 
the development of West Charleston or Elk 
City and owns a large amount of valuable real 
estate. 

Mr. Price was married in Kanawha County 
to Miss Mattie R. Mayes, who was born Janu- 
ary 27, 1843, m Washington District, Kana- 
wha County, and was reared and educated at 
Charleston. Her parents were Ezekiel and 
Malinda (Gillespie) Mayes, the former of 
whom died at the age of sixty-three years, and 
the latter when in her eighty- fourth year. The 
father of Mrs. Price was a Democrat in politics 
and both he and wife belonged to the old- 
school Baptist church.' Three of their children 
are deceased: Alfred, Emma and Catherine. 
The following survive : Mary, who is the 
widow of Samuel Gilliland, and has one son; 
B. Franklin, who is a merchant at Charleston; 
Fannie J., who is the widow of Thomas Rob- 
erts, and has one son ; Mrs. Price ; Ella, who is 
the wife of Charles Walton, of Detroit, Mich. ; 
Robert, who resides with his family at Okla- 
homa City, Okla; and Laura B., who is the 
wife of Henry E. Wintz, of Charleston, and 
they have two sons. In politics Mr. Price is a 
Republican, but he has never been unduly inter- 
ested in public affairs. With his wife he be- 
longs to the Missionary Baptist church. 

JOHN H. BLANCET * owner of a valuable 
forty-acre farm, which lies three miles from 
Charleston, W. Va., devotes a part of his land 
to truck gardening, finding a ready market in 
the near-by city. He was born in Giles County, 
Va., May 4, 1853, and is a son of Plez and 
Sarah (Tuggle) Blancet. 

Plez Blancet was born in Virginia and owned 
his own farm there and engaged in agricultural 
pursuits all his life. His death occurred in his 
sixty-fifth year. He married Sarah Tuggel 
and they had eight children born to them, 
namely: William, Plez, John H., Joseph, Sal- 
lie, Eliza, Susan and Fannie, all now surviving 
except the two eldest born. 

John H. Blancet obtained his education in 
the district schools and afterward worked for 
his father until his own marriage, when he 
came to Kanawha County and found employ- 



ment at the Ruffner ferry. He remained with 
Mr. Ruffner for four years and then bought his 
present farm, which then, however, was wild 
land. He cleared it and put it under cultiva- 
tion and now has one of the most productive 
tracts of land in this section. He has other- 
wise improved the place and has erected sub- 
stantial buildings. 

Mr. Blancet was married to Miss Maria Gil- 
lispie, who was born in Putnam County, W. 
Va., and eight children have been born to them: 
James, who is a farmer, married Becky Par- 
sons and has two children; Bertie Lee, who 
lives at home ; Nettie, who married G. M. Hall, 
and has three children; Hattie, who is de- 
ceased; Virgie, who married Frank Thoma; 
Letha, who married Jack Dodson, and has two 
children; Nita, who married Ward Russell, 
and has three children; and Rufus. twin to the 
above sister, who lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. 
Blancet are members of the Church of Christ 
of which he has been a trustee for twenty 
years. He is a Democrat in politics. 

FRANK T. SULLIVAN, who, for a num- 
ber of years was an active business man of 
Charleston, W. Va.. and a highly respected 
citizen, was born in Mason County, W. Va., in 
July, 1875, and died at his home in Charleston, 
December 2. 1909. He was a son of Alfred T. 
and Nancy Caroline (Greenlee) Sullivan. 

Alfred T. Sullivan was a native of Mason 
County and for many years was engaged in a 
mercantile business at Leon, in that county. 
During the Civil War he was a member of the 
13th W. Va. Vol. Inf., Federal army, and saw 
hard service. His death occurred December 
29, 1906, at the age of sixty-four years. He 
married Nancy Caroline Greenlee, who was a 
native of Mason County, where she died at the 
age of forty-eight years. Both were members 
of the First Baptist church of Leon, W. Va. 
Six children were born to this marriage all of 
whom survive except Frank T. He was a 
young man when he came to Charleston and 
went into business, becoming a partner in the 
grocery firm of the C. A. Gates Grocery Co.. a 
well known business enterprise of Charleston. 
Through his honesty, efficiency and courtesy, 
Mr. Sullivan made both business and personal 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



687 



friends and during the fifteen years in which he 
was identified with commercial interests here, 
he established an unblemished business record, 
and at his death left a modest fortune. 

Mr. Sullivan was married at Charleston, 
October 16, 1899, to Miss Virginia Caroline 
Eastwood, who was born in Kanawha County 
and is a daughter of James M. and Emil A. 
(Turner) Eastwood. The father of Mrs. Sul- 
livan was born in West Virginia in 1825 and 
died January 26, 1895. In early life he was 
captain of a steamboat but later turned his at- 
tention to other business lines. In politics he 
was a Republican and in religious faith was a 
Methodist. His widow survives and resides 
with her daughter, Mrs. Sullivan. She was 
born December 9, 1833, a daughter of Branch 
and Susan (Wilkinson) Turner. Her father 
was born in 1801, and her mother in 1804, and 
after marriage they came to Maiden, Kanawha 
County, where the father made salt barrels and 
in old days floated them down the river. They 
were members of the Baptist church, to which 
religious body Mrs. Eastwood and Mrs. Sulli- 
van both belong. Mrs. Sullivan has two chil- 
dren, Marie Eastwood, who was born Septem- 
ber 7, 1900, and Charles Thomas, who was 
born October 2, 1906. 

MRS. MARGARET HUBNER,* a well 
known and highly respected resident of Elk 
District, is the widow of John Hubner, who 
was a prosperous farmer of this section, and 
who was living retired at the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1907, when he was aged 
sixty-one years. Mrs. Hubner was born Octo- 
ber 1 1, 1848, in Eggersdorf, Germany, a daugh- 
ter of John and Margaret (Holl) Bargend. 

John Bargend, born also in Eggersdorf, Ba- 
varia, was a farmer, and a mason by trade, and 
died in his native land in 1868, when aged fifty- 
eight years. He married Margaret Holl, who 
lived to be eighty-six years old. Her father 
was Lenhardt Holl, who was born in Prussia 
and died in his own land. 

Mrs. Hubner is the only survivor of her par- 
ents' family of six children. In her girlhood 
she accompanied relatives to America, who lo- 
cated at Charleston and there she became ac- 
quainted with John Hubner to whom she was 



subsequently married. John Hubner was born 
in Bavaria, Germany, and was a son of a soldier 
who participated in the Thirty-Years' War and 
died in the army. John Hubner was twenty- 
four years old when he came to America and to 
Charleston, W. Va., and some time later he 
purchased a farm in the German settlement in 
Elk District and through his thrift and indus- 
try became a man of independent means. He 
was a consistent member of the Lutheran 
church. While he always cast his vote, he 
never desired any political office, giving support 
to the Democratic party because he believed in 
its principles. To Mr. and Mrs. Hubner nine 
children were born, as follows : Dolly, who 
lives with her mother; George, who is a far- 
mer, married Redda Anna Copen and has three 
children — Oda Maria, Froma Esther and Lu- 
etta Mildred; Anna, who is the wife of John 
Haas, a farmer in Elk District, and has three 
children — Ida, Clarence and Ambrose; John, 
who lives at home; Minnie, who is the wife of 
George Henshaw, and has two children — Frank 
and Margaret ; Elizabeth, who attends the High 
School at Charleston; and three children who 
are deceased. Mrs. Hubner attends the Luth- 
eran church. 

WILLIAM GILLIGAN, whos real estate 
holdings at Charleston, W. Va., make him a 
leading citizen in that line, formerly was ac- 
tively interested in the lumber industry and for 
many years before retirement, was concerned 
in the lumber business. He was born in 1847, 
in Clearfield county, Pa., and is a son of Ed- 
ward and Elizabeth (English) Gilligan. 

The parents of Mr. Gilligan were born in 
Dublin, Ireland, of Irish ancestry and of Ro- 
man Catholic religion. Four of their fifteen 
children were born before they left Ireland for 
the United States. After reaching this country 
they lived first at Pottsville, Pa., and then 
moved to Clearfield County, where the father 
died at the age of sixty-five years, having been 
a farmer. The mother survived to be ninety- 
four years of age. Twelve of their large fam- 
ily lived to maturity and seven of these survive. 

William Gilligan was one of the younger 
members of his parents' family. He was seven- 
teen years of age when he became a lumber- 



688 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



man and worked at logging and rafting in 
Pennsylvania until 1872, when he came to 
Charleston, W. Va., and associated himself 
in the lumber business with M. V. Smith. 
Their field was in Webster County,, at the head 
of Elk River, and they were doing well, when 
an unexpected and unprepared-for freshet 
drove down the river more than 5.000,000 feet 
of their logs. This disaster was a serious 
handicap for a time, but later they continued 
being in partnership for about four years, when 
they lost the mill by fire. Mr. Gilligan and M. 
V. Smith were the first to put a skiff in the Elk 
River, at Addison, in Webster County Mr. 
Gilligan then went into the shoe business for a 
time, and subsequently was interested for five 
years with William D. Isaac, in the manufac- 
ture of bricks, under the firm name of Gilligan 
and Isaac, in which line he continued until ne 
disposed of his business interests outside of his 
real estate, practically retiring in 1906. About 
that time he erected Oakherst, on Swan Hill, a 
stately residence and beautiful home, overlook- 
ing the valley and city. He also owns a large 
business house on Charleston street, together 
with some fifty-six acres, all in one body, within 
the corporation limits. 

Mr. Gilligan was married on August 27, 
1871, to Miss Catherine Ouinn, in Clearfield 
County, who was born in the Parish of Ka- 
nough, County Roscommon, Ireland, April 3, 
1848. She was six months old when her par- 
ents, Edward and Mary (Killian) Ouinn, came 
to the United States and settled in Clearfield 
County, Pa., where her father was a farmer 
for many years, but later went to Buchanan 
County, la., where the father bought a farm, 
near Winthrop, and there both parents of Mrs. 
Gilligan spent the remainder of their lives. 
The father was seventy-six years old at 
time of death and the mother was seventy-one. 
They were devoted members of the Roman 
Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Gilligan have 
had ten children, the survivors being : Martin, 
who resides at Charleston; Edward, who lives 
at Charleston, married Ellen Clark, of Colum- 
bus, O., and they have two children — Robert 
P. and Ruth C. ; William, who lives at home; 
Mary, who attended a conservatory of music; 
and Margaret, Anna, John and Helen, all of 



whom live at home. The children have been 
given superior educational advantages. The 
family belongs to the Roman Catholic church, 
and Mr. Gilligan is a member of the Knights 
of Columbus. 

ABRAM- CLARK SHAVER, one of the 
representative and widely known citizens of 
East Bank, W. Va., which place has been his 
home for many years, was born July 21, 1843, 
on his father's farm in Gallia county, O., and 
is a son of James and Mary Ann (Edwards) 
Shaver. 

James Shaver was born December 27, 181 7, 
in Gallia count}', and died on his farm in 
Springfield township, October 13, 1899. His 
wife, Man r A. Edwards, was born June 17, 
18 1 2, near Edinburgh, Scotland, and came to 
America with her parents when young. The 
voyage across the Atlantic ocean consumed six 
weeks and the Edwards family located at 
Pittsburg and from there went to Gallipolis, 
Ohio, where Mary A. subsequently married 
James Shaver. Her death occurred May 25, 
1905. They had six children, namely: Will- 
iam E., deceased, who served through the 
Civil War as a member of the 19th U. S. 
Regulars, and was twice wounded: Abram 
Clark; Mary J., who is deceased; Susan A., 
who is the wife of John Ferguson; James L. 
and Thomas J. 

Abram C. Shaver remained on the home 
farm and was educated in the district schools 
and at Cheshire Academy. In 1862 he en- 
listed for service in the Civil War, entering 
Co. E, 141st O. Vol. Infantry, and served 
ninety days, re-enlisting as a veteran in Co. 
C, 194th O. Vol. Infantry, under Capt. Ben- 
jamin Martin. He participated in many bat- 
tles, served until the close of the war and was 
honorably discharged and mustered out at 
Columbus, O. He returned to his father's 
farm, but his long absence had somewhat 
changed his views and ambitions, and, remem- 
bering the beautiful Kanawha valley in which 
he had lived as a soldier during much of 1862, 
he resolved to return to that section and per- 
haps make it his future home. He landed at 
Coalburg, W. Va., June 17, 1866. At that 
time Col. W. H. Edwards was president of 



ME. AND MES. ABEAM C. SHAYEE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



691 



the Kanawha & Ohio Coal Company, and as 
he was interested in educational matters and 
was disposed to favor a veteran soldier, he 
secured a teacher's position for Mr. Shaver, 
which the latter acceptably filled for three 
months, and then was engaged in the company 
store at Coalburg and continued with the old 
firm and with its successors, the Robinson 
Coal Company. For thirty-three years Mr. 
Shaver was in that store, and during fifteen 
years and eleven months of this time was post- 
master. In the meanwhile he had purchased 
his present desirable property at East Bank. 
He has always been an active Republican and 
reputable citizen, and in 1900 was elected a 
member of the county court, with a plurality 
of 1.400 votes, and served until 1905. 

Mr. Shaver was married December 2, 1869, 
to Miss Minna Barker, who was born in Ger- 
many, and they have had six children: Rosa 
A., born September 12, 1870; Dorothy, born 
May 10, 1872; Minna, born April 15, 1874; 
Clara, born February 4, 1876, who died eight- 
een months later; William B., born April 13, 
1877; and Ada, born August 18, 1880. Mr. 
Shaver and family are members of the Free 
Will Baptist church. He is a Knight Templar 
Mason and a Shriner. belonging to Beni- 
Kedem Temple at Charleston, and he belongs 
also to George Crook Post, No. 3, G. A. R., 
at Charleston. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WATSON* 
postmaster at Monarch, W. Va., and mana- 
ger of the Sunday Creek stores Nos. 1, 2 and 3, 
was born on the old home place of his grand- 
mother, at Mt. Juliet, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., July 21, 1869, and is a son of Robert F. 
and Sally (Dickinson) Smithers Watson. 

Robert F. Watson was born at Staunton, 
Va., and was young when he was brought to 
what is now West Virginia, by his widowed 
mother, and was two years old when she lo- 
cated in Lewis County, where he grew to man- 
hood. From that county he enlisted at the be- 
ginning of the Civil War and served four years 
as a soldier in the Confederate army. His first 
enlistment was as a private in the 22nd Va. 
Inf., which later came under the command of 
Gen. Stonewall Jackson, and later he was in a 



cavalry regiment and still later in the artillery. 
Soon after the end of the war he came to 
Kanawha County and in 1868 married Sallie 
(Smithers) Dickinson, a daughter of Benja- 
min S. and Eliza (Shrewsbury) Smithers. 
Mr. Watson then went into the mercantile busi- 
ness, for years being manager for the stores of 
the Peabody and Lovell Coal Companies, and 
later had a store of his own which he was con- 
ducting at the time of his last sickness, his 
death occurring March 14, 191 1, when he was 
sixty-seven years old, his wife having passed 
away December 14, 1897. They owned valu- 
able land in Cabin Creek District at Shrews- 
bury, Mrs. Watson belonging to old and promi- 
nent families of this section. They had three 
children: Benjamin Franklin: David A., who 
died at the age of fourteen years; and Robert 
G., who lives on the home farm. 

Benjamin Franklin Watson was educated in 
the Cabin Creek and Maiden District schools 
and then attended the "K. M. I." at Charleston, 
where he secured a business education. He 
then entered the employ of the Peabody Coal 
Company, in their store at Peabody, W. Va., 
but after remaining there for a few years, re- 
turned to the K. M. Institute and pursued his 
studies there for three more terms. His next 
business association was with the Lovell Coal 
Company and he remained with them for four 
years under his father, afterward becoming a 
clerk in the Charleston National Bank, and re- 
maining with that institution for two years. 
Two years more were spent in the Peel Splint 
Coal Company's store and he then became 
bookkeeper for the Monarch Coal Company at 
Monarch, and continued six years. Mr. Wat- 
son then served six years as store manager for 
the Riverside Coal Company and when the 
Sunday Creek Coal Company absorbed the for- 
mer company, he continued with the latter or- 
ganization. He came to Mammoth in 1903, 
and was appointed postmaster here June 9, 
1904, serving in the same capacity for River- 
side and Monarch. 

On June 2, 1898, Mr. Watson was married 
to Miss Minnie Shaffer, a daughter of A. C. 
Shaffer, of East Bank, W. Va. They are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. He is identi- 
fied with the Masonic fraternity and belongs to 



692 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



all the Charleston branches and is also a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Pythias at Cedar Grove. 

JAMES T. SNYDER, who is interested in 
valuable land in different sections of West \ ir- 
ginia, rich in oil and gas, was born on Reynolds 
street, Charleston, W. Va., near his present 
home, December 13, 1858, and is a son ot 
Henry and Nancy (Price) Snyder. 

Henry Snyder was born in Pendleton county 
and his wife at Clendenin, Kanawha County, 
W. Va. They were married in 1840, and came 
to Charleston in 1843, Mr. Snyder building the 
Snyder Hotel, on the corner of Reynolds and 
Brown streets, leading thoroughfares of the 
city at that time. This public house was the 
stopping place for all who came hither either by 
land or water, and although he had but twenty 
sleeping rooms, at times managed to accommo- 
date as many as 150 guests over night, making 
them as comfortable as possible, and he con- 
ducted his hotel from 1843 until his death, No- 
vember 9, 1882. His books show many distin- 
guished names. He was a strong supporter of 
the Confederacy in 1 861. In boyhood, when 
but fifteen years of age, he became a soldier in 
the U. S. army and for several years was in 
Florida during the troubles with the Seminole 
Indians, and during this time was seriously 
wounded by one of the savages. Mr. Snyder 
was well known all through this section of the 
state, was connected with many of the develop- 
ing enterprises of this locality and was an of- 
ficial of the Cannel Coal Company. His wife 
was a member of an old state family, her par- 
ents being Edward M. and Elizabeth (Mur- 
phy) Price, prominent people at Clendenin. 
leaders in the Methodist church. The father 
of Mrs. Snyder died aged fifty-three years, and 
the mother aged seventy-three years. Airs. 
Snyder survived until 1891. She was a de- 
voted member of the Baptist church. Five 
children were born to Henry and Nancy Sny- 
der : Melvin, who is a capitalist and resides on 
Upper Kanawha street, Charleston; Elizabeth, 
who is the wife of A. B. Williams, of Charles- 
ton; John P., who died in New York city in 
1908, aged fifty-eight years; James T. : and 
Josephine, the wife of A. B. Miller, who is 
foreman of the Dry Kiln Company, of Balti- 
more, Md. 



James T. Snyder was reared and educated at 
Charleston and his home has never been farther 
than one block from the residence in which he 
was born. For some years he was connected 
with the Charleston Natural Gas Supply Com- 
pany, but has been mainly interested in looking 
after the property left by his father, and his 
own valuable real estate, which includes many 
acres in Roane County and in the oil and gas 
belt. He is a Democrat in his political senti- 
ments and fraternally is connected with the Odd 
Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Mys- 
tic Circle. 

Mr. Snyder was married first in 1881, to 
Miss Sarah E. Oliver, who was born at 
Charleston in January, 1859, and died October 
4, 1894, survived by one daughter, Iris E. The 
latter married John E. Kirk, of Charleston, and 
they have one son, James B. On February 14, 
1902, Mr. Snyder was married, to Miss Mollie 
Alice Williams, who was born and reared in 
Kanawha County, a daughter of William and 
Catherine (Burdett) Williams, the former of 
whom died on his farm at the age of fifty-eight 
years, and the latter in her fifty-third year. 
They were members of the Free Will Baptist 
church. Of their nine children, seven grew to 
maturity and all married. Five of these sur- 
vive and three live in Kanawha County. Mr. 
and Mrs. Snyder are members of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church, Charleston. 



KELLY CUMMINGS * one of the indus- 
trious and successful young men of Elk Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County, W. Va., who is en- 
gaged in farming here, was born in Boone 
County, W. Va., March 1, 1885, and is a son of 
Gordon and Eveline (Kidd) Cummings, both 
of whom survive. 

Gordon Cummings was born in Boone 
County, now in West Virginia, sixty-three 
years ago, a son of John Cummings, a native of 
Virginia, and a grandson of John Cummings. 
who, at one time owned one-half of Boone 
County. He came to the county when not more 
than four other pioneers had preceded him. 
Grandfather Cummings was born in 1808 and 
died in 1906, at the home of his son Gordon, in 
Kanawha County. The latter came to this 
county in 1895, locating first at Kanawha City, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



693 



but moving in 1904 to Two-Mile Creek, where 
he bought a farm on which he has lived ever 
since. He married Eveline Kidd, a daughter of 
Abraham and Dolly (Miller) Kidd, and^ the 
following children were born to them : Kelly 
Overton, of Kanawha City; Laughton, of Kan- 
awha Two-Mile; Gordon, of Charleston; Sid- 
ney and Bruce, both at home ; Margaret, wife of 
E. Miller, of Boone county ; Willie Ann, wife of 
M. Miller, of Two-Mile; and Martha, wife of 
C. Carro, of Boone county. 

After his school days were over, Mr. Cum- 
mings was an employe of the nail factory in 
Kanawha City for two years, then worked for 
four years in the mines and after that was em- 
ployed for four years in the Kelly Ax Foundry 
at Charleston. He came then to Elk district 
and has been operating the Hermandorfer farm 
ever since and has been very successful as a 
farmer. He married Miss Anna Hermans- 
dorfer. 

MEYERS BROS., plumbers and gas fitters, 
with business location at No. 1003 Washington 
Street, Charleston, W. Va., is one of the oldest 
firms in the city doing business continuously 
without change of style. The brothers, Samuel 
H. and Alexander Meyers, are sons of Solomon 
E. Meyers, who is one of Charleston's best 
known retired citizens. 

Solomon E. Meyers was born in Heidelberg, 
Germany, June 5, 1843, a son of Alexander 
and Esther Meyers, who passed many years in 
Heidelberg, where they died. Alexander Mey- 
ers, the father, was a soldier in the Crimean 
War. Solomon E. Meyers was not yet fifteen 
years of age when he left Germany and on one 
of the old slow-sailing vessels, reached New 
York. He went from there to Newmarket and 
then to Cincinnati, O., and some twenty years 
since came to Charleston to make it his perma- 
nent home. In 1861 Mr. Meyers enlisted as a 
soldier in the Confederate army and served for 
four years as a member of the 10th Va. Cav., 
and during this time suffered from four gunshot 
wounds. He took part in the battles of Cold 
Harbor, Fairfax Court House, Seven Pines, 
and the long siege before Richmond together 
with many others, at Spottsylvania Court House 
being very seriously wounded through the leg. 



He has never taken the oath of allegiance. His 
political convictions have always been decidedly 
Democratic. Mr. Meyers is a member of the 
Hebrew Temple, Charleston. In Cincinnati he 
was married to Betty Hilburn, who was born at 
Ninestraight, on the Rhine, in Germany, sev- 
enty-one years ago, and was an orphan when 
she accompanied some of her kindred to Amer- 
ica. She also is a member of the Hebrew Con- 
gregation. One daughter and three sons were 
born to them, namely: Effie C, who resides at 
home; Samuel H, who was born at Raymond 
City, Putnam county. W. Va., in 1879; Alex- 
ander, who was born at Brownston, W. Va., 
October 16, 1880; and Julius, who died at the 
age of twenty-one years. 

For fourteen years the firm of Meyers Bros, 
has been in existence at Charleston and for 
twelve of these was located on the corner of 
State and Capitol streets, in 1909 moving into 
the present commodious building on Washing- 
ton Street, where they have plenty of space. 
The firm does a general plumbing, heating and 
gas fitting business and they recently have 
shown much enterprise by introducing a pneu- 
matic system of water supply for suburban res- 
idences. They are busy, practical men, success- 
ful in their undertakings and reliable and re- 
spected citizens. 

WILLIAM LEWIS HENSON* of the 
general mercantile firm of Henson & Henson, 
leading business men at Cabin Creek, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., was born December 8. 1876, in 
Putnam county, W. Va., and is a son of Walter 
Carson and Mattie (Weiley) Henson. 

Walter Carson Henson was born and reared 
in Putnam county and owned a farm there. 
He married Mattie Weiley, who was a native of 
Ohio, and in 1878 they moved to Kanawha 
county, locating at Maiden, where Mr. Henson 
was engaged in farming for thirteen years. 
From there he then moved to a farm situated 
between Winifrede and Marmet, in Cabin 
Creek district, where a village has since grown 
up. He continued agricultural pursuits until 
1906, when he opened a general store at Cabin 
Creek Junction, which he was operating at the 
time of his accidental death on the railroad, in 
November, 1908, he then being aged fifty-nine 



694 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



years. His widow survives, together with their 
eight children, as follows: Nannie M., William 
L., J. Carson, Nyde, Carl Clay, Waldo C, Ben- 
nett and Helen. 

William Lewis Henson was educated in the 
public schools and assisted his father on the 
home farm. In early manhood he entered his 
father's store and continued with him until his 
death, after which, in association with his bro- 
ther, J. Carson, he assumed the responsibilities 
of the business and the brothers have continued 
together ever since and enjoy a lucrative trade. 
Both are widely known and are esteemed both 
as business men and as citizens. In addition to 
his business as a merchant, J. Carson Henson 
also represents the Prudential Insurance Com- 
pany. William Lewis Henson belongs to the 
Masonic lodge at Montgomery and to the 
Knights of Pythias at Chelyan, W. Va. 

JAMES BIBBY, a retired resident of 
Charleston, W. Va., who owns a large amount 
of real estate in this section, which has been 
well improved, spent many years of active en- 
deavor here, identified with numerous enter- 
prises which contributed to the upbuilding and 
advancement of his native city. He was born 
at Charleston, October 27, 1837, coming of old 
Quaker stock and of English ancestry. 

Edward Bibby, the paternal grandfather, be- 
longed to a fine old Lancaster, England, family, 
one that has numbered many men of wealth and 
importance in its ranks. The Bibby name at 
the present day is known in the leading marts 
of trade at Liverpool, and one of the nephews 
of Edward Bibby, became one of the most ex- 
tensive growers of sheep in New Zealand. 

Joseph Bibby, father of James Bibby of 
Charleston, was born and reared in Lancaster, 
England, and there was married to Margaret 
Swarbrick, and after the birth of their first 
child, Ellen, they started, in 1831, to seek a new 
home in America. They set sail in a vessel 
called the Nectarine which landed them safely, 
six weeks later, at Norfolk, Va. From there, 
in company with an English friend, Frank Da- 
vis, the family started by ox-team, for Cincin- 
nati, O. They stopped near Charleston and 
there became acquainted with the Ruffner fam- 
ily and by the advice of these older settlers, they 



remained in what was then a village and pur- 
chased land, about twenty acres of which lay 
within the present city limits. Joseph Bibby 
retained his land until it became very valuable 
and then sold it to great advantage. After- 
ward he went into the salt business at Black 
Rock, near Maiden, Kanawha county, where at 
first he was not successful but later prospered 
exceedingly. In early years after he first be- 
came interested in political affairs in the United 
States, he was identified with the Whig party 
but later became a Democrat. His death oc- 
curred at Charleston, January 6, 1893, his birth 
having taken place April 12, 1805. His widow 
survived him until the last month of the same 
year, her death taking place in December, 1893, 
at the age of eighty years. She was a member 
of the Episcopal church, while he adhered to 
the Methodist faith. They were parents of 
twelve children, six of whom died early in life. 
Those who grew to maturity were: John H. 
and Samuel G., both of whom are married and 
at death left families; Edward, who lives in 
Monroe county, XV. Va., married Lucy Rand: 
James Robert, who lives in Elk district, where 
he is a farmer, has been twice married; and 
W illiam \Y., who lives retired at Charleston. 

James Bibby has spent his entire life at 
Charleston and he was associated for many 
years with his brother, William W. Bibby, in 
extensive business enterprises including flour 
milling, saw milling and general merchandis- 
ing and they also built salt boats and coal 
barges. He has witnessed wonderful changes 
in Charleston since his youth, changes in some 
was for the better in his opinion and in other 
ways the old times seemed the best. For many 
years he served as a member of the city coun- 
cil as did his father before him and like his 
father he has given his political support to the 
Democratic party. For a great many years he 
has been a member of the order of Odd Fellows. 

Mr. Bibby was married at Cincinnati, O., to 
Miss Eugenia B. Atkinson, who was born near 
Charleston, January 15, 1847, and was edu- 
cated in Kanawha county. She belongs to a 
distinguished family and is a sister of ex-Gov- 
ernor George W. Atkinson. Mrs. Bibby is an 
active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. By a former marriage with Emeline 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



695 



Stark, who was born at Charleston in 1846 and 
died in 1869, Mr. Bibby had three children: 
John VV. and Joseph P., who both died young; 
and Ella, who resides at home. Three chil- 
dren were born to the second marriage, namely : 
Margaret M., who died in infancy; Francis At- 
kinson, who was born April 22, 1878, and holds 
a position in the census department at Washing- 
ton, D. C. ; and James Atkinson, born May 6, 
1880, who is now city salesman at Charleston 
for the Charleston Milling and Produce Com- 
pany. He married Mary Curns, of St. Albans, 
W. Va., and they have two children: Eugenia 
Harriet, who was born March 7, 1906; and 
James Arnold, who was born August 31, 1909, 

CALVIN JONES,* who has lived on his 
present farm in Elk district, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., since his parents came here in 185 1, 
was born in Roane county, Va., January 8, 
1844, and is a son of Thomas and Susan (Sha- 
ber) Jones, and a grandson of Moses Jones. 

Thomas Jones perhaps was born in Mary- 
land, as was his father, and was married to 
Susan Shaber, who was born in Roane county, 
Va. She survived him many years, her death 
occurring in March, 1905, at the age of eighty- 
four years, while he passed out of life in 1865 
when fifty-two years of age. Nine children 
were born to them and six of these survive, as 
follows: Melinda, wife of W. Burdett; Henry, 
of Charleston; George, of Little Sandy; Wil- 
son, also of Little Sandy; Calvin; and Alfred, 
residing in Elk district. 

Calvin Jones had some schooling but in his 
boyhood educational advantages were limited. 
Afterward he carried on the farm work on the 
old homestead and has continued in the same 
line with but a year's interruption, that being 
while he was a soldier in the Civil War. He 
enlisted in 1864, in Co. K, 7th Va., and was in 
the army of General Grant. After he was hon- 
orably discharged in 1865, he resumed his for- 
mer agricultural interests. He has made many 
improvements but still occupies the old house, 
which is the oldest one on Cooper's Creek, but 
is still comfortable and presentable. 

On September 6, 1866, Mr. Jones was mar- 
ried to Marietta Burditt, who was born Feb- 
ruary 28, 1849, a daughter of Miles and Me- 



linda (Carr) Burditt. Four children were 
born to them, namely : Elizabeth, who is the 
wife of S. Jordan, who lives near Two-Mile 
Creek, and has two children; Sarah Ann, who 
is the wife of William Cooper, living on Coop- 
er's Creek, and has eight children : Anna, who is 
the wife of John Burgess, living on Four-Mile 
Creek, and has six children ; and B. Franklin, a 
merchant, who married Jane Moles, and has 
three children. Mr. Jones is a member of the 
Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist church. 

ADAM T. MAIRS, M. D., a well known 
physician and surgeon, who has been engaged 
in the practice of his profession at Charleston, 
W. Va., since 1904, was born February 14, 
1855, in Kanawha county, and spent his boy- 
hood on his father's farm. He is a son of 
Dr. William and Martha (Aultz) Mairs. 

William Mairs, father of Dr. Adam T., was 
a son of Dr. Joseph Mairs, who was of Irish 
extraction and moved from Ohio to Jackson 
county, now West Virginia, when his son Wil- 
liam was a boy. Dr. Joseph Mairs, Sr., sub- 
sequently moved to Missouri, where he met an 
accidental death from sun-stroke. Dr. William 
Mairs began the study of medicine with his 
father and completed his course in the Ohio 
Medical College, at Cincinnati, and after grad- 
uation he located in Poca district, Kanawha 
county, where he practiced his profession for 
many years, now living retired. For a long 
period he was the only physician in a territory 
of many miles and his professional visits were 
made on horseback, his medicine and appli- 
ances being carried in saddle-bags. He com- 
pleted his eighty-fourth year on April 3, 191 1, 
and is probably one of the best known men in 
Poca district. He retains a lively interest in 
all that concerns Kanawha county, keeps thor- 
oughly posted on current events and local hap- 
penings. He is a Republican in his political 
views and is a Methodist in his religious at- 
tachment. 

Dr. William Mairs married Martha Aultz, 
an admirable woman in every relation of life. 
She was the mother of ten children but died 
when only forty-three years of age. Of this 
family only one, Henry, died in infancy. Those 
surviving are: Joseph B., who is a farmer in 



/ 



696 HISTORY OF KA: 

his native district, where he married and has 
numerous descendants; Martha A., who is the 
wife of C. L. Milam, residents of Kanawha 
county; Adam T. ; William Brown, a farmer 
in Poca district, who married Virgie Morgan; 
Malissa J., who is the wife of Edward Layne, 
a farmer in Union district; Mark Wyatt, who 
is a merchant at Centerville, la. ; John Wesley, 
who is a merchant-clothier in business at 
Charleston, married Mrs. Lora (High) Mor- 
ley, who had one son, Burton Morley, and they 
have one daughter, Mildred Joyce; Mary M., 
who has been twice married, first to Samuel 
Rust, and second to Andrew McClanahan ; and 
James Daniel, who may still be living in the 
West, the family having lost sight of him since 
early manhood. 

Adam T. Mairs went from the common 
schools to Marshall Normal College, at Hunt- 
ington, W. Va., where he was graduated in 
1878. He then taught several sessions of 
school, in the meanwhile studying medicine 
with his father, having a natural inheritance in 
the direction of this profession. Later he en- 
tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
at Baltimore, Md., where he was graduated in 
the class of 1883. He located at once at Sis- 
sonville, W r . Va., and engaged in the practice 
of his profession until 1904, when, as men- 
tioned above, he came to the capital and since 
then has been located at No. 310 Lovell street. 
He has built up a practice that is substantial be- 
cause it is founded on professional ability. 

Dr. Mairs was married in 1882, at Sisson- 
ville, W. Va., to Miss Lovisa V. Gibson, who 
was born in Poca district, November 20, i860, 
and was reared and educated there. Her par- 
ents were William and Adaline (Dawson) Gib- 
son, natives of Virginia. The father was a 
farmer and merchant. They were members of 
the Southern Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. 
Mairs had one sister and one brother. The 
former, Lenora, who was the wife of J. X. 
Johnson, met with an accidental death, leaving 
five children. The latter, Robert Gibson, is a 
farmer in Poca district. Before marriage, 
Mrs. Mairs was a very successful teacher and is 
a lady of many social graces. 

Dr. and Mrs. Mairs have three children, one 
son and two daughters. Atlee, who is now an 



vTAWHA COUNTY 

accredited physician, was born October 21, 
1883. He was graduated in 1905 from the 
Charleston High School, afterward taking a 
course of four years in Jefferson Medical Col- 
lege, Philadelphia, where he was creditably 
graduated in 1910. He is an enthusiastic stu- 
dent still and is taking a post graduate course in 
surgery at Paterson General Hospital, Pater- 
son, X. J. There is every indication that he 
will make as eminent a name for himself in the 
family profession as have father, grandfather 
and great-grandfather. Dr. and Mrs. Mairs' 
eldest daughter, Thresa, was born December 3, 
1885. She has been educated in her native 
county, graduating from the Charleston High 
School in 1905 and in Xovember of the same 
year completed a business course at Elliot Com- 
mercial College. She is an expert stenog- 
rapher and occupies a confidential position with 
the well known law firm of Avis & Hardy, 
Charleston. Bessie Juanita, the youngest of 
the family, was born April 7, 1893, and is a 
student in the Charleston High School, being a 
member of the class of 1914. Dr. Mairs and 
family are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. He is identified with the Republican 
party. 

JOHX B. FIXXEY,* a well known busi- 
ness man of Union district, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., is a member of the firm of Finney 
Brothers, carpenters and contractors, at 
Charleston. He was born in Union district, 
October 17, 1865, and is a son of Capt. Will- 
iam and Elizabeth (Preston) Finney. 

Capt. William Finney was born in Rock- 
bridge county, Va.. but resided in Kanawha 
county after his marriage and died here at the 
age of forty-seven years. His burial was near 
Lock Xo. 6, in Charleston district. He was a 
lifelong Democrat. He married Elizabeth 
Preston, who was born in Kanawha county 
and survived him many years, her death occur- 
ring after her seventy-fifth birthday. Eight 
children were born to them, namely: Letha, 
who married John Wilson, now deceased; Te- 
cia Virginia, who is deceased : Charles, who re- 
sides in Union district, married Grace Withe- 
row : Josephine, who is the wife of M. T. Thurs- 
ton, resides in Union district ; William, who re- 




JOHN LAING 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



699 



sides in Union district, married Rosa Shorer; 
Victoria, who married H. F. Keller, lives in 
Union district; Alphonse, who is a resident of 
Union district, married Jennie Clark: and 
John B. 

John B. Finney attended school in Union dis- 
trict and afterward learned the carpenter's 
trade. He tried lumbering for a time but his 
health failed and he gave that up. For some 
eight years he has worked as a carpenter at In- 
stitute and is associated also with his brothers 
in contracting all through this section. Ever 
since his marriage he has lived in Union dis- 
trict, where he owns a farm of forty acres eight 
miles west of Charleston, thirty acres of which 
is under cultivation. 

Mr. Finney was married February 10, 1892, 
to Miss Maggie Shover, who was born in Kan- 
awha county, April 19, 1875, a daughter of 
Lewis Shover. They have two children, Irene 
and John Wesley. Mr. and Mrs. Finney are 
members of the Presbyterian church. He be- 
longs to the O. U. A. M. Mr. Finney is one 
of the busy, useful men of his neighborhood, 
reliable in what ever he undertakes and highly 
respected in every relation of life. 

ALBERT J. GUILL, chief of the police de- 
partment at Charleston, W. Va., and a repre- 
sentative business man and substantial citizen, 
was born in this city, August 2, 1862, and is 
a son of Richard and Love (Price) Guill. 

Richard Guill was born in Prince Edwards 
county, Va., in 1826. In 1856 he came to 
Charleston and for many years afterward was 
in business here, having lumber yards and saw 
mill near the docks. He was well known on 
the river and was one of the early and success- 
ful business men of the place and served in 
public office at times, being a member of the 
board of education and of the city council. He 
remained active until he was seventy-five years 
of age. retiring then and dying November 21, 
1905. He was married at Charleston to Miss 
Love Price, who was born in 1830, in Kanawha 
county, W. Va., and died April 25. 1905. She 
was a daughter of Edward Price, an early set- 
tler in Big Sandy district, where he followed 
fanning. Seven children were born to Richard 
Guill and wife, namely: Helen, who occupies 



the old homestead at Charleston; John H., who 
is interested in the lumber business at Charles- 
ton ; Lewis F., who is a resident of Charles- 
ton ; Albert J. ; Richard, who is an expert elec- 
trician, residing in this city; Robert, who died 
at the age of eighteen years ; and James, who 
was accidentally drowned in the Elk river, 
when eleven years of age. The surviving sons 
of Richard Guill greatly resemble their father 
physically, being fine, well set-up men, weigh- 
ing some 200 pounds and noticeable for their 
manly bearing in any gathering. The father 
of the above family was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, while the mother 
had been reared in the Baptist faith. 

Albert J. Guill obtained his education in the 
public schools. When he first entered into bus- 
iness it was as a grocery merchant and he has 
continued in that line ever since but has many 
additional interests. In 1892 he became a mem- 
ber of the police force of Charleston and be- 
came the head of the department in 1908 and 
it may be mentioned that Charleston has the 
name of being one of the best regulated and 
policed place of its size in the state. Mr. Guill 
is interested in 1000 acres of oil and gas prop- 
erty in Kanawha county, and is associated with 
the mayor of Charleston, in the ownership of 
considerable real estate in the city. He is a 
member also of the Diamond Ice Company. 

Chief Guill was married to Miss Willie Hens- 
ley, a native of West Virginia. They attend 
the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he 
is a Democrat but he is not identified himself 
with any fraternal organization. 

JOHN LAING, chief of the department of 
mines for the state of West Virginia, is a 
man pre-eminently well qualified, both by 
natural ability and special training, for this 
important position. His ancestors for several 
generations have been connected in one way 
or another with mining interests and he has 
himself had a wide practical experience in 
every branch of this industry, from the lowest 
to the highest. 

Mr. Laing was born near Glasgow, Scot- 
land. August 24, 1865. a son °f Alexander 
and Elizabeth ( McAlpin) Laing, and comes 
of pure Scottish blood on both the paternal 



700 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and maternal sides. His great-grandfather, 
John Laing, and his paternal grandfather, also 
named John, or otherwise John Laing, Jr., 
were both Scotch miners. The former lived 
and died in his native land, passing away at 
an advanced age. He was a highly respected 
citizen, and a member of the Presbyterian 
church, and he and his wife were the parents 
of a large family of children. 

John Laing, Jr., was the first of the family 
to come to the United States, landing in this 
country in 1863. He came alone and located 
in Mercer county, Pa., where he subsequently 
died in the sixty-first year of his age. He 
had been previously married in Scotland and 
left behind him a grown-up family. In 1867 
he went back to his native land to fetch his 
family, and on his return to this country was 
accompanied by his sons and their wives and 
children, making a party of twenty-six per- 
sons in all. They all settled in Mercer county, 
Pa., and being a thrifty and practical people, 
like most of their race, they prospered and 
multiplied and many of their descendants are 
now scattered throughout that region. The 
wife of John Laing, Jr., was in maidenhood 
Margaret Boey, and she also came of a good 
old Scotch family. She died in Raleigh 
county, W. Va., at the age of nearly seventy- 
seven years. She and her husband were 
Presbyterians in religious faith, and in politics 
he was a Republican. They were the parents 
of quite a large family. 

Alexander Laing, son of the foregoing and 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
near Glasgow, Scotland, in 1840, and died at 
the age of forty-six years, in Clay county, W. 
Va., where he had resided for some years 
previous. He was a practical miner and fol- 
lowed mining as his regular occupation during 
his industrial career. He married in Scotland 
in 1 86 1 Elizabeth McAlpin, belonging to an 
old Scottish clan, whose plaid and coat of 
arms entitled them to rank among the gentry 
of the country. She was born in April, 1840, 
and is still living, being a resident of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., as a member of the household of 
her son John, our subject. Her father, James 
McAlpin, died of cholera at the early age of 
twenty-three years, at a time when that dis- 



ease was epidemic in Scotland, and she subse- 
quently accompanied her husband to America 
at the time of the family emigration in 1867. 
She is still active in mind and body, possess- 
ing a keen intelligence, and is a prominent 
member of the Presbyterian church. 

Alexander and Elizabeth Laing were the 
parents of four sons and six daughters, as 
follows : ( 1 ) Jeanette, married Robert A. 
Gilchrist and they now reside in McAlpin, W. 
Va. They have four sons and four daughters. 

(2) John, the direct subject of this record. 

(3) James, now a resident of Charleston, W. 
Va., married Anna Templin, and they have 
one son. (4) Elizabeth is the wife of David 
Evendoll, of Sharon, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., and they have two sons and two daugh- 
ters. (5) Margaret is the wife of William 
Whitlock and lives at Fire creek, Fayette 
county, W. Va. She has one son. (6) Mary 
is the wife of W. H. Warren and resides in 
Richmond, Va. She has two sons and one 
daughter, (y) Bessie is wife of J. D. Hum- 
phreys and resides at Hinton, Summers 
county, W. Va. She has three sons and two 
daughters. (8) A. W., who resides at 
Sharon, Kanawha county, W. Va., married 
Mary Wright and has one son and two daugh- 
ters. (9) William married Miss Cora Buster, 
of Green Brier county, W. Va., and they now 
reside at McAlpin, W. Va. They have a son 
and a daughter. (10) Anna is the wife of 
W. T. Green of Charleston and is the mother 
of two sons and a daughter. 

John Laing, our direct subject, grew up in 
Mercer county, Pa., where he remained until 
he was eighteen years of age. He then came 
to West Virginia, in which state he has since 
resided. His literary education was acquired 
in the public schools, but his knowledge of the 
mining industry has been gained, as already 
intimated, by long personal experience. Be- 
ginning at the early age of nine years, he has 
occupied every position connected with the in- 
dustry, from trapper, or door-keeper, to super- 
intendent, owner and operator, or rather, we 
should say, to that of which he now holds as 
chief of the mining department of the state — 
an almost unique record. He has been presi- 
dent of various mining companies, and has 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



701 



been an operator since 1893. He is at the 
present time president and manager of the 
Wyatt Coal Company, owning four mines on 
Cabin creek, and having a capacity of five 
thousand tons per day, the present output be- 
ing three thousand tons. He is also president 
of the McAlpin Coal Company, of Raleigh 
county, W. Va., extensive shippers, and of 
the McGregor Coal Company, engaged in de- 
veloping two mines in Logan county, W. Va. 

To these various responsible positions Mr. 
Laing has climbed by dint of his own natural 
shrewdness and persevering industry. He has 
fought for every step he has gained in his up- 
ward path, neglecting no opportunities for 
self -improvement, but availing himself of 
every source of information aside from knowl- 
edge personally gained through experience. 
The extent of his special knowledge on this 
important subject, so intimately connected 
with the welfare of a large number of inhabi- 
tants of this state, is well shown in an address 
delivered by him before the West Virginia 
Coal Mining Association, at Washington, D. 
C, on December 16, 1910. In this address, 
which is too long to be extensively quoted 
here, Mr. Laing, after a few introductory re- 
marks concerning the geological nature and 
origin of coal, went on to review the history 
of coal mining in West Virginia, covering 
such topics as the nature and extent of the 
coal area of the state, early and later opera- 
tions in the different coal fields, with a de- 
scription of the kinds of coal mined and state- 
ments as to the output at various times, and 
an account of the various companies formed; 
the examination of mine foremen, condition of 
the various mines, with other much valuable 
information in regard to the number of per- 
sons employed in the industry, accidents and 
their causes, etc. To accompany this lecture 
he prepared a diagram showing coal sections, 
with a graphic chart of coal mined, the differ- 
ent seams worked and their analyses. 

To refer more in detail to the lecture, he 
showed that "the state of West Virginia oc- 
cupies the middle and widest portion of the 
Appalachian coal field, and is the greatest 
coal bearing field of the Union, possessing 
about 9,500 square miles, or 6,080,000 acres 



of coal area," and that "of the fifty-five coun- 
ties in the state, thirty-nine of them carry 
some of the coal measures." He said further, 
"If we estimate the total available good coal in 
this area that can be recovered under commer- 
cial conditions at 10,000 tons to the acre, this 
will yield 60,800,000,000 tons of available coal. 
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, West 
Virginia mined 59,274,708 short tons of coal. 
At that rate it would take more than one thou- 
sand years to exhaust the total coal area of the 
state." He showed that previous to 1840 
coal mining operations' in the state were largely 
experimental, intermittent and superficial, be- 
ing confined chiefly to the river hills, or, more 
correctly, to the outcroppings therefrom, the 
fuel being applied to the running of salt fur- 
naces ; together with a few occasional openings 
in the lower seams to supply the local black- 
smith, wood being generally used for fuel in 
all the cabins. In 1835 m the salt region of 
western Virginia, there were ninety establish- 
ments producing 1,000,000 bushels of salt an- 
nually and consuming 5,000,000 bushels of 
coal, or about 200,000 tons annually. "In 
1840," said Mr. Laing, "the amount of bitu- 
minous coal mined in Allegheny or western 
Virginia was returned as 289,698 tons of 28 
bushels per ton, and the total amount of coal 
produced in the whole of Virginia was 379,- 
369 long tons, and the number of workmen 
employed was 995. The capital invested in 
this work was $1,301,885." 

Mr. Laing further showed that the first 
systematic exploration of the mountains and 
hills of the Great Kanawha took place about 
1849, the cannel coal on Coal river having 
been brought to the attention of investors in 
1840 by William M. Peyton of Roanoke, Va. 
A number of mining companies were subse- 
quently organized and the business began to 
assume a degree of importance that was only 
interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War, 
when operations ceased for a time, to be re- 
vived later. His address also contained the 
information that West Virginia has more than 
sixty different seams of coal, "about two- 
thirds of which are thick enough in different 
portions of the state to be workable." To 
quote Mr. Laing's descriptions of the various 



702 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



coal fields in the state would expand this sketch 
to too great a length consistent with biograph- 
ical purposes. It may be said, however, that 
they abounded with detailed and valuable in- 
formation in regard to these different fields — 
their history, workable qualities, facilities for 
transportation, and other data interesting to 
the miner, operator and shipper. With respect 
to the mining department, Mr. Laing had the 
following to say : 

"The mining department was created in 
1883 to provide a more efficient system of 
mine inspection, and has been productive of 
much good, and it will not be denied that, if 
this department will permit itself to be di- 
rected by conservative influence and associate 
itself with men of constructive ability, and 
select as its corps of assistants, capable and 
earnest district mine inspectors, it can do effec- 
tive work for the preservation of the lives of 
coal miners; the economic mining of coal; the 
conservation of the great 'West Virginia nat- 
ural resources ; and many lessons and records 
of this kind may be left for the benefit of 
coming generations, especially of those who 
may be following the mining of coal for a 
livelihood." 

With respect to the examination of mine 
foremen, he said in his address already re- 
ferred to : 

"By these examinations we are taking a 
broad view of bettering the conditions gener- 
allv. and outlining a method of education that 
will not only benefit the person examined, but 
the operators and stockholders as well ; so that 
the joint proposition of the creation of the 
department of mines is that safety to workers 
in coal mines, and the protection of property, 
may be better subserved. We further believe 
that in holding these examinations, where a 
general diffusion of ideas is given and the 
ways and means to eliminate dangers are dis- 
cussed, it cannot but help improve the general 
knowledge of the mine foremen and the fire 
bosses." 

We will close our reference to the coal in- 
dustry, as herein contained, with one more 
timely quotation from Mr. Laing's address, 
and a few remarks in regard to the mining 
department. 



"The world of science has for some years 
been directing much effort to improve the con- 
dition of the farmer, the physician, the sur- 
geon, etc.. but no business or profession of a 
commercial magnitude has been given more 
consideration by those interested than has coal 
mining: and in this, as in all other branches 
of coal mining. West Virginia is not follow- 
ing, but is leading, as can be well proven by 
the records of recent years, and, with the 
present spirit of energy, push and progress 
that now animates the hearts of the young 
mining men of West Virginia, there is no 
reason to doubt that before many years hence. 
West Virginia will give such a record to the 
coal mining fraternity of the world that the 
present generation will be well proud of and 
future generations may well imitate." 

The department is made up of twelve dis- 
trict inspectors, which Mr. Laird appoints. 
The state has eight hundred active producing 
mines in operation, the production for 1910 ag- 
gregating approximately 60,000,000 tons, the 
general quality of the coal being of a suffi- 
ciently high grade to cause the demand for it 
to equal that for other coals nearer the mar- 
kets. West Virginia produces the highest 
grade of bituminous coal in the world, and in 
addition to the large general consumption 
among the states, a considerable amount is 
purchased by the government for the U. S. 
navy. From the quantity mined in 1863 of 
less than half a million tons to the sixty mil- 
lion ton output of 1910 is a far cry but show- 
ing a steady and gratifying increase, and the 
end is not yet. As the chief and general su- 
pervisor of this great industry. Mr. Laing has 
much to occupy his mind and stimulate his 
activities, but it is a work in which he feels 
at home, and it would be difficult, to say the 
least, to find a better man for the position he 
now fills. 

Mr. Laing was married in York countv. 
Pa., to Miss Margaret S. Slagle, who was 
born in that county forty-one years ago. 
Among her ancestors were some who took 
part in the War of the Revolution, fighting 
for the independence of the colonies. Her 
father. William, and her grandfather. Adam 
Slagle, were born, reared, lived, and died near 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



703 



Hanover, York county, Pa., inhabiting the old 
Slag'le farm that has been in the family for 
219 years. Mrs. Laing, after attending the 
public schools, received a collegiate education 
in her native state and is a lady of culture and 
refinement. She has a brother, Dr. R. L. 
Slagle, who is now president of the State 
Agricultural College at Brookings, S. D. Mr. 
and Mrs. Laing have been the parents of three 
children, namely : Louisa and Gertrude, who 
reside at home and are attending the city 
schools; and Margaret, who died at the age 
of seven months and ten days. Mr. and Mrs. 
Laing are members of the First Presbyterian 
church of Charleston. The former is an ac- 
tive member of the Masonic order, belonging 
to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and 
Commandery, and to Beni-Kedem Temple, 
M. S. In politics he is an adherent of the 
Republican party. 

H. T. SMARR,* superintendent of Kelley's 
Creek Colliery Company, is a man of wide ex- 
perience in the coal mining industry and has 
been a resident of Kanawha county, W. Va., 
for the past eleven years. He was born July 
5, 1879, at Brookville, Ky., and is a son of 
J. W. and Martha W. Smarr. 

H. T. Smarr enjoyed liberal educational ad- 
vantages, attending the Kentucky State Uni- 
versity at Lexington, and after coming to Kan- 
awha county studied civil engineering for two 
years under M. W. Vample, at Charleston. 
From there he went to the mines in Southwest 
Virginia, which are now owned by the Church- 
field Coal Company, then by the Dawson Coal 
Company, and later accompanied J. W. Dawson 
to Kelley's Creek and was made superinrendent 
of the mines at this point. 

HON. CYRUS WILLIAM HALL, for- 
merly judge of the Kanawha county Criminal 
Court, was born near Harrisville, now in West 
Virginia, December 30, 1858, and died at his 
home in Charleston, November 30, 1909. His 
parents were Hon. Cyrus and Amelia (Scott) 
Hall. 

Judge Cyrus Hall, who enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of being the youngest judge ever on the 
bench in West Virginia, was born in Ritchie 
39 



county, Va., was afforded exceptional educa- 
tional advantages and graduated from an Ohio 
college before he was admitted to the bar in his 
native state. He was a man of great promi- 
nence both before and following the Civil War, 
serving in the office of prosecuting attorney, the 
first incumbent after the Virginians were sep- 
arated and was a member of the legislature that 
voted for the secession of Virginia from the 
Union. He was intensely loyal to the South 
and like other men of distinction in this section, 
suffered severely in fortune through the dis- 
turbances of war. At one time he advocated 
the principles of the Greenback party but later 
became an unflinching Democrat. Throughout 
life he adhered to the Methodist faith. His 
death occurred January 19, 1908, when he was 
eighty-one years old, he having survived his 
wife. They had the following children born 
to them : T. C. ; Benjamin B., who owns and 
operates the Island Inn; Loretta H., who is the 
wife of H. T. Sheffey, of Charleston; Camp- 
bell, and an infant daughter, now deceased; and 
Cyrus William. 

Cyrus William Hall was educated in the 
public schools of Parkersburg, Va. Later he 
studied law under his father's supervision and 
was admitted to the bar in 1882, becoming one 
of its brilliant members. In 1894 and 1895 he 
was assistant clerk of the West Virginia Sen- 
ate, prior to which, from 1888 to 1892, he had 
served as justice of the peace. In 1897 he was 
elected judge of the Kanawha county Criminal 
Court and served with the greatest efficiency 
on the bench for the succeeding six years. He 
also attended to important business interests 
aside from his profession and still found time to 
show interest in social life and in fraternal or- 
ganizations of which he was an honored mem- 
ber. At the time of his death, Judge Hall was 
past grand chancellor of the order of Knights 
of Pythias and for seven years had been an offi- 
cer "in the Supreme Lodge of that order in 
America, and for many years he represented 
his lodge in the conventions of the organization. 
He was one of the promoters in a public-spirited 
way of the Orphans' Home. His whole career 
both in political and civil life was marked by 
the acts of a man of sterling character. 

In 1888 Judge Hall was married to Miss 



704 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Myrtle Wood, who is the only child of Charles 
F. and Laura Frances (Thurman) Wood. She 
was born near Charleston, and was educated in 
this city, graduating from the High School. 
Judge and Airs. Hall had two sons — Sheffey 
Wood and Cyrus William. The former, born 
September 27, 1880, was educated at Charles- 
ton, Dayton, St. Mary's, and the University of 
West Virginia, at Morgantown, and is now in 
the insurance business. The younger son 
whose birth took place April 9, 1900, is a stu- 
dent in the public schools of Charleston. Mrs. 
Hall and her sons are members of the First 
Presbyterian church. 

Upon occasion of the death of Judge Hall, 
the newspapers of city and state paid glowing 
tributes to his worth in every relation of life, 
and the resolutions passed by bench and bar 
left no doubt as to the respect, esteem, admira- 
tion and affection in which he was held by his 
associates. 

H. O. STARKEY,* whose valuable farm of 
thirty acres lies in Loudon district, is chief 
clerk in the South Side store of C. J. Turley, 
Charleston, maintaining his home on his farm. 
He was born in 1864, in Franklin county, Va., 
and is a son of J. H. and Ann (Mace) Starkey. 

J. H. Starkey was born in Virginia and lived 
in his native state until he was thirty years of 
age, following farming, and then moved to a 
farm in Kanawha county, where the remainder 
of his life was passed, his death occurring in 
1899, when he was aged sixty-three years. He 
married Ann Mace, who was born in Missouri, 
and they had five children: L. A., H. O., Sallie, 
A. J., and Mollie, and of these two are de- 
ceased, L. A. and Sallie. 

H. O. Starkey obtained a good, solid edu- 
cation and taught school for twenty years, 
mainly in Lincoln and Logan counties, and was 
well and favorably known as an educator. In 
1906 he came to the mercantile firm with which 
he has ever since been identified as head clerk. 
Mr. Starkey was married first to Miss Lucy 
Wilkinson, and they had two children, Hattie 
and Beuna. His second marriage was to Miss 
Brooke Bryan, and they have four children: 
Iva, Zula, Harvey O., and an infant. Mr. and 
Mrs. Starkey are members of the Baptist 



church. In politics he is a Democrat and fra- 
ternally he is a Mason. 

HENRY D. GO SHORN, general manager 
of the Goshorn Hardware Company, an im- 
portant pioneer industry of Charleston, W. Va., 
is one of the representative and substantial bus- 
iness men of this section. He was born at 
Charleston, March 18, 1856 and after complet- 
ing his education in the city schools, became 
identified with the present business, when eigh- 
teen years of age and has been continuously 
connected with it since. 

William F. Goshorn, father of Henry D., 
came to Kanawha county from Pennsylvania, 
a man of sturdy Dutch ancestry, noted for his 
thrift as well as his integrity. He was one of 
the founders of the Goshorn Hardware Com- 
pany and continued in the business until his 
death in 1882. He married Miss Eliza Dag- 
gett, who was born at Cincinnati, O., of New 
England parentage, her family being of the 
Presbyterian faith. Her death occurred at 
Charleston, in her sixty-first year. The chil- 
dren born to William F. and Eliza Goshorn 
were the following: Helen B., who married Dr. 
Lawrence Carr, a retired physician of Charles- 
ton; Belle F., who is the wife of ex-Governor 
W. A. MacCorkle, and the mother of a son 
and daughter; William F., who is president of 
the Goshorn Hardware Company ; Henry D. ; 
Addie, who is the wife of J. W. Kennedy, an 
attorney at Charleston; and Edward H., who 
resides in Charleston. 

Henry D. Goshorn has been general manager 
of the Goshorn Hardware Company since its 
incorporation in 1905. This business is located 
at No. 206 Capitol Street, Charleston. Its ori- 
gin dates back for a period of more than eighty 
years. The original firm was organized in the 
early thirties, when it was known as J. & W. 
Goshorn. In 1882, at the death of W. F. Gos- 
horn, it was conducted as J. H. and W. F. Gos- 
horn & Co., the firm being composed of W. F. 
and H. D. Goshorn. In 1905 the Goshorn 
Hardware Company was incorporated, with 
president; H. D. Goshorn, general manager, 
and J. A. deGruyter, secretary and treasurer. 
W. F. Goshorn, president; H. B. Smith, vice 

This company does a general hardware busi- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



705 



ness, both wholesale and retail ; are exclusive 
agents for the Syracuse chilled plow and the 
Fox double-barreled shotgun. They are job- 
bers of shelf and heavy hardware, sash, doors, 
building material, nails, wire, iron and steel, 
mine supplies, imported and American cutlery, 
sporting goods of every description, farming 
implements, paints, etc. They are agents for 
Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. locks and P. 
& F. Corbin locks and builder's hardware. 
They carry the finest and best line of fishing 
tackle in Charleston. The company employs 
six traveling salesmen, who traverse a large 
territory contiguous to Charleston. The com- 
pany also maintains a branch store in West 
Charleston, on Charleston street. The business 
is in a very prosperous condition, the Goshorn 
name having stood for reliability for the entire 
period of its existence. 

Henry D. Goshorn was married to Miss Ettie 
D. Minsker, who was born at Charleston in 
i860. Her father, Solomon Minsker, was born 
in Pennsylvania, of Dutch ancestry. He mar- 
ried Miss Mary High, a daughter of George 
High, who was a prominent man in the Kana- 
wha Valley at one time. Seven children were 
born to Henry D. Goshorn and wife, namely: 
Louise, who died at the age of fourteen years; 
William F., born October 20, 1885, who was 
graduated in the class of 1907, from the Ohio 
College of Dental Surgery, of Cincinnati, and 
is now engaged in practice in this city ; Harry 
M., and J. Lynn, both of whom were educated 
in the Charleston schools and are connected 
with their father in his business ; Mary J., who 
attends school; Stanley C, and Catherine M. 
In politics Mr. Goshorn is a Democrat, as was 
his father who was prominent in party affairs. 
Mr. and Mrs. Goshorn are active members of 
the First Presbyterian church. 

GEORGE H. BOWERS* sawyer, who re- 
sides near Charleston, W. Va., in Elk district, 
was born December 3, 1867, in Pennsylvania, 
and is a son of George and Melissa (Bower) 
Bowers. George Bowers was born in Ger- 
many and after emigrating to the United 
States settled in Pennsylvania, where he was 
engaged in the nursery business until he met 
with finanical reverses during the Civil War. 



He then moved to Elk district, Kanawha 
county and engaged in farming but died soon 
afterward, in 1868. He married Melissa 
Bower who still survives, being now in her 
eightieth year. Of their children the follow- 
ing survive : Luella, who is the wife of W. A. 
Foster, of Charleston; Maggie, Gertrude, Ed- 
win, Walter, Mazie and George H. After the 
death of her husband, Mrs. Bowers took charge 
of the farm and carried on extensive operations 
very successfully. 

George H. Bowers, after his school days 
were over, and his mother did not need his 
services on the farm, learned the trade of 
sawyer and worked in saw mills all through 
this section and for eighteen years for the 
patentee of the first band saw. Since 1906 he 
has also been engaged in this business outside 
of West Virginia, being a very expert sawyer. 

Mr. Bowers was married in July, 1893, to 
Miss Delia Nutter, who was born January 20, 
1873. Mrs. Bowers is a daughter of Thomas 
and Anne (Copen) Nutter, and a sister of Mrs. 
John Vinton Jordan, of Elk district. The 
Nutters have been well known people in Har- 
rison and Kanawha county for many years. 
Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Bowers taught 
school for six terms in Elk and Loudon dis- 
tricts. She is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church at Charleston. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Bowers four children have been born: Cecil, 
born May 12, 1894; Kenneth George, who is 
deceased; and Edith and Edward, twins, born 
in October, 1899. Edward is deceased. Mr. 
Bowers is a member of Charleston Lodge No. 
95, Odd Fellows, and of Capital City Council 
No. 221, Jr. Order of American Mechanics. 

JOHN W. MOORE, M.D., physician of 
Charleston, W. Va., was born in 1869, at 
Lexington, Rockbridge county, Va. He 
received his primary instruction in private 
schools and later became a student in the 
University of New York, where he was 
graduated with his medical degree in 1899. 
He subsequently spent three years in post 
graduate work in the hospitals in New 
York. In 1903 he came to Charleston to 
establish his home in the capital city. He 
is identified with the leading medical or- 



706 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ganizations, including the American Med- 
ical Association. 

Dr. Moore was married at Lexington, Va., 
to Miss Anna Preston, a daughter of Rev. 
John T. L. Preston, D.D., and Lucy 
(Wadded) Preston. 

WILLIAM M. THOMAS,* who con- 
ducts a general store and owns nineteen 
and one-half acres of excellent land in 
Cabin Creek district, was born at Nor- 
folk, Va., on his father's farm, August 22, 
1839, and is a son of John and a grandson 
of William Thomas, who came from Ger- 
many during the German Revolution and 
settled near Norfolk, Va. 

John Thomas served in the War of 1812 
and was colonel of a regiment. He was a 
farmer and lived on the place where he 
was born. He married Nancy Cunning- 
ham and both died there. They had the 
following children : Joseph, who served in 
the Mexican War, and Howarton, Hender- 
son, William Morgan, Sarah, and Barbara, 
all now deceased except William M. 

William M. Thomas assisted on the 
home farm until 1861, when he enlisted in 
the Confederate army, entering Co. E, 
24th Va. Inf., and served all through the 
war under the command of Gen. Stonewall 
Jackson, until the death of that brave offi- 
cer. He took part in many a hard-fought 
battle, including Gettysburg, first and sec- 
ond battles of Bull Run, Gaines' Farm, 
Petersburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 
Cedar Creek, and was wounded in the 
seven days of fighting before Richmond. 
He was present at the surrender of Gen- 
eral Lee at Appomattox. After the war 
was over, Mr. Thomas returned to Norfolk 
and afterward came to Kanawha county to 
start his life over again, as it were, and 
here started into working for the Coalburg 
Coal Company on the river and was on the 
Kanawha steamboats for several years. 
He moved to his present place in 1878, set- 
tling practically in the wilderness, for the 
country round about was all woods, and 
bears, panthers and snakes were fre- 
quently seen. The family moved into an 



old log cabin on the place, and he cleared 
up the land, and built his present comfort- 
able residence. Later he sold land for 
building purposes and in 1906 opened his 
store, which is mainly looked after by Mrs. 
Thomas. 

Mr. Thomas was married at Charleston 
on December 26, 1867, to Cynthia Hud- 
nall, a daughter of Anderson and Janetta 
(Lathey) Hudnall, who were natives of 
Ohio. Mrs. Thomas was born November 
25, 1846, in Cabin Creek district, Kana- 
wha county. Nine children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, namely: 
Belle, who is the wife of W. H. Hudnall 
and they have four children; Naomi, who 
is the wife of G. W. Rutlege, and the 
mother of six children ; Catherine, who is 
the wife of L. Carnes, and has two chil- 
dren; Virginia, who is the wife of Charles 
Buskirk, and has five children; Eliza, who 
is the wife of G. W. Harkness, and has five 
children; Florence, who is deceased, and 
three others who died in infancy. Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas are members of the Mission- 
ary Baptist Church. He is a Democrat in 
politics, and he belongs to Stonewall Jack- 
son Post, Confederate Veterans, at 
Charleston. 

N. GWYNN NICHOLSON, D.D.S., 
who is engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession at Charleston, W. Va., is a native 
of North Carolina, born February 25, 1875, 
in Warren county. His parents were 
Gideon Wesley and Emily Shepherd (Con- 
rad) Nicholson. 

Gideon AVesley Nicholson spent his life 
in Warren county, N. C, a gentleman- 
farmer. He was a descendant of the fa- 
mous Sir Francis Nicholson, of Scotch- 
Irish descent, who was one of the early 
settlers of Baltimore. Md. Gideon Wes- 
ley Nicholson died in 1888, at the age of 
seventy-six years. He married Emily 
Shepherd Conrad, who died in Warren 
county when aged sixty-seven years. Her 
father was Isaac Conrad, of Quaker stock, 
who came of the old Conrad family of 
Pennsylvania that traces its first settler to 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



707 



1692. Gideon W. Nicholson and wife were 
members of the Baptist church. They had 
the following- children: Henry, who lives 
in Warren county, married Elizabeth 
Johnson and they have one son and four 
daughters; Lillie, single, who lives in War- 
ren county; Benjamin, who lives at Hot 
Springs, N. C. ; Betty, who resides at Fay- 
etteville, N. C. ; and Hugh G., of Charles- 
ton, and Gwynn of Charleston. 

Dr. Nicholson attended school in War- 
ren county and his first business experi- 
ence was as an office boy with the South- 
ern Railroad Company, after which he 
learned telegraphy and later became an 
operator on that road, one year later 
changing to the Grand Trunk and being 
stationed at Detroit, Mich. He subse- 
quently became chief clerk for the general 
yardmaster and was engaged there until 
he had prepared himself to enter the de- 
partment of dentistry in the Detroit Col- 
lege of Medicine, where he was graduated 
in the class of 1902. He then became as- 
sistant for Dr. C. H. Oakman at Detroit and 
continued with him until September, 1903, 
when he came to Charleston. He has 
built up a very substantial practice, keeps 
thoroughly abreast with the times in his 
profession and each year is adding to his 
field of professional usefulness. 

Dr. Nicholson belongs to the higher or- 
ders of Masonry, being a member of the 
Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, and 
of Beni-Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine. 
He retains interest in his fraternal society, 
the Delta Sigma Delta of the Detroit, 
Mich., branch. He is a member of St. 
John's Episcopal Church. 

CHRISTOPHER LORRY,* who is en- 
gaged in farming on Cooper's Creek, Elk 
district, where he also conducts a grocery 
store, was born on this farm, October 6, 
1881, and is a son of Fred and Anna (Witt- 
mer) Lorry. 

Fred Lorry was born in Ireland and was 
two years old when his parents came to 
America and settled in Ohio, where he 
lived until 1871. He then came to Elk dis- 



trict, Kanawha county, and settled on the 
farm now owned by his son. He engaged 
in farming and also owned and operated a 
saw-mill. One of the oldest oil derricks in 
this place was set up in his mill and re- 
mained there until 1908. A number of 
people settled here while the oil industry 
continued and the village was known as 
Four-Mile Corners. 'The post-office is 
Mink Station. Fred Lorry married Anna 
Wittmer and they have four sons and one 
daughter: Fred, a miller, residing in 
Charleston; Albert, who is at home with 
his parents; Edward, who works in a 
planing-mill at Charleston; Christopher; 
and Elizabeth, who is the wife of C. Bur- 
dette, of Charleston. 

Christopher Lorry attended school in 
Elk district and then engaged in farming 
and when he saw a good opening for a gro- 
cery store he embarked in that business 
and is doing well. He is a stanch Demo- 
crat when it comes to voting but otherwise 
takes little interest in politics, devoting 
himself closely to his own affairs. He 
married Miss Rose Burdette, daughter of 
the late Day Burdette, and they have one 
son, Pearly, a bright little lad of six years. 

HENRY F. STUCK,* a well known citi- 
zen of Elk district, where he is engaged in 
farming and truck gardening, and also is in the 
employ of the K. & W. Va. R. R. Company, was 
born January 3, 1857, in Crawford county, O., 
and is a son of Franklin and Julia N. (Cra- 
mer) Stuck. 

Franklin Stuck was born at Selinsgrove, Pa., 
in 1832, and as a boy accompanied his parents 
when they moved to Ohio. He became a man 
of means in Crawford county, engaging in 
timbering and farming and also operating saw 
mills and later went into the stock business. 
In the panic of 1876 he became somewhat em- 
barrassed and later lost all his fortune through 
going on a bond for another party. He was 
not discouraged, however, by these misfor- 
tunes, but continued in his timber business and 
subsequently in part regained his monetary 
standing. He was honest and upright in all 
his dealings and enjoyed the respect and con- 



708 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



fidence of his fellow citizens. He married 
Julia N. Cramer, who was born in 1830 and 
died in 1900. She was a daughter of Christo- 
pher Cramer, who was born in Germany 
and came from there to Crawford county, 
O., where he was a farmer. 

William Stuck, the paternal grandfather, 
was also of German extraction but was born 
at Selinsgrove, where he followed the black- 
smith and wagonmaking trades. He married 
Lydia Kister, who was born in Snyder county, 
Pa. Mr. Stuck has one brother and three sis- 
ters, namely : Edmund, who is a painter by 
trade and resides at Bucyrus, O. ; Jennie, who 
is a Mrs. Jones and lives in Ohio; Alice, who 
resides at Syracuse, O. ; and Martha, who is 
the wife of Robert Mulligan, of Columbus, O. 

Until he was fourteen years old, Henry F. 
Stuck attended the country schools near his 
father's farm, after which he worked as a 
farmer on the home place until he was twenty- 
three years of age, when he decided to try rail- 
roading for a time. For seven years he was 
fireman for the T. & O. C. Railroad, and when 
the K. & M. Railroad was first put in operation, 
he delivered the engines. Mr. Stuck has been in 
the railroad business for many years past, 
and has served in many capacities, including 
that of locomotive engineer. He assisted in 
building the old Kelly's Creek Railroad and 
the West Virginia and Southern Railroad and 
later, for three years was with the Norfolk & 
Western Railroad and for three more was on 
the Kanawha & Central Railroad, also assisted 
in constructing the Campbell's Creek Railway, 
and for twenty-seven years has been associated 
with two railroad companies. He has also 
operated his own farm in Elk district. 

Mr. Stuck was married to Miss Jennie Ken- 
ney, who was born December 25, 1868. at Gi- 
rard, O., a daughter of Mathew and Anna 
(Mock) Kenney, the former of whom was in 
the rolling-mill business. The following chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stuck: 
Maggie, who is deceased; Mary, who is the 
wife of F. A. Light, of Charleston; and Mat- 
tie, William F., Grace, Fred, Eddie, Robert, 
Charles, Vernie and Julia, all at home, and 
one son, who was a brakeman on a railroad 
and was killed on an engine in 1904. In poli- 



tics, Mr. Stuck has always been a Democrat, 
but has never desired public office. He is one 
of the charter members of the Knights of 
Pythias at Mammoth, W. Va., and has passed 
all the chairs in Stanton Lodge, No. 128; and 
was also one of the charter members of Lodge 
No. 44, American Mechanics, at Brownstown. 

MARTIN V. GODBEY, M. D., physician 
and surgeon, at Charleston, W. Va., a mem- 
ber of the state board of health, president of 
the Kanawha county board of health, and 
president of the West Virginia Anti-Tuber- 
culosis League, has won eminence in his pro- 
fession through persistent effort and unflag- 
ging determination, having more or less made 
his own way in the world from boyhood. He 
was born December 19, 1879, in Raleigh 
county, W. Va., of North Carolina parentage. 

Dr. Godbey's early educational opportuni- 
ties were meager but he made the most of 
them and by the time he was fifteen years of 
age he was teaching school and earning the 
means with which to still further advance his 
own education. In this way he provided for 
three years at Marshall College, W. Va., 
spent two years in Grant University, Chatta- 
nooga, then entered the Baltimore Medical 
College, where he was graduated with his de- 
gree of M. D., in the class of 1905. He began 
practice in Boone county, where he remained 
until 1909. It was while he was in Boone 
county that he became interested in political 
questions and his attitude on many very im- 
portant ones was that of an intellectual man 
with trained understanding, and as such he 
was chosen by the Republican party as its 
candidate for the state legislature. He was 
elected and had the distinction of being the 
only Republican elected from that county to 
the legislature since 1863. During his serv- 
ice of one term, 1907-1908, he was chairman 
of the committee on medicine and sanitation, 
and brought these subjects more fully to the 
attention of the public than had ever before 
been done, and at the same time was an active 
member of numerous other committees. After 
his honorable retirement from public life he 
returned to Boone county but shortly after 
made arrangements to come to Charleston 




MAE TIN V. GODBEY, M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



711 



where his field of professional effort would be 
wider. His ambition has been realized and he 
is now not only in the enjoyment of a large 
practice, specializing in surgery to some ex- 
tent, but he is also recognized as one of the 
reliable men of science in the profession, and 
official honors have been tendered him by 
numerous organizations. He is identified 
with the county, state and the American 
Medical Associations, contributes to their 
literature and frequently is a lecturer. . In 
May, 1909, he was appointed a member of 
the state board of health by Governor Glass- 
cock, and in 1910, secretary of the board of 
examining surgeons. 

In 1905, Dr. Godbey was married to Miss 
Florrie Smoot, at Madison, W. Va. Mrs. 
Godbey was reared and educated in Madison 
county and was a successful teacher prior to 
her marriage. Dr. and Mrs. Godbey have one 
daughter and one son: Ella Smoot and John 
Lamoyne. They attend the Presbyterian 
church. Dr. Godbey is a member of Odel 
Lodge, No. 115, A. F. & A. M., and of the 
Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the 
Elks. 

JOSEPH W. ROCHE, one of the leading 
business men of Charleston, came to West Vir- 
ginia in the summer of 1893 as manager of 
the Standard Folding Bed Company, then lo- 
cated at Point Pleasant. He was born in 
Liverpool, England, in 1856. His father, Pat- 
rick Roche, married Eliza Burns of northern 
Scotland. Two children were born to them, 
Joseph William and Katharine. 

Joseph Roche, the grandfather, came to the 
United States in 1845 and lived and died at 
Williamsport, Pa., where- he had become a 
well-to-do contractor. In i860 Patrick Roche 
with his two children, his wife had died shortly 
after the birth of the daughter, came to Phila- 
delphia where he lived for three years, moving 
from there to Williamsport. At Williamsport 
he enlisted for service in the Civil War, enter- 
ing the 7th Pa. Vol. Inf., and remaining until 
the war closed two years later. In 1870, hav- 
ing again married, he went to Grand Rapids, 
Mich., and remained there with a lumber com- 
pany until his death which occurred in 1895. 



He left beside his first two children, four sons, 
all of whom are living. The daughter, Katha- 
rine Roche, died in January, 19 10, at Williams- 
port at the home of an uncle with whom she 
had lived from early childhood. 

For twenty-three years before coming to 
West Virginia, Joseph W. Roche lived at 
Grand Rapids, Mich., where for seven years 
he was with the Welch Folding Bed people. 
From there he came to this state because of 
the greater opportunities offered. Realizing 
that Charleston afforded better manufacturing 
and shipping facilities than Point Pleasant, he 
was instrumental in moving the Standard 
Folding Bed Company's plant from Point 
Pleasant to this city in 1895. He was secre- 
tary and local manager of the business until 
1 90 1 when the Standard Folding Bed Com- 
pany consolidated with the Fuller, Hutsinpillar 
Furniture Company of Gallipolis, Ohio, and 
reorganized under the name of the Ohio Val- 
ley Furniture Co. Mr. Roche remained with 
the new company for six months, then re- 
signed and organized the National Veneer 
Company of this city, for whom he acted as 
manager for seven years. He sold his stock 
and retired from the company October, 1908. 
A few months later he engaged in the grocery 
business. 

At Grand Rapids, Mr. Roche was married 
to Miss Mary A. Sprague, who is a daughter 
of Paschal Wheeler Sprague and Lucinda 
(Hoover) Sprague. 

Paschal Wheeler Sprague, a descendant of 
early English colonists, moved to Grand Rap- 
ids from New York city. He was well known 
in real estate circles and owned much property. 
He died in 1876. His widow survives and re- 
sides with her youngest daughter, Mrs. Charles 
Norton, at Grand Rapids, being now in her 
eighty-second year. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roche have one daughter, 
Mary Margaret, recently graduated from and 
at present professionally connected with the 
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Mrs. 
Roche has been for years secretary of the Mis- 
sionary Society of the Kanawha Presbyterian 
church, of which church the family are mem- 
bers. She is prominent in many circles and is 



712 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



secretary of the Woman's Club of Charleston. 
Mr. Roche is politically a Republican and 
served one term as member of the council from 
the Sixth ward. He is a member of all the 
Masonic bodies and is past high priest of the 
Chapter. 

WALTER FRANKLIN COBBS,* mine 
foreman and carpenter at Mine No. 105 of the 
Sunday Creek Coal Company, at Mammoth, 
W. Va., was born January 1, 1872, at St. Al- 
bans, Kanawha county, W. Va., in which 
county he has spent his life. He is a son of 
Lewis L. and Belle (Hall) Cobbs. 

Lewis L. Cobbs was born in Virginia and is 
a son of Hiram and Threna Cobbs, who on 
coming to Kanawha county located at Spring 
Hill, six miles below Charleston. Lewis L. 
Cobbs grew up on his father's farm there and 
then learned the trades of cooper and carpen- 
ter. He still resides at Spring Hill. He mar- 
ried Belle Hall, whose people also came from 
Virginia, and she also survives, both she and 
husband being about seventy years of age. 
Five children were born to them, namely : 
Walter Franklin; William; Maude M., who is 
the wife of Garland Turner; Arthur, and Co- 
lumbus. 

Walter F. Cobbs remained at home with his 
father until he was fifteen years of age. He 
then became a railroad man and served in va- 
rious positions, in the meanwhile learning the 
carpenter's trade, in this capacity coming to 
Mammoth in 1899. He later became boss car- 
penter for his present company and in 191 1 
was made mine foreman. Mr. Cobbs has a 
fine record for reliability and efficiency. 

On October 12, 1894, Mr. Cobbs was mar- 
ried, to Miss Maggie May Bowen, daughter of 
William Bowen, and they have seven children ; 
Howard, Maude, Edmund, Irene, Leslie, Nell 
and Lionel. Mr. Cobbs is an Odd Fellow and 
belongs to the Encampment at Mammoth and 
also to the Knights of Pythias lodge at the 
same place. 

HON. SAMUEL C. HARLESS, who was 
elected mayor of East Bank, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., in 1906, for many years has been 
prominent in the councils of the Republican 



party in this section and has frequently served 
in public office. He was born March 16. 1859, 
on Doddy's Creek, in Boone county, now West 
Virginia, eight miles from Madison, Boone 
county, and is a son of Edward and Nancy 
(Curry) Harless. 

The parents of Mr. Harless were both born 
in Boone county and both survive and are resi- 
dents of Kanawha county, the father being in 
his eighty-eighth year and the mother in her 
seventy-seventh. The paternal grandparents 
were natives of Tazewell county, Va., and the 
grandfather met death by one of those unfor- 
seen accidents which were numerous even be- 
fore the present day of rapid and dangerous 
transportation. A tree fell on his horse and 
he was crushed beneath it. The maternal 
grandparents of Mr. Harless were Samuel and 
Irene (Hill) Curry, and they lived and died in 
Boone county. Edward Harless is a minister 
in the Baptist church and during his active 
years also carried on farming. Of the thir- 
teen children born to Edward Harless by two 
wives three are deceased, two of the first mar- 
riage being to Nancy Curry. Charles, the fifth 
born of the family, was killed by a fall of slate 
in the mine in which he was working. George 
W. is a farmer living in Elk district, Kanawha 
county; Catherine is the wife of Jackson 
Myers, of Dial, on the Elk river. Samuel C, 
was the next in order of birth of this family. 
Mary J., is the wife of William Wells and 
they live near Marmet, Kanawha county. 
Elmer E. lives on the old homestead in 
Boone county. Charles is deceased. Wil- 
liam Wesley is a farmer in Boone county. 
Silas Edward lives on Rock creek, four 
miles from the county seat of Boone 
county. Ulysses G. is an insurance agent, 
living at Glen Jean in Fayette county. 
Rachel Arvena is the wife of John Perdue, 
of Racine, Boone county. Theodosia is the 
wife of James Stone of Boone county. 

Samuel C. Harless was reared on a farm 
and attended the country schools with some 
regularity until about seventeen years of age 
and then spent four years at lumbering in- 
Boone, Lincoln and Kanawha counties. For 
three years he was bookkeeper for Leroy 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



713 



Douglass, who operated a sawmill and fur- 
nished lumber for the Cabin Creek branch of 
the C. & O. railroad, and then became a coal 
miner. For eighteen years he worked in the 
mines in Kanawha and Fayette counties and 
during this time he won the confidence of his 
fellow miners to such a degree that he was 
elected secretary and treasurer of the United 
Mine Workers. For three years Mr. Harless 
occupied those offices and then was elected 
president of the district composed of West 
Virginia and a part of Kentucky, and served 
until 1898. He also was a clerk for a busi- 
ness firm at Hanley for two years, then lived 
at Dego, now Pratt, for one year, subsequently 
becoming collector for the Brooks & Mead 
Credit House. In 1901 he accepted the ap- 
pointment to the office of deputy sheriff and 
served four years under Sheriff Jarrett, and 
also served as appraiser under the Dawson 
Tax Law and made the first appraisements in 
Maiden and Cabin Creek Districts. In 1907 
he became mine foreman for the Belmont Coal 
Company and served eight months, when he 
was elected committee clerk in the House of 
Representatives, and served in this position 
three terms. Mr. Harless then represented the 
Independent Coal Operators' organization in 
the distribution of coal cars for a period of 
two years. In the fall of 1908 he was elected 
a member of the House of Delegates from 
Kanawha county and served one term, and 
since then has been deputy sheriff, a faithful 
and efficient officer in every position he has 
ever held. 

On February 10, 1886, Mr. Harless was 
married to Miss Lydia White, a daughter of 
Samuel H. and Emm'a (Rader) White, of 
Coalburg, Kanawha county, and they have one 
daughter, Irene, a young lady of fifteen years. 
She is a member of the Calvary Baptist 
church of West Charleston, while her par- 
ents belong to the Hampton Baptist church 
of East Bank. Mr. Harless belongs to 
Morning Star Lodge, No. 63, Odd Fellows, 
and to Abraham Council and Encampment. 

HENRY H. BRANUM * a general farmer 
in Elk district and a merchant at Two-Mile, 
was born in Pike county, Ky., May 20, 1859, 



and is a son of Reuben and Harriet (Fran- 
ciske) Branum, and a grandson of Rev. 
James Branum, who was a Baptist minister 
well known in his day, a native of Lexington, 
Kentucky. 

Reuben Branum was born in Pike county, 
Ky., a son of Rev. James and Polly (Kinney) 
Branum. He followed agricultural pursuits 
both before and after moving to Virginia, 
where he died in 1895, aged sixty-five years. 
He married Harriet, a daughter of Louis and 
Polly (Phipps) Franciske, one of the oldest 
families of Scott county. Of the family of 
eleven children there are five survivors : Henry 
H.' j , William, who is a merchant in Virginia; 
Samuel, who is a farmer; Betty, who is the 
wife of James Williams, of Virginia; and 
Mary, who is the wife of F. Wright, a farmer 
in Virginia. 

Henry H. Branum assisted his father on the 
home farm after his school days were over and 
was only sixteen years of age when he first be- 
came a merchant, conducting a store for four 
years. After his marriage he engaged in stock 
dealing, distilling and contracting for carpenter 
work. In 1891 he came to Kanawha county, 
where he contracted for and built eighty-five 
houses for the mines at Pocahontas. He fol- 
lowed his trade uninterruptedly at Charleston 
until 1906, since when he has been interested 
as above mentioned. Mr. Branum is a Demo- 
crat and while in East Virginia served in pub- 
lic office for six years. 

Mr. Branum married Miss Belle Dotson, 
who was born in Virginia, January 12, 1872, 
and is a daughter of James and Cassie (Robin- 
son) Dotson, natives of Illinois, who came to 
the South before the Civil War and at one time 
owned seventy-five slaves, besides coal mines, 
Mr. and Mrs. Branum have four children: 
Eura, a young lady of seventeen years ; Euther, 
aged sixteen years ; George Ward, eleven, and 
Eunice, thirteen years. 

JOHN L. BEARD, optometrist, who is well 
and favorably known all over West Virginia, 
resides on his estate of forty-two acres, situ- 
ated near the city of Charleston. He was 
born December 29, 1858, in Winston-Salem, 



714 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



North Carolina, of which state his paternal 
ancestors were among the most important and 
prominent men for generations. 

John Lewis Beard, the great-grandfather of 
Dr. Beard, owned a large plantation in Rowan 
county, N. C, and was high sheriff of the 
county under King George III, and continued 
to hold the office after the Revolutionary War. 
His son, also John Lewis, was a graduate of 
the University of North Carolina, a classmate 
of James K. Polk, who later became President 
of the United States, and was a leading figure 
in professional life in Rowan county, where 
his death occurred in advanced age. 

William Howard Beard, father of Dr. 
Beard and son of John Lewis Beard (2), was 
born near Winston-Salem, where he still re- 
sides. He served for four years in the Confed- 
erate army during the Civil War and was cap- 
tured by the Federal forces at Petersburg, and 
was a prisoner of war on Hart's Island and at 
Point Lookout. In early manhood he married 
a daughter of John Benjamin Kingsbury, the 
latter of whom was born at Boston, Mass., and 
when twenty-one years of age came to Stokes 
county, N. C. He afterward removed to Vir- 
ginia, and died at Dobson, Surry county, N. C, 
while visiting a daughter, at the age of eighty- 
four years. He was a strong sympathizer with 
the South during the Civil War and all of his 
sons served in the Confederate army and two 
of them died while in the service. The chil- 
dren born to William H. Beard and wife were 
the following : John L. ; Dora, who died in 
1907, in Virginia, was the wife of William 
Rice who survives with three sons and two 
daughters ; Clarence Lee, who is a printer by 
trade, married Miss Lucinda Hutchens, of Yad- 
kin county, N. C, has one son, William How- 
ard, and they reside at Charleston; and Mary 
Virginia, who is the wife of William Agee, of 
Salem, N. C, and has three sons and two 
daughters. 

John L. Beard was reared in his native place, 
attended the local schools and then studied 
pharmacy and became a licensed pharmacist 
before he became a student in optometry. He 
is a post graduate of the South Bend College 
of Optics, of the class of 1896, after spending 
some time under leading professors of this 



branch of science in the city of New York. He 
has been and still is a very enthusiastic student 
in his specialty, and is a valued and highly 
honored member of the Scientific Section of 
the American Association of Opticians. For a 
remarkable thesis presented to the Section he 
bore off a special certificate, the name of his 
paper being "The Functional Relation of 
Vision to the Mental Status." This thesis won 
him a first class certificate and a still more 
coveted one of grand honors, from this body, 
this being the first certificate of Grand Honors 
ever issued by the scientific or literary section. 
This finely engraved certificate was awarded 
him in 1909. He had also received first prize 
for a thesis read before the association at Kan- 
sas City in 1907; the title of this paper, The 
Evolution and Decadence of the Sense of 
Vision, elicited much discussion. Dr. Beard 
is a constant and welcome contributor to cur- 
rent literature and does not confine himself to 
papers on his profession, on the other hand 
discussing public and educational questions 
with equal facility, and showing deep thought 
on the various problems of life. 

Dr. Beard was married at Winston, N. C, 
to Miss Ida M. Crumpler, a native of Salem, 
her family being of old Moravian stock. She 
was the mother of three children : Robert Lee, 
Bertram Talbott, and Basil Gray. The second 
child died in infancy. Robert Lee Beard was 
given excellent educational advantages and 
then became connected with the United States 
Forestry department, and later with the British 
Cotton Growers' Association, a branch of the 
Agricultural department, by which he was 
commissioned as a member of an exploring ex- 
pedition to Western Africa. He went 500 
miles into the wilderness with a party of na- 
tives, and was the only white man in the party, 
and had numerous interesting adventures and 
met with many dangers but was able to return 
with satisfactory reports. He is now stationed 
at Fort Worth, Texas, and is interested in the 
importing of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus 
from Africa for commercial purposes. Basil 
Gray Beard is in the shoe business at Winston, 
N. C. 

Dr. Beard was married second to Miss 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



715 



Annie Quarks, who was born in Putnam 
county, W. Va. They have had three children 
born to them, all daughters : Dora, aged thir- 
teen, a student in the public schools; Alma, 
aged eleven, who is also a student ; and Delia, 
who is now five years of age. Dr. Beard and 
wife are members of the Magazine Baptist 
church, in which he has been clerk for some 
time. He devotes a large part of his leisure 
time to breeding graded stock and fine fowls. 
He loves and appreciates Nature in all its 
forms, and enjoys the situation of his home 
which is located in a beautiful section. 

BENJAMIN S. SMITHERS,* lockmaster 
at Lock No. 4, at Dickinson Station, on the 
K. & M. Railroad, fifteen miles up the Kana- 
wha river from Charleston, was born Novem- 
ber 20, 1866, in Maiden district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., and is a son of David S. and 
Emily (Whitteker) Smithers. 

David S. Smithers, who was born on the 
Dickinson farm at Maiden, October 8, 1837, 
was a son of Benjamin S. and Eliza (Shrews- 
bury) Smithers. Grandfather Smithers was 
born in Ohio and was a young man when he 
came to Kanawha county and located near 
Maiden, in the early days of the salt making 
industry in this section. He married Eliza 
Shrewsbury, a daughter of Joel Shrewsbury, 
who was one of the early salt manufacturers, 
who, with Colonel Dickinson, became the owner 
of hundreds of acres of land south of Charles- 
ton. Benjamin S. Smithers became also a man 
of property and of importance in this section 
in which he lived until his death. in 1881. His 
widow survived until 1896, dying at the age 
of eighty-four years. They had seven chil- 
dren, David Shrewsbury . being the eldest. The 
latter followed an agricultural life until the 
opening of the Civil War, and owned a farm 
near what is now Belle, Maiden district. In the 
beginning of hostilities, he enlisted as a private 
in the Confederate army and took part in many 
battles without being seriously injured. He 
was once made a prisoner, but continued in the 
service until the unhappy struggle was over. 
In 1866 he married Emily Whitteker, a daugh- 
ter of Charles Whitteker, a native of Charles- 
ton, and a son of Aaron Whitteker, who was 



the original owner of the land on which the 
present Y. M. C. A. building now stands at 
Charleston. His death occuring on what was 
then his home farm. The maternal grandmoth- 
er of Benjamin S. Smithers, was Margaret 
Eoff, who was a daughter of the late Dr. Eoff, 
of Wheeling, W. Va., whose memory was com- 
memorated there by the naming of a street in 
his honor. David S. Smithers died in 1903, his 
wife having passed away in August, 1891. 
They had four children : Benjamin S. ; Rose, 
who is the wife of E. C. Magaw, of Maiden 
district; John, who died in infancy; and Mar- 
garet, who is the wife of U. B. Keeney, of 
Maiden district. 

Benjamin S. Smithers spent his boyhood on 
the farm and attended school in the country, 
being a pupil where his mother had formerly 
been a teacher. In 1888 he was appointed lock 
hand at Lock No. 5, ten miles above Charles- 
ton, by A. M. Scott and remained there until 
January, 1892, and from then until 1904 at 
Lock No. 9, in 1898 having been appointed 
lockmaster at Lock No. 5. He came to Lock 
No. 4 as lockmaster in October, 1904. He is 
looked upon as one of the most efficient and 
reliable men on the line. 

Mr. Smithers was married June 30, 1887, 
to Miss Hattie Bullington, a daughter of D. H. 
Bullington, who came as a young man from 
Virginia to Kanawha county, W. Va. Mr. 
and Mrs. Smithers have seven children, 
namely: Carol, who is the wife of John M. 
Londeree, residing at Lock No. 7, and has one 
son, John M., Jr.; and Charles D., John B., 
Earl Q., David A. and Marguerite and Fran- 
cis, the two last named being twins. Mr. 
Smithers is a Democrat. He is past master of 
Salina Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and past 
master in the Odd Fellows and Knights of 
Pythias at Marmet, being a charter member of 
the latter. 

MRS. A. L. LANGLEY, a well known 
and highly respected resident of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., widow of the late Augustus 
L. Langley, is a representative of the 
Clarkson family of old Virginia. Accord- 
ing to the Rev. Edgar Woods, in his His- 
tory of Albemarle county, Va., published 



716 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



in 1901, five persons of the name were 
more or less conspicuous in the early his- 
tory of that county, three of them being 
brothers. These five Clarksons were 
Peter, John, William, James and Manaoh. 

The line of descent under present con- 
sideration comes from John Clarkson, 
above mentioned, who served bravely in 
the Virginia militia during the Revolution- 
ary War. He passed his life in Albemarle 
county, being the owner of a large planta- 
tion, five hundred acres of which he pur- 
chased from Maj. John Wood and on 
which was located an early mercantile em- 
porium known as "Clarkson's store." He 
was not altogether fortunate in his busi- 
ness operations, however, as he lost much 
of his property before he died. His losses 
were not due to any lack of energy on his 
part, as he was an active and prominent 
citizen. A brother of his married a cousin 
of President Thomas Jefferson. He. him- 
self, married Nancy Harrison, a Virginia 
girl who made him a good wife and help- 
meet. They each attained an advanced 
age. They had three sons — James, John, 
and David — besides several daughters. 

James Clarkson, through whom the 
present line descends, was born in Albe- 
marle county, Va., about the year 1780 and 
also attained an advanced age, dying in 
i860. He was a farmer by occupation. In 
1835 he came to Kanawha county (now) 
W. Va., purchasing land on the south side 
of the Kanawha river. He became a well 
known and prominent citizen of this re- 
gion, was a Democrat in politics and. fol- 
lowing ancestral tradition, was an adher- 
ent religiously of the Episcopal Church. 
He married in Albemarle county, Va., 
Maria Wood, who was about the same age 
as himself, and a native of Albemarle 
county, where she died in about middle 
life. Her parents were David Josiah and 
Mildred (Lewis) Wood, and she was a 
granddaughter of Thomas Walker, pro- 
prietor of Castle Hill and one of the best 
known men of his day in the valley of Vir- 
ginia. From him the family estate has de- 
scended to Alfred Rives, brother of Dr. 



William C. Rives, a prominent physician 
and author and uncle of Amelia Rives, now 
the Countess Troubetzkoi, famous the 
world over for her literary work. 

James and Maria (Wood) Clarkson 
were the parents of six children, whose 
record in brief is as follows: (1). David, 
who was one of the early salt makers of 
Kanawha county, married Elizabeth Quar- 
rier and went to Missouri, in which state 
he owned property. He died there and his 
widow subsequently returned to Charles- 
ton, where she was a much beloved woman 
and where her death finally took place. 
They left children. (2). Mildred Lewis 
became the wife of Prof. William Brad- 
ford of Massachusetts, a descendant of 
William Bradford, the Mayflower passen- 
ger and first governor and historian of the 
Plymouth colony. She left one son, Will- 
iam, Jr., who was twice married and left 
an interesting family, he having recently 
died. (3). Mary Walker married Alexan- 
der Bradford, a brother of Prof. William 
Bradford above mentioned, the two broth- 
ers being professors in the University of 
Virginia. (4). John Nicholas was the 
father of Mrs. A. L. Langley. the direct 
subject of this sketch, and will be further 
mentioned herein. (5). Margaret died 
unmarried in Charleston. W. Va. (6). 
Robert graduated from the Philadelphia 
Medical College and was a prominent 
physician of Lafayette county. Mo., where 
he died. He married Miss Hattie Houcks. 
who came of Dutch stock, and she also 
died, leaving a son and daughter. 

Col. John Nicholas Clarkson, briefly re- 
ferred to above, was born in Albemarle 
county, Va., October 24. 1816. He was 
only a boy when his father settled in Ka- 
nawha county and he grew up here becom- 
ing a deputy sheriff in 1836 when he had 
not yet attained his majority. For some 
time he followed the occupation of salt 
maker. On the breaking out of the Civil 
War, he was appointed by Gen. Henry A. 
Wise, ex-governor of this state, as his 
chief aid, with the rank of colonel. He 
served in the Confederate armies and was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



717 



three times wounded by gunshot. A brief 
sketch of his military record is contained 
in a letter from Maj. Thomas L. Broun, 
who, after stating that Col. Clarkson took 
a very active part for the secession of Vir- 
ginia, goes on to say: 

"He was an ardent, earnest and very 
able supporter in the defence of Virginia. 
He was the chief advisor and counsellor of 
Gen. Floyd and Gen. Wise, also, in their 
campaigns in that part of Virginia extend- 
ing from White Sulphur Springs in Green- 
brier county to the Kanawha valley and to 
the Ohio river. He was chief of staff for 
Gen. Floyd, with rank of colonel. He was 
placed in command of a cavalry regiment, 
and did very active service with his regi- 
ment on Coal river, Guyandotte, the Ohio 
river and the Great Kanawha. Had fre- 
quent successful engagements with the en- 
emy and continued in this service until 
Generals Floyd and Wise were called to 
Richmond, in September, 1861, and Gen- 
eral Lee was sent to Big Sewell Mountains 
to take command of the Confederate 
forces then at Meadow Bluff near Lewis- 
burg and on Big Sewell Mountains, oppos- 
ing the forward and onward march of Gen- 
eral Rosecrans, with twelve thousand men. 

"Subsequently the State of Virginia 
concluded to take possession of the salt 
works of Palmer and Stuart, at Saltville 
in Washington county, and to have salt 
made for the use of the Confederacy, as 
the Federal blockade had deprived the 
South of salt. The legislature of Virginia 
passed this act of confiscation, and Col. 
Clarkson was chosen to take possession of 
these salt works, and to organize a force 
to make salt for the use of the South. 
This Col. Clarkson did, and remained so 
doing until the close of the war." 

Maj. Broun further says of Col. Clark- 
son that he "was noted for his great 
bravery and daring courage in all contests, 
and his ardent attachment to everything 
dear to Virginia. He was ready at any 
time to give up his life in defence of same." 

John S. Wise, in a recent letter to Mrs. 
Langley says of Col. Clarkson: "My 



father," (Henry A. W T ise, ex-governor of 
Virginia and later brigadier-general in the 
C. S. army) "was devoted to him (Col. 
Clarkson) and regarded him as one of the 
most matchlessly brave human beings he 
ever knew." And further on in the same 
letter Mr. Wise says: "No woman in this 
world had a braver father than you did or 
one more simply truly loyal to his friends, 
you have a right to be proud of his courage 
and constancy." 

Col. Clarkson's life was prolonged many 
years after the war, his death occurring 
October 14, 1906, when he was within ten 
days of his ninetieth birthday. During 
this long period he was one of the promi- 
nent business citizens of Charleston, a man 
highly respected and esteemed in the com- 
munity, and ready at any time to lend his 
aid and influence to any worthy cause. 
Though a son of the old South he showed 
his real Americanism by quickly adapting 
himself to the changed conditions of the 
new era which began with the close of the 
war, yet retaining in his dignified courtesy 
of manner, his hearty hospitality, and his 
keen sense of honor, all that was best in 
the old regime. 

Col. John N. Clarkson was married, at 
the old St. John's church, Charleston, by 
Rev. Dr. Nash, in August, 1847, to Anne 
L. Early, who was born January 25, 1820, 
and who died in Marion, Smyth county, 
Va., while the family were refugees in 
April, 1865. 

The Early family is of Irish descent and 
is supposed to have emigrated from 
County Donegal, in northwestern Ireland. 
Col. Joab Early moved to Putnam county 
from Franklin county. He was the son of 
Jubal Early and his wife, Mary Cheatham ; 
grandson of Jeremiah Early of Bedford 
county, and Sarah Anderson ; great grand- 
son of Jeremiah Early, Sr., of Culpepper 
county and his wife, Elizabeth Buford ; 
great-great-grandson of Thomas and Eliz- 
abeth Early of Christ Church parish, Mid- 
dlesex county, Virginia. 

Four of Col. Joab Early's children lived 
in Charleston, Kanawha county. His eld- 



718 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



est son, Capt. Samuel Henry Early, mar- 
ried Hennan, daughter of Dr. John Jordan 
Cabell, of Lynchburg, Va., who owned and 
operated the salt works in Kanawha 
county. Dr. Cabell died in Kanawha in 
1835 during an epidemic of cholera, and 
was buried in the upper cemetery in 
Charleston. Another daughter of Dr. 
Cabell, Frances, the wife of Thomas 
Friend, resided in Charleston; she was the 
mother of Mrs. Joel Quarrier, nee Frances 
Friend, and of Mrs. John Moseley, nee 
Paulina Friend, and of Josephine Friend, 
who died aged nineteen years unmarried. 

Robert Hairston Early (Col. Joab 
Early's third son) married in Franklin 
county, Harriet, daughter of Capt. Wiley 
Woods. While living in Charleston Mr. 
Robert H. Early held the office of sheriff. 
He moved with his large family and his 
youngest brother, Richard, to Lexington, 
Mo., where he resided many years and 
where Col. Joab Early died in 1871, being 
buried with Masonic rites. Two of Col. 
Early's daughters married and resided 
in Charleston: Elizabeth married Judge 
Robert Augustus Thompson (of a Culpep- 
per county family), at one time a member 
of Congress. In the early fifties this fam- 
ily moved to San Francisco, where Mrs. 
Thompson's two daughters now reside, 
and where both she and her husband died, 
the former in 1867 and the latter in 1900. 

Ann Early married John N. Clarkson, 
as already narrated, and lived in Charles- 
ton until during the Civil War, when this 
family refugeed to eastern Virginia. 
Later they moved to southwestern Vir- 
ginia, and Mrs. Clarkson died during their 
sojourn in Marion, Smyth county. 

Capt. Samuel H. Early made Charleston 
his home during the period in which he 
and Col. Clarkson operated the salt works 
in Kanawha county, where his wife held 
landed interests from her father. The 
breaking out of the Civil War cut off com- 
munication with the western part of the 
state: his father and sisters with their fam- 
ilies had refugeed to eastern Virginia. 
After the close of the war Capt. Samuel 



Early again turned his attention to the Ka- 
nawha property and other holdings in 
western Virginia, making lengthy visits to 
this new state, and while in Charleston, 
during the winter of 1873-4, he was seized 
with the illness from which he died in 
March, 1874, in the home of Air. Joel 
Quarrier. While a citizen of Charleston 
Capt. Early lived in the brick residence 
afterwards owned by Mr. Ruby on the 
main street fronting and parallel with the 
river. 

Col. John N. and Ann (Early) Clarkson 
were the parents of two children, John 
Nicholas, Jr., and Mary, whose name ap- 
pears at the head of this sketch. 

John N. Clarkson, Jr., was born in 
Charleston, W. Va., in 185 1 and was edu- 
cated in the University of Virginia. He 
has never married and now resides on his 
stock farm in Lincoln county, W. Va. He 
has been successful in his chosen vocation. 

Mary Clarkson (Mrs. A. L. Langley) 
was born May 30, 1848, in Charleston, W. 
Va. She was educated by a governess and 
in St. Mary's College, at Raleigh, N. C, 
later attending a finishing school at Rich- 
mond, Va. She is a woman of keen intel- 
ligence and high culture, well read and 
well informed upon general topics, and has 
traveled the world over, having visited, 
among other famous places, the North 
Cape, in Norway, the most northerly point 
in Europe. She is a member of and active 
worker in the "Stonewall" Jackson Chap- 
ter, Daughters of the Confederacy. This 
chapter placed in the capitol grounds in 
Charleston, W. Va., a statue of Gen. 
Thomas J. Jackson ("Stonewall"). This 
monument was designed and executed by 
Sir Moses Ezekiel, an Italian sculptor, who 
was a pupil of General Jackson's while 
at the Virginia Military Institute. Sir 
Moses, while at school in Lexington, 
fought with the cadets at the battle of 
New Market, when Hunter invaded Vir- 
ginia on his way down the Shenandoah 
valley. 

Mary Clarkson was married September 
29, 1872, in Charleston, to Augustus L. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



719 



Langley, who was born in Ohio in 1843 
and who died in Charleston, W. Va., October 
J 3> I 9°3- Mr. Langley was educated in 
the public schools of Ohio and was a com- 
mission merchant for many years. His 
grandfather, Philip Langley, was a mem- 
ber of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. 
He married Anna O'Neil of the District of 
Columbia. The father of Augustus was 
William H. Langley, of Virginia, who be- 
came a prominent miller in Ohio, dying at 
Gallipolis, that state some thirty years 
ago. He was president of the Hocking 
Valley Railroad. He married in Gallipolis, 
O., Caroline Miller, who died there in 1875 
when quite advanced in years. They were 
Presbyterians in religious belief. 

Mr. and Mrs. Augustus L. Langley be- 
came the parents of two children, namely: 
Anna, born in Ohio in 1876, was educated 
in Staunton, Va. — Mrs. Jeb Stuart being 
president of the school — and became the 
wife of John S. Witt, a wholesale shoe 
dealer of Lynchburg, Va. She has one 
son, John Augustus, born April 9, 1897. 
Clark, Mrs. Langley's second child, was 
born in West Virginia in 1879, was edu- 
cated in the University of West Virginia 
and graduated in the class of 1900 with the 
degree of B. L. He has bright prospects 
for a professional career. He is at present 
a resident of Idaho and is unmarried. 

Mrs. Langley is a member of the Epis- 
copal church, as was also her husband. 
Since the latter's death she has looked 
after her own estate very successfully, 
showing excellent business capacity. 

DAVID O'DANIEL,* a retired farmer 
and highly respected citizen of Elk district, 
was born near his present homestead in 
Kanawha county, April 15, 1839, and is a 
son of Chapman and Sarah (O'Daniel) 
O'Daniel. 

Chapman O'Daniel was born in Wood 
county, now West Virginia, and after his 
marriage settled on a farm near Cooper 
Creek, where he resided during his entire 
subsequent life, his death occurring in 
1895, when he was seventy-two years of 



age. His father, James O'Daniel, was one 
of the oldest pioneers settling at the head 
of Cooper creek, near Elk river, and was 
probably born in Ireland. Chapman 
O'Daniel married Sarah, daughter of 
James and Elizabeth (Slater) O'Daniel, of 
Elk district. She died in 1879 at the age 
of fifty-seven years. To this marriage one 
child was born, David O'Daniel, of Elk 
district. The half brothers and sisters of 
Mr. O'Daniel are as follows: John, who 
is a farmer on Campbell's creek; Hedge- 
mon, who lives in Greenbrier county; 
Nancy, who is the wife of A. W. Wiseman, 
of Elk district; Eliza, who was the wife of 
M. Boggs; and Catherine, who is the wife 
of J. Smith, a farmer in West Virginia. 

For ten years after leaving school, 
David O'Daniel followed farming on the 
home place, for Thomas Newhouse and 
William Graham. He also worked his 
way through the coal mines and later 
learned the cooper's trade and worked at 
it five years. When the Civil War broke 
out he enlisted in 1861 in Co. C, 7th Va. 
Vol. Inf. and served three years in the 
Federal army, under Generals Crook and 
Hunter, participating in all the battles of 
his command, but fortunately escaping 
wounds or capture. After an honorable 
discharge he returned to the Elk river re- 
gion and resumed work at his trade and 
continued for seven years when he came 
to his present farm on which he carried 
on agricultural operations until he retired. 
He is one of the pioneer settlers on this 
creek and one of the best known men in 
the district. He has been a good citizen 
in a quiet way, accepting responsibilities 
when necessary but not seeking political 
office. He casts his vote with the Repub- 
lican party. 

Mr. O'Daniel was married to Miss Eliza 
Light, who was born in 1847, * n Elk dis- 
trict, Kanawha county, a daughter of Jo- 
seph and Rachel (Brown) Light, natives 
of Greenbrier county, Va. Eight children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. O'Daniel, 
namely: John, who is a coal miner in Fay- 
ette county, married Melissa Williams and 



720 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



has three children; James, who is his 
father's farmer; Wilbur, who is a farmer 
and miller in Kanawha county; Walter 
Frederick, who is a coal miner, married 
Rosa Williams, and has two children; 
Rachel Ann, who married Joseph Martin, 
a farmer in Elk district, and has seven 
.children ; Sarah, deceased, who was the 
wife of Thomas Shawn ; and two who died 
young. For thirty years Mr. O'Daniel has 
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church at Mill Creek. 

LEROY ALLEBACH, attorney-at-law, at 
Charleston, W. Va., has been a member of the 
Kanawha county bar since 1906, and is assist- 
ant general counsel for the Kanawha & Michi- 
gan Railway. He was born July 25, 1880, at 
New Bethlehem, Clarion county, Pa., and is a 
son of Anson M. and Clara C. (Webster) Alle- 
bach, and a grandson of Abraham and Kathe- 
rine (Kramer) Allebach. 

The Allebachs have long been residents of 
Pennsylvania, where the family was founded 
by Christian Allebach. He came to America 
about 1704 from Wurtemberg, Germany, ac- 
companied by his large family, this being in 
compliance with a request made by an agent of 
Matthias Van Bebber, the latter having pur- 
chased a tract of five thousand acres of land 
from William Penn, located on Perkiomen 
creek, in Montgomery county, Pa., in what 
was then known as Van Bebber township, but 
in later years it became Hatfield township. 

Abraham Allebach, son of Benjamin and 
grandfather of Leroy Allebach, was born in 
1810 and died at New Bethlehem, Clarion 
county, in 1881. He served for a time in the 
Union army during the Civil War and partici- 
pated in the battle of Gettysburg. He was a 
large landowner, having property in Washing- 
ton, D. C, and prior to the Civil War had pre- 
empted lands in both Iowa and Minnesota. 
He married Katherine Kramer, who was born 
in Center county, Pa., in 1833, and died in 
1902, aged sixty-nine years. 

Anson M. Allebach, father of Leroy Alle- 
bach, was born in the house which was erected 
by his grandfather, Benjamin Allebach, and 
for the past thirty years has been superinten- 



dent of the Northwestern Coal and Iron Com- 
pany and has been an active business man since 
he attained his majority. He married Clara 
C. Webster, who was born in 1858, and is a 
daughter of Leroy Webster, who was born in 
McKean county, Pa., in 1833, from which sec- 
tion he moved to Jefferson county and from 
there, in 19 10, to the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. Allebach, at New Bethlehem. He served 
as a soldier in the Union Army for fifty months 
and was wounded eight times during his long 
period of service. He married Dollie Sher- 
man, a descendant of Roger Sherman of Colo- 
nial times. His father was George Webster, 
who was born at Portsmouth, N. H., and was 
a direct descendant of John Webster, who came 
to Boston, Mass., in 1636, later removed to 
Connecticut and was made governor of that 
state or rather the Connecticut colony, from 
1645 un til 1649. On the maternal side, Mrs. 
Allebach is connected with the New England 
Emersons, Wolcotts and Rogers. 

Leroy Allebach was born on the place where 
his great-grandfather, Benjamin Allebach, set- 
tled when he moved into Clarion county, which 
is the home of his parents at the present time. 
He attended the public schools of New Bethle- 
hem and after completing the High School 
course, in 1900 was graduated from the Clar- 
ion Normal School ; in 1903 from Grove City 
College, receiving his degree of A. B. ; and 
from the University of Michigan in the class 
of 1906, with the degree of LL.B., and on the 
first of October in this year, entered upon the 
practice of law at Charleston. In 1910 he 
formed a partnership with C. C. W r iley, and 
was appointed claim agent of the K. & M. Rail- 
road Company in May, 19 10, and assistant to 
the general attorney, in October, 19 10. with 
offices in the City National Bank building. Mr. 
Allebach is a member of St. John's Episcopal 
church; of Kanawha Lodge No. 20, A. F. & 
A. M. ; Tyrian Chapter, No. 13; Kanawha 
Commandery, No. 3, and belongs to the Beni- 
Kedem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine 
at Charleston, and is also identified with the 
Elks in this city. He is more or less active in 
Republican political circles and stands high in 
general esteem both in his profession and as a 
man. 




HON. GEORGE E. PEICE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



721 



THADDEUS STEVENS CLARK,* a 
member of the prominent law firm of Chilton, 
Mac Corkle & Chilton, at Charleston, W. Va., 
has been engaged in the general practice of 
law in this city since 1896, coming here three 
years earlier. He was born September 30, 
1867, i n Carroll county, O., and is a son of 
Jesse Frank and Isabel (Roby) Clark. 

In the days of the great-grandfather, Jesse 
Clark, the family was already an old one in 
the Valley of Virginia. After his marriage 
this ancestor of our subject moved to near 
Leesburg, in Carroll county, O., where he pur- 
chased land and cut off the timber and de- 
veloped a farm on which he lived until the close 
of his long and active life. The name of his 
wife was Grant, and she was born in Virginia. 
Among their children was William Clark, who 
was the grandfather of Thaddeus S. Clark, of 
Charleston. He was about four years old 
when his parents moved to Ohio and he spent 
his life in Orange township, Carroll county. 
He married Ursula Rouse, who belonged to an 
old Pennsylvania Dutch family. Their chil- 
dren were: Henry, who spent his life in Car- 
roll county, a farmer; David, who lived in 
Tuscarawas county; Jesse Frank; Jane, who 
died at the age of sixty years; and Anna, who 
is the Widow Harris, resides with her one 
daughter, in Ohio. 

Jesse Frank Clark was born in Orange town- 
ship, Carroll county, O., in 1835, on which 
farm he spent his life and died in 1898. He 
was a man of public importance in that section, 
a Republican in politics, and was county com- 
missioner of Carroll county. He married Isa- 
bel Roby, who was born in 1836, in Carroll 
county, and still survives, living in the old 
homestead in which she spent all her married 
life. With her husband she was one of the 
early members of the Methodist church and 
both were active in its good works. They had 
nine children born to them, namely : Edward, 
who died at the age of fourteen years; Rush, 
who died in 1910, aged thirty-two years; 
Charles, who lives in Ohio; Clyde, who also 
lives in Ohio; Thaddeus S. ; Blanche, who is 
the wife of A. G. Morrison, lives at Leesville 
and has two children — Clark and Helen ; Will- 
iam D., who has one son, Thaddeus, and lives 



at Covington, Ky. ; Nellie, who remains with 
her mother; and Jesse F., who is a farmer in 
Harrison county, O., and has two children — 
Franklin and Mary. 

Thaddeus S. Clark was educated in the pub- 
lic schools and a commercial college, and in 
1893 came to Charleston. In 1894 he began 
the study of law and in 1896 was admitted to 
the bar of West Virginia, afterward becoming 
a member of the law firm mentioned above. 
In politics he is a Democrat. 

Mr. Clark married Miss Agnes Dooley, who 
was born and educated at Baltimore, Md. 
They have one daughter, Isabel T. Mr. Clark 
was reared in the Methodist and his wife in the 
Presbyterian church. They take part in the 
pleasant social life of the city and have a wide 
circle of congenial friends. 

HON. GEORGE EDMUND PRICE, vice 
president of the Kanawha Banking and Trust 
Company, of Charleston, W. Va., a promi- 
nent Democratic leader and a foremost mem- 
ber of the Charleston bar, was born on a farm 
near Moorefield, Va., November 9, 1848, and 
in that town he first attended school and pre- 
pared for Georgetown College, at Georgetown, 
D. C. 

Mr. Price was a brilliant student, carrying 
off most of the honors while at college, and 
was equally satisfactory as a student of law, 
and in December, 1871, was admitted to the 
bar, at Frederick, Md. In the fall of 1875 he 
returned to West Virginia, locating in Mineral 
county, where he continued in the practice of 
law until 1890. He became interested in poli- 
tics in early manhood, and his friends recog- 
nized his unsolicited claims to party recogni- 
tion in 1882 by electing him to the West Vir- 
ginia state senate, and through re-election he 
served in that dignified position for eight years 
and during several sessions of this honorable 
body was its presiding officer. His public 
record is one to which he can refer with justi- 
fiable pride. In 1890 he came to Charleston as 
a resident and entered upon the practice of his 
profession, becoming a member and remaining 
at the head of, through a number of changes, 
of a firm that has been very prominent in law 



722 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



practice here for many years. Its present style 
is Price, Smith, Spilman & Clay, and offices 
are maintained in the Coyle & Richardson 
building, Charleston. He has been identified 
with the Kanawha Banking and Trust Com- 
pany since its organization. Senator Price re- 
sides at No. 1 1 19 Virginia avenue. 

M. F. SPRUCE,* undertaker and funeral 
director at Cedar Grove, W. Va., who has 
spent his entire life in Kanawha county, was 
born on his father's farm in Cabin Creek dis- 
trict, in September, 1856, a son of George W. 
and Rachel (Foster) Spruce. 

George W. Spruce, who was born in North 
Carolina, came to West Virginia in early man- 
hood and engaged in farming. He soon mar- 
ried and then moved to the present site of 
Cedar Grove, before the town was laid out or 
the mines opened. He married Rachel Foster, 
who was born in Kanawha county, a daughter 
of Turley Foster, a pioneer in this section, and 
they both attained old age. Seven children 
were born to them, the youngest of the family 
being named Millard Fillmore, in honor of 
President Fillmore, who had succeeded to the 
high office of President of the United States 
following the death of President Taylor, in 
1850. Mr. Spruce has never done anything 
to bring discredit on an illustrious name. His 
brothers and sisters were : William J. ; Mat- 
tie J., who is deceased (was the wife of W. B. 
Wilson) ; Alice, who became the wife of James 
Hull; Isabella, who married James T. John- 
son; Benjamin F. ; and George H. Pendleton. 

Millard F. Spruce attended the country 
schools and assisted on the home farm until he 
married. He afterward turned his attention 
to coal mining and for many years followed 
civil and mining engineering. He was ap- 
pointed state mine inspector first by Governor 
Wilson and reappointed by Governor Fleming, 
serving in that capacity for five years. He 
then accepted the position of superintendent of 
mines for the Falling Rock Cannel Coal Com- 
pany, and was also mine boss for the Wini- 
frede and McCarbon Coal Companies. For 
seven years he was engaged in the mercantile 
business at Cedar Grove, erecting the large 
building in which he has carried on business, 



but subsequently sold his store and for the past 
three years has been in the undertaking busi- 
ness. Also, in partnership with his brother-in- 
law, William Salmon, he owns two farms of 
forty acres, which are devoted to the growing 
of ginseng, a medicinal herb which is a neces- 
sary component of many remedies. One of 
these farms is situated at Cedar Grove and the 
other at Burning Springs. 

On November 27, 1889, Mr. Spruce was 
married to Miss Ida Salmon, a daughter of 
Robert and Bettie (Roy) Salmon, the former 
of whom is deceased. In politics Mr. Spruce is 
a Democrat and has served usefully and ac- 
ceptably on the town council. He belongs to 
the Order of Red Men at East Bank and to the 
Knights of Pythias at Cedar Grove. 

W. J. ZIMMERMAN, capitalist, residing 
in South Charleston, W. Va., has been a resi- 
dent of Kanawha county for the past forty- 
four years, but was born in Augusta county, 
Va., not far from Stanton, and is a son of 
George and Barbara (Argebright) Zimmer- 
man. 

George Zimmerman was a native of Au- 
gusta county, Va., and was a well known 
farmer in that county, where his death oc- 
curred in July, 1868. He was twice married, 
first to Barbara Argebright, who died in 1840, 
and second to Sallie Reynolds, whom he sur- 
vived. To the first marriage there were four 
children : Christian, George and David, all 
three being deceased; and William J., who 
was born February 22, 1832. One daughter 
was born to the second marriage, Henrietta, 
who is the wife of John Argebright. 

William J. Zimmerman had rather meager 
educational opportunities, three winter months 
of school in the old log schoolhouse near his 
father's farm comprising all his advantages, 
and afterward he learned the carpenter trade. 
From 1852 until 1887 he engaged in contract- 
ing and after 1867 was a resident of Charles- 
ton, where he was concerned in the erection 
of many business blocks and residences. 

In 1879 Mr. Zimmerman was married to 
Miss Ellen S. Creel, a daughter of Bushrod 
W. Creel, who formerly owned the three hun- 
dred acres which Mr. Zimmerman managed 




W. J. ZIMMERMAN 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



725 



from 1889 until he sold it in 1906, to the 
Kanawha Land Company. Air. and Mrs. 
Zimmerman are members of the Presbyterian 
church. He is a Democrat in politics and 
fraternally is a Mason. 

WILLIAM BREWSTER PARKHURST, 
deceased, was a well known resident of Charles- 
ton for some years and was identified with pub- 
lic affairs in the Capital City, being closely as- 
sociated with Governor Dawson at that time, 
for whom he was confidential clerk and private 
secretary. Mr. Parkhurst bore a distinguished 
name and was of the ninth generation and in 
direct line from Rev. William Brewster, of the 
Mayflower. His paternal grandfather was 
William B. Parkhurst, a native of New York 
and a prominent lawyer, and he belonged to 
the same branch of the family as does Rev. 
Charles Parkhurst, the noted clergyman whose 
lectures and writings in favor of many reforms 
have great influence. 

Hon. Jonathan Gilbert Parkhurst, father of 
William B. Parkhurst, was born in the state of 
New York, studied law and was admitted to 
the bar and in early manhood went to Michi- 
gan, and Decatur and Van Buren county in 
that state became the principal scene of his ac- 
tivity. When over sixty years of age he was 
elected county judge and was active in the af- 
fairs of the Republican party. He died in 
1895 an d is survived by his widow. She was 
formerly Emma L. Dodge and is now a resi- 
dent of Tacoma, Wash. For many years she 
has been a lecturer on temperance and is also 
a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church as was also Judge Parkhurst. Mrs. 
Parkhurst conducts a large real estate business 
and is recognized as a woman of ability along 
numerous lines. Of the three children of 
Judge and Mrs. Parkhurst, the late William 
Brewster was the eldest. Gertrude, the one 
daughter, is the wife of Charles E. Criffield, a 
business man of Decatur, Mich., and they have 
one daughter. Dorothy. Jonathan G., the 
youngest, is a resident of Tacoma, Wash., 
where he is an electrician. 

William Brewster Parkhurst was born Sep- 
tember 17, 1868, in Michigan, and completed 
his education in New York city and was ad- 



mitted to the bar but never engaged in the 
practice of law. He came to Preston county, 
W. Va., to become an official reporter for the 
five courts presided over by Judge Joseph T. 
Hoke, and continued until the retirement of 
Judge Hoke in 1897, when he came to Charles- 
ton to become private secretary to Governor 
Dawson. He was a man of talent and served 
also as circuit, criminal and Federal court 
stenographer. From too close application he 
fell ill and never regained his health, his death 
occurring in 1907, while still a young man. He 
was a Republican in politics, and was a mem- 
ber of the Elks, the Eagles and the Knights of 
Pythias, in all these organizations having de- 
voted personal as well as fraternal friends. 

At Kingwood, Preston county, W. Va., Mr. 
Parkhurst was married in 1894, to Miss Mallie 
Fawcett, who was born at Newburg, a daugh- 
ter of Charles W. and Margaret E. (Hern- 
don) Fawcett. Mr. Fawcett is a merchant at 
Grafton, in Taylor county, and is interested in 
oil production in Ritchie county. His parents, 
William M. and Naomi (Fortney) Fawcett, 
were early settlers in Preston county. The 
wife of Charles W. Fawcett died in Preston 
county in 1897, at tne a £ e °f fifty-two years. 
She was a daughter of William M. and Ma- 
lissa (Morgan) Herndon. The Herndons 
were prominent people in Preston county and 
the Morgans, in early days, suffered from the 
Indians on Morgan and Green Runs and their 
names are known in history. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Parkhurst one son was born, Reginald Brew- 
ster, on November 12, 1896. He is a student 
in the public schools of Charleston. On June 
28, 191 1, Mrs. Parkhurst was married to 
Nedgar E. Merhie, of Charleston, who is a 
member of the West Virginia Film Exchange. 

HEWETT LEE CABELL, a successful 
farmer and livestock dealer of Elk district, 
Kanawha county, W. Va., is a member of 
one of the old county families and was 
born at Maiden, May 24, 1864, a son of 
Napoleon B. and Lavinia (Woods) Cabell. 

Napoleon B. Cabell was born at Lynch- 
burg, Va., and came to Maiden, now in 
West Virginia, before the first steamboat 



726 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



had navigated the Kanawha river, coming 
as salt agent for the grandfather of Dr. 
Tompkins, who ran flat-boats to St. Louis, 
in the salt trade. He became a man of 
large estate, owning at different times 
investments aggregating more than 
$100,000. Prior to the Civil War he 
owned a farm, the old Cabell place of four- 
teen hundred acres, and eighty slaves, the 
latter being emancipated. At one time he 
owned all the property on Capitol street 
from the Va. corner to the post-office 
and had an interest in the latter property 
and the family still retains the old home- 
stead on Summers street, in the rear of 
the post-office. He was a man of business 
enterprise and up to the time of his death, 
when aged seventy years, was active in the 
management of his property. He was 
married first to Kate Wells and the follow- 
ing of their children reached mature years: 
Henry Clay, who served as a soldier in the 
Confederate army, afterward conducted a 
hotel, and died in 1910, at White Sulphur 
Springs; Robert W., who is in the grocery 
business at Winifrede ; Alfred T., who 
lives at Charleston ; and Mary, who is the 
widow of Charles Walker, and resides at 
San Francisco, Calif. His second mar- 
riage was to Lavinia Woods, who was 
born in Kanawha county and died at the 
age of fifty-eight years. She was a daugh- 
ter of Henry and Ann (Reynolds) Woods, 
the latter being a member of one of the 
old salt manufacturing families of Maiden. 
Henry Woods and wife both died at 
Charleston. He conducted the old Hale 
House, which stood on the site of the pres- 
ent Ruffner Hotel, and also the St. Albert 
Hotel, prior to the building of the rail- 
road. To the second marriage of Napo- 
leon B. Cabell four children were born, 
namely: Florence, who resides at Charles- 
ton, and is the widow of Albert Pearce, 
formerly of St. Louis ; Hewett L. ; Charles 
Arnold, who is a coal operator on Cabin 
creek; and George K., who is general man- 
ager of the stores of the Cabin Creek Coal 
Company. 

Hewett Lee Cabell came to Charleston 



soon after the Civil War and was reared 
on the corner of Virginia and Capitol 
streets and was educated in the public 
schools, and also a private school which 
was conducted on the present site of the 
post-office. He owns the old home farm 
of three hundred acres in Elk district and 
spends his summers there while his winter 
home is in this city. For the past twenty- 
five years he has been engaged in the live- 
stock business and handles many head of 
cattle in a year. 

In 1894 Mr. Cabell was married to Miss 
Bessie Cable, of Point Pleasant, Mason 
county, W. Va., a daughter of Abner 
Cable, who was one of the early merchants 
there. Mr. and Mrs. Cabell have three 
children : Clarence Roy, Lavinia Woods 
and Mary Elizabeth. Mr. Cabell is a 
member of the Episcopal church in which 
he was reared. Politically he is a Demo- 
crat. 

JOHN CYRUS PRICE* general 
farmer in Elk district, was born in Green- 
brier county, Va., September 13, 1852, at 
a point called Sinking Creek, and is a son 
of John and Catherine (Judy) Price. 

John Price was born also in Greenbrier 
county and survived to the age of eighty- 
four years, his death occurring January 31, 
1908. In 1864 he came to Kanawha 
county and located on the Cabell farm and 
as there was no appropriate residence on 
the place, lived in a tobacco barn until a 
house could be built. On April 1, 1865, he 
moved to Spring Hill and lived there one 
year and then spent six years on a farm 
on Ferry Branch, after which he moved to 
the Battery Hill farm near Charleston and 
from there to the Donnelly farm, near Ka- 
nawha city. After three years there he 
bought a farm on Blue creek, which he 
operated for fifteen years and then sold, 
at that time buying the old Atkinson farm, 
on which he remained for the rest of his 
life. He was a well known and prominent 
man, serving a number of years as school 
trustee and as justice of the peace. He 
was a Republican in politics. He married 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



727 



Catherine Judy, who was born August 24, 
1824 and still survives, a daughter of John 
and Betsey (Christianson) Judy, natives of 
Holland. The following children were 
born to John and Catherine Price : James 
H., who is a merchant in Cincinnati; Jacob 
Taylor, who is a farmer near Charleston; 
Perry Marshall, a retired capitalist of 
Charleston; John Cyrus; George Frank- 
lin, who lives near Charleston; Thomas 
Dickinson, who is a farmer on Blue creek; 
Elmer E., who resides at S. RufTner, W. 
Va. ; William and Elizabeth, both of whom 
are deceased; and Susan Catherine, who 
is the wife of Daniel A. Moore, a merchant 
of S. Charleston. 

John Cyrus Price attended the schools 
in the sections where his parents lived and 
is a well educated man. For a number of 
years he was engaged in farming on his 
own account and then returned to his par- 
ents when his father's health failed and 
has remained at home ever since, caring 
for his venerable mother. He has never 
married. He casts his vote with the Re- 
publican party but has never desired any 
political office. 

NOAH W. DAWSON, whose magnifi- 
cent farm of seven hundred broad acres 
stretches along the main Poca river, in 
Poca district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
twenty miles north of Charleston, was 
born on this farm December 24, 1841, and 
is a son of Robert Wilson Dawson and a 
grandson of John Dawson. 

Grandfather John Dawson was born in 
Bedford county, Va., married there and 
continued to live in his native place until 
after the birth of five of his children, when 
he moved with his family, in 1810, to 
Spring Hill, Kanawha county, and in the 
spring of 1813 came from there to opposite 
Sissonville, now West Virginia. He had 
a lifetime interest in one thousand acres- of 
land and improved some seventy acres on 
which he lived. He was a great hunter 
and took delight in tracking wild animals 
of which there were plenty in this section 



in those days. He married Ellen Will- 
iams, a daughter of John Williams, of Bed- 
ford county, and the following children 
were born to them : Jennie, who was the 
wife of James Clift and lived at Sisson- 
ville ; William, whose death was a tragedy, 
lived near Sissonville; Nancy, who died in 
Ohio, was the wife of Robert Craig and they 
lived on Frog's Creek ; John, who lived at Red 
Hill, Poca district, married Libbie Smith; 
Noah, who died in Nicholas county at the 
home of a son, was twice married; and 
Robert Wilson, who was the only one of 
the family born after the parents left Bed- 
ford county. 

Robert Wilson Dawson was born in 
1812, at Spring Hill, Kanawha county, and 
attended the subscription schools of that 
early day. Following his marriage he 
lived on a farm of eight hundred acres, a 
small portion of which he sold. In his 
early political life he was a Whig, later 
voted with the Democratic party for a 
time but subsequently became a Repub- 
lican. He lived to the same advanced age 
as his father, eighty-five years. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Haynes, who was born in 
Botetourt county, Va., a daughter of Jas- 
per and Mary Haynes. They became the 
parents of a large family, as follows : John 
Dawson, who is a well known resident of 
Poca district, has been twice married, first 
to Lucinda Scrobaugh, and secondly to a 
Mrs. Jones; Mary, who is deceased, was 
the wife of Samuel Fisher; Noah W. ; 
Sally, who married William Rawlins, lives 
in Jackson county; Minta, who is de- 
ceased; Minerva and Elizabeth (twins), 
the latter of whom died in infancy, the 
former being the wife of Daniel Parsell, of 
Charleston; Andrew F., who lives in Colo- 
rado, married Melinda Hammond; Millard 
T., who lives at Charleston, married Sarah 
Parsell; Susan, who lives in Jackson 
county, married Robert Duff; and Vincent 
Hennon, who was twice married, first to 
Elizabeth Willis, and second to Nona 
Whittington. The parents of the above 
family were members of the Missionary 



728 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Baptist church. The mother died at the 
age of seventy years and their burial was 
in the Haynes cemetery. 

Noah W. Dawson has spent the greater 
part of his life on his farm. In the early 
part of the Civil War he enlisted in Com- 
pany F, 7th W. Va. Cav., and was made 
a prisoner of war on December 19, 1863. 
He was first incarcerated in Libby Prison 
and then sent to Belle Isle and from there 
to Andersonville, Ga., then taken to Sa- 
vannah and Charleston, S. C, from there 
to Florence and then back to Richmond 
and was held there ten days before the 
city's fall and was released February 24, 
1865, after being a prisoner for fourteen 
months and thirteen days. He went to 
Annapolis, Md., and from there to Colum- 
bus, O., on his way home and when he 
reached Wheeling, W. Va., he was pros- 
trated with typhoid fever and was ill two 
months before he could reach the old home 
in Poca district. Here he carries on gen- 
eral farming and raises stock and cattle, 
cultivating a part and having one hundred 
acres yet in valuable timber and the rest 
in pasture. 

Mr. Dawson married Miss Virginia 
Holt, a daughter of John and Mary Holt, 
of Poca district, and they have had five 
children, namely: Vanderbilt, Elizabeth. 
Rebecca Pearl, Wesley E., and Alexander 
McKinley, who is now deceased. Mr. 
Dawson is not a politician but he takes an 
interest in public matters and in the prog- 
ress of a country whose liberties he fought 
to preserve. He votes with the Repub- 
lican party. 

JAMES ERNEST DEARIEN,* a life- 
long resident of Kanawha county, W. Va., 
who is in the restaurant business and deals 
also in ice and coal, at Cedar Grove, in 
Cabin Creek district, was born January 4, 
1868, on Campbell's creek, near Dana, W. 
Va. He is a son of John Dearien. formerly 
a butcher for many years in Maiden dis- 
trict, and now a retired resident on Camp- 
bell's creek, not far from Dana. He mar- 
ried Mrs. Mary Hicks, widow of Van 



Mead Hicks, who had one son, Van Mead, 
who lives in Maiden district. Mr. and 
Mrs. Dearien had twelve children, namely: 
Mayme, John, Joseph, James Ernest, Sam- 
uel, Lulu, Jesse, Moody, Sankey, Charles, 
William and Carrie. Mayme married An- 
drew Canterbury and Lulu married Sam- 
uel Armstrong. 

James E. Dearien learned the butcher 
business with his father and afterward was 
employed at his trade for the Quincy Coal 
Company. In 1908 he came to his present 
place at Cedar Grove, buying the business 
of George Chandler, and in the summer of 
1910 began dealing in ice, having a thirty- 
five-ton ice house. In the summer of 191 1 
he opened his restaurant and has his differ- 
ent enterprises so well managed that each 
one fits into the other and all are prosper- 
ing. He has bought cattle all over the 
country, has his ice shipped in by car loads 
and operates two wagons. 

Mr. Dearien was married April 17. 1891, 
to Miss Cora Nelson, and they have had 
three children : Stella, who died at the age 
of ten years ; Ethel and Sterling. Mr. 
Dearien belongs to the Masonic lodge at 
Maiden, to the Odd Fellows at the same 
place, and also to the Red Men, Rebeccas 
(I. O. O. F.) and Knights of Pythias. 
With his family he is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

HON. MORRIS P. SHAWKEY. who 
fills the honorable and important office of 
state superintendent of free schools for the 
State of West Virginia, is a widely known 
educator and an author of considerate 
repute, and has been a valued and useful 
citizen of Charleston for almost fifteen 
years. Mr. Shawkey was born February 
17, 1868, at Sigel, Jefferson county. Pa., 
and is a son of George and Annie Eliza- 
beth (Witherspoon) Shawkey. 

George Shawkey was born near Bre- 
men, Germany, and accompanied his par- 
ents to America and to Pennsylvania in 
childhood. He became a farmer in west- 
ern Pennsylvania and in the pursuits of 
agriculture acquired sufficient means to 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



729 



enable him to provide excellent educa- 
tional advantages for his children. He 
married Annie Elizabeth Witherspoon, 
whose mother was a member of the old 
Silverly family of Philadelphia, while on 
the paternal side she could trace her ances- 
try to John Witherspoon, signer of the 
Declaration of Independence, as a repre- 
sentative of New Jersey. 

Morris P. Shawkey attended Oberlin 
College and the Ohio Wesleyan Univer- 
sity and was graduated as president of his 
class at the latter institution in 1894. His 
choice of career along educational lines 
was made very early, and even before he 
had graduated he had served acceptably 
for one year as an assistant superintendent 
of schools. Afterward he served one year 
as superintendent of the schools at Rey- 
nolds, N. Dak., and later was a member of 
the faculty of the Wesleyan College of 
West Virginia. Mr. Shawkey came to 
Charleston in 1897, an d for eight years 
afterward was chief clerk of the depart- 
ment of schools. Almost before he left 
college he had made improvements in 
many text books in general use and con- 
tinued in this laudable work, his accuracy 
and wide knowledge of literature as well 
as his scholarly composition, attracting the 
attention of educators generally. When 
Rand, McNally & Co., map publishers and 
engravers, of Chicago and New York, is- 
sued their revised edition of their grammar 
school geography, Mr. Shawkey was in- 
vited to write the West Virginia supple- 
ment. In 1902 he was elected to the state 
legislature and during his term in that 
body was chairman of the committee on 
education. For two years prior to being 
elected to his present responsible position, 
Mr. Shawkey served as county superin- 
tendent of Kanawha county, W. Va. While 
he' has devoted the laiger part of his time 
and energies to educational work, he has 
been additionally interested in several 
business enterprises. 

Mr. Shawkey was married in 1902, to 
Miss Elizabeth L. Carver, a daughter of 
John Carver, one of the leading coal oper- 



ators of West Virginia. They have a 
beautiful home on South Side, Charleston, 
the location of their residence providing a 
commanding view of the city proper and 
the Great Kanawha river. They are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

P. A. SMITH, a general farmer residing in 
Poca district, Kanawha county, W. Va., where 
he owns one hundred and sixty-eight and a 
half acres of well improved land situated on 
Allen's Fork creek, twenty-four miles north- 
west of Charleston, was born in this district, 
June 10, 1855, a son of William G. and Mary 
(Persinger) Smith. 

William G. Smith was born in Botetourt 
county, Va., and when six years of age accom- 
panied his parents, Robert and Malinda 
(Good) Smith, to West Virginia. He subse- 
quently became a farmer and school teacher 
and after marriage settled on his farm of 
ninety-one and one-half acres, which is situ- 
ated on Eighteen-Mile Creek, where his widow 
still lives. He died at the age of seventy-one 
years and his burial was on his farm in the 
family cemetery. He married Mary Persin- 
ger, who was born in Kanawha county, a 
daughter of Kennett and Lucine Persinger, 
and ten children were born to them, namely: 
P. A., Victoria, Rejanah, Beatrice, Phoebe, 
William Anderson, Savannah, Robert Lee, 
Ernest Emmett and Viola. 

P. A. Smith attended school with more or 
less regularity until he was twenty-one years 
of age, then became a teacher and taught 
through one term in Putnam county and three 
terms in Kanawha county. After marriage he 
engaged in farming, first on a tract of sixty- 
two and one-half acres on the Allen Left 
Branch, from which he moved eight years later 
to his present farm, which he has greatly im- 
proved. He carries on a general farming line 
and raises his own stock and cattle and oc- 
casionally has some to put on the market. 

Mr. Smith was married at the age of twenty- 
two years to Miss Celia Carney, a daughter of 
Silas and Lucinda (Fisher) Carney, both of 
whom died in Poca district. Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith have had eleven children born to them, 



730 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



as follows: Leni Leoti, who is the wife of B. 
V. Gilmore, and they live at Gauley Bridge and 
have three children — Helen Ruth, Vasco and 
Charles; Ginevra, who lives at home; Law- 
rence B., who is now deceased, married Arnie 
Slater, daughter of Pryor Slater, and is sur- 
vived by a widow and three children — Clifford, 
Gwendolyn and Lillian; Clara E., who mar- 
ried Virgil Pitchford, and they live in Putnam 
county, and have three children — Darrel and 
twin daughters; Howard S., who resides on 
the home farm, married Helen Logue, and they 
have one son, Lionel; Virgil O., and Bertha, 
Ora May, Reginald, Doyle and Genevieve, all 
of whom reside with their parents. Mr. Smith 
is a Democrat but has no political ambitions. 
With his family he belongs to the Methodist 
Episcopal church, south. 

MISS MAGGIE S. MILLER,* who con- 
ducts a mercantile establishment at Cedar 
Grove, W. Va., carrying a full and carefully 
selected stock of dry goods, millinery and no- 
tions, was born in Craig county, Va., and is a 
daughter of Henry B. and Nancy (Book) 
Miller. 

Henry B. Miller was born in Monroe 
county, now in West Virginia. His business 
was that of a building contractor. He was 
twice married and after the death of his first 
wife moved to New Castle, Va. His first 
marriage was to Margaret S. Hank, of Mon- 
roe county, who left four children at death, 
namely: Erastus Theodore; Sophia, now de- 
ceased, who was the wife of Joseph Hawkins; 
John, and Sallie B., who is the wife of David 
Thurman. His second marriage was to Nancy 
Book, who was also born in Virginia, and their 
children were, Joseph S., who is superinten- 
dent of the coal works at Cabin Creek; Frank, 
who is deceased; Lewis; Maggie Susan; 
Charles W. ; Laura, who is the wife of C. F. 
Jeffers; Fannie, who is the wife of G. H. P. 
Spruce; and Amanda C, who is the wife of 
James W. Kyle. 

When Maggie S. Miller was two years old 
her father's business called him to Charleston, 
but later the family home was again in Vir- 
ginia. When she was fourteen years old she 
came back to Kanawha county, locating at 



East Bank, and for some years afterward 
made the securing of a fine education her main 
object in life. She went from the common 
schools into the High School in Union district, 
Monroe county, creditably completing the 
course and afterward attended the Teachers' 
Training School at Charleston. Miss Miller 
began to teach school at the Union mines in 
Kanawha county, where she continued for two 
terms, then taught twelve terms at Cedar 
Grove, and later taught for a long period at 
Mammoth and Riverside, seventeen years in 
all. In 1891 she opened her store and has 
prospered from the first, in 1903 erecting the 
two-story frame house which is both her home 
and her place of business. She is a valued 
member of the Missionary Baptist church at 
Cedar Grove and one of its trustees, and is 
the teacher of the Bible class in the Sunday- 
school. Miss Miller has made herself inde- 
pendent through her own efforts and is an ad- 
mirable business woman. She is widely known 
and enjoys the respect and esteem of everyone. 

HENRY STREIT WALKER, deceased, 
formerly secretary of state for West Virginia 
and for many years prominent in public affairs 
and in the journalistic field in Kanawha 
county, had other important interests which 
identified him with adjacent sections. He oc- 
cupies a prominent position on the lengthy list 
of strong and forceful men of West Virginia. 
He was born at Winchester, Va., May 31, 
1840, and was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth 
Walker, of Frederick county, Va., and a great- 
grandson, on the maternal side, of Rev. Chris- 
tian Streit, who was the first accredited Luth- 
eran minister in the Shenandoah valley. 

Henry Streit Walker was well prepared in 
youth for the tasks that awaited him in the fu- 
ture, educational advantages being provided at 
Winchester and Morgantown, and at Wash- 
ington College, Pa., his brilliant career as a 
student in that institution closing with the 
highest honors of his class, he being chosen to 
deliver the class valedictory. His talents were 
so versatile that almost every profession was 
alike open to him and with the full assurance 
that he would succeed, and he partly prepared 
for the law before yielding to his stronger lean- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



731 



ing toward journalism. In 1865, two years af- 
ter graduation, he became the editor of the 
Wheeling Daily Register, then the leading 
Democratic organ of that section. In 1870, 
when Charleston became the capital, he moved 
to Kanawha county and founded the newspapers 
which he so ably conducted in the interests of 
his party, for ten subsequent years. In all 
progressive movements he was the acknowl- 
edged leader, and in 1875 and in 1878 and 
again in 1880, he was a candidate for legisla- 
tive and congressional honors, but on account 
of internal dissensions in the party, failed of 
election. Nevertheless he was an important 
factor in public affairs and exerted a strong in- 
fluence in the direction of public sentiment. 
During 1871-72 he served as public printer for 
West Virginia. In 1885 he was appointed 
secretary of state for West Virginia, under 
Governor Wilson, and served one year over his 
full term, retiring with honorable distinction 
from this high office on March 3, 1889. Mr. 
Walker was always interested in the general 
spread of education and by tongue and pen 
frequently brought to the attention of the pub- 
lic the needs of the state in this matter. For 
thirteen years he was a member of the board 
of regents of the West Virginia University. 
During the closing years of his life Mr. Walker 
interested himself largely in growing fine stock 
on his valuable farm in Virginia. His death 
occurred on September 19, 1891. 

Mr. Walker was married in 1868, to Miss 
Emma Bier, a daughter of George W. Bier, 
late of Moundsville, and two children were 
born to them: Emma, who is the wife of 
Henry L. Prichard, of Charleston ; and Philip, 
who is a prominent attorney at Charleston, W. 
Va. 

JAMES A. VICKERS,* who owns and 
conducts a farm in Elk district, was born 
in this district, on the old Vickers home- 
stead, October 29, 1872, and is a son of 
William M. and Telitha (Young) Vickers. 

William M. Vickers was born on the Ka- 
nawha river and died in 1896, aged fifty- 
three years. He was a son of Mordecai 
Vickers, who came with his family to Ka- 
nawha county as manager for various salt 



works proprietors, and was also manager 
of the Mill Creek Oil Company. He was 
manager for the Clarksons at their salt 
furnace and his last engagement was with 
the Pioneer Coal Company. He married 
Mary Alexander of an old settled family of 
the Kanawha valley. In 1849 he went to 
California meeting with many adventures 
in the mining regions. In 1861 William 
M. Vickers moved to Mill Creek and was 
engaged in farming in that vicinity during 
the rest of his life. He married Telitha 
Young, who died in 1898. She was a 
daughter of James A. and Rachel Young, 
the former of whom spent his last years 
with James A. Vickers. The Youngs were 
early pioneers in the salt industry in Ka- 
nawha county. Ten children were born to 
William M. Vickers and wife, and the 
present survivors are: Floyd; Patience C, 
who is the wife of L. Skyles, of Two-Mile 
Creek; Mary, who is the wife of N. C. Pas- 
tor, of Charleston; Ella, who is the wife of 
John Woody, of Elk district; James A.; 
Stella, who is the wife of L. E. Mason of 
Charleston ; Maggie, who is the wife of L. 
Farrell, of Putney; Martha, who is the 
wife of A. M. Norman, of Villa; and Will- 
iam Morrison, who is a resident of Putney, 
W. Va. 

Until he was fifteen years of age, James 
A. Vickers attended school, after which he 
became a miner and worked all through 
Elk district for many years. V\ 'hen thirty 
years of age he bought his present farm, 
near Villa, which is one of the most exten- 
sive and productive fruit farms in this val- 
ley. He has an orchard of seven hundred 
trees and makes fruit growing his main 
business. The ( present log house was built 
by his grandfather and it was taken pos- 
session of on Christmas Day, 1861, and on 
the same day he shot a deer near the 
dwelling. The farm on which Mr. Vickers 
resides was also the home of Grandfather 
Young, who came with his family by flat- 
boat, from the mouth of Blue creek. 

Mr. Vickers married Miss Stella Riley, 
who was born December 22, 1881. a 
daughter of Moses and Eveline (Sampler) 



732 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Riley, both of whom survive. Mr. and 
Mrs. Vickers have three children: James 
D., Delcia May and Lawrence Gilbert. 
Mr. Vickers has never taken any particu- 
lar interest in politics. 

HON. HENRY CLAY McWHORTER, 
whose public and professional services in West 
Virginia have contributed equally to his promi- 
nence as a man and citizen, was born February 
20, 1836, in Marion countv, O., a son of Fields 
and Margaret M. (Kester) McWhorter, both 
natives of Harrison county, Virginia (now 
West Virginia). 

Henry C. McWhorter was six years old 
when his parents moved from Ohio to Harri- 
son county, Va. His father was a physician 
and during the Civil War served the Union in 
a Missouri regiment. Mr. McWhorter never 
attended the public schools, there being no 
system of this kind in Harrison county in his 
boyhood, but private schools and tutors pre- 
pared him for the old Institute at Ravenswood, 
in Jackson county, and afterward he began the 
study of law. The precipitation of the Civil 
War caused a change of plans by many of the 
young men over the whole country, and the 
young law student put aside his books in 1861, 
and became a member of Co. B, 9th Va. Vol. 
Inf., in the Federal service. He was shortly 
afterward commissioned lieutenant, and in 
March, 1862, became captain of Co. G, 9th In- 
fantry, and served as such until 1863. In the 
meanwhile he had participated in numerous en- 
gagements and had received injuries which pre- 
vented further field service, but he remained 
on duty in the provost marshal's office until the 
close of hostilities ; being chief clerk in the en- 
rollment office of the Third District of West 
Virginia. 

Captain McWhorter returned then to 
his law studies, and was admitted to the bar at 
Charleston in 1866. His professional career 
covered many years and during this time he 
served in many positions of the greatest meas- 
ure of public importance. After one term as 
city solicitor of Charleston, in 1869 he was 
elected prosecuting attorney of Kanawha 
county and for many years was deputy clerk of 
the U. S. District Court and also served as 



councilman in the common council of the city 
of Charleston. In 1896 he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West 
Virginia, and consequently retired from the 
practice of law, and served acceptably on the 
bench for twelve consecutive years. Needing 
rest he then devoted a period to travel and 
recreation, after which he returned to Charles- 
ton and resumed his former business connec- 
tion as the senior member of the law firm of 
H. C. & L. E. McWhorter. 

Politically, Judge McWhorter is a Repub- 
lican and still is active and important in West 
Virginia politics. He represented Roane coun- 
ty in the legislature of 1865 and represented 
Kanawha county in the state legislatures of 
1866-7 and 1868, and again in the legislatures 
of 1885 and 1887. In 1866 he served as chair- 
man of the Judiciary committee, and in 1868 
was speaker of the House. He was a dele- 
gate at large to the National Republican con- 
vention at Chicago, in 1868, and was postmas- 
ter of Charleston under President Benjamin 
F. Harrison; and was postmaster at Spencer 
in Roane county at the beginning of the Civil 
War. 

Judge McWhorter has been four times mar- 
ried, the maiden name of his present wife hav- 
ing been Caroline Matilda Hutchins. At the 
time of her marriage to Judge McWhorter, 
she was the widow of Rev. John F. Gates. 
They are members of the State Street (now 
First) Methodist Episcopal church, in which 
he has long been an official and he has repre- 
sented as a delegate from the W r est Virginia 
Conference, twice in the General Conference, 
and in various conventions of this religious 
body. He has for many years been president 
of the board of trustees of West Virginia Wes- 
leyan college at Buckhannan, West Virginia. 

As a citizen of Charleston Judge McWhor- 
ter has been earnest and active, accepting pub- 
lic responsibilities as a matter of duty and per- 
forming the manifold tasks which make up a 
part of the life of a good citizen, with willing- 
ness. He has served on numerous charitable 
boards, and in times of public disaster in other 
sections of the country, has been foremost in 
giving relief. He was an elector representing 



HON. H. C. McWHOETEB 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



733 



the Judiciary for the Hall of Fame, in 1905; 
was the first president of the board of educa- 
tion of the Independent School district of the 
city of Charleston. He is prominently identi- 
fied with Masonry, being a Knight Templar, 
Eastern Star and Shriner, and is a member of 
the Ohio Commandery, of the Military Order 
of the Loyal Legion, and of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. No name is held in higher 
esteem at Charleston than that of Judge Mc- 
Whorter. 

WILLIAM JASPER KRANTZ,* gen- 
eral merchant doing a very satisfactory 
business in his line at Maiden, has been a 
resident of Kanawha county, W. Va., since 
he was eight years of age. He was born 
on the home farm in Bedford county, Va., 
March 7, 1847, and is a son of Thomas 
and Rebecca (Arthur) Krantz. 

Thomas Krantz was born in Bedford 
county, Va., of German extraction, and 
was a carpenter by trade. He married in 
Bedford county and in 1855, with his fam- 
ily, moved by wagon to Kanawha county, 
settling in Maiden district. He died there 
in the first year of the Civil War, at the 
age of forty-seven years. His widow died 
in 1904, having passed her ninety-second 
birthday. Five children were born to 
them, — James J., William Jasper, Henry, 
Abraham L. and Laura V. James and 
Henry are deceased. Laura V. is the wife 
of Frank Peoples. 

William Jasper Krantz attended a priv- 
ate school after the family came to- Kana- 
wha county, and the first money he ever 
earned through his unassisted efforts was 
as a clerk in the store of Elijah Hill, at 
Maiden, with whom he remained for sev- 
eral years. Afterward he was employed 
on public works and then entered the 
mines, where he worked his way up to be 
foreman, occupying this position for fifteen 
years with the Campbell's Creek Coal Com- 
pany. During this long period Mr. Krantz 
proved himself worthy of the confidence 
placed in him and when he severed his rela- 
tions with the company cordial feelings ex- 



isted on both sides. In 1908 he bought his 
present store from Charles White and has 
conducted it ever since. 

Mr. Krantz was married December 22, 
1874, to Miss Harriet Woolwine, a daugh- 
ter of the late Henry Woolwine, and seven 
children have been born to them, namely: 
Mertie, who is the wife of Charles Moss, of 
Maiden District; Harry, who also lives in 
Maiden District, married Blanche Estep; 
Willie, who lives at Maiden, married Woo- 
son Blake; Arthur; Belle, who is the wife 
of Charles Meadows, of Maiden District; 
and Jennie and Anna. Mr. and Mrs. Krantz 
are also the proud possessors of eight 
grandchildren, all of whom are credits to 
the family. In politics Mr. Krantz is a Re- 
publican. He belongs to several fraternal 
societies, taking particular interest in the 
Red Men's and Odd Fellows' lodges at 
Maiden. 

HON. JOHN EDWARD KENNA, de- 
ceased, a distinguished son of West Virginia, 
whose statue may be seen in Memorial Hall, 
in the Nation's Capitol, at Washington, D. C, 
requires no marble or bronze to recall him to 
his family or fellow citizens. Although death 
removed this gifted man before he had com- 
pleted his forty-fifth year, he had indelibly 
impressed himself on his State and Nation. 
He was born April 10, 1848, at Valcoulon, 
Kanawha county, Va., now West Virginia, and 
died January 11, 1893, almost one-half of this 
too brief span of life having been spent in pub- 
lic service. 

Edward Kenna, father of Senator Kenna, 
was born in Ireland and came to America 
when a boy of fourteen years. Overcoming a 
world of difficulties, he finally succeeded in 
completing his law studies, and gained admis- 
sion to the bar, subsequently becoming one of 
its able members and a practitioner in Ka- 
nawha county, to which section he moved fol- 
lowing his marriage. This united him with one 
of the old and aristocratic families of Virginia, 
his wife being Margery, the only daughter of 
John Lewis, who was a grandson of Gen. An- 
drew Lewis. Edward Kenna died in 1856, at 



734 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the early age of thirty-nine years, his only son, 
John Edward Kenna, being then eight years 
old. 

In 1858 John Edward Kenna accompanied 
his widowed mother and his two sisters to 
Missouri, where, on his uncle's farm he was 
taught practical agriculture. He remained 
there until he was sixteen years of age and 
then entered the Confederate army, in which, 
in spite of youth and inexperience, he bravely 
bore a man's part until the close of the war, 
suffering without audible complaint when the 
sad fortunes of strife not only laid him low 
with fever and wounds, but also brought dis- 
aster to the cause he had championed. His 
mother, in the meanwhile, had returned to 
Kanawha county, and Mr. Kenna joined her 
there and, as a means of livelihood, began to 
work at salt making. Until this time the youth 
had had scarcely any educational opportunities 
but was eager to learn and gladly accepted the 
kind offices of a family friend, Bishop R. V. 
Whelan, through whom he was enabled to 
spend almost three years in St. Vincent's Acad- 
emy, at Wheeling. In 1868 he entered the law 
office of Miller & Ouarrier, at Charleston, W. 
Va., and in 1870 was admitted to the bar, im- 
mediately attracting attention through his pro- 
fessional ability. He was elected prosecuting 
attorney of Kanawha county in 1872, and in 
1875 was elected judge pro tern of the Circuit 
Court. In 1876 he was elected on the Demo- 
cratic ticket, to the United States Congress, 
from the Third Congressional district of West 
Virginia, and in that legislative body became a 
prominent and forceful member. He was re- 
elected in 1878, and in 1880 and again in 1882, 
but before the beginning of his last term he 
was elected to the United States Senate, to 
succeed Hon. Henry G. Davis. When he took 
his seat in that august body, on December 3, 
1883, he was its youngest member, a distinc- 
tion he had also enjoyed while in the House. 

Both mentally and physically Senator Ken- 
na was notable, and once seen or heard was 
never forgotten. His public life was singular- 
ly free from criticism, although he was ever 
fearless in denouncing wrong and courageous 
in his battle for the right. He possessed great 
personal charm and had the truly desirable gift 



of being able to win friends and attach them 
forever to him. As honors and ample means 
became his, he permitted himself to enjoy, to 
some degree, the leisurely pursuits dear to the 
Southern gentlemen of his day, and also 
proved his Southern inheritance by the lavish 
hospitality with which he delighted to enter- 
tain his friends. It were useless to question 
whether such a man could fail of being tender- 
ly remembered. He died in the full faith of 
the Catholic church, and many a traveler to 
this section visits the Catholic cemetery over- 
looking the Elk and Kanawha rivers and rev- 
erently stands beside the beautiful monument 
erected there to his memory. 

In 1870, Mr. Kenna was married first to 
Miss Rose Quigg, who died in 1874, survived 
by one daughter, Margaret, who entered the 
religious life when she reached womanhood, 
and is now known as Sister Alma Regina, and 
is attached to a convent in Long Island. In 
November, 1876, Mr. Kenna was married sec- 
ond to Miss Anna Benninghaus, of Wheeling, 
W. Va., who died in Washington, D. C, Jan- 
uary 28, 1909, and was buried at Charleston. 
They became the parents of six children : Ed- 
ward B., Arthur L., John E., Jo. N., Mary 
and James J. The last named, the youngest 
child, died in infancy. Mary S. Kenna mar- 
ried Blaine Elkins, a son of the late Senator 
S. B. Elkins of West Virginia, and they reside 
at Morgantown. Edward B. Kenna is the 
able editor of the Charleston Gazette. He 
married Miss Frances Beardsley, of this city. 
Arthur L. Kenna is a resident of Washington 
City and is manager of the sales department of 
the Kanawha Chemical Engine Manufacturing 
Co. He married Miss Gertrude Higgins of 
Washington. John E. Kenna, who graduated 
from the law department of the University of 
West Virginia in 1907, is engaged in the prac- 
tice of his profession and maintains his office 
in the Kanawha Banking and Trust building. 
Jo. N. Kenna, a graduate of 1909, from the 
law department of the University of Virginia, 
is with the well known law firm of Chilton, 
MacCorkle & Chilton, at Charleston. 

SAMUEL PRESTON SMITH, sheriff of 
Kanawha county, W. Va., and a representa- 




SAMUEL P. SMITH 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



737 



tive citizen of Charleston, is a member of one 
of the old settled families of the South, and 
his ancestors have been leading and influential 
people in Virginia and West Virginia for 
many years. He was born at Charleston, 
March 21, 1875, and is a son of Charles Bal- 
lard and Mary S. (McConihay) Smith. 

Charles Ballard Smith was born in 1847, i n 
Louise county, Va., and at the time of his 
death, in 1893, was serving Kanawha county, 
W. Va., in the office of state's attorney. He 
was a son of Thomas Preston and Lucy (Bar- 
rett) Smith, both natives of Greenbrier 
county, who died in Louise county. Prior to 
the Civil War, Thomas P. Smith was a man 
of large estate but the freeing of the slaves 
and the depreciation in the value of land in 
that section suddenly deprived him of his re- 
sources and he died a comparatively poor man. 
He was the father of the following children: 
Charles Ballard; Frank P., who now lives in 
Louise county, Va., where he is a farmer; 
Frederick, who died unmarried; Sallie, Mrs. 
Marshall, who lives in Virginia; and Mel Vir- 
ginia, who married Frederick Roddy. Both 
are now deceased, but one son, Charles Fred- 
erick Roddy, survives. 

Charles Ballard Smith came to Charleston, 
W. Va., as a contractor with the C. & O. Rail- 
road, and after that this city was the scene of 
his further business activities. He studied law 
and was admitted to the bar and attained high 
position as a professional man. He served for 
some years as circuit court clerk and later, as 
indicated above, was elected state's attorney. 
At one time he owned a controlling interest in 
coal mines but lost -heavily on account of 
strikes in the ranks of the miners. Although 
he became a stanch Republican in politics, he 
had been not only a brave soldier in the Con- 
federate Army, but was lieutenant of his com- 
pany when he was only fifteen years of age. 
While the hard experiences of war aged him 
early, he escaped all serious accidents and was a 
man of strength and vigor afterward. He was 
married in Kanawha county to Mary S. Mc- 
Conihay, who is a resident of Morgantown, 
W. Va. She is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. She 
is an active member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, to which her husband also be- 



longed. Six children were born to Charles B. 
Smith and wife, namely : Mel Virginia, who 
died in early womanhood ; Samuel P. ; Walter 
F., who is a resident of Charleston, is connected 
in a business way with the Newbury Shoe 
Company of Huntington, W. Va. ; Linda S., 
who is the wife of John William Field, of 
Morgantown; Helen Barrett, who is the wife 
of Charles H. Smith, of Morgantown, and 
they have one child; Lillian, who resides with 
her mother at Morgantown; and Frederick 
M., who is. a student at Morgantown. 

Samuel P. Smith was educated in the public 
schools of Charleston, has always maintained 
his home in this city and has been more or less 
prominent in Republican politics in Kanawha 
county since early manhood. He served ac- 
ceptably as a clerk in the office of the prose- 
cuting attorney of Kanawha county and later 
became chief clerk under E. W. Staunton, then 
county clerk, and later was assistant state bank 
examiner for West Virginia, and it was while 
serving in that position that he was elected 
sheriff of Kanawha county, in 1909, for a 
term of four years. This election made him 
also county treasurer. Although he has al- 
ways been a loyal party man, in his present of- 
fice he performs his duties without fear or 
favor and is giving the county one of the best 
administrations it has ever had. He is a wide- 
awake, progressive man and is identified with 
all that is best in the growth and development 
of this section. 

Mr. Smith was married at Charleston, in 
Jefferson county, Va., to Miss Amelia Deaven- 
port Manning, who is a daughter of Francis 
Jack Manning, who was a prominent member 
of Col. Moseby's soldiers, in the Confederate 
army, during the Civil war. She is also a 
granddaughter of Captain Manning, of the 
United States navy, who was commander of 
the vessel that carried the first United States 
Minister to Russia. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had 
one child, Francis A., who died in infancy. 
She is a member of the Episcopal church, 
which Sheriff Smith also attends. 

GEORGE W. QUICK,* general farmer 
in Elk District, and a former justice of the 
peace, was born in Kanawha county, Octo- 



738 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ber 22, 1872, a son of John Wesley and 
Paulina Octavia (Spinks) Quick, and a 
grandson of John Spinks, who was one of 
the pioneer settlers of Charleston, W. Va. 
The father of Mr. Quick died in 1898 but 
the mother survives, being now in her sev- 
enty-second year. There were thirteen chil- 
dren born to them and ten of these survive. 

George W. Quick attended the local 
schools and later a college at Marshall, W. 
Va., and then turned his attention to farm- 
ing and school teaching. For thirteen years 
he continued in educational work but for 
some time has chiefly devoted his attention 
to farming and stockraising. 

Mr. Quick was married first to Rosa B. 
Mason, who died February 3, 1906, at the 
age of thirty-one years. She was a daugh- 
ter of Benjamin L. and Hannah A. Mason. 
Four children were born to this marriage : 
Arabell, Harry R., Mabel Lee and Earl 
Eugene, the eldest being now deceased. In 
1907 Mr. Quick was married secondly to 
Miss Mary E. Young, a daughter of Wil- 
liam and Louisa Young, and they have one 
son, Grover Lloyd, who is now two years 
old. Mr. Quick and wife belong to the 
Methodist Episcopal church at Quick, in 
which he is a steward, class leader and su- 
perintendent of the Sunday-school, as was 
his father before him. In politics he is a 
Republican and in 1908 he was elected a 
justice of the peace. He belongs to the or- 
der of Knights of Pythias at Blue Creek, 
the Odd Fellows at Quick, and the Red 
Men at Blue Creek. 

WILLIAM C. SHANNON, a general 
merchant at Cedar Grove, W. Va.. is well 
known all through Kanawha county in which 
he has lived since childhood and during the 
larger part of his life has been identified 
with coal mining. He was born September 
29, 1866, in Mercer county, W. Va.. and is 
a son of Richard and Emma (Abbott) Shan- 
non. 

Richard Shannon was born in Virginia, 
where he engaged in farming and after mar- 
riage to Emma Abbott, moved to Mercer 
county, W. Va., and subsequently to Kana- 



wha county. He worked for some years at 
salt manufacturing for Dr. Hale and for 
John D. Lewis, after which he rented a farm 
on Two-Mile Creek, then went back to the 
salt works and again returned to farming. 
He died at Campbell's Creek in 1903, when 
over sixty years of age. His widow resides 
at Maiden. Eight children were born to 
them, namely: William Churchill; Jennie, 
who is the wife of James Turner; Wesley; 
Minnie, who is the wife of Charles Sowers; 
Annetta, who is the wife of Crest Law- 
rence; Lillian, who is the wife of W. Ruff- 
ner; Bessie, who is the wife of Theodore 
Fisher; and one who is deceased. 

William C. Shannon was a child when 
the family came to Kanawha county and 
started to work in the coal mines when he 
was only ten years old, as a trapper, and 
from this humble position worked up 
through all the grades until he became 
mine boss, spending thirty-two years in the 
business and during the larger part of this 
long period being with the Pioneer Com- 
pany at Campbell's Creek. He also worked 
for a time in the mines on Kelley's Creek. 
Mr. Shannon erected his two-story store 
building and opened up his stock of first 
class goods on November n, 1907, and Mrs. 
Shannon attends to the business to a large 
extent. 

Mr. Shannon was married on May 29, 
1889, to Miss Ada A. Thomas, a daughter 
of the late Jacob and Virginia (Parrell) 
Thomas. Mrs. Shannon has five sisters : 
Susan, Lucy, Catherine, Emma and Nellie. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Shannon the following 
children have been born: Carl, who is chief 
clerk in the store : Thomas. Lillian. Mar- 
garet and Catherine, all of whom survive ; 
and Emma Virginia. Jennings and Ward, 
who are now deceased. Mr. Shannon is a 
member of the Church of God. in which he 
has been an official. He belongs to Cedar 
Grove Lodge, No. 177, Knights of Pythias. 

EBEN OAKES.* notary public and post- 
master at Maiden. W. Va.. where he is also 
proprietor of a general store, is one of the rep- 
resentative, men of Maiden district, where he 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



739 



has lived for many years and is familiarly 
known to his large number of friends as 
"Chet" Oakes. He was born in Cabin Creek 
district, Kanawha county, "W. Va., May I, 
1832, and is a son of Eben and Drusilla 
(Drown) Oakes. 

Eben Oakes, the elder, was born in Vermont 
and his father, Thomas Oakes, was a soldier 
who took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill and 
fought through the Revolutionary War. Eben 
Oakes was a farmer and lumberman. He was 
married in what was then Kanawha county, 
Va., to Drusilla Drown, whose brother, Ben- 
jamin Drown, was sheriff of Cabell county, 
inheriting the office which, in those days, de- 
scended from father to son. A grandfather 
of Mrs. Drown, John P. Duvall, was land sur- 
veyor all through this section in the very early 
days. Mrs. Oakes was born September 9, 
1805, and died May 10, 1893, surviving her 
husband, who died on the Parks farm, near 
Charleston, in 1873, when aged over seventy 
years. They had the following children born 
to them: James W., who is now deceased; 
Eliza, who was the wife of F. Calvert, both of 
whom are deceased ; Allen, who is deceased ; 
John C, who lives in Texas; Drusilla, who was 
the wife of C. Calvert, both of whom are de- 
ceased ; Eben ; Ira, who is deceased ; and Leoni- 
das, who is also deceased. 

Eben Oakes, who bears his father's name, 
was reared on the home farm and in boyhood 
attended George Taylor's private school, at 
Maiden, but was yet a boy when he entered 
the employ of the Winifrede Coal Company, 
where he worked for five years. He then be- 
came bookkeeper for Joel Saulsberry, one of 
the old mining magnates of West Virginia, 
and continued with him until i860, when he 
became connected with Snow Hill furnace, 
where he remained for sixteen years, being 
general manager, afterward being at the Dan- 
iel Boone furnace for one year. From 1878 
until 1 88 1, Mr. Oakes was more or less a con- 
tinuous resident of Charleston and during this 
time was in the transfer, grocery and other 
business lines, in 1880 opening up the present 
mercantile business at Maiden, under his wife's 
name, and moving to the place on November 3, 



1881. The business location is an excellent 
one, being on the river front. 

Mr. Oakes was married at Charleston, in 
1879, celebrating Thanksgiving Day, to Miss 
Lucy P. Coleman, a daughter of Capt. N. B. 
and Almira (Anderson) Coleman, both natives 
of Virginia. Six children were born to this 
marriage, namely: Alma; Lulu, who is the 
wife of F. O. Harris, and has one child, Er- 
nestine ; Frances, who is a trained nurse ; Eben, 
who died at the age of ten years; Nelson B. 
and Willard L. Mr. Oakes belongs to Lodge 
No. 16, American Mechanics, at Maiden, and 
has served in its various offices. He is a Re- 
publican in politics and was appointed post- 
master by the late President McKinley, in 
1903, succeeding Francis Cantaberry. Since 
1883 he has also been a notary public and for 
eighteen years has been a member of the board 
of education. He remembers with a sense of 
the great improvement brought about by wise 
and careful school directors of the present 
day, the old log schoolhouse of his boyhood, 
with its slab benches and desks made of rough 
hewn planks. 

R. W. CABELL,* proprietor of the larg- 
est, mercantile establishment at Winefrede, 
Cabin Creek District, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., was born at Maiden, Kanawha county, 
in September, 1842, and is a son of N. B. 
Cabell, who was the first traveling man sent 
out in the Kanawha Valley. He was a na- 
tive of Lynchburg, Va., and died at the age 
of seventy-two years. During his entire 
business career he was connected with salt 
companies. 

R. W. Cabell attended school at Mai- 
den, Manetta and Lewisville, enjoying two 
years of instruction from Rev. Dr. Robison. 
He then went to California and for five 
years was engaged in merchandising there 
and after he came back to Kanawha county 
went into business at Marmet. When 
thirty years of age the Winefrede Coal 
Company made him agent at this place of 
their property. His first store was de- 
stroyed by fire and he has been in his pres- 
ent commodious quarters, along the C. & 



740 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



O. Railroad, for the past eighteen years. 
He carries a general line of seasonable 
goods that have been carefully selected and 
his business continues to be a prosperous 
one. 

Mr. Cabell was married first to a Miss 
McConahy, and they had five children: Mrs. 
Calvert, Henry, Robert, Todd and Fanny. 
He was married secondly to a daughter of 
Dr. John A. Hunter and two of their four 
children survive, Vivian and Theresa. Mr. 
Cabell and family are members of the Pres- 
byterian church. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat and for ten years was postmaster at 
this place and for a long period a justice of 
the peace. 

CHARLES S. ROSS, supply purchaser, 
estimator and salesman for the Morgan 
Lumber & Manufacturing Co., of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was born in Allegheny county, 
Pa., August 12, 1871. He is a son of Mil- 
ton Ross by his wife Matilda, whose name 
in maidenhood was Matilda Rockhold. 

Milton Ross, who was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, came after the war to West Vir- 
ginia and was engaged in the oil business 
here for some years. He was married in 
Wirt county, this state, his wife being a 
native of that county. He subsequently 
went back to Pennsylvania, but after re- 
maining there for some years he returned 
again to West Virginia and he and his wife 
both reside in Elizabeth, Wirt county. He 
was for some twenty-five years in the lum- 
ber business and retired with impaired 
health about five years ago. He and his 
wife are members of the Presbyterian 
church. They were the parents of a large 
family, as follows: Charles S. is the direct 
subject of this article. May is the wife of 
William E. Vernon and resides in Colum- 
bus, Ohio. Clara is unmarried and resides 
in Wheeling, W. Va., where she is a trained 
nurse. Luella is also a trained nurse in 
Wheeling, W. Va. Dale is now attending Beth- 
any college (W. Va.), being a member of 
the class of 1912. James is a resident of 
New York city, being connected with the 
Board of Water Supply Works. Edwin re- 



sides in Pennsylvania, being a telegraph 
operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. 
William died at the age of twenty-one 
years. 

Charles S. Ross has been connected with 
the lumber business since he was fourteen 
years old, when he first found employment 
as a tally boy. He subsequently became 
an inspector and office man and was for a 
time connected with the Gauley Company, 
then later with the Elkhurst Planing Mill 
Company and the Collins' Lumber Com- 
pany as treasurer. He has been with the 
Morgan Lumber & Manufacturing Com- 
pany since its organization. He has a thor- 
ough grasp of the lumber business and is a 
very efficient man in his position. 

Mr. Ross was married in Lewis county, 
W. Va., to Miss Minnie Conrad, who was 
born in that county in 1872 and was edu- 
cated there. He and his wife are the par- 
ents of three children: Conrad Milton, born 
August 28, 1896, and now attending the 
Charleston public schools; Louise, born 
February 25, 1899, also attending school; 
and Charles Philip, born September 16, 
1901. Mr. Ross is an Odd Fellow and is 
a member of Glen Elk Lodge No. 95, of 
which he is past grand, also a member of 
the Glenwood Encampment No. 40. 

H. E. ROBINSON,* who resides on his 
valuable farm of 111 acres which is situated 
on Poca river, in Poca district, is a member of 
one of the well known and substantial families 
of this county. He was born March 7, 1876. 
in Jackson county, W. Va., and is a son of 
George W. and a grandson of James and Lo- 
venia (Crea) Robinson 

George W. Robinson was born in Wood 
county, Va., March 1, 1846. At the age of 
sixteen years he enlisted for service in the 
Civil War, becoming a member of Co. A, 15th 
W. Va. Inf., and was seriously wounded at 
the battle of Lynchburg, Va. He was honor- 
ably discharged at Wheeling and then located 
as a merchant at Parkersburg and after mar- 
riage lived until November, 1883, at Clays- 
ville, seven miles above the former place. He 
then removed to Hiccombottom Branch Creek, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



741 



where he cleared and improved a large part of 
300 acres of land, moving from there to a 
farm of 140 acres on Poca river and from 
there to the farm now owned by his son, 
H. E., which then contained 116 acres. It 
was purchased from George W. Polly and wife 
and at one time had been partially cleared but 
was covered with a second growth when Mr. 
Robinson took it and began its improvement. 
He was not a farmer in his later years, engag- 
ing others to look after his agricultural work. 
A veteran of the Federal army, he was a re- 
publican in his political views. He served as 
a member of the school board in Poca district, 
as constable and as a notary public. He was a 
man of sterling character and was a class 
leader in the Christian Advent church. 

On September 16, 1867, George W. Robin- 
son was married to Eleanor Carder, who was 
born in Morgan county, O., April 4, 1848, a 
daughter of Dr. William and Priscilla (Reder) 
Carder, and a granddaughter of Richard 
Reder, of England. The following children 
were born to George W. Robinson and his 
wife: Ashby L. ; William M., who was mar- 
ried first to Fannie Painter and secondly to 
Hettie Shamlin, and now resides at Ranger, 
Ga., having two children — Priscilla M. and 
Lexie; Ralph, born September 15, 1873, who 
died in December, 1900; Harry E. ; James 
Monroe, who is manager of the Robinson Ho- 
tel, married Minnie Harper and has three 
children — Ada, Ruby May and Howard ; Crys- 
tal Lavada, who is the wife of John P. Daw- 
son, and they live in Poca district and have 
four children — George G, Bertie Edwin, Guy 
D., and William Monroe; Royal G., a resident 
of Charleston, who married Nellie Blake; 
Holly D., who lives at Charleston, married 
Myrtle Taylor and has one son, Garland; 
Thomas D., who lives in Alaska; Josephine L., 
who is the wife of E. B. Shirkey, of Poca dis- 
trict and has two children — Thomas Henry 
and Lewis A.; and Nona E., who married 
Charles A. Crowder. Mr. and Mrs. Crowder 
live on the farm above described and they have 
one child, Zelma C. Mr. Robinson raised many 
sheep and hogs, much of the farm being pas- 
ture land. His death occurred November 14. 
1902. 



Ashby L. Robinson, the eldest of the above 
family, was born August 5, 1868, at Independ- 
ence, Wood county, W. Va. He is a farmer in 
Poca district, owning 145 acres on the main 
Poca river, twenty-four miles north of Charles- 
ton. He was educated in Kanawha and Jack- 
son counties and taught school for eleven years 
and then became a traveling salesman for 
school supplies and novelties. Following mar- 
riage he settled on his present farm. For the 
first five years he conducted a general store 
and then operated a hotel at Anderson. He 
was appointed postmaster at Paragon, in June, 
1909. He devotes his land mainly to stock 
and cattle raising, having a preference for 
Hereford cattle, and has forty-five acres in 
timber. He was married January 3, 1894, to 
Miss Ethel J. Pauley, who was born in Elk 
district, in May, 1874, a daughter of Rev. A. 
B. and Isabel (Akers) Pauley, and they have 
seven children: Harold G, Elbert L., Nellie 
B., Ellen I., Thelma G, Naomi J., and James 
M. 

H. E. Robinson was educated at Charleston 
and at Lebanon, O., and for some years after- 
ward taught school. After marriage he located 
at Charleston and there conducted a store and 
also the Hotel St. Albert, the Hotel Robinson 
and the Commercial Hotel. After selling his 
hotel interests he became a commercial traveler 
and afterward was manager for the Maytown 
Lumber Company of Hacker Valley. 

On April 10, 1894, Mr. Robinson was mar- 
ried to Miss Carrie E. Walker, a daughter of 
Charles W. Walker, of Copenhaver, W. Va. 
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson attend the Christian 
church. In politics he is a republican. 

NOYES FAMILY— Among those who 
emigrated from England in 1634 were two 
brothers by the name of Noyes. These 
brothers settled in Newberry, Mass., James, 
the first minister of that town and his 
brother, Nicholas. 

Descendents of James settled in New 
Canaan, New York, and in 1808 four 
brothers, Isaac, Bradford, Charles and 
Franklin emigrated to Kanawha. Three 
sisters followed shortly — Sybil who mar- 



742 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ried Braden Allen, Maria, who married 
John Stone and Nancy who never married. 

The brothers engaged in the manufac- 
ture of salt and were men prominent in 
business and church affairs. All except 
Charles left a number of descendents who 
still reside in Charleston and vicinity. The 
Rands, Smith, Brooks, Burlinghams, Ab- 
neys, Dawleys and Burdettes represent the 
descendants of Isaac and Cynthia Morris, 
his wife, who, by the way, is said to have 
been the first white child born west of the Al- 
leghany mountains. The descendants of 
Bradford and his wife, Harriet Oden, are 
the Noyes, Hansfords, Rubys, Hogues, 
Palmers and Clarksons. 

Franklin married Nancy Venable and 
some branches of the Noyes, Chiltons, and 
deGruyters represent them. The Hawkins 
of Fayetteville, W. Va., the Aliens and 
Balls of Kanawha county, are among the 
descendants of Sybil and Braden Allen. 

It is worthy of note that very few of the 
descendants of the original family have 
ever removed from the Kanawha Valley. 

HON. JOSEPH RUFFNER, for many 
years a leading member of the bar at 
Charleston, W. Va., was born at Cincinnati, 
O., October 29, 1848, and is a son of Daniel 
and Elizabeth (Honeyman) Ruffner. 

In his childhood the parents of Mr. Ruff- 
ner moved to Central Ohio, and from there, 
in 1854, to Charleston, W. Va., and still 
later to Campbell county, Ky. In each 
place the youth had school advantages. In 
1866, when he decided to enter upon the 
study of the law, he went to Cincinnati, 
two years later, however, returning to Ken- 
tucky, in which state he was admitted to 
the bar. After one year of practice in the 
vicinity of his parents' home, he came to 
Charleston and has been identified con- 
tinuously with the best interests of this 
city ever since and has been in active prac- 
tice here since 1871, with the exception of 
several years spent in the west. Mr. Ruff- 
ner was married in 1875, to Miss Mary 
Jackson, of Richmond, Ind. They reside at 
No. 1203 Elmwood avenue, Charleston. 



GEORGE BLAINE GILLISP1E, no- 
tary public, building contractor and dealer 
in real estate at Charleston, W. Va., has 
been a resident of Kanawha county all his 
life. He was born on the old home farm in 
Union District, July 7, 1862, and is a son 
of William Harvey and Elizabeth (Gillis- 
pie) Gillispie. 

The Gillispie family in Rockbridge 
county, Va., was founded by Robin C. Gil- 
lispie, who, with three brothers, came from 
Scotland and settled on Wilson's Creek, in 
the above county. Robin C. Gillispie left 
a son named for himself, who was the father 
of Alexander Gillispie, who was the grand- 
father of George B. Gillispie. Since the 
days of the great-grandfather, the family 
has not held slaves, although they have 
been large landowners and extensive farm- 
ers. For thirty years Alexander Gillispie 
also carried on the business of chair mak- 
ing. In the childhood of his son, William 
Harvey, he moved to Ohio and owned two 
farms in Gallia county but the climate did 
not agree with his wife and he came to 
Kanawha county, W. Va., settling on a 
farm in Union District, where he died at the 
age of sixty-two years. He had married 
Martha Wright, whose father, John Wright, 
was a Revolutionary soldier, and she sur- 
vived to the age of seventy-two years. 

William Harvey Gillispie remained with 
his father and under him learned the trade 
of chair making and worked at the same for 
twenty years, this being before the days of 
machinery, and sold his chairs at Charles- 
ton, which was then but a small place. 
After giving up work at his trade he bought 
a fine fruit farm in Union district, Kanawha 
county, which is now owned by his son, 
Granville A. Gillispie. He is now in his 
eighty-fourth year and resides with his son, 
George Blaine Gillispie. He married Eliza- 
beth Gillispie, of the same name but of no 
known relationship, who died in July, 1908. 
at the age of seventy-six years. The fol- 
lowing children were born to them : Gran- 
ville A. ; Angelina M.. who is the wife of D. 
W. Keyser, of West Charleston; Thomas H., 
who is a resident of Charleston; Mary E., 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



743 



who is the wife of R. G. Witherow, of West 
Charleston; George B. ; William H. H., 
who lives on Elk River, Kanawha county; 
James L., who lives in Ohio; Anna Laura, 
who is the wife of A. G. Robinson., of Union 
district; and John L., who lives at Charleston. 

George B. Gillispie was educated in the 
district schools and attended the summer 
sessions of the Normal School in Union 
district and in Poca district, afterward de- 
voting about fifteen years to teaching 
school during the winter seasons and spend- 
ing his summers at carpenter work. He be- 
came interested then in improving real es- 
tate and later went into building contract- 
ing and his activity in the current year may 
be shown by ten completed residences in 
West Charleston, together with a contract 
for twenty more to be built at Dunbar and 
finished by December i, 1911. Mr. Gillis- 
pie has nine houses of his own in West 
Charleston and has great faith in the future 
of that part of the city. He owns a one- 
half interest in a general store at Dunbar, 
the firm name being Ballard & Gillispie, the 
former being his son-in-law, J. B. Ballard. 
Mr. Gillispie has been postmaster at Dun- 
bar since 1908 and was postmaster of West 
Charleston from July, 1901 until July, 1907. 

Mr. Gillispie was married at West 
Charleston, November 10, 1887, to Miss 
Cintilla M. Given, a daughter of George B. 
and Alice (Hanna) Given, and they have 
six children namely: Bertha E.. who is the 
wife of James B. Ballard, of Dunbar, W. 
Va., and has two children. Leona C. and 
Lillian; Harry L., who lives at Charleston, 
married Iva Bonham, and has one child, 
Etna; and Grace A., George W., William 
H. and Elizabeth G. Mr. Gillispie and fam- 
ily are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. Politically he is a Republican 
and since 1905 has been a notary public. 
He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and 
the American Mechanics, both of Charles- 
ton. 

WILLIAM HENRY HOGEMAN, whose 
death on January 5, 1885, deprived the legal 
profession of Kanawha county of one of its 



ablest representatives, was born in the city of 
New York, December 20, 1846. He was a 
son of William H. and Mary (Moore) Hoge- 
man, his father being a native of Germany, 
who, at the age of eighteen, before his mar- 
riage, emigrated to Nova Scotia, whence he 
removed to New York city. There William 
H. Hogeman, Sr., died in the summer of 1871, 
at the age of about fifty-five years. He was 
engaged in the furniture business, both as 
maker and dealer. His wife survived him 
about two years. 

Their son, William Henry Hogeman, Jr., 
was reared and educated in New York city, 
where also he began the study of law. Through 
the acquaintance of a former well known citi- 
zen of Charleston, Horatio F. Averill, he ob- 
tained at the age of eighteen years a position 
with a West Virginia coal company, being em- 
ployed in the capacity of clerk. While engaged 
he continued the study of law, and so assidu- 
ously that he was admitted to the bar at the 
early age of nineteen years, and not long after 
was also admitted to practice in the United 
States courts. His remarkable ability attracted 
the attention of Judge Summers, who upon his 
own retirement, offered his practice to the 
young lawyer, which was accepted. In 1866 
Mr. Hogeman formed a partnership with W. 
S. Laidley, which lasted until his death. He 
was for some time counsel for the C. & O. 
Railroad Company and secured the right of 
way and laid out the C. & O. railroad. He 
was also attorney for C. P. Huntington, who 
was his personal friend and who offered him a 
salary of $10,000 per year to act as his private 
attorney. A man of upright character and 
gentlemanly manners, he was universally es- 
teemed. He was a forceful and eloquent orator 
able to attract and hold large and intelligent, 
audiences, his ability in this direction, how- 
ever, being manifested chiefly at the bar, as, 
though a strong Democrat, he was not particu- 
larly active in politics. Though not a large 
man physically, he had a fine and well formed 
head showing marked intellectuality. He was 
a working member of the Episcopal church, 
having been confirmed therein at the age of 
thirteen years, and for many years was a ves- 



741 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tryman of St. John's church of that d enomi- 
nation in Charleston. Though once offered 
the nomination for United States senator, he 
declined it owing to his professional relations 
with the C. & O. railroad. He belonged to no 
secret orders. 

William Henry Hogeman was married in 
Charleston, in the autumn of 1871, to Miss 
Anastien W. Ruffner, who was born on the 
old Ruffner homestead near Charleston, W. 
Va., April 17, 1846, and who was educated in 
this city. She was a daughter of James, a 
granddaughter of Daniel, and a great grand- 
daughter of Joseph Ruffner, the immigrant 
ancestor of the Ruffner family, who came to 
the Kanawha Valley from the Shenandoah 
Valley, Va. The Ruffners were one of the 
oldest families of Charleston and one of the 
most respected. They were members of the 
Presbyterian church. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. William H. 
Hogeman were as follows: (1) Henry died 
when eleven months old. (2) Martha Morton, 
whose second name was that of her maternal 
grandmother's family, was born January 18, 
1874, and was educated in Charleston and at a 
college at Almira, N. Y., married in 1903, 
Harold W T arren Knight, a lumberman, who 
Mas born in Charleston, July 3, 1869. Mr. 
Knight was educated in the city schools and at 
Dartmouth college, graduating B. S. in the 
Class of 1889. He was one of the promoters 
of the Roy Furniture Company and after- 
wards of the Knight Lumber Company, of 
which he is secretary and treasurer, Mr. J. C. 
Roy being president. Their place of business 
is at Sattes. this county, and they are extensive 
manufacturers and dealers in lumber, handling 
it from the forest to the markets. Mr. Knight 
is a democrat in politics and is also a Mason, 
belonging to Beni-Kedem Temple M. S. and 
other divisions of the Masonic order, in which 
he has held high office. He and his wife have 
four children — Annie Hogeman, born Febru- 
ary 22, 1904, who is attending public sdiool; 
William Henry, born October 20, 1905 ; Har- 
old Warren, Jr., born January 25, 1907; and 
Martha Morton, born July 29, 1908. Mr. and 
Mrs. Knight are members of St. John's Epis- 
copal church. (3) Andrew Lewis Hogeman 



was educated in the city schools of Charles- 
ton and the John Hopkins Preparatory School 
at Baltimore. He then entered the employ of 
Ruffner Bros., as traveling salesman. Later 
he engaged in the dredging and sand business 
with J. H. Gates, under the firm name of 
Gates & Hogeman. He was married to Mary 
Dunlap in March, 1903. In December, 1906, 
he went to Denver, Colo., on account of poor 
health, and died there in September, 1909. 
He left a daughter, Nancy Morton, who was 
born January 21, 1904, and who resides with 
her widowed mother in Charleston. (4) 
Meredith, a twin brother of Andrew, died in 
early infancy. 

ROBERT GRAVES HUBBARD, of 
Lewis, Hubbard & Co., wholesale grocers of 
Charleston, W. Va., was born in Maiden, Kan- 
awha county, March 20, 1862. He comes of 
an old Virginia family and is a son of John 
F. Hubbard, who was born in Bedford coun- 
ty, Va., eighty years ago and who came to 
this valley and to Maiden in 1847, in company 
with William Dickinson. The latter was one 
of the prominent men of the state at that time 
being extensively engaged in the salt manufac- 
turing business. John F. Hubbard later be- 
came a merchant in Maiden and was thus en- 
gaged until 1 88 1, in which year he took up his 
residence in Charleston. He died in this city 
in 1893. He had served two terms as sheriff 
of Kanawha county — from 1880 to 1884, be- 
ing elected on the Democrat ticket. He made 
a capable official, being prompt and efficient in 
the execution of his duties. He was a promi- 
nent Knight Templar Mason and possessed 
many sterling qualities as a man and citizen. 

John F. Hubbard was married in Kanawha 
county. W. Va., to Miss Annastatia Wilson, 
who was born in Loudon district, this county, 
in 1837. and who is still living, being active in 
mind and body, although now seventy-four 
years of age. She came of Southern paren- 
tage and she and her husband were Presbyte- 
rian in religion. They had eight children, of 
whom two died young. Anna, the fourth child, 
was accidentally killed at the age of seventeen 
years. The others were: (1) Robert Graves, 
the subject of this sketch. (2) Julia is the 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



745 



wife of J. M. Staehlin, residing on Kanawha 
street, Charleston, and the mother of three 
children. (3) John W., is a member of Hub- 
bard-Bedell Grocery Company, wholesale gro- 
cers, of Charleston, and will be further men- 
tioned herein. (5) Maude is the wife of John 
L. Dickinson, cashier of the Kanawha Valley 
Bank, and has five daughters. (6) Nellie is 
the widow of T- R. T. Carmichael who died in 
1910. She resides in Charleston but has no 
children. 

Robert Graves Hubbard acquired a good 
commercial education and entered business life 
as an employe of P. H. Noyes, since deceased. 
In 1895 he became a member of the firm of 
Lewis, Hubbard & Co., which in 1907 was in- 
corporated under the same style. This house 
is the largest of its kind in the state and enjoys 
an extensive trade throughout West Virginia. 

Robert G. Hubbard was married in Charles- 
ton to Miss Birdie Goshorn, Avho was born in 
Charleston and was educated here and at Mary 
Baldwin Seminary, Staunton, Va. Her fath- 
er, Jacob Goshorn. was a member of the promi- 
nent West Virginia family of that name. Mr. 
and Mrs. Hubbard are the parents of two 
children, Mary and Pattie. The former, who 
is now twenty years old, is completing her 
education at National Park Seminary. Wash- 
ington. D. C. Pattie recently became the wife 
of Thomas A. Snyder. 

John W. Hubbard, whom we have already 
briefly mentioned by name, was born in Kana- 
wha county. W. Va., forty-five years ago. He 
was educated in the Charleston city schools and 
later became connected with the firm of Lewis 
Hubbard & Co.. remaining with them until the 
establishment of the Hubbard-Bedell Grocery 
Company as a corporation in 1903. of which he 
is now president and has been since the incor- 
poration. They do an extensive wholesale gro- 
cer}- business in southwest Virginia, keeping 
eight men employed on the road and having 
large warehouses in this city. Mr. Hubbard 
is a Democrat in politics and he and his family 
are members of the First Presbyterian church. 

He was married to Miss Carrie Seashols, 
who was born in Putnam county, W. Va., and 
was educated in a female academy at Lewis- 
burg. W. Va. Her parents were Isaac and 



America (Handley) Seashols, the former a na- 
tive of Philadelphia, Pa., and the latter of 
West Virginia. They were married in Put- 
nam county, W. Va., and Isaac Seashols, who 
was a miller by occupation, died in that coun- 
ty sixteen years ago. His widow makes her 
home with her daughter, Mrs. Hubbard. She 
is now seventy-seven years of age, a woman of 
great intelligence and considerable activity for 
her years, and is a devout Presbyterian. Mr. 
Hubbard is a member of Beni-Kedem Temple, 
M. S., belongs also to all the subordinate 
branches of the Masonic order. He and his 
wife are the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth, 
who was born July 22, 1904. 

THE GALLAHER - MILLER- OUAR- 
RIER FAMILIES— 

DEWITT CLINTON GALLAHER was 
born in Jefferson county, Va., now West Vir- 
ginia, August 2, 1845. In his early childhood 
his parents, Hugh Lafferty Gallaher and Eliza- 
beth Catherine Gallaher, went to Waynesboro, 
Augusta county, Va., to reside, where, in the 
suburbs, the Gallaher homestead has been ever 
since. At the age of thirteen he was a student 
at Georgetown college ; at sixteen at Washing- 
ton college, now Washington and Lee Uni- 
versity ; the next year at Hampden-Sidney 
college, which he left in the spring of 1863 to 
join Co. E, 1st Va. Cav.. Fitz Lee's Division, 
General J. E. B. Stuart's Corps. Army of 
Northern Virginia and served to the close of 
the Civil War. The sessions of 1865-6-7-8 
he spent at the University of Virginia, where 
he graduated. In 1868-9 ne taught Latin and 
Greek at Bellevue high school in Virginia, and 
then spent two years at the L/niversities of 
Berlin and Munich, Germany. In May, 1872, 
Mr. Gallaher came to Charleston, was admit- 
ted to the bar, and has lived here ever since. 
In 1909 he was chosen president of the Kana- 
wha Bar Association. For some years he was 
Registrar in Bankruptcy, appointed by Chief 
lustice Waite of the U. S. Supreme Court, 
and for nearly twenty years served as regent 
of the West Virginia University. 

Hugh Lafferty Gallaher. father of DeW itt 
Clinton Gallaher^ was born December 20, 1812. 



746 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



His grandfather was Hugh Gallaher, who mar- 
ried Sarah Lafferty, and his great-grandfather 
John Gallaher, who married Margaret Gal- 
laher, came in 1798 to America from the north 
of Ireland, near Londonderry, where the 
family is still large and prominent in business 
and possesses landed estates. Hugh Lafferty 
Gallaher married Elizabeth Catherine Bowen, 
who was born July 3, 181 8. She was a daugh- 
ter of William and Catherine (Hill) Bowen, 
whose families were of Delaware and Mary- 
land, in which states at the present time many 
Bowens and their kinsmen, the Hills and 
Marshalls, may be found among the worthiest 
citizenship. 

On July 27, 1876, DeWitt Clinton Gallaher 
married Florence Walton Miller, eldest daugh- 
ter of Hon. Samuel A. and Helen (Quarrier) 
Miller. Their children are: Helen Quarrier, 
who married Walter D. Stockly; and Eliza- 
beth Catherine, DeWitt Clinton, Samuel Mil- 
ler and William Quarrier Gallaher. William 
Quarrier Gallaher, now aged twenty-two years, 
is a senior at Princeton University, and Sam- 
uel Miller Gallaher is a graduate of Princeton 
of 1908, while DeWitt Gallaher is an alum- 
nus of the University of Virginia and of Cor- 
nell. Mr. and Mrs. Gallaher have two grand- 
children: Walter D., Jr., (Sandy), and Clin- 
ton Gallaher Stockly. 

THE MILLER FAMILY— Florence Mil- 
ler Gallaher was born and reared in Kanawha 
county. Her only sister, Mrs. Nina Miller 
Thum, resides at Fairmont, W. Va. Her 
brothers were: Alexander Quarrier, now of 
Boston, Mass.; Samuel A., now deceased; and 
Shrewsbury B., and Walton Miller, residing 
at Fairmont, W. Va. 

Hon. Samuel A. Miller, father of Mrs. Gal- 
laher, was born in Shenandoah county, Va., 
in 1818, and when a young man, in 1842, came 
to Kanawha and was admitted to the bar where 
he soon attained a front rank, especially as a 
learned "land lawyer," the land titles of this 
section for generations causing almost interm- 
inable and expensive litigation. At the begin- 
ning of the war between the states he, with 
many of his neighbors, cast his lot with the 



southern cause and served for some time as 
major in the commissary, department attached 
to the 22d Va. Vol. Inf. During the last two 
years of the war he was the member of the 
Confederate Congress from this district. At 
its close he returned home to resume his law 
practice, but for some time, like many others 
of our ablest lawyers, he was by the (odious 
and unjust) laws then in force, forbidden for 
some time to practice, but subsequently built 
up a large practice with his brother-in-law, 
William A. Quarrier, as his partner. 

Shortly before the opening of the war be- 
tween the states, Mr. Miller was made presi- 
dent of the Kanawha Salt Company, in its day 
the greatest and most widely distributed in- 
dustry in this section, and one that conrolled 
the markets of all the West and Southwest. 
With a naturally fine legal mind, being an om- 
nivorous reader in all fields of literature, a 
close student of jurisprudence, a genial man 
of gentle nature, he was honored and beloved 
by all men coming in contact with him. At 
the time of his death, in October, 1890, he and 
his son-in-law, D. C. Gallaher, were partners 
in the law practice in Charleston. 

The parents of Mr. Miller were Reuben 
and Atlantic (Walton) Miller, who were mar- 
ried December 9, 181 7. His grandparents 
were Joseph Miller and Ann (Moore) Miller, 
who were married June 20, 1789, in Shenan- 
doah county, Va. The town of Woodstock, 
Va., was laid out in 1756 by his ancestor. Ja- 
cob Miller, and it was at first called "Muel- 
ler's stadt," or, in English, Millerstown, but 
the name was changed to Woodstock by the 
House of Representatives upon a resolution 
offered by George Washington, then a mem- 
ber of the House of Burgesses. About the 
year 1845 he, with Col. Benjamin H. Smith, 
went to Roane county and at the sales of de- 
linquent lands purchased, at two cents per acre, 
large tracts of land many of which are now 
principalities of rich revenue from oil and gas 
development; but unhappily (for them and 
their descendants) they sold these _ lands at 
what then was a good profit, but without re- 
taining the mineral rights. The town of Wal- 
ton was named for Mr. Miller's mother and 



JAMES MARTIN 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



749 



that of Roxalana, both in Roane county, for 
Col. Smith's wife. 

THE QUARRIER FAMILY — Helen 
Quarrier Miller, mother of Mrs. Gallaher, was 
born May 31, 1826, and was the second daugh- 
ter of Alexander Washington and Caroline 
(Shrewsbury) Quarrier. Her father for 
many years was county clerk of Kanawha and 
was a splendid type of the official and gentle- 
man of the ancient regime. His father, Col. 
Alexander Quarrier, born at Philadelphia, 
March 11, 1746, commanded a company in the 
Revolutionary War. He settled at Richmond, 
Va., in 1785, and in 181 1 moved to Charles- 
ton and died May 24, 1827. His family came 
from Scotland early in the 18th century, and 
the numerous descendants now in the Kana- 
wha Valley are identified by marriage with 
nearly all of the older families. Mrs. Miller's 
mother, born February 14, 1806, was a daugh- 
ter of Col. Joel Shrewsbury, who married 
Sally Dickinson, November 28, 1803, in Bed- 
ford county, Va. When still a young man 
Col. Dickinson, at that time possessed of con- 
siderable means, moved to Kanawha and soon 
became one of the leading men of his day and 
a pioneer in the great salt and coal develop- 
ment of this section. One, if not the first 
great industrial "trusts" ever formed in this 
country, was the "Kanawha Salt Company," 
controlling two or three dozen — all there 'were 
at the time — salt furnaces and plants in the 
Valley. Joel Shrewsbury was primus inter 
pares in this gigantic enterprise and consolida- 
tion. He and his brothers-in-law, John D. 
Lewis and William Dickinson, were the giant 
triumvirate who did things in their day, prac- 
tically ruling commercial circles here and the 
markets of the great West. It is noteworthy 
that they were, perhaps, the very first to utilize 
naural gas, which they did in some of their 
salt furnaces, for it will be noted in George 
Washington's will, that he speaks of a gas well 
or spring on his Kanawha land, which to this 
day is known as the "Burning Spring" tract, 
near Brownstown, now Marmet, about ten 
miles east of Charleston. The Indians and 
early settlers all knew of this wonderful gas- 
eous spring and many were the traditions 



handed down concerning it. It was first util- 
ized and made serviceable by those stalwart 
giants of enterprise — Shrewsbury, Lewis and 
Dickinson, who no doubt little dreamed it was 
but the forerunner of the most wonderful ele- 
ment of modern fuel and lighting the world 
ever saw and whose benefits generations now 
and to come will enjoy, and whose treasures of 
wealth is a new source of opulence in this mar- 
velous land. 

JAMES MARTIN, who since October 11, 
1909, has held and successfully filled the im- 
portant office of state inspector of the Seventh 
Mining District of the state of West Virginia, 
is a thoroughly experienced mine man and has 
been advanced step by step through years of 
hard work and practical study of the subject, 
from a common miner, earning his day's wage 
with his pick, to a position of the highest re- 
sponsibility in this great industry. He was 
born in Fifeshire, Scotland, March 26, 1873, 
a son of David W. and Janet (Penman) Mar- 
tin. The father was a small farmer who died 
when his son, the subject of this sketch, was 
fourteen years of age, leaving little provision 
for his family. Our subject's mother had 
passed away in the previous year. James was 
the youngest of a family of seven children, 
namely: Archibald, Walter, John, James, 
Mary, Agnes, and Janet. Mary is the wife of 
Mathew Leitch, a retail grocer and banker liv- 
ing in Scotland. Janet is the wife of David 
Cairns, a miner, also of Scotland. 

As an orphan boy, James Martin entered 
the mines at Town Hill, in Fifeshire, where 
he worked until he was eighteen years of age. 
At that time, dissatisfied with his small earn- 
ings, he decided to emigrate to the United 
States, and accordingly took passage April 6, 
1891, on the steamer Devonia, which landed 
him safely on an alien shore with little capital 
and no acquaintances. He had been reared in 
the Presbyterian church, and one of his early 
moves was to unite with this body in America, 
and in this way he found associates and friends 
of a helpful and elevating kind. Proceeding to 
Royal, W. Va., he went to work in the mines 
there and at Caperton, subsequently going to 
the Sun mines on Loup creek, where he 



750 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



workecl up to the position of mine foreman and 
under his management the output was in- 
creased from 400 tons per day to 2,500 tons. 
While there he acquired an interest in the 
company, but after a while the management 
changed hands and, not finding the position so 
congenial as before, he accepted a, position as 
foreman with the Nichol Colliery Company. 
Later he was offered the superintendency of 
the two New River mines owned by the New 
River Company, an honor that came to him 
entirely unsolicited. For two years he had 
charge of the Dunloop Mines Nos. 1 and 2, 
after which he was promoted to the position 
of general superintendent over six mines with 
the same company. He then accepted and 
filled a position as general superintendent of 
ten mines for the New River Collieries Com- 
pany and thus continued until his appointment 
to his present office of state inspector of the 
Seventh Mining District, the duties of which 
he has discharged with characteristic ability. 

Mr. Martin is a member in high standing of 
the Masonic order, belonging to the Blue 
Lodge at McDonald, W. Va., the Royal Arch 
Chapter at Sewell. W. Va. ; the Commandery, 
K. T., at Hinton, W. Va., Beni-Kedem Shrine 
at Charleston, XV. Va., and has taken the 32d 
degree Scottish Rite Cathedral at Cincinnati. 
Ohio. 

Mr. Martin was married at Royal, W. Va., 
to Miss Margaret Wright, a lady of education, 
force of character and great business ability, 
to whom Mr. Martin gives credit for much of 
his remarkable business success. She was 
born February 23, 1878, in Pennsylvania, a 
daughter of James and Margaret (Spaulding) 
Wright. James Wright was born in Edin- 
burg, Scotland, and came to America when a 
young man, finding employment here as a jour- 
neyman blacksmith. At Sharon, Pa., he mar- 
ried Margaret Spaulding and they came to 
West Virginia. He has continued work at his 
trade, during a part of the time being in the 
mining districts, and is known all through this 
section of Kanawha county as a thoroughly 
expert workman. He is now in his sixty-sec- 
ond year and still conducts his business at Mc- 
Donald. W. Va. Mrs. Martin is one of a fam- 
ily of six children. Her parents are devoted 



members of the Presbyterian church and are 
highly respected members of society. Their 
children are all comfortably settled in life, all 
having married and having families of their 

own. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Martin three children 
have been born, namely: David Wallace, Au- 
gust 8, 1896; Margaret, September 10, 1898; 
and James Walter. February 8, 1902. All 
the children will have good educational ad- 
vantages. The family belong to the First 
Presbyterian church of Charleston. Mr. Mar- 
tin and Mr. Wright are both stanch Republi- 
cans in their political views. Mrs. Martin is 
a coal operator, having her individual inter- 
ests. She is connected in business with the 
McAlpin, the McGregor and the McCaa Coal 
Companies, and in the management of her af- 
fairs shows a wisdom and maturity of judg- 
ment that not only excites the admiration of 
her husband but proves that business acumen is 
not confined to one sex. 

WILLIAM F. LONG* whose valuable 
farm of 124^ acres is situated in Poca dis- 
trict, twenty miles northwest of Charleston, 
was born in this district, in May, 1862. and is 
a son of Wesley and Emeline (Fisher) Long. 

Wesley Long was born in Monroe county. 
Va. (now West Virginia) but after his mar- 
riage he lived in Poca district, Kanawha coun- 
ty, where he died at the early age of twenty- 
seven years, and his burial was on the John 
Fisher farm. He was a Republican in poli- 
tics and during the Civil War was a member 
of the Home Guards. He left two children. 
William F. and E. B. Long, both residents of 
Poca district. His widow subsequently mar- 
ried Matthew Pritt. now deceased, who left 
no children, and Mrs. Pritt died when thirty- 
seven years of age and was interred in the 
Fisher cemetery. 

When his father died. William F. Long 
went to live with his grandfather. Frank 
Fisher, and remained there, attending school 
in Poca district and learning the principles of 
farming. After his marriage he lived for one 
year on First Creek, Poca district, and then 
moved to Charleston and three years later to 




COL. HENEY C. DICKINSON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



751 



his present farm which was formerly his 
grandfather Fisher's farm on which he had 
been reared. He has improved the place, 
building all the structures now standing, and 
devotes a large part of his land to raising 
cattle for sale. 

Mr. Long married Miss Fannie Johnson, a 
daughter of William Johnson, of Poca dis- 
trict and they have the following children : 
Mary, who is the widow of Leon Silman; Flor- 
ence, deceased, who was the wife of William 
Casto and left one child, Cecil; Louvina, who 
is the wife of Laurian Haggerty, of Charles- 
ton ; and Dorothy, Flota and Noble. Mr. Long 
has been a lifelong Republican but has never 
taken a very active part in politics. He is one 
of Poca district's respected and widely known 
citizens. 

COL. HENRY C. DICKINSON, former- 
ly one of the leading citizens of Charleston, 
W. Va., was born in Bedford county, Va., 
February 21, 1830, and died at Charleston, 
April 20, 1 87 1, at which time he was serving 
in the office of mayor of this city and was also 
president of the Kanawha Valley Bank. His 
father, William Dickinson, was engaged in salt 
making in Kanawha county after the Civil War. 

Henry C. Dickinson was liberally educated 
and was graduated in the science of law at 
Hampden-Sidney College. He was admitted 
to the bar in Bedford county, where he was 
practicing in 1861. By birth and rearing he 
was an aristocrat and when the differences be- 
tween the North and South came to be settled 
by war, he enthusiastically took up arms for 
his own section anl served with valor in his 
regiment in the Confederate army until he 
was made a prisoner of war by the Federal 
forces. At this time he was captain of his 
company in the 2d Va. Cavalry. He was in- 
carcerated in several Federal prisons, with 600 
others at one time being sent to Fort Sum- 
ter, and endured many of the worst hardships 
that a military prison inflicts. He survived to 
return home, however, accepting a parole, at 
his father's earnest solicitation, and joined the 
latter at Charleston. The law then in force 
not permitting him to practice his profession, 
he turned his attention to other lines anl be- 



came one of the best business men in this sec- 
tion, following salt making with his father for 
a time, but later embarking in banking. He 
was one of the incorporators of the Kanawha 
Valley Bank, of which he was elected the first 
president, anl continued in this position while 
life lasted. He was admired and beloved in 
this city to an almost universal extent, rich 
and poor, high and low, recognizing his admir- 
able qualities. At the time of death he was 
serving as mayor, being the first Democratic 
mayor this city ever elected. He was buried 
with the Masonic rites and ritual, having been 
a member of that fraternity for many years. 

Colonel Dickinson was married at Charles- 
ton, in 1859, to Miss Sally J. Lewis, and they 
immediately settled in Bedford county which 
continued to be the family home until the close 
of the war, when as indicated above, he came 
to Charleston to begin life anew. To Colonel 
and Mrs. Dickinson five children were born, 
namely : Anna L., who was married first to 
Benjamin F. Brown, who left three children, 
and secondly, to Harold L. Morris, of Denver, 
Colo; Fannie D., who is the wife of Andrew 
H. Boyd, D. D. S., residing at No. 1202 Vir- 
ginia street, Charleston, and has one daughter; 
Henry Clay, who is in the timber and coal land 
leasing business, married Margaret Young, of 
Winsboro, S. C, and a daughter was born to 
them on August 17, 19 10, which they named 
Sally Lewis; and Mary Virginia, and Julia, 
both of whom died in early womanhood. Mrs. 
Dickinson is a very active member of the Pres- 
byterian church. 

The parents of Mrs. Dickinson were John 
D. and Ann (Dickinson) Lewis. The former 
was born in 1800, at Point Pleasant, a son of 
Col. Charles Lewis, who was a hero of Point 
Pleasant in the Indian War of 1774. Col. 
Lewis married Jane Dickenson, of Bath coun- 
ty, Virginia. At one time John D. Lewis was 
one of the largest landowners in the 
Kanawha Valley and a large part of it 
was underlaid with coal. His death occurred 
near Maiden when he was eighty-three years of 
age. He was thrice married, Mrs. Dickinson 
being the daughter of his second wife. He 
was a democrat in politics and a Southern 
sympathizer during the Civil War. 



752 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



J. A. WELLS, a well known resident of 
Loudon district, who was a general merchant 
at Marmet, from 1905 to 191 1, was born in 
Raleigh county, W. Va., in 1856, and in 1865 
accompanied his parents to Marmet, Kanawha 
county, W. Va. They were Meredith and 
Emily (Jarrell) Wells. 

Meredith W ells was engaged in merchandis- 
ing for a number of years of his life. He con- 
ducted a store at Marmet and later one at 
Cheylan, W. Va. He was interested also in 
real estate and owned a large amount of land. 
He lived to the age of ninety-two years, and 
was the father of nine children. 

J. A. Wells obtained his schooling near home 
in his boyhood and afterward followed farm- 
ing and worked in the timber for a number of 
years. In 1905 he opened up a general store 
which he conducted very successfully until he 
decided to retire and then sold it to his son, 
William Ernest. 

Mr. Wells married Miss Janie Hannigan, of 
Kanawha county, and they have had nine chil- 
dren, namely: William Ernest. Pearlie, Mere- 
dith, Charles, Virgie, Maude, Herbert. Grace 
and Emma. The last named died at the age 
of sixteen years and the mother of this family 
passed away in 1899. In politics Mr. Wells 
is a Republican. 

JOHN L. MINSKER. one of the enter- 
prising business men of Charleston, W. Va., 
who, in partnership with his brother, Wilbur 
W. Minsker, conducts the Minsker Garage, 
operating at No. 1010 Lee street, is a native 
of this city, born December 9, 1874, and is a 
son of Solomon and Mary E. (High) Mins- 
ker. 

John L. Minsker attended school at 
Charleston and with his brother was brought 
up in the woolen goods manufacturing busi- 
ness, the older brothers, George and Harry 
Minsker operating the Kanawha Woolen 
Mills. John L. Minsker had a practical train- 
ing in mechanics and in addition to conducting 
their garage, the brothers maintain a regular 
repair shop for machines and also are agents 
for well known manufacturers. The present 
enterprise was entered into in August. 19 10, 
and they occupy a building 120x45 feet in di- 



mensions, where they have room to accommo- 
date forty automobiles. They are doing a good 
business. 

Mr. Minsker was married at Cincinnati, O., 
to Miss Ann S. Lipps, who was born in that 
city in April, 1875, °f German ancestry, both 
parents being now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. 
Minsker are members of the First Presbyterian 
church. The latter has been greatly interested 
in the Home Missionary society in connection 
with the church anl has served in it as an of- 
ficial. 

D. C. SMOOT,* superintendent of the Dun- 
bar Realty Company, of Dunbar, and also fill- 
ing the public office of game warden, has been 
a resident of Dunbar since 1906. He was born 
in Boone county, W. Va., October 27, 1849, 
his parents being Hezekiah and Lucy B. 
(Smith) Smoot. 

Hezekiah Smoot was born July 4, 1814, at 
Knoxville. Tenn., and came to Virginia in 
1822 and attended school in Boone county. He 
married Lucy B. Smith, who was born in 
Wood county, Va., and nine children were 
born to them, one daughter and eight sons, 
of whom four of the latter still survive. Hez- 
ekiah Smoot was both farmer and merchant 
and was a leading Democrat in Boone county, 
of which he was elected the first county clerk. 
He died at the age of eighty-four years and 
his wife at that of eighty-three, and their 
burial was at Marmet, in Kanawha county. 
They were members of the Methodist church, 
south. 

D. C. Smoot attended school in Boone coun- 
ty and also had educational advantages at 
Emery and Henry college, in Washington 
county. Afterward he learned the carpenter's 
trade and for many years followed carpenter 
work in Boone and Kanawha counties, doing 
a large amount for the government. Since lo- 
cating at Dunbar, Mr. Smoot has occupied his 
present position of superintendent and he also 
is interested to some extent in farming. 

Mr. Smoot was married to Miss Kanawha 
Laidley Whittaker. who was born at Wheel- 
ing. W. Va.. October 20. 1853. a daughter of 
Charles S. and Margaret A. (Eoff) Whitta- 
ker. The father of Mrs. Smoot was born at 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



753 



Charleston, W. Va. 3 in February, 1817, and 
died at the age of seventy-two years. Her 
mother was born at Wheeling in May, 181 7, 
and died at the age of sixty-four years. Their 
burial was in Spring Hill cemetery, at Charles- 
ton. Three of their seven children survive, 
namely: Helen D. Harrison, Virginia C. Dry- 
den and Kanawha Laidley Smoot. They were 
members of the Episcopal church. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smoot are members of the Presbyterian 
church. In politics he is a democrat. 

FRANCIS WORTH ABNEY, a promi- 
nent business man and financier of Charleston, 
formerly president of the Abney-Barnes Com- 
pany, wholesale dealers in dry goods anl no- 
tions, and now president of the Charleston- 
Kanawha Trust Company, was born in Bossier 
parish, Louisiana; son of Asbury A. and Cath- 
arine McDade Abney. His parents were life- 
long residents of the state of Louisiana, his 
father dying in comparatively early life. 

Mr. Abney was educated at W ashington and 
Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. For 
some years he was associated as partner with 
Col. Morgan Jones, the well known railroad 
man of the Southwest, now of Fort Worth, 
Texas, the business of the firm being that of 
railroad contractors. He was the first presi- 
dent of the Charleston, Clendenin & Sutton 
Railway (now the Coal & Coke Railroad), 
which he organized and partly built. 

In 1876, Mr. Abney settled in Charleston, 
West Virginia, becoming associated in busi- 
ness with his father-in-law, Mr. Enos Arnold. 
In the following year they started a small 
wholesale dry goods business under the style 
of Arnold & Abney, which grew rapidly and 
soon commandel a prosperous trade. In 1887 
Mr. E. A. Barnes entered the firm, which then 
became Arnold, Abney & Co., and so continued 
until 1900, when Mr. W. O. Abney and Mr. 
A. S. Thomas became associated with the busi- 
ness, as junior partners, the style of the firm 
then being changed to Abney, Barnes & Com- 
pany. By this time the business had grown 
until the sales amounted to about $800,000.00 
annually. 

In 1906 Mr. Abney retired from the busi- 
ness to become president of the Charleston- 



Kanawha Trust Company, of which he was the 
organizer. In 19 10 he reorganized this com- 
pany and materially increased its capital. This 
company does a very considerable business in 
financing new enterprises, including coal, oil, 
gas, timber and land companies, and has been 
very successful. 

Mr. Abney married Kate V. Arnold, who 
was born in Charleston, and was the daughter 
of Enos and Cynthia Noyes Arnold. Mrs. 
Abney died in July, 1910. There are three 
daughters: Katie Belle, Cynthia A. (now Mrs. 
John S. Dana) and Mattie R. (now Mrs. 
Waller C. Hardy). Mr. and Mrs. Dana have 
three daughters — Frances, Arnold and Ade- 
laide; and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy have one son 
— Frank Abney. The Abney family are Pres- 
byterians. 

Mr. Abney is regarded as one of the leading 
financiers of West Virginia. His business in- 
terests are very extensive, and he is or has 
been connected with almost every important 
enterprise in the city. 

SAMUEL HOGG, deceased. Certainly no 
country has contributed more extensively to 
the excellent citizenship of the southern part 
of the United States than has England, and 
from Yorkshire have come representatives that 
have brought with them the sterling traits of 
character and the sturdy virtues which reflect 
honor on their ancestry. Although Samuel 
Hogg never crossed the Atlantic ocean to 
America, he has children and grandchildren in 
West Virginia, who recall him with affection 
and desire to perpetuate his memory. 

Samuel Hogg was of Scotch ancestry but 
was born in Yorkshire. England, where he was 
reared, educated and spent a long and useful 
life. He was yet young when he evinced a 
handiness with tools and a fondness for work- 
ing in wood and this natural leaning made him 
learn the trade of contractor and builder. 
Finding an abundance of work in his line in the 
neighborhood of his birth, he never felt either 
the desire or necessity of changing his place 
of residence and spent his life in the county 
in which he was born. He married Jane Fen- 
wick, whose life was also passed in Yorkshire, 
her death occurring in her forty-third year. 



754 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Her ancestors had been English for many gen- 
erations. Both she and husband were attend- 
ants of the Methodist Episcopal church. Four 
sons and three daughters were born to them, 
two sons and one daughter dying in infancy. 
One son, William Hogg, still lives in York- 
shire, where he follows the business of con- 
tractor and builder. He married there and has 
a large family. Another son, John E., has 
been lost sight of, probably being a resident of 
Texas. One daughter, Mary J., was married 
in England, to Smith Harding, who died there, 
after which, she came to America with her 
two children, subsequently marrying William 
Richardson, in Fayette county, W. Va. Her 
death occurred there after two children had 
been born to the second marriage. The third 
daughter, Annie, is Mrs. Samuel Dixon, who 
resides at No. 1331 Virginia street, Charles- 
ton, W. Va. 

Mrs. Dixon was born in 1855, in Yorkshire, 
England. She was reared in her native coun- 
ty and attended school there and was married 
to Samuel Dixon, who was also born in York- 
shire. In T878 the family left England for 
America, taking passage on the City of Mon- 
treal, landing at New York and going from 
there to Fayette county, W. Va. Mr. Dixon 
has been interested in coal mining in West Vir- 
ginia ever since. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Dixon fourteen children 
were born — three in England — and four died 
in infancy. The survivors are : Frederick 
Fenwick, residing near Montgomery, in Kana- 
wha county, married and has one son, Sam- 
uel; Jane D., who is the wife of A. D. Calla- 
han, a native of Kentucky, and a mine super- 
intendent, and they live in Fayette county and 
have one son, Dixon; Isabel D., who is the 
wife of J. W. Smiley, of Fayette county, and 
has five children — Annette, Blanche, Doro- 
thea, Isabel and Samuel D. ; Lillian D., who 
is the wife of Dr. Elbert S. Dupuy. of Fayette 
county, and has two children — Elbert W. and 
Ruth; May D., who is the wife of Harry H. 
Pinkney. of Raleigh county, W. Va.. and has 
three children — Dixon, James A., and Mil- 
dred : George, who, like other members of the 
family, is interested in coal mining lives in 



West Virginia married Frances Leckie, and has 
two children — George H. and Frederick; Eve- 
lyn, who lives in Fayette county; Ethel D., 
who is the wife of William P. St. Clair, of 
McDonald, W. Va., and has one son, William 
\Y. ; William, who lives in Fayette county ; 
and Nellie, who lives at home and is a student 
in the Charleston high school. Mrs. Dixon 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
south. 

MAJOR THOMAS L. BROUN, senior 
member of the prominent law firm of Broun 
& Broun, at Charleston, W. Va., has long 
been a representative citizen of this section, 
concerning the natural resources of which 
there are probably few men his superior in 
knowledge. He is known up and down and 
throughout the Great Kanawha Valley, and 
capitalists and investors for many years have 
relied on his information and advice. He is 
a Virginian, born in Loudon county, and is a 
son of Edwin Conway and Elizabeth fChan- 
nell) Broun. , 

Edwin Conway Broun was born in Nor- 
thumberland county, Va., March 9, 1781. and 
was a son of William and Janetta ( McAdam) 
Broun, and a grandson of George and Mar- 
garet Broun, who were natives of Scotland. 
Political and religious disturbances doubtless 
caused the migration of the LeBran family 
from France to Scotland at a very early date, 
where the name was shortened to Broun, with 
the accent on the "u." as at present. In 1740 
William and Robert Broun came to the 
American colonies, the former settling in 
Northern Neck, Va.. and the latter near 
Georgetown. S. C. where he became a noted 
physician and the progenitor of a large family. 
William Broun practiced law in Virginia in 
colonial days and also reared a vigorous fam- 
ily, which has representatives all through the 
southern states. 

Edwin Conway Broun for his second wife, 
married Elizabeth Channell, a daughter of 
James Channell and granddaughter of A\*il- 
liam S. Pickett, of Fauquier county, Va. The 
third child bora to this marriage was Thomas 
Lee Broun, whose birth took place December 



AND- REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



755 



26, 1823, being one of the two survivors of 
ten children bom to his parents. 

Thomas L. Broun was given excellent educa- 
tional advantages, and in 1848 was graduated 
at the University of Virginia. For several 
years he taught school before entering upon 
the study of law, in which science he was sub- 
sequently graduated and was admitted to prac- 
tice in November, 185 1. He formed business 
and law partnerships with several leading men 
of his time, and was chosen as attorney for a 
number of coal companies then engaged in min- 
ing and shipping cannel coal from the Coal 
river region. After the resignation of Gen. 
Rosecrans as president of the Coal River 
Navigation Company, Major Broun was 
elected to the office and continued to direct 
the affairs of the concern until the breaking 
out of the Civil War. 

In 1 86 1 Thomas L. Broun enlisted as a pri- 
vate in the Kanawha Riflemen, Confederate 
army, but was shortly afterward advanced to 
the rank of major in the 60th Va. Vol. In- 
fantry, which was a part of what was known 
as the Wise Legion. Major Broun was se- 
verely wounded at Cloyd's Mountain, Va., 
when leading his command with signal valor, 
and was seriously incapacitated for a long time 
on account of his injuries. At the close of the 
war Major Broun returned to Charleston, W. 
Va., which had been his home from the time 
he entered upon the study of law, and resumed 
charge of the Coal River Navigation Com- 
pany. On account of a temporary law that 
prevented the practice of his profession at that 
time in West Virginia, Major Broun removed 
to New York, in 1866, where he made lav 
and land titles of West Virginia a feature of 
his law practice until the fall of 1870, when 
he returned to Charleston. He is one of the 
Nestors of the Charleston bar and is now asso- 
ciated in practice with E. F. and C. B. Broun, 
the firm name being Broun and Broun, with 
offices at Nos. 18-19 Citizens Bank Building, 
Charleston. 

As indicated above, Major Broun is well 
qualified to exploit the wonderful natural re- 
sources of the great Kanawha Valley, having 
devoted many busy years to investigation, 
and shows his confidence in the continuance 



of these natural conditions for a long period 
in the future, by having large investments 
here on his own account. With the growth 
all over the country of large fortunes, capital 
is constantly seeking profitable investment, 
and understanding this condition, for a num- 
ber of years Major Broun has been in the 
habit of distributing circulars truthfully 
telling of the great resources of this part of 
West Virginia still awaiting development. His 
statements are not made at random, being 
thoroughly substantiated by data, and on ac- 
count of his high personal standing, have al- 
ways been accepted as facts. 

Major Broun was married in June, 1866, to 
Miss Mary M. Fontaine, a daughter of the 
late Col. Edmund Fontaine, who was formerly 
president of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. 
Major and Mrs. Broun have two daughters 
and one son. The family belongs to the Epis- 
copal church, in which Major Broun has long 
served as warden and vestryman. The fam- 
ily home is a handsome residence standing at 
No. 1017 Virginia street, Charleston. 

Major Broun is a Mason, belonging to Kan- 
awha Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M. ; a member 
of Camp Patton, No. 1, Confederate Veterans, 
and belongs to and takes a deep interest in the 
West Virginia Historical Society. His ser- 
vices have frequently been solicited as a pub- 
lic speaker, and on numerous occasions his ad- 
dresses before important bodies have been so 
eloquent as well as so enlightening that they 
have been published for general distribution. 
Particularly was this the case in regard to 
the address he made at Charleston, June 14, 
1888, the occasion being the Memorial Day ex- 
ercises conducted under the auspices of Camp 
Patton, No. 1, Confederate Veterans. An- 
other address which was also given at Charles- 
ton, on January 24, 1907, celebrating the one 
hundredth anniversary of the birthday of Gen. 
Robert E. Lee, was an able effort, appreciative 
but temperate in every statement. It was most 
fitting that one of General Lee's old veterans, 
still bearing honorable scars of conflict received 
while following his great leader, should tell 
the younger generation of the noble qualities 
of one whose memory is now cherished all over 
the South and respected everywhere. 



756 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Major Broun has taken much pains to com- 
pile an ancestral history of his own family, 
finding in his researches that tl e Brouns can 
claim close kindred with a number of other 
old Virginia families including the Balls, the 
Conways, the Gaskins, the McAdams, and 
others. He has consulted well known authori- 
ties and old documents in his own possession 
and may be justified in feeling proud to con- 
nect his own paternal name with the ancestral 
line from which came George Washington and 
James Madison, presidents of the United 
States ; Rev. Samuel Thomas, who was the 
first missionary sent to South Carolina under 
the direction of "The Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts;" and of 
Captain Archibald Broun of South Carolina, 
who was an officer in the Revolutionary War; 
also of many distinguished members of the old 
and aristocratic South Carolina families, in- 
cluding the Huger, Deas, Singleton, Lesesne, 
Manning and Sinkler families, together with 
the Harlestons, of Alabama. 

W. L. BROWN, bookkeeper for the Mar- 
met Coal Company, at Hernshaw, W. Va., has 
been a resident of this place since April, 1909, 
and has occupied his' present position since 
that time. He was born July 27, 1884, in 
Oakfield, Perry county, O., and resided with 
his parents, W. R. and Sarah (Allton) Brown 
in the above mentioned county until 1899, 
when with his parents and a younger brother, 
Howard C, he came to West Virginia and 
located at Porter, in Clay county, then a pros- 
perous lumber village. 

Mr. Brown acquired his early education in 
the public schools of Perry county, Ohio, and 
in the fall of 1904, after residing at Porter 
five years, entered upon his business course 
with the Bliss Business College, of Columbus, 
Ohio, from which institution he graduated in 
January, 1906. His first business connection 
was with the Standard Oil Co., at Charleston, 
W. Va., and after remaining with them two 
months secured a position as bookkeeper for 
the Dana Lumber Company, of Dana, W. Va., 
where he resided one year, after which he en- 
tered upon his present duties with the Mar- 
met Coal Co. 



Mr. Brown's father, W. R. Brown, was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1840, and 
is now a citizen of Charleston, residing at No. 
144 Court street, having retired from the saw- 
mill business some years since. He married 
Sarah Allton, who was born in Perry county, 
Ohio, in 1852 and they have had a family of 
four sons and five daughters born to them, of 
which W. L. is the sixth in number. 

Mr. Brown married Miss Laura Board in 
March, 1907. Mrs. Brown is a daughter of 
John H. Board, a substantial farmer, who 
lives on his 400-acre farm at Well ford, four 
miles from Clendenen, W. Va. There have 
been two children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Brown, a boy that died in infancy and Doro- 
thy Lee, a two months old babe. Mrs. Brown 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Politically, Mr. Brown is a repub- 
lican. 

JAMES N. MAHAN, D. D. S.,* who does 
the largest business in dental surgery at 
Charleston, W. Va., has been an active prac- 
titioner in this city for the last eighteen years 
and is professionally known all over Kanawha 
county. 

Dr. Mahan is of north of Ireland ancestry. 
His grandfather, John Mahan, came from 
there to America more than no years ago, 
locating in Monroe county, Va. He was an 
enlisted soldier in the War of 1812 and after 
that struggle was over he settled on his own 
land in Monroe county, where he died previ- 
ous to the Civil War. He married in Monroe 
county and became the father of ten children, 
all of whom lived to maturity and all married 
with one exception. 

Nelson J. Mahan, the father of Dr. Mahan, 
was one of the younger members of the above 
mentioned family. He was born in Monroe 
county, Va., March 17, 18 15, and lived there 
until 1840, when he came to Charleston, where 
he embarked in a coal and livery business 
which he continued until his death on January 
13. 1889. He was a democrat in politics and 
was an intelligent citizen and a business man 
and neighbor who was held in esteem by all. 
On December 17, 1837, he was married to 
Miss Jennie Legg, who was born in Monroe 




OEATIO L. DAVTS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



757 



-ounty, January 17, 18 17, and died at Charles- 
ton, in May, 1886. She was a woman of 
beautiful character and her memory is ten- 
derly preserved by her children. She was of 
Maryland parentage and probably German an- 
cestry. Ten children were born to Nelson J. 
Mahan and wife, nine of whom grew to ma- 
turity, six of whom married, and five of whom 
still survive. Elizabeth is the widow of Elisha 
Evans and resides at Charleston, where she 
has children and grandchildren. Mary is the 
wife of David Egan, of Charleston, and has 
children and grandchildren. James N. is the 
third survivor. Anna resides with her brother 
in Nicholas county, W. Va. Charles is a mer- 
chant in Nicholas county, married Anna Mor- 
ris and they have children. 

James N. Mahan studied dentistry for five 
years with the late Dr. J. A. Houser, formerly 
a skilled practitioner, who died here in 1893. 
Dr. Mahan then established his own business 
and has been a resident of Charleston ever 
since. He was one of the organizers of the 
West Virginia Dental Society, in January, 
1892, at Wheeling, W. Va., and was elected the 
first president of that body. For a number of 
years he has been a member of the committee 
on legislation and has been a member of the 
board of examining dental surgeons. He has 
always been a more or less active citizen and 
served in the city council from 1894 until 
1897. 

Dr. Mahan was married at Charleston to 
Miss Minnie Eyster, who was born at Cham- 
bersburg and educated at Woodstock, Va. 
She is a daughter of Capt. John S. and Salona 
(McConnell) Eyster. Capt. Eyster was born 
and died in Pennsylvania. A Federal soldier, 
he served on the staff of General McCall. He 
survived all the hazards of war and then went 
into the lumber business in Southeastern 
Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mahan was one in a fam- 
ily of four sons and three daughters, two sons 
and the daughters still surviving. Two chil- 
dren were born to Dr. and Mrs. Mahan : Les- 
lie Dana, who is an employe of the Kanawha 
National Bank; and Frances Virginia, who is 
a graduate of the Charleston High School. 
The family belongs to the Episcopal church. 



Dr. Mahan is a Alason of advanced degree 
and a "Shriner.'' 

ORATIO L. DAVIS, manufacturer of 
carbon black, vice president of the Eastern 
Carbon Black Company, which plant is lo- 
cated in Big Sandy district, at Barren Creek, 
on Elk river, Kanawha county, W. Va., is also 
general manager of this company and is a 
practical carbon black maker. He was born 
in Warren county, Pa., August 28, 1861. 

Mr. Davis was reared and educated in 
Warren county and was thirty-one years of 
age when he went to Indiana, where he 
learned the art of making carbon black and 
remained identified with works in that state 
until 1903, when he came to West Virginia. 
The method of producing carbon black is 
unique and interesting. The substance is a 
residue made by impregnating natural gas 
with fire against a condenser. An automatic 
scraper in the shape of a horizontal plate car- 
ries the product into a hopper by way of a 
spiral conveyer, where it is then sifted through 
a 60-mesh wire, from which it reaches the 
storage department which has a capacity for 
handling 4,000 pounds a day. Here an auto- 
matic equipment completes the packing into 
bags and barrels and in this shape it is 
shipped, the largest customer of the Eastern 
Carbon Black Company being a printing plant 
at Norwood, Mass. Mr. Davis has been pro- 
ducing carbon black for nineteen years and 
since 1907 has been in business in Kanawha 
county, the Eastern Carbon Black Company 
being incorporated, with George H. Morrill, 
Jr., of Norwood, Mass., as president; Fred- 
erick P. Bagley as secretary and treasurer, 
Oratio L. Davis as vice president and general 
manager, and Alton N. Davis, of Charleston, 
W. Va., as assistant manager. While the 
manufacture of carbon black is accomplished 
by imperfect combustion, the art of separating 
it at just the right state and time, has been 
brought to perfection by comparatively few 
men in this business, Mr. Davis being one of 
them. 

In Warren county, Pa., Mr. Davis was mar- 
ried to Miss Louetta Reighner, a native of 
Clarion county, Pa., and they have four chil- 



758 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dren: Willie May, Carl A., Ralph F. and 
Jim T. Mr. and Mrs. Davis attend the Chris- 
tian church, of which Mrs. Davis is a member. 
Politically the former is a democrat. He is a 
Knight Templar Mason and "Shriner," and 
he belongs also to the Elks and the Knights of 
Pythias. 

JOHN B. LEWIS, deceased, who. for 
years was general superintendent for the Ches- 
apeake Mining Company, of West Virginia, 
was one of the prominent coal men of the Kan- 
awha Valley, one whose knowledge was re- 
lied on and whose judgment on coal lands and 
conditions was consulted by those interested in 
all sections of the state. Born in Wales, Au- 
gust 9, 1843, he was left an orphan in child- 
hood and was nine years old when his grand- 
mother Bowan brought him to America. He 
grew to manhood near Youngstown. O.. at- 
tended school there for a time and earned his 
first money by working around the mines, and 
that he was a youth of intelligence, industry 
and good habits was proved by the fact that at 
the age of eighteen years he was given the 
management of a mine. 

In the above position Mr. Lewis evidently 
acquitted himself well, as he was only twenty- 
one when he was sent by the company he was 
serving, to take charge of a mine on the Ohio 
river, near Pomeroy, O., becoming superin- 
tendent there, and in 1871 he came to Kana- 
wha county. W. Ya.. this vast coal district of- 
fering him business opportunities that he was 
quick to recognize. For a time he remained at 
Maiden and then operated coal works at Alden 
and went from there to Lewistown, now Wini- 
frede, where he opened and superintended the 
first coal works. He was financially interested 
in the same and these mines bore his name. 
After leaving there he was connected with the 
Campbell Creek Coal Company for sixteen 
years. In August. 1890, Mr. Lewis came to 
Handley. W. Ya.. where he became associated 
as a partner, with J. O. Dickinson. Malcolm 
Jackson and Seth Montgomery, in the organi- 
zation of the Chesapeake Mining Company. 
Under his management the company not only 
discharged every financial obligation but 
reached a high degree of prosperity. His use- 



ful life came to a close on August 14, 1907. 
He was a consistent member of the Baptist 
church at Handley, W. Ya. In politics he was 
a Republican. For many years he was promi- 
nent in Masonry and was a Shriner, and was 
connected also with the Odd Fellows, the 
Knights of Pythias and the Red Men. Few 
men of his day were better known in the West 
Virginia coal fields and none in this great in- 
dustry was more respected. 

On December 20, 1866, Mr. Lewis was mar- 
ried to Miss Ann E. Collins, the only daughter 
of Richard and Catherine (Vaughn) Collins. 
Richard Collins and wife were both born in 
England and were married there in 1849, com - 
ing then to America and locating at Pitts- 
burgh. Pa. Mr. Collins was a coal miner and 
his death occurred at Handley, W. Va., Janu- 
ary 1, 191 1, at the age of eighty-one years. 
His widow survives and lives with Mrs. Lewis. 
There were two sons, William and Thomas, 
both deceased. The following children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis: Catherine, who 
is the wife of Thomas Scott, is prominent in 
missionary work at Handley. W. Va. : Mary, 
who is deceased, was the wife of William 
Rensford ; Charlotte, who died in infancy: 
Sarah, who is the wife of Ernest Carter: 
Richard C, who died aged thirty-six years, 
married Nona Thompson; John and Fred, the 
former of whom died at the age of fourteen 
and the latter at the age of twenty years: and 
Charlotte (2), who is the wife of John Carter. 
There are twelve grandchildren in the family. 
Mrs. Lewis retains her husband's interest in 
the Chesapeake Mining Company. She is an 
active and valued member of the Baptist 
church at Handley. 

HON. WILLIAM SEYMOUR ED- 
WARDS, a member of the West Virginia 
House of Delegates from 1892 until 1895, and 
Speaker of the House from 1894 until 1895. 
is a well known member of the Kanawha 
county bar and is known both professionally 
and in business circles in many parts of the 
state. He was bom September 14, 1856, in 
New York, and is a son of William H. and 
Catherine Colt (Tappan") Edwards. 

Graduating from Cornell L T niversity in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



761 



1879, with his degree of B. S., and from Co- 
lumbia College in 1882, LL. D. (Cum Laude), 
he was admitted to the bar in 1883. He main- 
tains his business office at Charleston, and oc- 
cupies a beautiful residence at Coalburg, which 
is his home. He has been identified very 
prominently for some years with important 
oil,, gas and coal interests in West Virginia, 
being president of the Kanawha Coal Opera- 
tors Association, and he is the author of many 
articles treating of these great natural re- 
sources of this state. He is a widely traveled 
man and a number of his most popular books 
are scientific in character and concern other 
countries as well as his own. Those best 
known are: "Coals and Cokes in West Vir- 
ginia," published in 1892; "To the Yukon," 
published in 1904; "Through Scandinavia to 
Moscow," in 1906; and "On the Mexican 
Highlands," in 1906-7. He contributed arti- 
cles on West Virginia in 1902 for the Ency- 
clopedia Britannica. He is a republican in pol- 
itics and in 1898 was his party's candidate for 
congress from the Third West Virginia Dis- 
trict, and was chairman of the West Virginia 
delegation to the Republican National Con- 
vention at Chicago, 1908. He is a member of 
University Club, and a member of the 
Alpha -Delta Phi Club of New York city 
and belongs also to the Duquesne Club of 
Pittsburg. On July 5, 1902 he was married 
in Loudon to Miss Hope M. Christensen, 
daughter of the late C. T. Christensen, of 
Brooklyn, New York. 

JOHN MILBEE, M. D., of Charleston, 
W. Va., who was engaged in the practice of 
medicine and surgery in Kanawha county, W. 
Va., for thirty-eight years and met with a 
large degree of success; is one of the oldest 
medical men in the county and is now practi- 
cally retired from professional work. Has 
a farm in Elk district, but has it under rental. 
Dr. Milbee was born in Nicholas county, Va., 
February 9, 1843, and is a son of Richard 
and Malinda (McGraw) Milbee. 

Richard Milbee was born also in Virginia 
and moved into Kanawha county with his 
family in 1854, locating near Buffalo, where 
he followed farming for seven years. He 



then came to the farm on Poca river, Putnam 

county, which he conducted until the close of 
his life, dying at the age of sixty-two years. 
He was married in Nicholas county to Ma- 
linda McGraw, who did at the age of sixty- 
four years. Her father was Martin McGraw, 
one of the old residents of that section. Of 
the seven children born to his parents, Dr. 
Milbee is the only survivor. 

Up to the age of fourteen years, John Mil- 
bee attended the local schools and helped on 
the home farm, and for some years afterward 
kept himself as busily employed as possible 
in order to be able to gratify his ambition to 
become a physician. He finally accumulated 
enough capital with which to enter King's 
College, a medical school at Cincinnati, where 
he completed the prescribed course of one and 
one-half years, in 1857. He practiced in his 
home neighborhood until the outbreak of the 
Civil War, when he enlisted in Co. A, 22nd 
Va. Inf., under Captain Barbee, Confederate 
Army, and continued in military life until the 
war closed. He was slightly wounded on one 
occasion and in February, 1864, was taken 
prisoner and was kept at Fort Delaware until 
the close of hostilities. During a large part of 
his service he had been assistant surgeon. He 
located in Putnam county after he returned to 
Virginia and practiced there for four years 
and then practiced eight years in Poca district, 
at Sissonville, Kanawha county, following 
which he took up his residence in Elk district. 
Subsequently he removed to Charleston, 
where he now lives, being the owner of a 
comfortable residence. He owns a farm in 
Elk district but has it under rental. 

Dr. Milbee was married to Miss Nancy M. 
Hoffman, who was born in Putnam <county, 
W. Va., and is a daughter of Charles and 
Amy Hoffman. To Dr. and Mrs. Milbee six 
children were born, namely: Russell O., 
Maudena, Minnie, Grover C, Edith Ethel, 
and Clarence. Russell O. Milbee entered the 
Medical Department of the University of 
Louisville, in the fall of 1907 and was grad- 
uated therefrom May 30, 191 1. He is now 
engaged in medical practice In Charleston. 
Maudena is the wife of William Harkins, of 
Charleston, and is the mother of two children. 



762 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Minnie married Ulrich Warner, of Charles- 
ton, and she and her husband are the parents 
of two children. Grover C. Milbee enlisted in 
the U. S. Army, December 27, 1905 ; re-en- 
listed for foreign service July 18, 1907. He 
was discharged July 18, 1910, and is now a 
teacher in the public schools. Edith E. and 
Clarence are residing at home, the former be- 
ing also a teacher in the public schools. Dr. 
Milbee and family are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. In politics the doctor 
is a democrat, but has kept aloof from partici- 
pation in public affairs. 

JOHN F. WOOTTON, a retired railroad 
man, residing in the city of Charleston, W. 
Va., first entered railroad life in 1852 and 
definitely left it in 1905. He was born in 
Henry county, Va., September 4, 1833, and is 
a son of Jesse and Susan (Eckles) Wootton. 

The father of Mr. Wootton was born in 
Prince Edward county, Va., and the mother 
in Henry county, in the same state, he being 
of French ancestry and she of German. They 
were married in Henry county and mainly 
spent their lives there. For eighteen years 
Jesse Wootton was sheriff of Henry county, 
serving both before 185 1, when an elective 
law went into effect, and afterward. Subse- 
quently he purchased the old Patrick Henry 
farm, on which he lived during the rest of his 
life. His widow survived him and died in 
North Carolina. They were members of the 
Christian church, in which his brother, Rev.. 
John F. Wootton was a preacher for many 
years, being one of the early exponents of the 
faith promulgated by Dr. Alexander Camp- 
bell. The father of Mrs. Wootton was Fred. 
Eckles, who was born in Germany, served in 
the Revolutionary War, followed the trade of 
a tanner, married Celia Stewart, in Virginia, 
and spent the remainder of his life in Henry 
county. A cousin of Mrs. Wootton was that 
distinguished Confederate officer of the Civil 
War, Gen.. Joseph Eckles. Three children 
were born to Jesse Wootton and wife: Laura, 
John F. and Martha. Laura married James 
Jackson, of Henry county, Va., and died in 
Sarah county, N. C, survived by ten children. 
Martha was married first to William McWy- 



ett, and second to Robert Hutchinson, both of 
North Carolina, who were survived by chil- 
dren. 

John F. Wootton spent his boyhood in 
Henry county and attended school until old 
enough to start out for himself, which was in 
1852. He then became a fireman on the Va. 
& Tenn. Railroad, where he was employed for 
two years, afterward going west, where, for 
two years he was in the cattle business. When 
the Civil War broke out, he was at Columbus, 
O., and there enlisted in 1861 as a scout. In 
1863 he was made corporal in Co. B, 173rd O. 
Inf., and served under Captain Sanders and 
Col. Hurd, with General Thomas, and re- 
mained in the service until the close of the 
war, being honorably discharged at Camp 
Dennison, O., in June, 1865. Early in 1862, 
while on a scouting expedition on New River, 
Va., he was wounded while performing a 
brave action and otherwise he also has a fine 
record of military service. 

After the war closed he came to Kanawha 
county and for twelve years engaged in farm- 
ing near Charleston, where he was given a 
railroad appointment, being made an inspector 
for the C. & O. Railroad, at Huntington. In 
1884 he returned to Charleston and became an 
inspector for the K. & M. Railroad and con- 
tinued with this corporation for eighteen 
years, beginning when the road was opened 
and remaining until 1905 when he retired. He 
has a wide circle of railroad friends and is 
held in esteem by his comrades and officials 
alike. 

In Fayette county, W. Va., Mr. Wootton 
was married to Miss Margaret Withrow, a na- 
tive of Fayette county and a daughter of Sam- 
uel and Sarah (Davis) W'ithrow. The father 
of Mrs. Wootton was born in Fayette county 
but her mother was a native of England and 
was brought to West Virginia when young. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wootton have one daughter, 
Magnolia M. She was born at Charleston in 
1863 and is the wife of Alexander A. Smith, 
who, for twenty-five years has been an engi- 
neer on the K. & M. Railroad. They have 
two children : Frank O. and Maybelle. Frank 
O. Smith is in the employ of Armour & Co., 
at Cleveland. O., as a bookkeeper. He mar- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



763 



reid Maybelle Snyder, and they have one son, 
Eugene Wootton, who is now three months 
old. Maybelle Smith is the wife of Albert 
Wilson, a commercial man representing the 
Charleston Milling & Produce Company. Mr. 
Wootton has always been a Republican in na- 
tional issues but is somewhat independent in 
local matters. The family as a whole belongs 
to the Methodist Episcopal church. 

ANDREW J. STEPHENSON, deceased, 
was born in Nicholas county, now West Vir- 
ginia, April 29, 1829, and died at his home at 
Clay Courthouse, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
October 29, 1903. He belonged to anj old 
Nicholas county family and was a son of Da- 
vid and Nancy (Rader) Stephenson. 

Andrew J. Stephenson was afforded the 
usual educational advantages of the youth of 
his day in his section of Nicholas county and 
remained on the home estate until after his 
marriage, when he removed to Clay Court- 
house, establishing his home there and con- 
tinuing to make that his place of residence. 
With all his male kindred he was reared a 
stanch democrat but the public frequently sets 
aside political connections when a responsible 
office is to be entrusted to a man, selecting 
one that has the character and capacity to per- 
form its duties to the satisfaction of the whole 
people. Thus Mr. Stephenson was elected a 
member of both county and circuit courts for 
thirty-one years, in a county which had a large 
normal republican majority, finally declining 
to serve longer on account of advancing age. 
He was a very active member of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church and in every relation of 
life acquitted himself as .became a man who 
possessed respect, esteem and full confidence 
from those with whom he was associated. 
The direct cause of his decease was an acci- 
dental fall. 

Mr. Stephenson was married in Nicholas 
county to Miss Mary Jane Forsythe, who was 
born near Staunton, Augusta county, Va., 
March 10, 1832, and who still survives and at 
the age of seventy-nine years sets an example 
of useful activity to those who are many years 
younger. Her parents were Abraham and 
Jane (Wright) Forsythe, of Augusta, and 



Frederick counties, respectively. After the 
birth of all their children they moved to Sewell 
Mountain, Fayette county, and there Mr. 
Forsythe kept a hotel and stage stand for 
years prior to the Civil War. He was widely 
known and many of the distinguished men of 
the time were his guests and rode over the ill 
kept roads of that day in his stage coaches, 
Mrs. Stephenson frequently having done the 
same. She has a very lively recollection con- 
cerning those days and her reminiscences 
might be permanently preserved with advan- 
tage to those who are interested in the build- 
ing up of this wonderful section from a com- 
parative wilderness. Some years before death 
Mr. and Mrs. Forsythe moved to Nicholas 
county, where the father died aged sixty years, 
his widow passing away at the home of Mrs. 
Stephenson, at Clay Courthouse some six 
years later. She was a Methodist but her 
husband had been a Presbyterian. Mrs. Ste- 
phenson is the only survivor of a family of 
four sons and five daughters, and the mother 
of nine children, the grandmother of twenty- 
four, and the great-grandmother of four. Her 
sons are all notable in appearance, being six 
feet in height and weighing 200 pounds. 

To Andrew J. Stephenson and wife were 
born the following children: Glendora, born 
in 1855, who married Benton Stephenson, a 
cousin, resides at Clay Courthouse and has 
four children; Forsythe, born in 1857, who 
resides with his mother, and is a member of 
the lumber firm of Stephenson & Co. ; Samuel, 
who was born in 1859; Loring, who was born 
in 1 86 1, married Missouri Young, resides 
at Clay Courthouse and has three children; 
Albert, who was born in 1863, and resides 
with his family on a farm; Elizabeth F., who 
is the wife of John Carden, of Covington, 
Va. ; David H., who is an oil and mill operator 
at Clendenin, married Lydia Nicholas, and has 
six children; Benjamin L., who was born in 
1871, and died in the same year; and Estin 
B., who is a physician. 

In the accumulation of his fortune Mr. 
Stephenson gave great credit to his wife, who 
assisted him greatly through her frugality, in- 
dustry and admirable judgment. With her 
sons she owns a block of fine residences at 



764 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charleston, cornering on Washington and 
Quarrier streets and retains No. 1802 Quar- 
rier street as her own home. 

ISAAC COMER,* justice of the peace and 
representative citizen of Poca district, Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., resides on his farm of 
forty-nine acres, situated fifteen miles north 
of Charleston. He was born in Poca district, 
December 29, 1846, and is a son of George W. 
and Matilda A. (Miller) Comer. 

George XV. Comer was a native of Kan- 
awha county as was also his wife. He served 
as a soldier in Co. A, W. Va. Cav., during the 
Civil War and at one time during his service 
was slightly wounded. He was a republican 
in politics but never accepted any office, living 
a quiet, useful life on his farm, where he died 
at the age of seventy-eight years, his wife pass- 
ing away in her sixty-eighth year. They were 
members of the Adventist church and their 
burial was in Sigman Cemetery. Twelve 
children were born to George W. Comer and 
his wife, three of whom survive, namely: 
Isaac, Frances E. and Lydia C. 

Isaac Comer had only public school advan- 
tages in his youth and at different times at- 
tended in Poca district. He was little more 
than a boy when he enlisted for service in the 
Civil War, becoming a member of Co. E, 13th 
W. Va. Volunteer Infantry. After the ter- 
mination of the war he returned to Poca dis- 
trict and engaged in farming and after his 
marriage located on his present property, 
which at that time contained but thirty-five 
acres. He purchased sixteen additional acres 
at a later date and has all but two acres under 
a fine state of cultivation. He has been a pub- 
lic official here for a long time, having served 
for twenty-two years as postmaster at Legg, 
the mail delivery being three times a week. 
He is a republican in politics and for twenty 
years has been a justice of the peace. 

Mr. Comer was married in 1866, to Miss 
Nancy J. Iman, a daughter of Jacob Iman, of 
Kanawha county, and twelve children have 
been born to them, namely: George H., who 
lives near Sissonville, W. Va. ; Mary E., who 
is the wife of James A. Young, of Poca dis- 
trict; John W., who died when aged three 



years ; Rachel A., who is deceased ; and Bettie 
M., Jesse P., Sarah E., Barbara. Jennie E., 
Benjamin I. and Florence, the last mentioned 

being deceased. 

THOMAS SWINBURN, who has been a 
citizen of Charleston, W. Va., for the past 
thirty-two years, and for six years was clerk 
of the Circuit court, is widely known as an 
acceptable writer for newspapers and maga- 
zines on political matters, especially those deal- 
ing with the vital questions of the day. He 
was born in Lancashire, England, April 30, 
1840, and is a son of Ralph and Mary (Pat- 
terson) Swinburn. 

Ralph Swinburn was born in Northumber- 
land. England, married in County Durham 
and then settled in Lancashire. He became a 
railroad man and was employed on the Stock- 
ton & Darlington Railroad and on the Man- 
chester & Leeds Railroad, and on the latter 
was a division superintendent. He was a per- 
sonal friend and a professional associate of 
George Stephenson, the great English civil 
engineer, who was the founder of the whole 
railway system. Mr. Swinburn left England 
for America near the time of his illustrious 
friend's death, in the early part of 1851, at- 
tracted across the Atlantic by an advertisement 
stating the demand for skilled men in his pro- 
fession, in the United States. He landed at 
New Orleans and came from there first to 
Cincinnati, O.. where he met Charles O'Con- 
ner. who was then at the head of the Wini- 
frede Railroad in what is now West Virginia, 
and accompanied him to Kanawha county and 
remained in his employ as an engineer for one 
year. The closing years of his life were 
passed at his home on Davis Creek, where his 
death occurred in July, 1895, when he was 
aged ninety years. He was a skilled mechanic 
and was recognized as an expert engineer but 
he was also widely known as a lay preacher 
and also an ordained minister in the Baptist 
church and as a lecturer on temperance. The 
death of his wife preceded his own by ten 
years. Six of their children accompanied 
them to the United States and of these two 
survive — Thomas, and Mrs. Anna Conley. 
both residents of Charleston. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



765 



Thomas Swinburn was eleven years of age 
when his parents came to West Virginia and 
ever since he has been a resident of Kanawha 
county, and of the city of Charleston since 
1879, when he came from Davis Creek to as- 
sume the duties of clerk of the Circuit court. 
He has served in other local offices and has 
been a prominent political factor for many 
years. Early in the Civil War he enlisted un- 
der Col. Charles H. Oley as a private in the 
Federal Army, a member of the 7th W. Va. 
Cavalry, and served faithfully through three 
years and five months, at the time of his hon- 
orable discharge being sergeant. He partici- 
pated in the engagements at Cross Keys, 
Freeman's Ford, second Bull Run and Droop 
Mountain, being color bearer, and in this dan- 
gerous position was seriously wounded, a 
minie ball piercing his neck and dislocating 
his shoulder. Mr. Swinburn is an educated, 
well informed and serious-thinking man. His 
writings prove that he has deep convictions 
and there is a large and increasing class whose 
opinions on the subject of temperance and 
others equally important to the well being of 
the country coincide with his. 

Mr. Swinburn was married in Kanawha 
county, to Miss E. Louise Matthews Scott, 
the last name being that of her foster parents. 
She was born in 1847, at Portsmouth, O., and 
lost her parents when young. Mr. and Mrs. 
Swinburn have had six children, as follows: 
Le Roy, who is manager of and a stockholder 
in the Elk Milling and Produce Company, 
married Henrietta Copen and has five chil- 
dren; Ralph, well known over the country as 
a cornet player, who is engaged with a rail- 
road company at Van Buren, Ark., where he 
is also the leader of the city band (married 
Lillian Givens and they have four children) ; 
Addie, who is the wife of Thomas Ullmon, re- 
siding on Penn Avenue, Charleston, and has 
three children; Maude, who resides with her 
parents; Algernon, who is a commercial trav- 
eler for the Elk Milling and Produce Com- 
pany, married Lyda Ault; and Thomas John- 
son, who is with the Elk Banking Company 
and lives at home. Mrs. Swinburn and Mrs. 
Ullmon are members of the Baptist church, 
while Miss Maude is a Presbyterian. 



P. B. ALLEN, who is engaged in the slate, 
tin and tile roofing business, at No. 11 19 
Washington street, Charleston, W. Va., is a 
well known business man of this place, of 
which he has been a resident for the past 
twenty-one years. He was born February 22, 
1867, at Lexington, Va., a son of Alexander 
M. Allen. 

P. B. Allen remained at Lexington through 
his boyhood and school period and until nine- 
teen years of age, in the meanwhile having 
learned the roofing business with J. F. Augen- 
bright. He has been in this line ever since and 
has been at his present location in Charleston 
since February, 1901. He is known as a 
thoroughly capable workman and as an honest 
and reliable business man. 

Mr. Allen was married first in 1903, to Miss 
Bertha Via, who died August 18, 1908, leav- 
ing four children: Elma A., Madeline, Clar- 
ence and Rosalie. Mr. Allen was married 
secondly, April 6, 1910, to Miss Carrie Pat- 
ton, and they have one child, Ruth. They are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
south. Politically Mr. Allen is a democrat, 
and fraternally he is identified with the Ma- 
sons and the Modern Woodmen. 

WILLARD F. COMSTOCK, one of 
Charleston's best known citizens and one who 
has done as much if not more than any one 
man in bringing about permanent improve- 
ments on property, was born in 1879 * n tms 
city, and is a son of Dr. L. L. and Man' E. 
( Ruffner) Comstock. 

Dr. L. L. Comstock was born in the State 
of New York and became a resident of 
Charleston in 1865, where he died when aged 
fifty-two years. He was a successful medical 
practitioner and was prominent in many of the 
city's activities. He was one of the leading 
supporters of the Kanawha Presbyterian 
church and was a member of the building 
committee when the present modern church 
edifice was erected. Dr. Comstock is kindly 
and gratefully remembered by his patients and 
his fellow citizens in general. He married 
Mary E. Ruffner, a daughter of Augustus 
Ruffner. Mrs. Comstock belonged to an old 
settled family of this section. She survived 



766 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



her husband until 1904. To Dr. and Mrs. 
Comstock the following children were born: 
Laura, who is the wife of J. J. Arter, now of 
Charleston, and has two children — John C. 
and Elizabeth; Harry W., who is a resident 
of Charleston; Carry L., who is the wife of 
Judge A. D. MacCorkle, and has three chil- 
dren — Alvin D., William R. and Leonora; 
Willard F. ; Mary E., who is the wife of 
Charles M. Alderson, of Charleston, and has 
three children — Mary E., Martha and an in- 
fant; and Lydia, who resides at home. 

Willard F. Comstock was educated in the 
public schools of Charleston, the University of 
West Virginia and Center College, at Ash- 
ville, Ky. He has been more or less in the 
real estate business ever since he reached his 
majority and has been very active and suc- 
cessful in promoting and improving the differ- 
ent subdivisions that almost encircle Charles- 
ton. To the improvement of the properties 
which he handles, Mr. Comstock has given 
much time and thought and the result is that 
they have been made desirable as residence sec- 
tions while equally well suited to business in- 
vestment of any kind. He has not favored 
any building not along modern lines, his idea 
being to make these subdivisions architectur- 
ally beautiful, such as will attract the best class 
of people, and he has been signally successful. 

Mr. Comstock was married at Maiden, W. 
Va., to Miss Helen Reynolds, a daughter of 
Thomas W. Reynolds. They enjoy a beauti- 
ful home which is situated at No. 1515 Vir- 
ginia street, Charleston. Since early in 1904, 
Mr. Comstock has been a member of the order 
of Elks and has taken a very active interest in 
its work and progress. He has served in nu- 
merous offices and in April, 191 1, was elected 
to that of Exalted Ruler. He is particularly 
well fitted for this office, being a man of su- 
perior education and of business and social 
prestige. 

JAME° G. CARPENTER.* who is a 
gene t " , l farmer and a justice of the peace in 
Urri<-- 'i*--Hct, resides on his farm of ninety- 
seve- nrr's, which is situated eight miles 
nor* 1 of r harleston, on Tuoner's Creek. He 
was ' tti i this district ^c^ember 1, 1866, 



and is a son of Granville and Elizabeth 
(Thaxton) Carpenter. 

Granville Carpenter was born in 1832, in 
Madison county, Va. In boyhood he came to 
Kanawha county, his parents settling on the 
farm now owned by his son, in Union district. 
He was educated for the law and the larger 
part of his life was devoted to his profession, 
his practice being both in Charleston and all 
over Kanawha county. He continued to make 
his home on his farm, owning 107 acres, in 
Union district, and died here at the age of 
seventy-two years. His burial was in the fam- 
ily cemetery on Tupper's Creek. He was not 
only a man of scholarship but an active and 
useful citizen, serving for sixteen years as a 
member of the school board, also as a justice 
of the peace and a member of the board of 
supervisors. He was a democrat in politics 
and in his religious life was a member of the 
Missionary Baptist church. He married Eliz- 
abeth Thaxton, a daughter of David Thaxton, 
of Union district, and eight children were 
born to them, namely: J. W., who lives in 
| Kanawha county; R. F., who lives in Putnam 
county; D. P., who is a resident of Kanawha 
county; Mary A., who is the wife of David 
Harker; Araminta Jane, who is the wife of 
George Thaxton, of Charleston; Melissa, who 
is the wife of James Connor, of Kanawha 
county; Julia C, who is the wife of Frederick 
Whittington ; and James G 

After his school days were over, J. G. Car- 
penter operated the coal mines on the home 
farm until 1905, since then giving some atten- 
tion to general agriculture. On January 1, 
1897, he was elected a justice of the peace on 
the Democratic ticket and his time has been 
greatly occupied with the duties of his official 
position, he having handled nearly all the jus- 
tice work of Union district for the past four- 
teen years. 

Mr. Carpenter was married first on Febru- 
ary 24, 1887, to Miss Mary J. Whittington, 
who died February 2, 1908, her burial being 
in the family cemetery. She was a daughter 
of Jesse Whittington and the mother of the 
following children : N. O., James Isaac, Jesse 
Granville, Alpha Elizabeth, Lessa Ann, Ar- 
thur E., John Wilbur and Ray. Judge Carpen- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



767 



ter was married secondly on August 29, 1909, 
to Miss Mahala J. Pugh, who is a daughter 
of Lawson and Lucinda Pugh, and they have 
one daughter, Minnie A. 

ISAAC N. SMITH, secretary and treas- 
urer of the Diamond Ice and Coal Company 
of Charleston, W. Va., was born in this city 
thirty-five years ago and is a son of Isaac N. 
and a grandson of Benjamin H. Smith. 
Shortly after completing his education in 
Washington-Lee University, Mr. Smith be- 
came associated with his present company and 
additionally is interested in other business en- 
terprises here. The Diamond Ice and Coal 
Company was incorporated in 1883 and its offi- 
cials are all men of capital and business stand- 
ing, Frederick M. Staunton being president. 
Mr. Smith has been secretary and treasurer 
since 1897. . 

Mr. Smith was married at Charleston to 
Miss Elizabeth Danna, a daughter of Col. J. 
E. Danna. She was born at Charleston and 
attended school here and at Morristown, N. J. 
They have five children, Isaac Noyes, Cathe- 
rine Danna, Eugene Danna, Elizabeth Ade- 
laide, and Christopher Quarrier. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith are members of the Kanawha 
Presbyterian church. He is independent in 
politics. 

THE BROUN FAMILY, with the Ball, 
Conway, Gaskins, McAdam and other 
kindred of William and Janetta Broun 
of Northern Neck, Va., compiled by 
Thomas L. Broun, of Charleston, W. Va. — 

William Ball was born in London in 161 5, 
married Hannah Atherold, July 2, 1644; died 
at Millenbeck, in Lancaster county, Va., in 
1680. 

Joseph Ball, son of William Ball, born 
May 24, 1649, died at Epping Forest, Lan- 
caster county, Va., in June. 171 1. He mar- 
ried twice, first Elizabeth Romney, daughter 
of William Romney, of London; second, 
Mary Johnson, widow, of Lancaster county, 
Va. Issue by the first marriage: Hannah 
Ball, who married Raleigh Travers; Eliza- 
beth Ball, who married Rev. John Carnegie; 
Esther Ball, who married Raleigh Chinn; 



Ann Ball, who married Col. Edward Conway 
of the third generation; and Joseph Ball, who 
married Frances Ravenscroft, of England. 
Issue by second marriage : Mary Ball, mother 
of George Washington. 

The maternal grandparents of George 
Washington were Joseph Ball of Lancaster 
county, Va., and Mary, his wife, who was a 
widow three times: (1) As Mary Johnson, 

widow of Johnson; (2) As Mary 

Ball, widow of Joseph Ball; (3) As Mary 
Hughes, widow of Richard Hughes. 

Joseph Ball, grandson of William Ball, was 
educated in England, married there, settled 
in London and became a prominent barrister 
at the English bar. He was the uncle of 
George Washington and brother of Ann Ball, 
wife of Edwin Conway of the third genera- 
tion. (See Hayden's Virginia Genealogies, 
and Bishop Meade's Old Churches and Fam- 
ilies in Virginia.) 

Mary Conway, daughter of Col. Edwin 
Conway and his wife, Ann Ball, married 
Thomas Gaskins, of the fourth generation 
(name originally spelled Gaskoyne). Of 
their children was Sarah Ann Gaskins, who 
married Dr. Joseph McAdam, in July, 1744, 
who was a son of Joseph McAdam and his 
wife Jane Muir, who were married in Lancas- 
ter county, Va., in July, 1712. (From the 
McAdam Family Bible published in London 
in 1698 and now in the possession of Major 
Thomas L. Broun.) 

Janetta McAdam, daughter of Dr. Joseph 
McAdam and his wife, Sarah Ann Gaskins, 
was the wife of William Brown, of Scotland. 

Eleanor Rose Conway, wife of Col. James 
Madison, Sr., and daughter of Francis Con- 
way of the third generation, was the mother 
of President James Madison. Francis Con- 
way was a half-brother of Edwin Conway, of 
the third generation. 

Edwin Conway of the second generation 
was the great-grandfather of James Madison, 
President of the United States, and also the 
great-grandfather of Janetta McAdam, the 
grandmother of Major Thomas L. Broun, and 
she was the wife of William Broun, a son of 
George and Margaret Broun, of Scotland. 
This record shows, as stated by Hayden in his 



768 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Virginia Genealogies, that the Ball family fur- 
nished George Washington and the Conway 
family furnished James Madison, to become 
the most distinguished men of their country. 
(Authorities: Hayden's Virginia Genealogies; 
William and Mary Historical Magazines, and 
Dr. Lyon G. Tyler's report on the Northern 
Neck Kindred of the Broun Family.) 

Robert and William Broun, brothers, were 
emigrants from Scotland. They came to 
America about 1740. Robert Broun settled 
on a plantation near Georgetown, in South 
Carolina, and practiced medicine, while Will- 
iam Broun settled in Northern Neck, Virginia 
and practiced law. Dr. Robert Broun was 
born in 1 711; married Elizabeth Thomas of 
South Carolina, daughter of Edward Thomas, 
and granddaughter of Rev. Samuel Thomas, 
who was the first missionary sent to South 
Carolina under the direction of the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
parts. The children of Dr. Robert Broun and 
wife were as follows: Elizabeth, who married 
John Nowell; Mary, who married Mr. Lo- 
cock ; Margaret, who married Richard Lord ; 
Archibald, who was born January 9, 1752, 
married August 17, 1780, Miss Mary Deas, 
born June 19, 1762, died March 12, 1857; 
Ann, who married first, Captain Cusack, and 
second John Huger ; Jane, who married a Mr. 
Saunders ; and Johanna. 

In the graveyard of St. James church, about 
fifteen miles from Charleston, S. C, are buried 
Dr. Robert Broun and members of the Deas 
and Sinkler families. On the tombstone of 
Dr. Robert Broun appears the following in- 
scription : 

"Sacred to the memory of Dr. Robert 
Broun, who departed this life November 25, 
1757, aged forty-three years." 

Archibald Broun, only son of Dr. Robert 
and Elizabeth (Thomas) Broun, was born at 
Charleston, S. C, January 9, 1752, and died 
December 14, 1797, and was buried in St. 
Philip's graveyard, near Charleston. S. C. 
He served his country as a captain in the War 
of the Revolution and was wounded at the 
Siege of Savannah. During the war he was 
entrusted by the State with the important 



mission to France of endeavoring to negotiate 
a loan. He was successful in his mission and 
the supplies were shipped to Charleston, but 
unfortunately the vessel was captured by the 
British and all was lost to the colonies. On 
his return to America he landed at Boston, 
Mass., and from there rode on horseback to 
Charleston, S. C. After the war he settled as 
a planter on Cooper river, where he spent the 
remainder of his life. He was a patriot, sol- 
dier, diplomat, and possessed sterling qualities 
which were creditable to his ancestry. His 
son, Archibald Broun, was a merchant in 
Charleston until 1833, and in December of that 
year moved with his family to Mobile, Ala. 
Captain Archibald Broun was a first cousin of 
Edwin Conway Broun, father of Major 
Thomas L. Broun, of Charleston, W. Va. 
The widow of Captain Archibald Broun lived 
to be ninety-five years old. She received a 
monthly pension of $40 for many years from 
the United States Government for his services 
in the War of the Revolution. 

The Huger, Deas, Singleton, Lesesne, Man- 
ning, Sinkler and other South Carolina fam- 
ilies, and the Harlestons of Alabama are re- 
lated to Major Broun through Dr. Robert 
Broun and wife. (See Pedigree of Huger 
Family of South Carolina.) 

The children born to William and Janetta 
Broun, grandparents of Major Broun, of 
Charleston. W. Va., were four in number: 
George McAdam Broun, bom January 8, 
1773; Anna Lee Broun, born November 8, 
1775; Thomas Broun, born October 4, 1779; 
and Edwin Conway Broun, born March 9, 
1 781, the father of Major Thomas Lee Broun. 

The grandchildren of William and Janetta 
Broun were the children of Thomas , Broun 
and Edwin Conway Broun. Thomas Broun 
was married October 9, 1807, to Elizabeth G. 
Lee, daughter of Charles and Sarah Lee, of 
Cobb's Hall, in Northumberland county. Va., 
and had issue as follows : William Waters 
Broun, born August 27. 1808; Sarah Eliza- 
beth Broun, born September 20, 1810, married 
W r illiam Edwards: Charles Lee Broun, physi- 
cian, born March 1, 1813; Jane Ann Broun, 
married Samuel Atwill; Edwin Broun, born 
September 10, 1819; and Judith Lee Broun, 



CHRISTOPHER MASSEY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



771 



born July 26, 1823, married Octavious Law- 
son. 

Edwin Conway Broun was twice married, 
first to Maria Hale, widow of John Hale and 
daughter of Colonel Crane of Northern Neck, 
Va. Four children were born to this marriage : 
George McAdam Broun, born September 7, 
1808; James William Broun, born June 23, 
1810; Harriet Ann Broun, born October 2, 
1812, married Stephen Garland Bailey; and 
Edwin Conway Broun (2) born August 28, 
1818. 

The second marriage of Edwin Conway 
Broun was to Elizabeth Channell, daughter of 
Dr. James Channell (tradition says of Phila- 
delphia), and granddaughter of William S. 
Pickett, of Fauquier county, Va., and ten 
children were bora to then, namely : Maria 
Broun, born October 11, 1820, married Rev. 
Fouchee C. Tebbs; James Channell Broun, 
born May 15, 1822; Thomas Lee Broun, born 
December 26, 1823 ; Susan Jane Broun, born 
October 12, 1825, married Joseph M. Stevens; 
William Leroy Broun, born October 1, 1827; 
James Conway Broun, born April 1, 1829; 
Anne Eliza Broun, born November 5. 1830; 
Sarah Broun, born June 7. 1832; Elizabeth 
Ellen Broun, born April 18. 1834; and Jo- 
seph McAdam Broun, born December 23, 
1835. (From the Family Bible now in the 
possession of Major Thomas L. Broun, of 
Charleston.) Edwin Conway Broun died in 
August, 1839, at Middleburg, Loudon 
county, Va. When the above compilation was 
completed, in October, 19 10, the only surviv- 
ing children were Major Thomas L. Broun 
and Mrs. Susan J. Stevens, of Asheville. N. C. 

HOWARD R. HARTMAN. secretary and 
treasurer of the Charleston Milling and Prod- 
uce Company of Charleston. W. Va.. is a fac- 
tor in the business affairs of Charleston and a 
member of the above mentioned business con- 
cern. He was born December 12. 1873, at 
Shickshinny. Luzerne county. Pa., and is a 
son of Emanuel and Rachel (McDaniels) 
Hartman. 

Emanuel Hartman and wife were both born 
in Pennsylvania, but as a plaster contractor 
came to Charleston and died in this city in 



1907, at the age of sixty-two years. He was 
a Democrat in his political views. His widow 
survives and resides with her son, Howard R. 
Hartman. She has another son. Robert L., 
who was born in 1886, and who is a clerk with 
the Charleston Milling and Produce Company. 
Neither son is married. The mother is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Mr. Hartman was connected with the cler- 
ical department of the Stevens Coal Company 
of Kanawha county for some time, but for the 
past eighteen months has been capably filling 
his present position as secretary-treasurer of 
the Milling and Produce Company. He is a 
Mason and a member of Beni-Kedem Tem- 
ple. Mystic Shrine. 

L. CHRISTOPHER MASSEY. county 
clerk of Kanawha county, W. Va., and a prom- 
inent Republican politician and representative 
citizen, was born in Raleigh county. W. Va., 
April 26, 1878, and is a member of one of the 
old Virginia families of importance. This 
family dates back more than a century in the 
history of the state of Virginia, and it has been 
prominent in the affairs of the communities in 
which its members found a home, both in the 
professions and the trades. 

William Massey. the great-grandfather of 
L. Christopher Massey, was born in Virginia 
more than 100 years ago and died in 1885, an 
aged man, in Raleigh county. W. Va., to which 
he had moved during the Civil war. He was 
a farmer and man of affairs in that county and 
followed agricultural pursuits. His children 
bore the following names : Steel. Jackson, 
Henry. Floyd. William. Clark, Ruhama. Mar- 
tha, and Mrs. Larkin F. Allen, who resides in 
Raleigh county. Ruhama deceased, was the 
widow of John Bradford, and Martha was the 
widow of Elam Scarborough. 

Steel Massey. son of William and grand- 
father of L. Christopher Massey, was born in 
Raleigh county, followed fanning as an occu- 
pation and died in the prime of life. He mar- 
ried Caroline Courtley. also of Raleigh county, 
who survived him and is yet living. She sub- 
sequently married James F. Jones, residing at 
Masseyville, W. Va.. and they had two chil- 
dren : Virginia Jones, deceased, who was the 



772 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



wife of W. H. Clay; and Eliza J. Jones, who 
is the wife of Squire J. L. Clay, of Raleigh 
county. The following children were born to 
Steel Massey and wife : George W. ; Henry, a 
farmer in Raleigh county ; and Mary, now 
deceased, who married and reared a family. 

George W. Massey was born in Raleigh 
county in 185 1, where he spent his entire life 
and died of typhoid fever, in November, 1895. 
He was a farmer and owned an excellent prop- 
erty which is still in the possession of the fam- 
ily. He was quite prominent for many years 
in local politics and possessed all the hospitable 
instincts of the true southern gentleman. At 
his fireside also were always welcomed minis- 
ters of every faith and while his attitude was 
liberal minded, practical support was extended 
to all denominations. He was married in his 
native county to Miss Lydia Rosabelle Acord, 
who was born near Charleston, W. Va. Her 
mother is now deceased but her father, William 
C. Acord, Esq., still lives in Raleigh county, 
being now in his eightieth year. To George 
W. Massey and wife the following children 
were born: Romanza, who married Lewis H. 
Petry, now residing in Raleigh county, has one 
son and four daughters: L. Christopher; Rob- 
ert L. and Mary J., twins, the former of whom 
is a farmer near Charleston, married first. Lucy 
Snodgrass, and second Twila Pringle, has a 
daughter to each marriage; Mary J., who is 
the wife of Robert L. Hopkins, of Mercer 
county. W. Va., and they have two sons and 
three daughters; Lura B., who is the wife of 
R. L. Williams, of Masseyville; Arizona, who 
is the wife of C. W. Tabor, postmaster at Sax- 
ton, W. Va. ; Calvin W., who is postmaster at 
Masseyville, married Josephine Bradford and 
they have one son and two daughters ; Vir- 
ginia A., a cultured and educated lady, who is 
a teacher in the public schools, resides with 
her mother at Masseyville ; and Ettie, who 
died in childhood. Mrs. Massey married for 
her second husband, William G. Daniels, of 
an old pioneer family of Raleigh county. 

L. Christopher Massey was educated in the 
public schools and the Concord Normal school 
and for thirteen years was a teacher. When 
Masseyville, a town named in his honor, be- 
came of sufficient importance to be made a 



postoffice, his brother, C. W. Massey, was 
made the first postmaster and is still serving in 
that position. For some time L. Christopher 
Massey was manager for the Black Band Coal 
and Coke Company and during this time in 
1903, he was appointed a justice of the peace 
to fill out an unexpired term. In 1905 he was 
nominated by the Republican party and elected 
to the state legislature, serving for two years. 
In 1907 he was appointed a member of the 
board of education, having always taken a 
deep interest in the public school system. Mr. 
Massey has risen rapidly and continuously 
since his first entrance into politics, having 
been very active and unselfishly useful in party 
matters and is in close touch with its leaders 
in this section. In 1907 he was chairman of 
the Senatorial County Committee and is now 
chairman of the Third Congressional District 
Committee, consisting of ten counties. In 
1908 he was elected county clerk, to serve for 
six years. During his term in office the county 
indebtedness of nearly $200,000 has been 
wiped out, which has been largely due to his 
and the present court's care and watchfulness. 
The county bonds had fallen as low as sixty 
cents on the dollar and now are held at par. 

On March 1. 1904, Mr. Massey was mar- 
ried in Kanawha county, to Miss Mary J. 
Mathews, who was born and reared near 
Charleston, where she attended school. She is 
a daughter of Captain J. W. and Josephine 
(Walker) Mathews, natives of this county. 
Captain Mathews gained his title as an officer 
in the Confederate army during the Civil war. 
He survived the rigors of military life but was 
so seriously wounded at a later date, in a rail- 
road wreck, that his health was impaired and 
death resulted. The grandfather of Mrs. 
Massey was Guy P. Mathews, who also served 
as a soldier in the Confederate army. Mr. 
and Mrs. Massey have two children : Guy 
Mathews, born February 13, 1906; and Eus- 
tace Lee, born January 15, 1908. Mr. and 
Mrs. Massey are members of the Presbyterian 
church. He is active in the work of the Y. M. 
C. A. and is prominent in fraternal life. He 
belongs to Kanawha Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. 
M., Chapter and Commandery and is also a 
Shriner; to Spring Hill Lodge, No. 140, Odd 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



773 



Fellows, Spring Hill ; to Tiskelwah Chapter of 
the Eastern Star, of which he is worthy pat- 
ron; and to the Elks, at Charleston. 

J. R. HEREFORD, dealer in staple and 
fancy groceries at Nos. 105-107 Charleston 
street, Charleston, W. Va., was born Decem- 
ber 25, 1868, at Red House, W. Va., a son of 
Sydenham and Mary (Bur ford) Hereford, 
both of whom were born in Virginia and both 
are now deceased. 

John Randolph Hereford obtained his edu- 
cation in the public schools and in boyhood 
began to assist his father in the latter's store 
and later was in the employ of his brother at 
St. Albans. In 1890 he went into business for 
himself, buying a small stock from B. F. Mor- 
ris at Red House, which he subsequently sold 
to the firm of Peterford & Wise, after which 
he spent five years as a clerk for the Winifrede 
Coal Company. In 1908 he purchased his 
present business from W. N. Hewly and is 
prospering, having a heavy trade of a substan- 
tial nature and finding it necessary to run two 
wagons in order to accommodate it. He car- 
ries first class goods and enjoys the reputation 
of being a dependable business man. 

Mr. Hereford was married June 25, 1890, 
to Miss Mary Alice Thomas, who is a daugh- 
ter of the late J. C. Thomas. They are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Here- 
ford is identified with the Knights of Pythias 
at Charleston, where he owns considerable real 
estate, including his residence at No. 300 
Pennsylvania avenue. 

MISS MABEL DELLE JONES, librarian 
of the Charleston Public Library, at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., is a lady thoroughly qualified for 
the position, a graduate of a number of insti- 
tutions of learning, in several of which she di- 
rected her studies along the lines which she 
had chosen as her life work. Miss Jones has 
the natural love of books and the cultivated 
appreciation of good literature which combine 
to make the ideal librarian. She was born in 
the eighties, at Patriot, near Gallipolis, Gallia 
county, O., the fifth child of Jenkin N. and 
Mary (Davies) Jones. 

Miss Jones is of Welsh-English extraction, 



both of her grandfathers having been born in 
Wales, where the families reached back many 
generations. Nathaniel Jones, her great- 
grandfather, was born and reared in Glamor- 
ganshire, Wales, was a veterinary surgeon and 
followed his profession in the town of Ter- 
garon. He was a noted advocate of temper- 
ance and was a man of religious profession. 
He was the father of six sons and four daugh- 
ters and of these his eldest son he named for 
himself. It was the desire and hope of the 
elder Nathaniel that the younger should be- 
come a professional man, preferably a minis- 
ter in the church of England, and with this 
end in view the youth was placed under the 
instruction of a high dignitary of the church. 
Young Nathaniel was taught the English lan- 
guage and could converse in it when he came 
to America in 1840, accompanied by his wife, 
Elizabeth (Davies) Jones and a brother, 
James Jones, the last named subsequently 
meeting death during the Civil War while 
serving under General Burnside. Grandfather 
Jones settled first near Pittsburg, Pa., later 
moving to southeastern Ohio, where his death 
occurred in 1879, at the age of sixty-five 
years. Nathaniel Jones was married in Wales 
to Elizabeth, daughter of Jenkin Davies, of 
Kelkinyon, the name of their country place 
being always spoken in connection with the 
name. This farm was situated about eight 
miles from Calverthian, Cardiganshire, Wales. 
Eight children were born to the above mar- 
riage, four sons and four daughters, all of 
whom survive except two. 

Jenkin N. Jones, of the above family, son 
of Nathaniel and father of Miss Mabel Delle 
Jones, was only seventeen years of age when 
he enlisted for service in the Civil War, serv- 
ing out a first enlistment in the 100-day call, 
in the 60th O. Vol. Inf., and afterward re- 
enlisting in the 141st O. Vol. Inf., for three 
years. The war came to an end, however, 
before the close of his second term of service. 
In his earlier years he was a bridge contractor 
and since early manhood has always been a 
farmer. He continues to reside in Gallia 
county, O., where he owns more than two 
hundred acres of land. He married for his 
first wife, Mary Davies, who was then eight- 



774 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



een years of age. She died February 7, 1893, 
from blood poisoning. She was a most sac- 
rificing mother, one who made extensive plans 
to provide for the higher education of her chil- 
dren. She did not survive to see all of these 
come to fruition but at the time of her death 
the eldest child was a student in the little col- 
lege of Rio Grande. In large degree the elder 
daughter, Elizabeth, to whom the younger sis- 
ter pays loving tribute, endeavored to carry 
out the mother's wishes and almost all the 
younger members of the family enjoyed col- 
lege life and advantages. In 1897, Mr. Jones 
was married secondly to Miss Katherine 
Lewis, of Oak Hill, O., and one daughter was 
born to them, Frances, who is aged thirteen 
years. 

The mother of Miss Jones was the fourth 
child of Rev. John A. and Elizabeth (Reese) 
Davies. Rev. John A. Davies was born Sep- 
tember 5, 1805, at Llanfair Careinion, Mont- 
gomeryshire, Wales, a son of Richard and 
Elizabeth (Savage) Davies, the eldest of 
three children. His father died when he, 
John, was sixteen years of age. His mother 
directed the training of this son for the minis- 
try and his schooling was begun in the parish 
house of the church of England. He 
preached his first sermon in 1823, at Sardis, 
Abersychan, when he was but eighteen years 
old. In 1824 he went to New Town to preach 
and while there he attended college. In 1836 
he received a call to Sardis, where he was 
ordained in April of that year and continued 
in charge there until 1841, when he sailed for 
America, accompanied by his mother. At that 
time there were no Congregational churches 
in Ohio between Marietta and Cincinnati, and 
at Oak Hill, Gallia county, there were neither 
English nor Welsh churches. It was at this 
place that he organized the first Congrega- 
tional church, in 1841 ; in 1842 one at Carmel 
and Pomeroy ; in 1850 churches at Centerville, 
Portsmouth and Ironton; and in i860 at Tyn 
Rhos and Siloam. He was also greatly in- 
terested in organizing Sunday-schools in both 
English and Welsh and between 1841 and 
i860 did a large amount of missionary work 
in that section of Ohio. He was an authority 
on church law in which he was one of the 



foremost men of his time, and he exerted a 
great influence for good on the Welsh settlers. 
In 1 84 1 he married Elizabeth Reese, the 
maiden name of whose mother was Eleanor 
Richards. To this union eight children were 
born, five sons and three daughters and all 
survive except three. From Oak Hill Rev. 
Mr. Davies moved with his family into Perry 
township, Gallia county, where he lived until 
1889, when he passed to his reward. 

Mabel Delle Jones attended the country 
school at Patriot and then completed the high 
school course in the Gallia Academy High 
School at Gallipolis. O., in 1904. In the fall 
of that year she entered the freshman class of 
Oberlin College, where she spent the fresh- 
man and sophomore years, taking junior year 
work at Miami University at Oxford, O. She 
then passed the examination to the Library 
Schools of Drexel, Philadelphia and of the 
Western Reserve University Library School at 
Cleveland, O., chose the latter and completed 
the course in library science in 1908. Miss 
Jones assisted in the library at Gallipolis, O., 
until June, 1909. when she was invited to 
come to Charleston to organize the public li- 
brary, an enterprise which she has successfully 
carried out and in a manner that reflects a 
large amount of credit upon her. 

HON. EMANUEL WILLIS WILSON, 
whose name will go down in the annals of 
West Virginia as a chief executive of more 
than usual courage, firmness and public effi- 
ciency, and as an honorable, conscientious 
statesman, possessed qualifications that fitted 
him also for many other useful activities. He 
was born August 11, 1844. at Harper's Fern-, 
Va., a son of James Fitzgerald and Maria 
( Spangler) Wilson. On the paternal side his 
ancestry was English and on the maternal, 
Scotch. 

Like many another man who has risen to 
prominence, Governor Wilson had but ordi- 
nary advantages in early life. He subse- 
quently became well equipped in science, his- 
tory and politics, but his varied educational 
accomplishments were built on the foundation 
of the knowledge he had acquired in the com- 
mon schools of his day, supplemented by a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



775 



commercial course in a business college. Hav- 
ing determined upon law as a career, it re- 
quired courage and determination to delve 
into its mysteries and complexities alone and 
unassisted, and still further courage to pursue 
the study to a successful issue and to pass the 
examinations which gained him admittance to 
the bar, in 1869. Together with iaw he stud- 
died politics: in 1870 he was elected to repre- 
sent Jefferson county in the state legislature, 
and in 1872 he represented his district in the 
state senate. This was while residing in Jef- 
ferson county, and during his senatorial term 
he fought and won some important legislative 
battles, the bill that prevented the transfer of 
the rights of the Kanawha river to a corpora- 
tion, giving rise to one of the most notable. 

In September, 1874, Senator Wilson moved 
to Kanawha county. Two years later he was 
elected from his new environment to the state 
legislature, and was re-elected in 1880. Again 
he proved a wise and far-seeing legislator, and 
made speeches and worked without ceasing to 
bring about the passing of laws favorable to 
the people and in restraint of corporate greed. 
In 1880 he was elected speaker of the House, 
and in this position he displayed a thorough 
knowledge and comprehension of its duties. 
His personal popularity was much increased 
thereby and it was said of him, when he was 
nominated for the gubernatorial chair, at 
Wheeling, in 1884, that monopolistic greed 
had received a severe blow. After a hotly con- 
tested canvas he was safely elected, on the 
Democratic ticket, and assumed the duties of 
office with the grave sense of public responsi- 
bility that marked all his actions, continuing 
not only until the close of his term. March 4, 
1889, but afterward until the contested elec- 
tion of his successor was definitely decided. 
This contest forms an interesting part of the 
history of West Virginia. 

On April 27, 1874. Governor Wilson was 
married to Miss Henrietta S. Cotton, a daugh- 
ter of Dr. John T. Cotton, of Charleston, in 
which city Mrs. Wilson still resides, her beau- 
tiful home being located at No. 510 Capitol 
street. Governor Wilson died May 28, 1905. 
He left three children, — Ashton Fitzhugh ; 



Willis, wife of Barksdale Lathrope, of Rich- 
mond. Va. ; and Nan Cotton. 

EDWARD CHRISTIAN BAUER * pres- 
ident and treasurer of the Bauer Meat and 
Fish Company, at Charleston, W. Va., with 
admirable business quarters at Nos. 28-30 
Capitol street, was born at Cincinnati, O., and 
is a son of Edward C. and Margaret (Katten- 
baum) Bauer. 

The parents of Mr. Bauer were born in 
Heidelberg, Germany, came to America in the 
later forties and lived in the city of Cincin- 
nati until the close of their lives. They were 
members of the Lutheran church. By trade 
the father was a shoemaker. Seven sons were 
born and but two now survive, Edward Chris- 
tian and his eldest brother, Robert, who con- 
ducts a stationery store in Cincinnati. 

Edward Christian Bauer was the youngest 
of his parents' sons and is now forty-five years 
of age. He was educated in the public schools 
of Cincinnati and since reaching manhood 
close attention to business has marked his life 
and the time has come when he is able to enjoy 
some of the rewards that industry is pretty 
sure to produce. In 1888 he came to Charles- 
ton, already being equipped with a thorough 
knowledge of the meat and fish business but 
this was about his only capital. Borrowing 
$150 he embarked in the business with the 
firm determination to succeed and mainly 
through his energy, good judgment and ac- 
knowledged integrity this concern has been de- 
veloped into one that does an annual business 
of $125,000. In June, 1907, the business was 
incorporated. Mr. Bauer's associates are also 
practical men in this line and respected citizens 
of Charleston. William J. Buck is vice presi- 
dent of the company and one of the directors, 
and G. R. Edgar is secretary. The firm does 
some wholesale jobbing, carrying only fine 
stock and aiming to supply the very best trade. 

Mr. Bauer married Miss Clara Bentz, who 
was born and reared at Charleston, a daughter 
of Henry Bentz, who came from Germany and 
married a German lady in this city. They 
spent their subsequent lives here. Thev were 
members of the Lutheran church, as are Mr. 
and Mrs. Bauer. He takes an active part in 



776 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



public affairs, belongs to the Chamber of 
Commerce and is a liberal supporter of all 
public spirited movements. In politics he is a 
Republican. He is a charter member and 
treasurer of the lodge of Elks at Charleston. 

HENRY RUMMEL, manager of the 
Charleston Bottling Works, at No. 310^ 
Capitol street, Charleston, W. Va., is one of 
the well known business men of this city, 
which has been his home for forty years. He 
was born in Meigs county, O., July 27, 1847, 
and is a son of Henry Rummel, who was of 
German extraction. 

Henry Rummel, who bears his father's 
name, learned the bottling business at Pome- 
roy, O., where he was reared, and on March 1, 
1871, came to Charleston and opened bottling 
works on the present site of the city water 
works. He began in a small way and in the 
following year located his works on the Elk 
river, moving in 1876 to Capitol street and 
from there, in 1881, to Summer street, where 
he continued for fifteen years. In October, 
1907, he moved to his present location, where 
he gives employment to twelve people and 
manufactures soft drinks of all kinds, bottling 
coca kola, and shipipng to different parts of 
West Virginia. His business has steadily in- 
creased year by year and is now one of large 
volume. 

In May, 1872, Mr. Rummel was married to 
Miss Mary B. Newhouse, a daughter of the 
late Thomas Newhouse, who was an old resi- 
dent of Charleston, and nine children were 
born to them, namely: H. Dell, who is a 
prominent lawyer, a graduate of Johns Hop- 
kins University, and now assistant U. S. Dis- 
trict Attorney of West Virginia, who married 
Ruth Milard; Elizabeth; Hollister Smith, who 
is a resident of Texas; Frances, who is the 
wife of Luther C. Anderson, an attorney: 
Rachel ; Blanche, who is the wife of Prof. 
John H. Francis, of Charleston; Beatrice; 
Atherton, who is foreman in his father's 
works; and Bryan D. Mr. Rummel is identi- 
fied with the Odd Fellows. 

WHIRLEY B. GEARY* proprietor of 
the Fleetwood Hotel at Charleston, W. Va., is 



a man well and favorably known throughout 
this section and to the traveling public gener- 
ally. He is a son of William Alexander 
Geary, and a grandson of Matthew Geary, 
who came to this country from Ireland in 
1820. 

Matthew Geary was born in County Down, 
Ireland, and was a weaver by trade. On com- 
ing to America in early manhood, he settled 
first in Pennsylvania, but subsequently re- 
moved to the Salt Licks on the Kanawha river, 
where he engaged in the manufacture of salt, 
making also the barrels in which it was 
shipped, and disposing of his product to a 
man by the name of Ruffner, with whom he 
was thus associated for a number of years. 
While traveling through the wilderness, buy- 
ing staves for his barrels, he met Almira Ash- 
ley, who became his wife in 1825. She was 
the daughter of John Ashley, who moved from 
North Carolina in 18 10, when she was four 
years old, to the place now known as Osborne's 
Mills. Roane county, he being the fourth set- 
tler in the then dense wilderness. Matthew 
Geary and wife lived from 1825 to 1834 on 
the Kanawha river. They then moved to Os- 
borne's Mills, in which locality the rest of their 
lives were spent. He died January 24. 1865, 
aged 72 years, 9 months and 16 days. His 
wife survived him many years, passing away 
October 8, 1894, aged 87 years, 7 months and 
24 days. A member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, she was a devoted and consistent 
Christian woman, a "mother in Israel," be- 
loved by all who knew her. Brave, heroic and 
unselfish, she was well fitted for the arduous 
duties that fell to the lot of a pioneer's wife. 
Matthew Geary, while he belonged to no 
church, had unwavering faith in a merciful 
God. He was noted for his peculiarities, his 
kindness of heart and his unfailing justice in 
all his dealings with men. He was one of the 
four men appointed to district Roane county, 
and Geary district was named in his honor. 
He was appointed justice of the peace, in which 
capacity he served till he died, and it is said 
that he never had a decision revoked. He 
was heard to say. "The Golden Rule is my 
code of religion;" and it is said by those who 
remember him that he lived up to it as thor- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



777 



oughly as any mortal man could. He was the 
unfailing friend and counsellor of all around 
him. He never shirked his duty to his fellow 
man, however difficult or dangerous it might 
be. He was a friend to the needy, a father to 
the fatherless. He took William Hall, father 
of Hon. Grant Hall, of Kanawha county, when 
he was eight years old, his parents having 
died, reared him to manhood and deeded him 
100 acres of land, and he performed many 
other similar acts of generosity, they having 
been related by the Hon. B. J. Taylor, who is 
well acquainted with the leading facts of his 
life. 

Another old friend, Mr. John Slack, adds 
his testimony to the above, when he says that 
"Mr. Geary was at least 50 years ahead of his 
time — a man of much force of character and 
a natural leader. He had remarkable concen- 
tration of mind and could make a statement 
or tell a good story in fewer words and more 
to the point than most men. He was not only 
smart but honest, and though he had no 
early education, yet he was a well read man." 
He owned a large piece of land, containing 
more than 10,000 acres and was greatly inter- 
ested in public improvements. He had to do 
with the building of the turnpike between 
Charleston and Point Pleasant. At the time 
he was appointed justice of the peace, that 
office meant much more than it does today, in- 
cluding a wide jurisdiction and covering al- 
most everything connected with the preserva- 
tion of law and order. It hence fell to him to 
exercise a wide discretion and he was never 
found wanting in sound judgment and a com- 
mon sense interpretation of the law. Such 
was this admirable citizen, whose name and 
personality were known far and wide through- 
out the Kanawha Valley, and who, conscious 
of his inmost rectitude, and knowing that he 
had done his duty as he saw it, exclaimed just 
before he passed away, "The God I served will 
not condemn me." 

Matthew Geary and wife were the parents 
of fifteen children, nine of whom lived to be 
heads of families — two sons and two daugh- 
ters. Seven of these latter are still living 
(March, 191 1), two daughters having died. 
Of their descendants there are living altogether 



seven children, seventy-nine grandchildren, 
133 great-grandchildren, and thirty-two great- 
great-grandchildren, who are scattered through 
several different states, among them being rep- 
resented the various avocations in life, with 
the exception, it is said, of lawyers. During 
the Civil war Matthew Geary was a staunch 
Unionist, and he almost lived to attain his 
earnest wish — that of seeing the Union arms 
triumphant. 

William Alexander Geary, son of the above 
mentioned, and father of the subject of this 
sketch, was born on his father's farm at Os- 
borne's Mills, Big Sandy Creek, Geary dis- 
trict, Roane county, W. Va., in 1846. He 
was reared on the paternal homestead, where 
he has since lived, and of which he is now the 
owner. 

The parents of our subject had children as 
follows : Samuel V. is a resident of Chicago, 
holding a responsible position in the employ 
of the B. & O. Railroad; he is unmarried. 
Annie is the wife of P. S. Young, a real estate 
dealer at Clendenin, and her children are 
Otho, Joanna and Mary E. Matthew is inter- 
ested extensively in gold mines in Idaho, in 
association with his uncle, B. W. Geary. He 
is married and has a son, James. Melvin, who 
is unmarried, is interested in copper mines in 
Huston, Idaho. Ora B., who is the wife of 
T. E. Vineyard, a merchant and broker of 
Spencer, W. Va. Whirley, is the direct sub- 
ject of this sketch. James is superintendent 
for the gas company at Spencer and also for 
the Ohio Fuel Oil Company. William, unmar- 
ried, is a machinist at Portsmouth, Ohio. 
Okey J., unmarried, is interested in the oil 
business in Roane and Kanawha counties, W. 
Va. 

Whirley B. Geary was born at Osborne's 
Mills, twenty-eight years ago. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools and at the age of 
sixteen, with money he had earned for him- 
self, he entered the state normal school at 
Athens, Mercer county, W. Va. After finish- 
ing the course there he taught school for one 
term. Later he entered the employ of W. N. 
Gwinn, a merchant, and afterwards he was 
with Foster Hardward, of Huntington, W. 
Va. Subsequent to this he was with the 



778 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charleston Hardware Company of this city 
and spent two years in becoming thoroughly 
acquainted with the business, resigning the 
place to become president of the Perfect Gas 
Stove Manufacturing Company, manufactur- 
ing the 'Wilson Gas Stove. After two years 
he sold out his interest in this concern and 
purchased Jarrett & Kehoe's shoe business and 
started the Diamond Shoe Store, now at 215 
Capital street, the finest retail shoe supply 
house in the state of West Virginia. In 1909 
Mr. Geary became interestetd with A. C. Law- 
rence in he Fleetwood hotel, six months later 
purchasing the entire interest. In July, 1910, 
he took charge of and became sole proprietor 
of the Elk hotel, located near the K. & M. R. 
R. station, in addition to which he has some 
valuable real estate holdings. These various 
enterprises keep him fully occupied and find 
scope for his superabundant energy, which, 
backed as it is, by a keen business acumen, has 
already placed him in the front rank of the 
hustling, wide-awake young business men of 
the city. He is an active supporter of the re- 
publican party in politics and fraternally be- 
longs to the Order of Elks. 

ROBERT R. STEELE, undertaker and 
licensed embalmer, at Charleston. W. Ya.. has 
been a resident of this city since December, 
1899, and is one of the representative business 
men and substantial citizens. He was born at 
McArthur, Vinton county, O.. May 6. 1877, 
and is a son of Jasper and Mary ( Frvin) 
Steele. 

Jasper Steele was born in Center county. 
Pa., a son of Robert Moore Steele, the latter 
of whom was a school teacher, as was also his 
wife. Caroline B. Leibrick Steele. They came 
to Ohio from Pennsylvania and lived into old 
age. Jasper Steele taught school in Ohio for 
twenty-six years and was principal of the 
schools of McArthur. Jackson and Wellston. 
O. In 1877 he was admitted to the bar but 
never practiced law to any great extent. He 
was a thoroughly educated man and in educa- 
tional work found his greatest pleasure. For 
fifteen years he was, however, otherwise en- 
gaged, when the school board of Jackson 
county asked him to resume charge of a school. 



setting aside all question of examination. Mr. 
Steele, however, insisted on passing an exami- 
nation just as the younger teachers were com- 
pelled to do, and received a certificate for a 
term of two years. He taught but one term, 
however, and then retired and still resides at 
Wellston. He married Mary Ervin, who was 
born in Ohio, and they had four children : 
Rhoda M., who is the wife of Orren Braley; 
Ervin D.. who is with his brother Robert R.. 
in business; Robert R. ; and John D., who is 
a resident of \Yellston, O. 

Robert R. Steele attended the public schools 
at W ellston until he was twelve years old, at 
which age he began to be self supporting, 
working as a delivery boy in the grocery store 
of James Winkelman, after which he was with 
A. Hobt, in the shoe and harness business for 
two years. He then left Wellston and went to 
Rutland, O., where he was with R. H. Rawl- 
ings & Sons, harness manufacturers and un- 
dertakers. In the fall of 1895 he attended the 
Massachusetts College of Embalming and re- 
ceived his certificate in 1895. He then took 
charge of the firm's undertaking business and 
continued there for seven years. In Decem- 
ber. 1899. Mr. Steele came to Charleston and 
entered the employ of Killinger Brothers, then 
undertakers and furniture dealers here, and 
after one year with that firm entered into part- 
nership with Mr. Simpson, under the firm 
name of Simpson & Steele, undertakers, on 
Capitol street. In December. 1904, he sold his 
interest to Mr. Simpson and went out on the 
road for the Durfee Embalming Fluid Com- 
pany, and during 1905 and 1906 covered 
twenty-one states. In 1907 he embarked in 
business for himself, on Virginia street, 
Charleston, and on December 1. 19 10, moved 
to his present location. He has well appointed 
quarters and carries all the necessary appurte- 
nances for appropriate, reasonable and digni- 
fied undertaking and funeral directing. He 
has diplomas from the Massachusetts College 
of Embalming. Barnes College of Embalming 
and Eckels School of Embalming and in 1900 
passed the State Board of Embalmers of West 
Virginia, receiving license No. 29. and after 
the law was changed, in 1908 received license 
No. 245. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



779 



Mr. Steele was married January 8. 1908, to 
Miss Ethel D. Hooper, a daughter of Ira W. 
and Alice W. (Barton) Hooper, and they have 
one little daughter, Alice Pauline. They are 
members of the First Methodist Episcopal 
church, south, at Charleston, in which Mr. 
Steele is a steward. He is identified with the 
Elks, Knights of Pythias and Modern Wood- 
men, all at Charleston. 

OTIS L. AULTZ, M. D., physician and 
surgeon and commissioner of health in the city 
of Charleston, W. Va., is also a representative 
citizen of Charleston outside of his profession. 
He was born in 1867, in Union district, Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., and is a son of Henry 
Fry Aultz, and a grandson of Adam Aultz. 

Adam Aultz was of German ancestry. Per- 
haps he was born in that part of West Virginia 
now known as Kanawha county and it is cer- 
tain that he lived and died here. He married 
Martha Samuels, who survived him for twenty 
years, dying when in her ninetieth year. They 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and this has been the family faith in 
the succeeding generations. 

Henry Fry Aultz was born in what is now 
Kanawha county and died in 1884, aged fifty- 
one years. He was a man of fine presence and 
was distinguished for his personal bravery. 
He was active and interested in politics and 
served in numerous local offices and for twelve 
years was a deputy sheriff. During the Civil 
War he was appointed a United States marshal 
and no braver man ever faced the certain haz- 
ards that such a commission included. One 
incident proving his courage and determina- 
tion, among the hundreds that could be re- 
lated, is the following story. In the course of 
his duties at one time it became necessary to 
transfer a number of state prisoners from 
Charleston, W. Va.. to Richmond, Va., and 
at the same time, carry $20,000 in cash. The 
distance to be covered was 200 miles and as 
there were no railroads on the route, the trip 
had to be made across country and on horse- 
back. It so happened that but one guard was 
available and with this slight assistance, Mar- 
shal Aultz started out on the hazardous expe- 
dition, carefully planning every move, and 



successfully and expeditiously delivered men 
and money. It was considered a remarkable 
feat and a great test of courage. 

Henry Fry Aultz was married in Jackson 
county, W. Va., to Miss Mahala Jane Van 
Dine, whose ancestors came to America from 
Holland. Mrs. Aultz survives and although 
now in her seventy-third year is quite well and 
in the enjoyment of every faculty. She fre- 
quently makes the trip between Parkersburg 
and Charleston, W. Va., a distance of 150 
miles, and with as much ease and independence 
as her children. Five children were born to 
Henry F. Aultz and wife — Erna, Adam E., 
Katherine, Julia and Otis L. Erna married 
Dr. David Thomas, of Red House, W. Va. 
Adam E. was graduated from Marshall Col- 
lege at Huntington, also from the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., 
and from Bellevue Medical College, New York 
City, at the age of twenty-five years. He 
afterward took a post-graduate course at the 
New York Polyclinic. Subsequently he prac- 
ticed his profession at Richmond, Ky., for 
seven years. He was a prominent citizen and 
politician of Union district, a member of the 
legislature and a strong supporter of Nathan 
B. Goff. He died suddenly from the effects 
of an accident, while visiting his brother, Otis 
L., in Kanawha county. Katherine is the wife 
of James Woodward, now residing at St. 
Louis. Mo., and has two sons. Julia is the 
wife of Dr. J. J. Goff, a physician at Parkers- 
burg and has a daughter, Katherine Jane. 

Otis L. Aultz attended Huntington College, 
AY. Va., and the Ohio Wesleyan University, 
after which he entered the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., where 
he was graduated in the class of 1891. Sub- 
sequently he took a post-graduate course, in 
1896, at the New York Polyclinic College. 
For twelve years Dr. Aultz practiced medicine 
in Union district and then came to Charleston 
where his professional field and opportunities 
were larger. Here he has long been in the 
enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice 
and has met with the appreciation which en- 
courages a man of scientific attainments and 
love . for his profession. He is a member of 
the Kanawha County Medical Society, the 



780 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



West Virginia State Medical Society, and the 
American Medical Association. He has been 
an active and interested citizen in all that per- 
tains to the well-being and advancement of 
Charleston and served one term in the city 
council. For ten years he has been county 
physician and for two years city physician, 
and he attends all the contagious patients who 
are sent to the infirmary outside the city limits. 
In 1909 he was appointed to the important 
position of commissioner of health, by the 
mayor of Charleston, being the second incum- 
bent under the present law. 

Dr. Aultz was married in Kanawha county 
to Miss Leslie Shirkey, who is a graduate of 
Marshall College, of the class of 1888,- and 
they have two daughters, — Katherine Jane, 
born in 1902; and Julia E. Both daughters 
are creditable students and agreeable and at- 
tractive children. Dr. and Mrs. Aullz are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
He is a Mason of high degree, and a 
"Shriner," and belongs also to the Knights of 
Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Elks. 

J. ROSS HUNTER, superintendent of the 
Sheltering Arms Hospital, at Hansford, W. 
Va., has occupied his present responsible posi- 
tion since October, 1907. He was born at 
New Sterling, North Carolina, February 26, 
1880, and is a son of Rev. William and Mon- 
ica Nisbet Hunter, his father being a minister 
in the United Presbyterian church. 

After completing his course at Erskine Col- 
lege, S. C, J. Ross Hunter taught school in 
that state for two years and then entered upon 
the study of medicine in the Medical College 
of Virginia, at Richmond, and was graduated 
in 1903. For eighteen months afterward he 
was resident physician at St. Vincent's Hos- 
pital, at Norfolk, Va., going from there to 
Smithers Creek, in Fayette county, W. Va., 
and then coming to Hansford as superinten- 
dent of the Sheltering Arms Hospital. His 
professional associations include membership 
in the Kanawha County Medical Society; the 
West Virginia State Medical Society, and the 
American Medical Association, and he is also 
an honorary member of the Fayette County 
Medical Society. 



Dr. Hunter was married in September, 
1909, to Miss Bertha Wehrle, of Charleston, 
W. Va. He belongs to the Masonic Blue 
Lodge at Montgomery, and to the Council and 
Comma ndery at Charleston. 

STEPHEN RIGGS, a well known citizen 
of Charleston who now lives more or less re- 
tired from active business, belongs to one of 
the old families of the Kanawha Valley. He 
was born October 7, 1828, at Kanawha Falls, 
Fayette county, now West Virginia, and is a 
son of William and a grandson of Stephen 
Riggs, the latter of whom came with his fam- 
ily to this section in 1805. He moved later to 
Missouri and died there in 1855. 

William Riggs was born in 1800, one of a 
family of fourteen children, and was five years 
old when his parents came to the Kanawha 
Valley. His ancestors came first to America 
about the time of the Revolutionary War and 
located in North Carolina. When his father 
brought the family to Fayette county, they 
came on a keel-boat and his life was mainly 
spent at Kanawha Falls. He was a blacksmith 
by trade and was well known for miles around 
on account of his skill. His death occurred in 
1889. He was married in Fayette county to 
Cynthia Montgomery, who died during the 
Civil War. He kept the religious faith of his 
Scotch ancestors, but she belonged to the 
Methodist body. They had eight children, the 
survivors being: Stephen; James, who lives 
retired at Alderson, W. Va. ; William, who is 
a resident of Montgomery; John, who lives in 
Greenup county, Ky. ; and Nanna, who is the 
widow of T. W. Farley, and resides at St. 
Albans, W. Va. 

Stephen Riggs was reared at Kanawha 
Falls, attended school there and entered into 
business life as a clerk in a Charleston busi- 
ness house. In 1861 he opened a store at 
Montgomery which he conducted until 1874, 
when he returned to Charleston and for ten 
years was bookkeeper in the Kanawha Valley 
Bank. He owns a large amount of real estate 
at Charleston, which he has improved and is 
one of the city's men of large means. During 
the Civil War he was postmaster at Cannel- 
ton, which was opposite Montgomery, and still 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



781 



owns property at the former place, and prior 
to the war he had been a clerk in the postomce 
at Charleston. In 1886 he was appointed to a 
position in the revenue service and continued 
one year and at times was also called in as an 
expert accountant to audit the city books. In 
his political views he is a democrat. 

Mr. Riggs was married at Maiden, W. Va., 
to Miss Ann E. Farley, who died at her home 
in Charleston, in 1890, when aged almost 
three score years. She was a devoted member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church and an ad- 
mirable woman in every relation of life. Seven 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Riggs, one 
of whom died early, while two others, Hugh 
and Sallie, died in mature life, the former 
leaving a widow. The three surviving mem- 
bers of the family are: Harry L., who car- 
ries on a brokerage business at Charleston, 
married Julia Jeffries and has six chldren — 
Georgia, Anna, Louise, Alice. Stephen and 
Thomas; Edgar, who resides in the family 
home, and married Lulu Reynolds; and Anna 
B., who tenderly looks after the comfort of 
her father. 

THOMAS E. JEFFRIES, who, for thirty- 
one years has been in the employ of the U. S. 
Government, has been a resident of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., since he was five years of age. 
He was born November 23, 1850, in New 
York City, a son of George F. and Marie L. 
(Shiller) Jeffries. George F. Jeffries was 
born in England and his wife in Germany and 
both came to America about 1840. He was 
educated to be engineer and architect. He 
came to West Virginia to take charge of the 
Winifrede Coal Company, in 1855 settling at 
Charleston, where his death occurred in 1873, 
his widow surviving until 1903. There were 
three sons and three daughters in the family, 
namely: Alice, Mary, Thomas E., Julia, 
George, and John L. 

Thomas E. Jeffries was educated in the pri- 
vate schools of this city, attending until 1868, 
when he entered the employ of the C. & O. 
Railroad and was a member of the engineer- 
ing corps that made the first survey of that 
road, and later was with the surveyors work- 
ing through West Virginia and Ohio for this 



road, the Southern Ohio Railroad, and the 
Portsmouth and Pound Gap Railroad. He 
then returned to Charleston and went into the 
insurance business and was engaged also in 
the U. S. survey of the Elk river and some of 
the preliminary work on the Kanawha river. 
In 1880 he became a regular Government em- 
ploye, beginning as rod man and has advanced 
along the line of promotion, becoming inspec- 
tor, then assistant engineer, and in Jan- 
uary, 1902, was put in charge of the Govern- 
ment work on the Kanawha river, and has 
continued here. 

In 1884 Mr. Jeffries was married to Miss 
Madelline Du Bois, who died in 1890, leaving 
one son, Louis Godwin, who was educated as 
an engineer. Mrs. Jeffries was a daughter of 
John Delafield and Alice (Goddard) Du Bois, 
the former a native of New York and the lat- 
ter of Ohio. They came to Charleston soon 
after the close of the Civil War.;, 

W. H. SPURLOCK* a well known rail- 
road man in West Virginia, who resides at 
Hernshaw, Kanawha county, is roadmaster 
for the West Virginia Southern Railway. He 
has been a resident of Kanawha county for the 
past fifteen years, but was born in Putnam 
county, February 14, 1873, and is a son of 
Robinson and Augusta (Lucas) Spurlock. 

Robinson Spurlock was born in Lincoln 
county, Va., but spent some portion of his life 
on his farm in Putnam county. During the 
Civil War he enlisted in the 7th W. Va. Regi- 
ment, Federal Army, and served through the 
entire war, with the rank of orderly sergeant, 
taking part in many battles, and was several 
times wounded. After the war was over he 
resumed farming in Lincoln county and re- 
sides there, being now sixty-seven years of 
age. He was married in Lincoln county to 
Augusta Lucas and six children were born to 
them, namely: Belle, Sarah, W. H.. Jack, 
Nancy and Kate, Belle and Nancy being now 
deceased. 

After his school days ended, Mr. Spurlock 
went into railroad work and for twenty years 
has been thus employed. As trackman he was 
with the K. & M. Railroad for some years and 
came from that road to the West Virginia 



782 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Southern as trackman and for twelve years 
has been roadmaster. He is an active citizen 
of Hernshaw and has served two years as a 
justice of the peace. In politics he is a re- 
publican. 

Mr. Spurlock married Miss Emma Miller 
and they have seven children : Bertha, Wat- 
tie, Mame, Inez, Isey, William and Ruby. Mr. 
Spurlock and family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He is identified 
with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of 
Pythias. 

JOHN GRANT WILSON TOMPKINS, 
deceased, for many years was engaged in farm- 
ing and coal developing in Kanawha county, 
W. Va., and was numbered with the capital- 
ists of his section. He was born January 18, 
1847, at Cedar Grove, Kanawha county. \V. 
Va., and died July 8, 1907, at his exceedingly 
beautiful home in Charleston, which he had 
erected on Kanawha street, overlooking the 
Kanawha river. 

Mr. Tompkins was one of the younger mem- 
bers of a large family and he inherited the old 
family homestead at Burning Springs. He was 
liberally educated and was considered a busi- 
ness man of great ability. His farming inter- 
ests were large and his landed possessions in- 
cluded many acres of coal and gas and oil land, 
mainly in Kanawha county. In one way he re- 
sembled America's chief multi-millionaire, in 
that from the age of fourteen years he kept a 
diary of his receipts and expenditures, thus, at 
all times being able to direct his large business 
affairs on a firm foundation. On the disburs- 
ing side of this diary he must have frequently 
made heavy charges for probably few men of 
his section gave more in charity than he. al- 
though much of this liberality was known to 
few. It was a pleasure to him to seek out the 
needy and relieve their wants and there must 
be hundreds now living who can bear testimony 
to the helping hand he unostentatiously ex- 
tended when he realized their necessities. In 
his political sentiment he was a Republican and 
formerly was more or less prominent in party 
councils and at one time was a candidate for 
Congress. In 1900 he came to Charleston, 
having practically retired from business in 



1895, and here spent the closing years of life. 

Mr. Tompkins was first married to Amelia 
Caldwell Tompkins, a kinswoman, who died 
in the prime of life, their only child passing 
away at birth. Mr. Tompkin's second mar- 
riage was to Miss Nellie Berchman Blair, who 
was born at Minersville, O., February 19, 
1865, and was educated in the Catholic con- 
vent at Pomeroy, O. She is a daughter of 
Thomas and Catherine (Harley) Blair. 
Thomas Blair was born in 1820, in Scotland, 
and in his native village was married to Cath- 
erine Harley, who was born in County Done- 
gal, Ireland, at Birch Hill, the old homestead. 
After the birth of two children, Thomas Blair 
and wife came to America, this being in 1852, 
and they stopped for a time in Pennsylvania 
and then moved to Hanging Rock, O., in which 
state they were neighbors to the parents of the 
late President William McKinley. Afterward 
they removed to East Bank, Kanawha county, 
and from there, about 1890, came to Charles- 
ton. Mr. Blair engaged in coal mining and 
farming for some years before he retired. His 
death occurred at Charleston, September 22, 
1895, his widow surviving him until Novem- 
ber 30, 1907. They were faithful members of 
the Roman Catholic church. 

Ten children were born to Thomas Blair 
and wife, as follows: Susannah, who died in 
Scotland when aged one year; John, who died 
in childhood, at Minersville; Mary, who was 
born in Scotland, is the wife of Philip Golden 
and lives at East Bank. W. Va., having two 
sons and two daughters; Thomas A., a coal 
operator, residing at Earlington, Ky., who 
married Agnes Wren and has two sons and 
three daughters : Patrick, a resident also of 
Earlington, who married Susan McManus, and 
has four sons and four daughters; Sallie, who 
is the wife of John Minnick, lives at Balti- 
more, Md., and has one son and two daugh- 
ters; Catherine, who is the wife of C. A. Pot- 
terfield, a druggist at Charleston, and has one 
son and two daughters; Mrs. Tompkins: and 
Elizabeth A., who is unmarried, and resides 
with her sister, Mrs. Tompkins. All are now 
living except the two first mentioned, and all 
are devout members of the Roman Catholic 
church. Mrs. Tompkins has one son. John 




•JOHN G. W. TOMPKINS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



785 



Grant William Tompkins, who was born June 
27, 1902, who is a bright school boy at Charles- 
ton. In many ways Mrs. Tompkins continues 
to carry on the benevolent enterprises in which 
her late husband took so much interest. 

F. C. STARK, proprietor of a large gro- 
cery store at No. 998 Quarrier street, Charles- 
ton, W. Va. 3 is one of the city's progressive 
and constructive business men. He is a na- 
tive of Illinois, born May 22, 1865, and was 
reared on his father's farm and attended the 
district schools. 

As soon as he could command his own time 
and movements, Mr. Stark went to Columbus, 
O., where he entered a grocery store and re- 
mained in that business there until he had 
completely mastered every detail, being con- 
nected with the Buckeye Cash Grocery Com- 
pany. When he came to Charleston and 
viewed the business field he soon recognized 
the fact that such a grocery store as he hoped 
to conduct, had not yet been established in this 
city, enterprising as the people were along 
other lines. He started first in 1901, just 
across the street from his present establish- 
ment, where he remained until he had com- 
pleted the building of his three-story brick 
block, in 1908. Although a lack of sufficient 
capital prevented him at first from expending 
as much as he desired, it was not long before 
his competitors and the public recognized the 
excellence of his methods and the superiority 
of his stock and his success was assured. He 
has the best equipped and stocked store in this 
part of the state, gives employment to eight 
salesmen and operates three wagons and an 
automobile truck. His patronage comes from 
the best and most particular people of the city. 

Mr. Stark was married in March, 1887, to 
Miss Sophia Grimm, of Columbus. O.. and 
they have one daughter, Marybelle. The fam- 
ily residence is at No. 1302 Quarrier street. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stark introduced Christian 
Science in Charleston and have been gratified 
by the influence they have exerted in this di- 
rection, large and interesting gatherings being 
of weekly occurrence. 



WILLIAM D. ISAAC, brick manufacturer 
and president of the Kanawha Brick Company, 
of Charleston, W. Va., which he founded 
twenty-eight years ago, is one of the repre- 
sentative business men of this section. He 
was born in Carmarlingshire, South Wales, 
March 7, 1847, and is a son of Reese and 
Catherine (Lewis) Isaac. 

Reese Isaac was born in the above shire and 
has spent his long life there which has ex- 
tended to ninety years. His first wife, the 
mother of William D. Isaac, who was the sec- 
ond son and third born of her six children, 
died more than fifty years ago. Since her 
death, Mr. Isaac has been twice married, both 
wives being now deceased. To the second 
marriage no children were born and to the 
third, one son, David, who resides with his 
aged father in South Wales. 

When he was nineteen years old, William 
D. Isaac and his brother, David Isaac, came 
to America, setting sail in 1869 on the steamer 
Manhattan, at Liverpool, England, which 
landed them safely in the harbor of New 
York, from which city they went to Minerville, 
O., where they joined their older brother, 
John, and their sister, Martha, who had 
crossed the Atlantic Ocean two years previ- 
ously. For two years, William D. Isaac 
worked on the C. & O. Railroad, and for a few 
years was in the stone business and then came 
to Charleston, of which city he has been a resi- 
dent for forty-two years. At first he did some 
stone work but soon afterward went into the 
brick business, with which he has remained 
identified. When he first went into the busi- 
ness old methods prevailed, bricks being then 
all made by hand, the first improvement being 
when temporary kilns were built for each fir- 
ing, and this method also gave way as machin- 
ery was invented and greater possibilities were 
opened up to brick manufacturers. It was 
considered remarkable when 10,000 bricks 
could be a day's output, while now the Kana- 
wha Brick Company's average is 50.000 per 
day. They have a modem plant equipped 
with the latest machinery and accommodations 
for their business, which is a very extensive 



786 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



one, they having manufactured the brick for 
all the leading buildings of recent construction 
at Charleston, including the postoffice, the pub- 
lic schools and the finest private residences. 
The company of which he is president operates 
two plants and employment is given seventy- 
five people, the product being mainly sold 
within West Virginia. 

Mr. Isaac was married at Minerville, Meigs 
county, O., to Miss Mary Lewis, who was born 
there, October 8, 185 1, a daughter of David 
and Mary (Phillips) Lewis, natives of South 
Wales. The parents of Mrs. Isaac came to 
Ameiica in 1838, crossing the Atlantic ocean 
in a sailing vessel that required fifty-two days 
to make the voyage, but were landed safely at 
the port of New York. The father was a 
miner and became a superintendent. His 
death occurred September 5, 1884, at Miner- 
ville, in his seventy-first year, his widow sur- 
viving him for eleven years. They had eight 
children, seven of whom are yet living, one 
having been accidentally drowned at the age 
of eight years. Mrs. Isaac is the only member 
of her family living in West Virginia. Five 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac, the 
survivors being: Jennie, wife of W. W. Hart, 
and they have six children; George R., secre- 
tary and salesman for the Kanawha Brick 
Company, who married Eva Meeker and lias 
three children; Anna, who is the wife of Lil- 
burn Harris, of Charleston, and has one son; 
and Lew r is P., who is his father's superinten- 
dent. One son, Arthur, was accidentally 
drowned in the Elk river, when eleven years 
old. Mr. Isaac and family are members of 
the First Methodist Episcopal church and Mrs. 
Isaac is interested in the Ladies' Aid Society. 
Mr. Isaac has been an active and useful citizen 
and has served six years as a member of the 
city council, elected on the republican ticket. 
He is a member of Kanawha Lodge, No. 20, 
A. F. & A. M. 

HON. E. A. WOODALL * a prominent 
citizen of Poca district, for seven years post- 
master at Legg, Kanawha county, W. Va., for 
three terms a justice of the peace and for 
seven years judge of the court of common 
pleas, was born at Charleston, W. Va., May 



10, 1855. His parents were William A. and 
Delilah (Carter) Woodall. 

William A. Woodall was a native of Vir- 
ginia and in boyhood was sent to a subscrip- 
tion school. He learned the stave-making busi- 
ness and after his marriage moved to Charles- 
ton and there followed his trade, and while 
living in the city all his children were born. 
Afterward he moved to the farm of i66 l /> 
acres, in Poca district, sixteen miles north of 
Charleston, on which his son, E. A. Woodall, 
now resides. His first wife, Delilah Carter, 
a daughter of Wilson Carter, died on the farm 
in the fall of 1861 and her burial was in the 
Aultz burying ground in Poca and Union dis- 
tricts. She was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Four children were born to 
that marriage: Mathias E., E. A., Austin L., 
and a daughter, the eldest and youngest being 
deceased. William A. Woodall was married sec- 
ondly to Martha Thaxton, a native of Kana- 
wha county, and nine children were born to 
them, namely: Robert J., Sarah, N. G.. Henry. 
Cora, Josephine, Everett, Lawrence and Eu- 
gene. The mother of the above mentioned 
family survives and resides in Little Sandy 
district. The death of the father occurred in 
February, 1901, and his burial was on Wills 
creek in Little Sandy district. He was a lo- 
cal preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. 
In politics he was a Republican and was a 
member of the district school board. 

E. A. Woodall was six years old when his 
mother died. He attended school in Poca dis- 
trict until 1875 and then taught for one term, 
after which he engaged in farming and short- 
ly afterward was married. He continued to 
live on and manage the home farm until De- 
cember 5. 1895. when he was called into pub- 
lic life, being appointed to succeed Judge Laid- 
ley. In 1896 he moved into Charleston and in 
the same year was elected to the bench, on the 
Republican ticket, and served as judge for six 
years afterward. As soon as his term expired 
he returned to the farm and has made it his 
place of residence ever since. He served one 
term as a member of the board of education of 
assessor of Poca, Union, and Jefferson dis- 
Poca district and in 1909 was elected deputy 
tricts. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



787 



Judge Woodall was married September 29, 
1875, to Miss Rebecca J. Hager, who was born 
in Boone county, Va., February 10, 1857, a 
daughter of L. D. and Rhoda Hager, and the 
following children have been born to them: 
Allison W., who resides on Virginia street, 
Charleston, married Bessie Wright and they 
have three children — Archibald, Lillian and 
Irene; Alberta May, who is the wife of John 
F. Burdette, lives in Poca district and they 
have a large family; Leora L., who is the wife 
of J. J. Beane, of Sissonville, W. Va., died in 
July, 1908, leaving two children — Senate and 
Blackburn; George, who resides in West 
Charleston, married Emma Flowers and they 
have three children: Frank, who resides on 
Virginia street, Charleston, married Miss Stog- 
don and they have one child, Hazel; Clyde, 
lives at home; Mabel, who was the wife of 
George Spencer, died July 27, 1907, survived 
by one son, Clifford Ray; Stacia and Helen 
both live with their parents. 

The family belongs to the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and Judge Woodall is a trustee 
of Griffith's Chapel, Poca district. He has been 
through all the chairs of Glendale Lodge, No. 
78, Knights of Pythias. 

E. F. VANDINE, who is a justice of the 
peace in Poca district, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., and a farmer residing on Grapevine creek, 
sixteen miles north of Charleston, was born at 
Pocataligo, Kanawha county, March 14, 1868, 
and is a son of I. C. and Sarah Elizabeth 
(Douglass) Vandine. 

I. C. Vandine was born in 1843. m Jackson 
county, W. Va., where he was reared and at- 
tended school. Following his marriage he lived 
at Sissonville, W. Va., and then moved farther 
away, into Fayette county, but one year later 
located on Grapevine Creek, where he owns 
400 acres of land, the larger part of which is 
cleared. For many years he taught school in 
Kanawha county and was considered a very 
capable instructor. Later he became a member 
of the local Board of Education and served 
many years as its secretary. In his political 
views he is a Republican. At Harper's Ferry, 
W. Va., he married Sarah Elizabeth Douglass, 
who was born in Barbour county, W. Va., a 



daughter of W. R. and Anna Belle Douglass, 
and six children were born to them, as follows : 
E. F. ; A. C, who is a physician in practice at 
Clendenin, W. Va. ; A. E. Vandine. who died 
when aged seven years; Cory Belle, who is the 
wife of Edward Douglass, resides in Fayette 
county and has twin children, Isunah and 
Hugart; S. D., who is a street car man at 
Akron, O. ; and Otis Albert, who lives at 
Charleston. 

E. F. Vandine attended school in both Kana- 
wha and Fayette counties and after his parents 
returned to the former county engaged in farm- 
ing and has continued to be interested in agri- 
cultural pursuits although a considerable por- 
tion of his time has recently been given to the 
duties of public office. He served two years 
as constable and then resigned that office and 
the county court appointed him a justice of the 
peace, to which office he was subsequently elect- 
ed and in which he is serving in his second term. 
In politics he is a Republican. He is one of 
the school trustees of Poca district, and is secre- 
tary of the Grapevine Telephone Company, No. 
29. Prior to the disbanding of the Odd Fel- 
lows' lodge at Sissonville, he attended as a 
member. 

Mr. Vandine was married July 12, 1891, to 
Miss Jenetta Catherine Griffith, who was born 
April 13, 1870, in Poca district, a daughter of 
William A. and Charlotte (Bays) Griffith. 
They have no children of their own but they 
have reared Lottie Jane Hammock and she is 
as a daughter to them. Her parents were 
McClelland and Octavia (Griffith) Hammock. 

MATTHEW WALTON VENABLE, of 
the firm of M. W. Venable & Son, civil and 
mining engineers, of Charleston. W. Va., was 
born in Prince Edward county, Va., on April 
8th, 1847. He grew up on a farm, and was 
educated in the country schools, and at Hamp- 
den-Sidney College, leaving this institution be- 
fore graduation to enlist in the Confederate 
Army, where his elder brothers were then serv- 
ing. Completing his education at the Univer- 
sity of Virginia after the war. he came to 
West Virginia in 1868 as a civil engineer, dur- 
ing the location and construction of the Chesa- 
peake & Ohio Railway, residing in Cabell 



788 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



county. He was married in Barboursville, 
September, 1870, to Miss Margaret Maria 
Dyer, daughter of the late James R. Dyer of 
one of the pioneer families of Pendleton county, 
in this state. A year or two later he removed 
to Winchester, Ky., where he was engaged as 
division engineer in the construction of what is 
now known as the Lexington Branch of the 
Ches. & Ohio Ry., between Lexington and Mt. 
Sterling, completing this work late in 1872. 
He was employed during the following seven- 
teen years in building several roads, among 
them, the Cincinnati Southern, Louisville & 
Nashville, and the Louisville Southern rail- 
roads, in Kentucky, and the Cincinnati, Leba- 
non & Northern railroad in Ohio; and also 
spent several years as engineer of construction 
upon locks and dams, on Kentucky River, for 
the U. S. government, residing most of these 
years in Danville and Newport. He came to 
Kanawha county in 1890 and opened an office 
in Charleston. Upon the death of his wife he 
removed to town with his family, and has since 
made this city his home. He was again mar- 
ried in 1893 to Miss Anne Haymond Byrne, 
daughter of the late Col. Benj. W. Byrne of 
Charleston. 

Mr. Venable's professional life has been quite 
closely identified with mining and railroad de- 
velopment in this vicinity and adjacent states, 
for the past twenty years. In politics he is a 
Democrat, and in his church affiliations, a 
Presbyterian. 

CHARLES A. CABELL, general manager 
of the West Virginia Colliery Company, the 
Republic Coal Company and the Carbon Coal 
Company, has many other interests that make 
him one of the representative business men of 
Kanawha county. He was born on the home 
farm on Elk River, in Elk district, May 23, 
1870, and is a son of N. B. and Lavina C. 
(Wood) Cabell. 

On December 14, 1894, Mr. Cabell was mar- 
ried to Miss Nellie L. Couch, a daughter of 
James H. and Delia (Wilson) Couch, and they 
have three children : Mary Lovenia, Nellie Lynn 
and Virginia Couch. Mr. and Mrs. Cabell are 
members of the Episcopal church. 



WILLIAM M. ROLLINS,* superintendent 

of the Lewis Coal and Coke Company, at Chel- 
yan, W. Va., was born October 2, 1874, at New 
Haven, in Mason county, W. Va., and is a son 
of Benjamin F. and Laura A. Rollins. The 
father is a pilot on an Ohio River steamboat. 

William M. Rollins attended the public 
schools and obtained a well-balanced education 
and when twenty years old became bookkeeper 
for S. A. Lewis in the Clarksburg region, in 
Harrison county, W. Va. From there he ac- 
companied Mr. Lewis to Mason county and 
shortly afterward to Dry Branch, Kanawha 
county, where he was mine foreman and when 
the company became interested at Chelyan, Mr. 
Lewis made him superintendent. Mr. Rollins 
has a younger brother, Warner, now a resident 
of Pennsylvania, but neither of them have 
chosen their father's perilous occupation, who 
has been a pilot for the past thirty years. Mr. 
Rollins has one sister, Lavina, who is the wife 
of S. A. Lewis. 

William M. Rollins married Miss Frances 
Parsons, a daughter of the late Elias Parsons, 
and they have four children : Claudia, Harry, 
Carl and Gertrude. Mr. Rollins casts his vote 
with the Republican party but is not particu- 
larly active in politics. 

JOHN MARK YOUNG, a representative 
and substantial citizen of Charleston, W r . Va., 
a veteran of the Civil War and a political factor 
for some years in Kanawha county, was born 
August 10, 1835, on Elk River, Kanawha 
county, W. Va. (then Virginia), coming of a 
very old family of the Old Dominion. 

The earliest Young family annals which have 
been preserved, tell of the birth of John Young, 
in 1760. at Norfolk, Va., of German parents. 
Early in 'the days of the Revoluntionary War 
he was appointed, on account of his known 
bravery, as an Indian scout or spy and it is 
certain that he had much to do with the sup- 
pression of Indian outrages in the mountains 
and valleys and made such a name for himself 
that its mere mention was sometimes enough to 
prevent the savages from molesting the widely 
scattered settlers. In his trips on secret mis- 
sions, it being his duty to find out the temper 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



789 



of the Indians and their strength at given 
points, he was practically alone and had many 
thrilling adventures. At that time one fort was 
situated on the present site of Charleston and 
another was located twelve miles distant on Coal 
River. It is related that on one occasion the 
Indians besieged the upper fort and he was 
■obliged to leave its protection. His wife and 
young son, Jacob, were with him at the time. 
He was a man of great resource and through 
a strategem managed to get his wife and child 
into a concealed canoe and pushed the light 
vessel out into the stream, swimming by its 
side and thus escaped under a shower of Indian 
arrows. 

A number of years passed before the Kana- 
wha valley became a safe enough place for the 
establishment of homes but the time came when 
he located in Big Sandy, district, as it is now 
called, on the Elk River, and secured 225 acres, 
on which he cut down the first tree. This prop- 
erty has descended from father to son and still 
belongs to the family, being now one of the 
finest farms in this section of Kanawha county. 

John Young spent the remaining years of his 
life on that place, reaching a good old age. 
He married Keziah Tacket, who survived him 
for some years and died on the homstead, at 
the age of ninety. They were earnest Methodists 
and the traveling preacher and circuit rider 
always found a welcome at their fireside. Five 
sons and six daughters were born to them and 
all of them lived to be aged people. The family 
record is as follows: Jacob, the eldest, was a 
farmer all his active life and lived to be almost 
ninety years of age. He married and reared a 
family. Charles, the second son, also followed 
an agricultural life, married and left numerous 
descendants. Lewis was a prosperous farmer 
on Elk River and is also survived by descend- 
ants. John D., the father of John Mark Young, 
was the fourth in order of birth. Samuel, like 
his brothers, was a large farmer and sons and 
daughters survived him. Betsey married 
Stephen Nailor and both are deceased but chil- 
dren survive them. Nancy married Milton 
Woods and they died in Elk district, leaving 
children. Keziah married a well-known hunter 
named Jesse James, who spent his life in the 
Elk River district. Several children survived 



them. Jane, who lived to be three score, was 
the only member of the family who never mar- 
ried. Polly married John Ashley and left a 
family, and Peggy married John B. Young (no 
relation) and also left a family. 

John D. Young, son of John and father of 
John M. Young, was born in what is now Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., in 1799, and died Septem- 
ber 2, 1873, in the city of Charleston, to which 
he had moved during the Civil War. Prior to 
that he had followed agricultural pursuits on 
the paternal homestead. He was a very in- 
telligent man and was a Union sympathizer 
when trouble arose between the North and 
South, having identified himself with the Re- 
publican party on its formation. During the 
early part of the war he was captain of a 
bateaux fleet, boats pushed by poles, which 
carried on traffic from the mouth of the Kana- 
wha River for 100 miles to Kanawha Falls. 
He then became a member of the 7th W. Va. 
Vol. Cavalry and served two years, participat- 
ing in some engagements but returned home 
practically unharmed. He declined to serve in 
political office but accepted church responsibili- 
ties and was an official and leading member of 
the Methodist church for a long period. 

He was married in Elk district, to Betsey 
James, who was born in 1809, in Nicholas 
county, and died in 1874. at Charleston, where 
she was well known and much beloved. Six 
children were born to John D. Young and 
wife, namely: Lewis Norman, America, John 
Mark, Milton W., Harriet and Martha* the 
last-named dying in infancy. Lewis Norman 
Young who died at Charleston at the age of 
seventy-six years, was a lifelong resident of 
Kanawha county. He was a farmer and also 
conducted a livery business. He married Mary 
J. Ballard, of Monroe county, who survives and 
resides on Wilson street, Charleston, with their 
one son, Edward Young. America, who died 
at Buchanan, W. Va., in 1910, had passed her 
seventy-sixth birthday. She is survived by her 
husband, Rev. H. K. Dix, a retired Methodist 
minister, and by children who are married and 
settled in life. Milton W. Young, who died at 
Charleston at the age of fifty-seven years, is 
survived by his widow, formerly Sarah E. 
Carey, and a son and daughter, all residents of 



790 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charleston. Harriet is the wife of John Slack, 
a well-known resident of Charleston. 

John Mark Young was educated in private 
schools and by tutors, a not unusual custom in 
the affluent families of Virginia when he was 
a youth. He was interested in looking after 
the family estate, 150 acres of which he still 
owns. Early in the Civil War he became active 
in local military matters and was captain of a 
militia company. In November, 1862, he en- 
listed for regular service in the 13th W. Va. 
Vol. Infantry, and was made lieutenant of Co. 
K. For six months he officiated also as color- 
bearer and through fourteen hours of hard 
fighting at the battle of Cedar Creek, he carried 
the banner without once faltering. He was 
promoted for this brave act on the following 
day. He took part in numerous other battles 
and served with equal courage and was hon- 
orably discharged June 22, 1865. Mr. Young 
returned to Charleston and has resided here ever 
since, having many interests and enjoying the 
respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. He 
is a stanch Republican and on that ticket has 
frequently been called to serve in office and 
has been city marshal, clerk of the city council 
and has also been deputy sheriff of Kanawha 
county. 

In Cabell county, W. Va.. Mr. Young was 
married to Miss Albina L. Ong, who was born 
in that county July 12, 1845, an d was educated 
at Guyandotte. Her parents, Isaac and Susan 
(Burton) Ong, lived in Logan and Cabell 
counties. Her father was a captain in a band 
of border rangers, connected with the Con- 
federate army, and contracted a fever from 
which he died in 1862. His widow lived to 
the age of seventy-three years and died at 
Charleston. They were members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, south. Mr. and Mrs. 
Young have had five children, as follows : J. 
M. Q., born January 23, 1870, who married 
Nellie F. Dumble, of Ohio, and has had three 
children: Jessie O., Norman M. and John M. ; 
Gus O., who was born November 7, 1872; Ora 
D., who died when about fifteen years of age; 
and Harry and Fred, both of whom died young. 
Both surviving sons reside in Charleston and 
both have been connected with business enter- 
prises. Mr. Young is a very active worker in 



the Methodist Episcopal church and for 57 
years he has been a steward in the same and 
since 1885 has been a member of the board of 
trustees at Charleston. 
\ 

C. H. FINK,* a representative citizen of 
Loudon district, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
where he owns, in partnership with his son, 
ninety-four and one-half acres of particularly 
fine land, was born in Greenbrier county, Va., 
March 14, 1859, and is a son of A. L. and Ruth 
(Shuck) Fink. Both parents were also natives 
of Greenbrier county, where the father died at 
the age of sixty-eight years. He was a jeweler 
by trade. There were seven children in the 
family, C. H. being the sixth in order of birth. 
The others were William, J. L., G. P., A. E., 
M., and J. F. 

C. H. Fink obtained his schooling in his na- 
tive county and was afterward engaged in farm- 
ing there until thirty years of age. He then 
w ent to work in' the coal mines and was so 
occupied until February, 1909, when he came 
to his present place. He has done a large 
amount of improving here, has erected all of 
the substantial buildings as they are today, and 
has so enriched his land that he is said to have 
one of the best farms in this section. He has 
always been an industrious, prudent man and 
has reason to be well satisfied with the results 
of his labors. 

Mr. Fink married M. E. Holcomb, who 
was born in Greenbrier county, and ten 
children have been born to them, namely: 
George, Duff, Cora, John, Nellie, Effie, Vivian, 
Harry, Edgar and Pearl, all surviving except 
Duff and Edgar. The family attend the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. He is a Republican in 
politics and belongs to the Masonic fraternity 
at Charleston. 

GUSTAVE STOLLE, one of Charleston's 
older business men, a member of the jewelry 
firm of Stolle & Sons, No. 11 Sumner street, 
is proprietor of the oldest store, in this line in 
this city, it having been founded in 1854, by 
his father. He was born in Brunswick, Ger- 
many, March 5, 1844, and is a son of Edward 
C. and Augusta (Schmitt) Stolle. 

Edward C. Stolle was born in 1812, also in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



701 



Brunswick. He was designed by his parents 
for the Roman Catholic priesthood and his 
studies were conducted for a time along that 
line but later he became interested in other 
directions, learned the jewelry trade and gave 
up his former plans for a religious life. He 
married a neighbor, Miss Augusta Schmitt, and 
fourteen children were born to them, all in 
Germany except the youngest. Eleven of the 
above children died young. One daughter, 
Mary, died after marriage, leaving a daughter, 
Emma, who is the widow of Victor Tischler, 
and has one son and two daughters. The two 
survivors of this large family are Gustave and 
Agnes, both of whom are residents of 
Charleston. 

In 1852 Edward C. Stolle came to America 
alone and worked for two years at his trade 
in Baltimore, Md. He then came to Charleston 
and established his jewelry store on the present 
site of the St. Albert Hotel, on Kanawha street, 
subsequently returning to Germany for his 
family. They took passage for America at 
Bremerhaven, September 15, 1856, and after 
a period of six weeks and two days, landed 
safely at Baltimore and came on to this city. 
Here Edward Stolle continued in business un- 
the close of his life, being one of the valuable 
citizens of Charleston, ever ready to do his 
part in the development of the city and setting 
an example of thrift and sturdy honesty. His 
death occurred April 20. 1887. His widow 
survived him until November 29, 1895, being 
then about seventy-nine years old. 

Gustave Stolle was twelve years of age when 
he accompanied his parents to Charleston. Here 
he attended school and learned his trade under 
his father, with whom he became associated as 
a partner in 1856, since which time the present 
firm name has been in existence, it being prob- 
ably the oldest continuous business house in 
Charleston. Its policy has always remained 
the same — honest goods and fair prices — with 
expert work in every department and only the 
most reliable goods being handled. Mr. Stolle 
is widely known in the trade and stands very 
high as a business man and citizen. 

Mr. Stolle was married at Charleston to Miss 
Kate Manning, who was born near Richmond, 
Va., in 1848, and accompanied her parents, 



Thomas and Catherine (Flaherty) Manning, 
to Charleston during the Civil War, where her 
father followed contracting. Mr. and Mrs. 
Manning were members of the Roman Catholic 
church. Mr. Stolle belongs to the Odd Fellows, 
and is past grand and grand representative in 
the Encampment, and is also prominent in the 
order of Knights of Pythias, being past chan- 
cellor and also past chief patriarch. In politics 
he is identified with the Republican party. 

JOSEPH RUFFNER DAVENPORT, who 
died suddenly September 1, 191 1, was at the 
time of his death lockmaster at Dock No. 3, 
Kanawha River, at Riverside, W. Va. He had 
been in the employ of the U. S. Government 
since 1873, as a member of the engineer corps, 
and had had a large amount of experience in 
the line of surveying and lock construction on 
the Kanawha. He was born at Maysville, Ky., 
July 16, 1851, a son of J. B. and Mary Ann 
(Ruffner) Davenport. 

J. B. Davenport was born in Grayson county, 
Va., where he was reared to manhood and there 
was first married, his wife being a Miss Hale. 
After her death he came to Kanawha county 
and located at Maiden, which was then the lead- 
ing trading point in this section, and here be- 
came a merchant and one of the early salt- 
makers. Later he became a salesman for the 
firm of Morrison & Hale, salt manufacturers at 
Snow Hill, and after a number of years with 
them, retired to Poca, Kanawha county, where 
he operated a flour mill for some years. From 
there he went to Middleport, O., and became a 
salesman for the Ohio River Salt Company, but 
during the Civil War removed to Charleston, 
where he lived until his death, in 1893, being 
then 89 years of age. At Maiden he married 
Mary Ann Ruffner, who died in May, 1893, 
aged 75 years. To his first marriage one child 
was born: Trocket H., who died in t86t. To 
the second marriage the following children were 
born: Edwin R., who died in 1895; J. B. H., 
who is a resident of Charleston: Eva, who is 
the wife of E. T. Thayer, of Charleston ; Joseph 
Ruffner; and Mary S., who is line widow of 
John B. Vickers, and resides in California. 

Joseph Ruffner Davenport was a child when 
the family went to Middleport, O., where he 



792 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



attended school and completed his education at 
Charleston. He was eighteen years of age when 
he entered into the flat-boat business on the 
Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, in the salt trade, 
and he continued in it as long as it was profit- 
ably conducted. He also found employment as 
a clerk in stores and was otherwise active up 
to the time when he became a member of the 
C. & O. railroad engineering corps, under Col. 
Lewis Ruffner. He was with that body until 
the road was completed. He was also in the 
surveying party that laid out the line of the 
Coal & Coke railroad. In 1873 he became a 
member of the Government corps, with Mr. A. 
M, Scott, that was engaged in making surveys 
for locks and dams on the Kanawha River. 
He assisted in the construction of No. 4 and 
5 locks and on July 20, 1880, four days after 
it was completed, he was appointed lockmaster 
of Lock No. 5. He continued there until May 
1, 1884, when he took a trip to North Dakota 
for his health. He spent nine years in the W est, 
during the larger part of the time being en- 
gaged in waterworks construction in North 
Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. He 
returned to his former duties at Lock No. 5, 
on August 4, 1893, where he remained until 
1898, when he took charge of Lock No. 9, re- 
maining there until January 23, 1902, when he 
became lockmaster at Lock No. 3. Mr. Daven- 
port had many interesting experiences along 
the river and no one was better informed con- 
cerning the numerous improvements which have 
served to tame and make useful the once turbu- 
lent flood of this beautiful stream. 

Mr. Davenport married Miss Florence Bol- 
linger, a native of Pennsylvania, and they were 
the parents of one son, Joseph Ruffner, who is 
an electrician. He married Elsie Mowers and 
they have three children. Mr. Davenport be- 
longed to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Mar- 
met, W. Va. 

HON. WILLIAM MacCORKLE.* ex- 
governor of West Virginia and United States 
Senator elect from the same state, has been a 
distinguished figure in public life for many 
years and has been identified with many of the 
industries and enterprises that have contributed 
so materially to the upbuilding of all this sec- 



tion. He was born in Rockbridge county, Va., 
where his Scottish ancestors settled perhaps as 
early as 1730. His parents were William and 
Mary (Morrison) MacCorkle, who, in his child- 
hood moved to Missouri. They lived there un- 
til 1872, when they returned to Virginia and 
spent the remainder of their lives in their na- 
tive state. 

William A. MacCorkle was graduated from 
the Washington and Lee University in 1879 
and when admitted to the bar, established him- 
self at Charleston. At present he is a member 
of the prominent law firm of Chilton, Mac- 
Corkle & Chilton. This city has continued to 
be his permanent home although temporary 
ones have been maintained by him during the 
numerous periods when he was serving in high 
official positions. He early entered into poli- 
tics, identifying himself with the Democratic 
party, and has always upheld its principles and 
shown his loyalty to its candidates. In 1893 
he was called to assume the duties of governor 
of the state and served in this high office until 
1897, his public record showing his wisdom, 
honesty and public efficiency as chief executive. 
For some years he declined public office but was 
again called to the front in November, 19 10, 
when lie was elected to the United States 
Senate. 

Senator MacCorkle has been more than 
usually successful in business as well as in the 
field of politics and in his profession. For years 
he was vice-president of the Citizens' National 
Bank, of which he is yet a director, is also presi- 
dent of the Kanawha Land Company, and is in- 
terested financially and officially with many 
other enterprises. He served as president of 
the Charleston Industrial Association and has 
been identified with a number of the developing 
movements which have brought attention and 
capital to both Virginia and West Virginia. 

Governor MacCorkle was married in 1884, to 
Miss Belle Goshorn, a daughter of the late 
William F. Goshorn. They enjoy a beautiful 
residence situated on the south side of the city 
of Charleston. 

HON. SAMUEL LIGHTFOOT FLOUR- 
NOY, formerly a prominent member of the 
Kanawha county bar, and twice a member of 




HON. SAMUEL L. FLOURNOY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



795 



the West Virginia State Senate, was born No- 
vember 25, 1846, in Chesterfield county, Va. 
He was mainly reared at Richmond, where he 
attended school until he enlisted for service in 
the Civil war, entering the Confederate states 
army at the early age of seventeen years. 

Senator Flournoy was a brave and efficient 
soldier in war, and in times of peace was no 
less courageous in facing the problems of life. 
After the close of the war he returned home and 
then took a classical course in Hampden-Sid- 
ney College, where he was most creditably 
graduated in 1808, and for four years after- 
ward taught school. In the meanwhile he pre- 
pared for the bar, to which he was admitted in 
1873, and rapidly came to the front in his pro- 
fession. Politics held interest for him and he 
became active in public matters in county and 
state, and in 1885 his party elected him to the 
West Virginia senate and reelected him in 
1889. During his two terms in this body he 
was particularly useful, serving on such com- 
mittees as the judiciary, privileges and elec- 
tions, federal relations, immigration and agri- 
culture, and public printing. His vast fund of 
general information made his advice and coun- 
sel exceedingly valuable. He established his 
home at Romney, in Hampshire county, about 
1873, where he was thrice elected mayor, and 
moved to Charleston, W. Va., in 1890. 

In 1875 Senator Flournoy was married to 
Miss Frances A. White, who survives and re- 
sides at No. 1 1 17 Virginia street. Four sons 
were born to them. R. Parke Flournoy, who 
is a graduate of the Law School of the Uni- 
versity of West Virginia, was admitted to the 
bar in 1899 and is engaged in practice at 
Charleston, with offices in the Kanawha Bank- 
ing and Trust Building. Harry L., the second 
son, is city auditor of Charleston. Samuel L., 
who was admitted to the bar in 191 1, is a grad- 
uate of the University of Virginia Law School 
and is engaged in practice at Charleston, with 
offices in the Wilson Building. Alexander W., 
the youngest, is clerk and collector for his 
brother, R. Parke Flournoy. 

ANDREW JACKSON BOWLES, form- 
erly a well-known resident of Cabin Creek dis- 
trict, was born November 4, 1835, on his 



father's farm, on Witcher's Creek, Kanawha 
county, and died at the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. Eunice Bonham, in Cabin Creek district, 
on September 13, 1909. He was a son of John 
Wesley Bowles, a native of Franklin county, 
Va., who came to the Kanawha valley in the 
early salt manufacturing days and operated a 
flat-boat on the river in the salt trade. He 
died when his son, Andrew J. Bowles, was 
ten years old. The other members of his 
family were: Mary, deceased, who was the 
wife of Robert Keeney; Eliza, the widow of 
Benjamin F. Wyatt; Lucinda, who was the 
wife of B. Kelley; Woodford, deceased; and 
Julia, who was the wife of Woodford Keeney. 

Andrew Jackson Bowles w r as the fourth mem- 
ber of the above-mentioned family in order of 
birth. He had but few early advantages but 
nevertheless grew into an honorable and in- 
dustrious youth and prior to marriage was en- 
gaged in farming. About this time arose the 
excitement attendant on the finding of gold in 
California and Mr. Bowles became anxious to 
visit the country and see for himself. Being 
wiser than many of his comrades he permitted 
his bride to accompany him, which she was 
brave enough to do and cheerfully faced in- 
credible hardships in order to remain at his 
side. They went to California by way of the 
Isthmus of Panama and safely reached the 
goldfields, and remained in that state for eight 
years, moving to different mines as the richer 
lodes were discovered. By that time Mr. Bowles 
decided that they had accumulated enough to 
permit them to return comfortably and pur- 
chase and stock a farm. They located four- 
teen miles up Paint Creek, in Cabin Creek dis- 
trict, buying a large estate, on which they lived 
for fourteen years, moving then to Pratt and 
afterward to the present residence of Mrs. 
Eunice Bonham, where both subsequently died. 
In the meanwhile, however, they had spent 
several years at Charleston. Andrew J. Bowles 
was a Democrat in his political opinions and 
while living in California, became identified 
with the Masonic fraternity. 

About 1855 Mr. Bowles was married to Miss 
Leetha Wyatt, who was born in Kanawha, 
county, a daughter of Mathew P. Wyatt, and 
died in Cabin Creek district, May 21, 191 1, at 



796 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the age of sixty-eight years. Five children 
were born to them, the three older ones in Cali- 
fornia and the two younger in West Virginia, 
as follows: John W., who was accidentally 
killed by falling into a mine shaft, when a child 
of four years ; Eunice, who is the widow of C. 
Bonham ; Wade Hampton and Alexander, both 
of whom are deceased; and Mathew P., who 
lives in California. 

The only daughter of the above family, 
Eunice, with her brother, Wade Hampton, 
spent their early years in California and ac- 
companied their parents back to West Virginia, 
where the brother died and the sister has spent 
her entire subsequent life. In January, 1882, 
she was married to John Hensley, who died 
September 15, 1894, leaving three sons, namely : 
Wilbur, residing at Ashland. Ky., who is an 
engineer on the C. & O. Railroad, married 
Maude Huffman and has one child, Clyde T. ; 
Clyde L., who lives at Ohley, Kanawha county, 
where he is manager of a store for a coal com- 
pany, married Pearl Bonham and has one child. 
Harold B. ; and Andrew Jackson, a merchant 
at Witcher, who married Wiona Walker, and 
has one child, John W. 

In April, 1903, Mrs. Hensley was married 
secondly to Columbus Bonham, who died 
October 1, 1910, leaving one child, Lucy Leone. 
Mrs. Bonham received her comfortable home 
from her father, this including a commodious 
residence surrounded by six acres or land, a 
large part of which is an orchard. Although 
too young to remember much of the rough life 
of the California mining camps of her child- 
hood, she can relate in an interesting way. 
numerous events in the life of her parents in 
the far west, including the occasion when the 
family pocketbook was emptied of its final 
thirty cents for a delectable pie, and of the 
friendly attentions of the Indians with whom 
they came into contact. 

DAVTD F. HOSTETLER, secretary and 
treasurer of the Elk Milling and Produce Com- 
pany, at Charleston, W. Va., is one of the city's 
active and progressive business men, one who 
has the ability to see business opportunities 
and the courage to grasp them. He was born 
in Juniata county, Pa., February 27, 1868, and 



is a son of Jacob and Hannah (Branthoffer) 
Hostetler. 

The Hostetler family is of Pennsylvania 
German stock and is a prominent one in that 
state. The parents of Mr. Hostetler conversed 
almost entirely in Pennsylvania German and 
the children learned the language, which is 
used by a large body of residents of the Key- 
stone state throughout Berks, Bucks, Lancaster 
and Juniata counties, a thrifty people of Ger- 
man and Holland extraction. Jacob Hostetler 
was an admirable type and like his forefathers 
industriously and successfully carried on agri- 
cultural operations and, with his wife, sub- 
scribed to the simple faith of the Dunkard 
church. He died at the age of seventy-three 
years and she survived him for seven years. 
Nine children were born to them, the survivors 
being: John W., formerly a postmaster in 
Juniata county and a justice of the peace, who 
lives on his farm there with his family; Mary 
A., who is the widow of George Hockenbroch, 
is a resident of East Salem and has two sons; 
Howard L., who lives in Illinois; Emma, who 
resides with a sister in Juniata county; David 
F. ; Amanda, who is the w ife of L. L. Gray, 
lives at Thompsontown and has one daughter; 
Adaline, who is the wife of Charles McMillan 
and lives in Missouri. 

David F. Hostetler grew to manhood in 
Juniata county and attended the public schools 
and later a private normal school. For four 
years he followed school teaching and in 1892 
came to Charleston as a teacher of penmanship. 
Here he became interested along business lines 
and in 1894 engaged in a wholesale trade under 
the firm name of Hostetler & Slicer, this firm 
later selling out to the Wholesale Produce Com- 
pany, of which Mr. Hostetler became head 
bookkeeper and office manager. In 1902 this 
firm was consolidated with the Charleston 
Grain and Feed Co., forming the Charleston 
Milling and Produce Company, with which 
concern Mr. Hostetler remained until 1907, 
when he became one of the incorporators of 
the Elk Milling and Produce Company, of 
w^hich he was elected the first secretary and 
treasurer and has continued as such to the 
present time. 

In 1896 Mr. Hostetler was married to Miss 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



797 



Bertha Graham, who was born in 1877 in this 
city. They have three children: Elizabeth, 
David R, Jr., and William L. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hostetler are members of the First Methodist 
Episcopal church of Charleston. In politics 
he is independent and his only fraternal con- 
nection is with the American Mechanics. 

JOHN S. CHILTON,* contracting carpen- 
ter, residing at Spring Hill, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., was born at this place, May 2, 1862, 
and is a son of Joseph Blackwell and Martha 
E. (Wilson) Chilton, and a grandson of Black- 
well and Sarah (Eustace) Chilton. 

Joseph Blackwell Chilton was born in Far- 
quier county, Va., and was four years old when 
his parents moved to Charleston, where they 
lived for a short time and then moved into 
Loudon district. At the time of the outbreak 
of the Civil War, Mr. Chilton was living on 
the present site of the town of Clendenin. He 
wa's engaged in teaching school for some years 
and then settled at Spring Hill near which he 
owned a farm of 300 acres, and this estate he 
managed during the rest of his active life, his 
death occurring at the age of seventy-nine years. 
He was a Democrat from conviction but was 
never a politician. He married Martha E. 
Wilson, a daughter of John and Katherine 
(Donally) Wilson, and they had four children: 
Katherine, wife of Henry Brown, of Charles- 
ton : Emma, deceased, formerly the wife of A. 
M. Woolridge; Edwin A., residing in Ken- 
tucky; and John S., of Spring Hill. The mother 
of the above family died at the age of seventy- 
three years and was buried in the Wilson ceme- 
tery as was her husband. They were members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. In 
addition to his other interests, Joseph Blackwell 
Chilton was a railroad contractor during a por- 
tion of his life and built ten miles of the Queen 
& Crescent railroad which became a part of 
the Cincinnati & Southern. He was also con- 
cerned with dealing with the Indians in Mon- 
tana. 

John S. Chilton obtained his education in 
the district schools of Jefferson District, Kana- 
wha county, after which he tried railroad work 
for a time as a fireman. He then worked in a 
store, after which he learned the carpenter's 



trade and at different times taught school. For 
ten years he was connected with the Black Band 
Mining & Manufacturing Company, starting 
in as builder of bridges and railroad carpenter- 
ing, and finally became superintendent, after 
which he went into contracting and since 1906 
has since done a large amount of work in this 
line. Mr. Chilton takes contracts for buildings 
from the ground up and gives constant employ- 
ment to some half dozen skilled carpenters. 
For a short time he resided at Huntington, W. 
Va., but since then has lived at Spring Hill and 
owns ten acres lying between the railroad and 
the county road. 

In 1883 Mr. Chilton was married to Miss 
Frances Payne Hamilton, a daughter of A. M. 
and Virginia (Lewis) Hamilton, and they have 
five children : Edwin H. ; Marian Blackwell, 
who is the wife of W. C. Sharpe, of Coalwood, 
W. Va., and has two sons : William Chilton 
and Hamilton Klase ; Emma W.. who is the 
wife of Homer Bowers, of Dickley, W. Va., 
and has one daughter, Frances; Harold Keith 
and Eustace Lewis, both in school. In politics 
Mr. Chilton is a Democrat. In July, 191 1, he 
was elected a member of the board of education 
for a term of years ending in 19 15, an act of 
his fellow citizens that testified to their con- 
fidence in his intelligence and public spirit. 

G. D. AGREE, secretary and treasurer of 
the National Detective Association, at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., and since 1908, city constable, 
has been a resident of Charleston since April, 
1900. He was born on his father's farm in 
Elk district, Kanawha county, situated on 
Aaron Fork of the Little Sandy Elk River, on 
January 12, 1872. His parents were Peter 
and Margaret Jane (Reynolds) Acree. 

Peter Acree was born near Walton, Roane 
county, W. Va., and prior to retiring to 
Charleston, was a farmer and timberman. His 
first marriage was to Margaret Jane Reynolds, 
who died in 1881, a daughter of John and Mary 
(Givens) Reynolds, old residents of the county 
who owned a farm twelve miles from Charles- 
ton, on the Elk River. Peter Acree was mar- 
ried secondly to Mary Jane Given, and thirdly 
to Sarah Jane. Richie. Four children were born 
to his first marriage : George Dayton; John M., 



798 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



residing near Freedom, Pa. ; Everett E., resid- 
ing near Patona, W. Va. ; and Roma H., re- 
siding near Charleston. 

G. D; Acree spent his boyhood on the home 
farm and attended the country schools. In 
early manhood he followed lumbering but after 
marriage returned to the farm in Elk district 
and operated it for six years. He was then 
connected with the public improvements of 
Charleston for two years, for nine months be- 
ing grade foreman for Pfaff & Smith, contrac- 
tors who did the street paving of the city. Fol- 
lowing this, he was foreman of construction for 
seven months under Melcher & Gillispie, con- 
tractors, who erected the Kanawha brewery. 
Mr. Acree then purchased a soft drink plant 
which he operated for some time, being in part- 
nership for one year with C. A. Ellis, at 
Charleston, W. Va. He then operated for one 
year a soft drink manufactory at Point Pleas- 
ant. Afterward he served on the Charleston 
police force for two years under Mayors Rade- 
sell and Jerrett and then, for eighteen months 
was on the road for the Kanawha Brewing 
Company. He is a stanch Republican and in 
1908 he was elected constable with the largest 
vote of any candidate on the ticket. In 191 1 
he organized the Mercantile Detective Agency, 
of which R. H. Clendennin is president, and 
thev maintain offices in the Frankenberger 
building, on Kanawha and Summers streets. 

Mr. Acree Was married May 5, 1895, to Miss 
Lucinda C. Huffman, a daughter of Henry and 
Caroline (Moore) Huffman, and they have five 
children: Elliott S., Delpha Lee, Wesley V., 
Theresa H. and Ural S. ' The family residence 
is on the corner of Court and Brown streets. 
Mr. Acree is a member of the Red Men and the 
Eagles. 

WILLIAM A. GOODWIN,* a prosperous 
farmer and substantial citizen of Kanawha 
county, W. Va., who owns 215 acres of fine 
land situated seven miles northwest of Charles- 
ton, was born October 16, 1843, in Roanoke 
county, Va., a member of one of the prominent 
old families of that section. 

Mr. Goodwin was educated in the schools of 
his native county and at Roanoke college, and 
then entered the Confederate Army and served 



through three years in the Civil War, in the 
Roanoke artillery under Captain Hupp. After 
the close of the war he went to Salem, Va.. 
and from there to Kanawha county, and for 
three years after his marriage lived in Mason 
county. From there he came to Union district, 
Kanawha county, and subsequently purchased 
his present farm. The land was somewhat run 
down and many improvements were needed 
and in the improvement of the land and in re- 
building Mr. Goodwin spent many years. All 
the farm buildings now standing he put up and 
he has 150 acres of his land in fine tillable con- 
dition. Formerly Mr. Goodwin devoted seven 
acres to tobacco and was credited with shipping 
the finest tobacco that ever reached the Rich- 
mond market, for which he was paid S40 per 
hundred pounds. Mr. Goodwin attends to his 
own agricultural operations and is a thoroughly 
informed and practical farmer. He is a stock- 
holder in the Elk City Bank. 

Mr. Goodwin married Miss Mary Wood, a 
native of Virginia and a daughter of John F. 
Wood, who was a well-known man along the 
Kanawha River. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin have 
had four children: James F.. who is a resident 
of Pittsburg; C. W.. who married a Miss Wal- 
lace of Pittsburg, Pa., resides there and has 
four children : Clarence James, Ethel Jane, 
Charles Wallace and Mary; Ella, who is the 
wife of James A. Keller, of Pittsburg; and 
Fannie J., who is the wife of C. F. Ceaser, of 
Charleston, W. Va. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
in which he has served on the board of stewards 
for twenty years. In politics he is inclined to 
be in sympathy with the Democrats but is a 
man quite capable of doing his own thinking 
and frequently casts his vote for the candidate 
of whom his own judgment approves, irrespec- 
tive of party. 

LOUIS J. F ALONE, one of the prosperous 
young business men of Charleston, whose well 
stocked cigar store and carefully conducted pool 
rooms are situated in Postoffice square, is 
widely known in athletic circles, for a number 
of years being a favorite baseball player, play- 
ing center field in the season of 1902. He was 
born at Cincinnati. O., thirty-five years ago, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



799 



and is a son of Joseph and Macellina Rossano. 

Joseph Falone was born in Corsica. He was 
married in Italy to Macellina Rossano, of the 
village of Rosina, Italy, a daughter of Ros- 
sano, the sculptor and engraver, a specimen of 
whose work may be seen in the beautiful statue 
of the Madonna, that stands in the Milan 
Cathedral. Joseph Falone and wife came to 
America and landed at New York and from 
there came to Cincinnati, where Mrs. Falone 
died when her only son was aged twenty-two 
years. Joseph Falone still lives and is in busi- 
ness at Cincinnati. 

Louis J. Falone was educated in the parochial 
and public schools and when old enough was 
placed in a clothing manufacturing establish- 
ment to learn the trade. He had tastes and 
talents in another direction and as he desired 
to become a mine engineer and operator, he 
bent every energy to secure an education along 
that line and for this purpose took the technical 
course offered by the International Correspond- 
ence School, of Scranton, Pa. In the mean- 
while, becoming an expert baseball player, other 
opportunities opened up before him and, as 
mentioned above, his name became well and 
favorably known in baseball circles. After 
playing several seasons with independent teams 
he came to Charleston to accept the offer that 
kept him busy all through the season of 1902. 
For ten years prior to leaving Cincinnati he 
had been assistant head usher in the Grand 
Theatre, and for seven years was a member of 
the Cincinnati Gymnasium and Athletic Asso- 
ciation. 

After the baseball season of the above-named 
year closed, Mr. Falone opened a small cigar 
store in the Arcade building, Charleston, meet- 
ing with ready patronage. This encouraged 
him to invest farther and in 1906 he added a 
pool table and room to his store, two years later 
putting in further accommodations. He now 
has one of the well patronized and well con- 
ducted places of entertainment in the city. He 
has a wide circle of personal friends, is a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Columbus and a life 
member of the Elks at Charleston. He was 
reared a Roman Catholic. 



SAMUEL BRASHEAR AVIS,* prosecut- 
ing attorney of Kanawha county, W. Va., and 
senior member of the prominent law firm of 
Avis & Hardy, at Charleston, has served in 
the above-mentioned office since 1900 and has 
established a record that is recognized by bench, 
bar and people, as admirable in every way. Mr. 
Avis is a native of Virginia, born February 19, 
1872, and is a son of B. D. and Hattie E. 
( Wilson) Avis, members of old Virginia 
families. 

Samuel B. Avis was educated in the public 
schools, the military academy at Staunton, Va., 
and at Washington and Lee University, at Lex- 
ington, Va., where he won his degree of B. L. 
Mr. Avis came then to Charleston and for four 
years was connected with the United States 
attorney's office, leaving it in order to serve in 
the Spanish- American War. In 1898 he was 
commissioned captain of Co. A, 2nd Va. Vol. 
Infantry, and his command was stationed at 
Camp Meade and Greenville, S. C, ready to 
embark on transports for the seat of war should 
it become necessary. As all will remember, 
however, the war was of short duration and 
after its close, Mr. Avis resumed his duties in 
the United States attorney's office, where he 
continued until 1900, when, as above intimated, 
he was elected prosecuting attorney. His ad- 
ministration of the business of this office has 
distinguished him as a man of far more than 
average ability and while he has been more than 
usually successful, he has never been accused 
of dishonesty or prejudices in his professional 
work. 

Mr. Avis was married in 1899, to Miss Flor- 
ence M. Atkinson, who is a daughter of ex- 
Governor Atkinson, now of Washington City, 
D. C. Mr. and Mrs. Avis reside at No. 132 1 
Ouarrier street, and he maintains his offices 
at Nos. 503-505 Charleston National Bank 
building. 

MAX WILLIAM HOFERER, senior mem- 
ber of the firm of Max William Hoferer & Son, 
proprietors of the automobile garage, storage 
and repair shops at Nos. 1006-8 Lee street, 
and machine and repair shops at No. 326 Dick- 



800 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



inson street, Charleston, which is the largest 
establishment of this kind in the city, is a rep- 
resentative and enterprising business man, 
widely and favorably known. Mr. Hoferer is 
a native of Charleston, born March 24, 1856, 
a son of Andrew and Florence (Hurst) 
Hoferer. 

The parents of Mr. Hoferer were born in 
Baden, Germany, and remained in their native 
land until after marriage and the birth of sev- 
eral children, when they started for America in 
a sailing vessel that took sixty-five days to 
make the voyage. They landed at the port of 
New York and from there went to Pittsburg, 
Pa., coming thence to Charleston, where they 
spent the rest of their lives. Andrew Hoferer 
died at the age of eighty-three years, in 1903. 
His widow survived him until March 24, 191 1, 
her age being eighty-two years at the time of 
her death. They were members of the Roman 
Catholic church. Four of their children are 
living, namely: Frances, who lives in South 
Side, Charlestown, the widow of Joseph Meyers 
and having one son, Joseph ; Theresa, who lives 
in this city ; Andrew, a stone-mason, who mar- 
ried Laura Perry and has four children; and 
Max William. 

Max William Hoferer has spent his life at 
Charleston, obtaining his schooling here and 
learning the machinist's trade. His thorough 
knowledge of the same he secured mainly 
through his own efforts, having a natural bent 
in this direction. Fully thirty years ago Mr. 
Hoferer founded the present business, begin- 
ning in a small way with a machine shop on 
Washington street, and five years later moving 
to the present site of the annex to the State 
house. That lot was subsequently sold for 
its present purpose and Mr. Hoferer then lo- 
cated permanently on Dickinson street, where, 
five years since, he erected his machine shop, 
with dimensions of 40 x 120 feet, the back end 
adjoining his garage, which has dimensions of 
55 x 210 feet, facing at right angles on Lee 
street. The garage was built four years ago 
when he entered into the automobile business. 
This was first carried on under the. firm name 
of the Hoferer Machine W orks ; later the con- 
cern became the Southern Automobile Car 
Company, and subsequently Max William Hof- 



erer & Son, Auto-Storage and Repair plant, the 
junior member of the firm being an expert 
operator. The business has shown rapid 
growth from the start and the two departments 
give constant employment to a large force of 
expert workmen. 

Mr. Hoferer was married at Charleston to 
Miss Sarah Breedelove, who was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1852. They had three children: Hat- 
tie, who is her father's capable bookkeeper; M. 
William, a competent electrician, mechanic and 
machinist, his father's partner and now chief 
engineer of the State capitol, who married 
Gertrude Martin, and has three children: 
Frank, Pauline and William; and Frank, who 
was accidentally killed by his own gun, while 
on a hunting expedition, in December, 1902, 
when but seventeen years of age. Mr. Hoferer 
and family are members of the First Presby- 
terian church. Both he and his son are identi- 
fied with the Republican party. Mr. Hoferer 
belongs to the O. O. U. W., the Sr. Order A. 
M. and to the Mystic Circle. 

A. J. ANDERSON,* a general farmer re- 
siding five miles west of Charleston, W. Va., 
his farm of 108 acres being situated in Union 
district, was bom in this district, in Kanawha 
county, August 12, 1862, and is a son of A. J. 
and Eliza (Wilson) Anderson. 

A. J. Anderson, Sr., was born in Eastern Vir- 
ginia and came to Kanawha county when a 
young man, settling in Union district, where 
he owned 245 acres, all of which is in the pos- 
session of his heirs. His death occurred at the 
age of forty-seven years and his burial was 
in Union District Home graveyard. He was a 
consistent man in his religious life and was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church as 
was his wife. He voted with the Democratic 
party but was no politician. He married Eliza 
Wilson, a daughter of George W'ilson, of Tvler 
Creek, Union district. She died at the age of 
fifty years. To this marriage the following 
children were born : James, who died at the age 
of fifty years, married Betsey Thurston, who is 
also deceased; Margaret, who is deceased, was 
the wife of Samuel Larby; John, who married 
Matilda Dunbar, and has five children : Isabel, 
Maude, Thornton, Sylvester and John ; Charles, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



801 



who resides on his farm of 100 acres, in Union 
district, married Betty Duden; Nancy, who is 
deceased, was the wife of George Mitchell; 
and A. J., who bears his father's name. 

A. J. Anderson has always lived in Union 
district and obtained his schooling here. He 
helped in the clearing of the home farm and 
has all of his own land under cultivation with 
the exception of ten acres, which is covered 
with valuable timber. He is identified with 
the Democratic party but has never accepted 
any but school offices, at present being a school 
trustee. 

Mr. Anderson married Dillie Lankham, a 
daughter of Columbus Lankham, of Union dis- 
trict, and they have six children : Bernie, Pearl, 
Howard and Homer, twins, Clyde and Car- 
rolett. Mr. Anderson and wife are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

FRANK L. TYREE, who has been a valued 
citizen of Charleston for the past decade, is 
ex-president, and general manager of the Black 
Betsey Coal Mining Company, of Putnam coun- 
ty, W. Va. This is otherwise known as the 
Pittsburg No. 8 section and locally called the 
"Raymond Seam." It contains a fine, high 
grade domestic coal, than which there is no 
better on the market. Mr. Tyree opened this 
mine and was one of the original incorporators 
in 1 901. He continued active in the coal mining 
industry until failing health caused his retire- 
ment, in 19 10. 

The above company is a close corporation, 
the property being owned and operated by the 
Tyree family. J. H. Nash is vice-president and 
a director, Alfred S. Clark, of Providence, R. 
I., is secretary and treasurer. Two sisters, Mrs. 
O'Connor, of Providence, and Mrs. Elizabeth 
Metcalf, New York City, the latter the wife of 
James Melcalf, the well-known dramatic critic, 
are leading stockholders in the company, which 
is capitalized at $350,000, paid in, and has an 
authorized fund of $1,000,000. 

Frank L. Tyree was born at Lewisburg, W. 
Va., August 4, 1863, and attended school until 
he was fourteen years of age, when he accom- 
panied his parents, Samuel and Henrietta 
(Plumb) Tyree to near Savannah, Ga. Samuel 



Tyree was born in Virginia but his father was 
born on Tiree Island, Scotland, grandson of 
Francis Tiree as the name was then spelled who 
came to Virginia very early and lived in Nanse- 
mond county to the age of ninety-four years. 
It is possible that his son, Richard Tyree. grand- 
father of Frank L., was not born until his father 
came to Virginia, where he spent his long life, 
dying aged ninety-six years. He married a 
Miss Johnson, close in relationship to the 
family of that distinguished southern soldier, 
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson, and they had five 
sons and three daughters. Two of the sons, 
William and Francis became state senators and 
all were prominent men, all the five brothers 
and all their sons subsequently serving in the 
Confederate army. 

Samuel Tyree, the youngest of the above 
sons, was born in 1814, in Greenbrier county, 
Va., and died at the home of his daughter in 
1904, in Providence, R. I., when nearly ninety 
years of age. He was a man of education and 
served in official life in Fayette, Kanawha and 
Greenbrier counties. When the Civil War broke 
out he enlisted under General Jackson, organiz- 
ing a light-horse company, of which he was 
made captain, and served two years, when he 
was captured by the Federal forces and was 
kept a prisoner until he consented to take the 
oath of allegiance to the Union, after which he 
was sent unharmed to his home and ever after, 
like the high-minded gentleman that he was, he 
kept loyal to his word. Subsequently he lived 
at Charleston and in Georgia and spent the clos- 
ing years of his life with his children. Many 
years before he had identified himself with the 
Masonic fraternity and was well known. He 
was a devout member of the Presbyterian 
church. He was married at Lewisburg, W. Va., 
to Miss Henrietta Plum, who was born in 1821, 
in Maryland, and died in 1886 at her home in 
Georgia. The survivors of a family of seven 
children are: Mary who is the wife of Walter 
Wilkins, and lives at Portland, Ore. ; Florence, 
who is the wife of F. B. Arden, of Savannah, 
Ga., and has one son, Frank; Mattie, who is 
the widow of Richard Hervey, lives at Savan- 
nah and has two children : Richard and Retta ; 
Frank L. ; Elizabeth, who is the wife of James 
Metcalf; and Emma, who is the wife of T. L. 



802 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



O'Connor, and has one daughter by a former 
marriage. 

Frank L. Tyree, prior to coming to Charles- 
ton in 1901, was more or less interested in coal 
mining and for five years had been president of 
the M. B. coal mines at Mt. Carbon, W. Va. 
He was married in Putnam county to Miss 
Mary Bowling, who was born in Poca district, 
Putnam county, in 1867 and was educated at 
Staunton and Lewisburg, W. Va. She is the 
daughter of James and Mattie (Tyree) Bowl- 
ing, the former of whom was born in Amherst 
county, Va., a son of Louis and Ann (Penn) 
Bowling. The father of Mrs. Tyree was an 
only child and inherited much property, his 
father having owned 280 slaves. He died in 
the prime of life and his widow survived him 
until 1888. She was a Presbyterian and a 
woman who was much beloved for her many 
endearing traits of character. Mrs. Tyree has 
three brothers and one sister: Lewis F., who is 
a physician in practice in Clay county, W. Va. ; 
William P., who is in business at Charleston, 
married and has four sons: Joseph, James, 
William and Miller; Anna, who is the wife of 
Dr. E. R. Erwin, residing at Clarence, Mo., 
and has had two children : Mattie, deceased, and 
Nellie; and John S., a commercial man resid- 
ing at Huntington, W. Va., who has one daugh- 
ter, Marguarite. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tyree have one son, Frank 
L., Jr. He was born October 2, 1892, and is 
a very promising- student, being in his junior 
year in the high school. He displays unusual 
talent and dexterity in mechanics of all kinds, 
having a natural leaning that makes him have 
an absorbing interest in chemistry and electri- 
city. In the home he has, with no outside as- 
sistance installed a complete wireless outfit and 
constructed all except the patented parts him- 
self. He will be afforded every opportunity to 
develop his talents in any direction in which 
they lead. Mr. Tyree is prominent in Masonry 7 , 
is principal sojourner of the Royal Arch degree 
and is a Shriner. Politically he is a Democrat 
and while in Georgia represented Screven coun- 
ty in the state legislature. 

HON. JOHN MORGAN COLLINS * who 
was elected in 1883 as a member of the West 



Virginia house of delegates and later filled 
other important public offices, has been in the 
insurance business at Charleston, W. Va., since 
1906. He was born May 10, 185 1, at Boston, 
Mass., and is a son of Thomas Collins, who was 
born in Ireland. 

In his boyhood the parents of Mr. Collins 
moved to Madison, Ind., where he had school 
advantages. Later he became an employe of 
Walter B. Brooks, then in the tobacco business 
at Madison, and so won the confidence of Mr. 
Brooks that when the latter removed, in 1868, 
to Maiden, Kanawha county, W. Va.. he invited 
Mr. Collins to accompany him. Mr. Brooks 
undertook the management of the salt furnace, 
known as the Daniel Boone plant, and also 
established a store, and for the following ten 
years was more or less dependent for faithful 
service as clerk, bookkeeper and assistant man- 
ager, on Mr. Collins, who filled all these offices. 
In the meanwhile, Mr. Collins had made hosts 
of friends for himself, and the confidence and 
esteem in which he was held by his fellow citi- 
zens in Kanawha county was shown on many 
occasions. He has occupied numerous public 
positions. For five years he was assistant post- 
master at Charleston, was school commissioner, 
city auditor, for five years was on the Peniten- 
tiary Board of West Virginia and was elected 
in 1883 to the state legislature. During his 
term as a member of the House of Representa- 
tives he was particularly interested in legisla- 
tion beneficial to miners and worked hard for 
the passage of the bill calling for the appoint- 
ment of an inspector of mines for the state. 
After his term as assistant postmaster expired, 
he became a superintendent of coal mines and 
superintendent of the West Virginia Railroad 
Company. 

Mr. Collins was married June 15, 1881, to 
Miss Addie A. Clark, who is a daughter of 
Alexander Clark, of Charleston. Mr. and Mrs. 
Collins reside at No. 1710 Piedmont road, 
Charleston. 

WILLIAM W. MUCKLOW. a retired coal 
mine operator, for years was actively interested 
in the operation and development of coal prop- 
erties and from every point of view is a prac- 
tical mine man. He was born in the vicinity of 



MATHEW SANDS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



805 



Scranton, Pa., fifty-nine years ago and began 
to work as a breaker boy. when only ten years 
of age, and from that humble position was ad- 
vanced steadily and for seventeen years was 
inside superintendent of mines at Scranton be- 
fore he became associated with his brothers in 
the development of coal properties. 

There were four Mucklow brothers and of 
these E. P. and William W. became very active 
in the coal business. E. P. Mucklow, who is 
now deceased, was very prominent in financier- 
ing the developing of the Mucklow coal mines 
on Paint Creek, Kanawha county, the first 
shovel of dirt thrown in the opening of these 
mines being on Thanksgiving Day. 1900. by 
the mine boss, John Cox. William W. Muck- 
low became general manager of the enterprise, 
which was called the Scranton Splint Coal Com- 
pany, the late E. P. Mucklow being secretary 
and treasurer, and W. Boyer, president. The 
first mine was known as the Scranton Splint 
mine, and the second, opened in 1902. as the 
Paint Creek mine, and a third, known as the 
Banner mine, was opened and operated by the 
same company. Mr. Mucklow's two other 
brothers are also connected with the company, 
George G. being storekeeper, and Richard, the 
mechanical engineer. After the business was 
well under way. the Mucklow brothers, under 
the name of the Scranton Splint Coal Company, 
shipped 1,500 tons of coal a day. Later it be- 
came a part of a consolidation known as the 
Paint Creek Collieries Company, one of the 
largest operators in the Kanawha Coal fields. 

Mr. Mucklow was married at Scranton, Pa., 
to Miss Effie Miller, a daughter of Adam Mil- 
ler, the latter of whom moved from New Jersey 
to Scranton when that present notably beauti- 
ful city had but two houses and he melted the 
first iron ore in that famous iron section and 
became a well-known citizen. Two sons and 
six daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Mucklow: Jessie, who died in September, 19 10, 
aged thirty-one years ; Bertha, who is the wife 
of John Phillips, who is in business at Scran- 
ton. and has one daughter, Helen : Elizabeth, 
who is the wife of Frank Snyder, a mine super- 
intendent living at Charleston, and has three 
children : Lucy, Herbert and Helen ; Josephine, 
who is the wife of John A. Green, superintend- 



ent of the Paint Creek Collieries Company, re- 
siding at Charleston, and has two children: 
Majorie and Norman; Maude, who is the wife 
of George Arnott and resides in New York 
City; Effie, who is the wife of Samuel H. 
Stone, a physician at Paint Creek, and has one 
son. Samuel : Edward, who is identified with 
the Singer Sewing Machine Company, at Cin- 
cinnati, married Nina Owens of Charleston and 
has two children : Nedra and Donald ; and Wil- 
liam W.. Jr., who is a clerk in the Paint Creek 
Company store. Politically Mr. Mucklow is 
a Republican. The family belongs to the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. 

MATHEW SANDS, a retired farmer of 
Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va., and also 
a veteran of the great Civil war, was born in 
Braxton county, Va., May 31, 1843, and is a 
son of James and Barbara Ellen (Mace) 
Sands. 

James Sands was born in Braxton county, of 
which his parents, Mathew and Lucia (Fields) 
Sands were also natives. He was a farmer and 
in 1854 moved to the head of One-Mile creek 
with his family, being one of the earliest set- 
tlers in this section. He died in 1864, aged 
forty-six years, but his widow survives. Her 
birth took place in Braxton county, Va., in 
181 2. and she is the oldest living resident of 
Kanawha county and remarkable as it may 
seem, she is in full possession of all of her fac- 
ulties. She is a daughter of Henry and Polly 
( Davis) Mace, who were the oldest settlers of 
Braxton county. Of ten children born to James 
Sands and wife, there are two sons and three 
daughters surviving, namely : David, residing 
in Clay county, W. Va. ; Sarah A., wife of Vin- 
ton Z. Copen; Lovisa, wife of J. Rogers, of 
Clay county; Jemima, wife of J. Theel, of 
Kanawha county; and Mathew, of the present 
record. James Sands was an active politician 
and was a member of the Whig party. 

After his school days were over, Mathew 
Sands assisted his father on the home farm un- 
til August, 1 861, when he enlisted for service 
in the Civil war, entering Company C, 8th 
Va. Vol. Inf., under General Fremont and 
was with his regiment for three years in the 
Shenandoah Valley, reenlisting for the same 



806 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



period or during the war, in 1864, and being 
honorably discharged in 1865, having passed 
through this long period of danger without any 
serious injury. After his return home he 
learned the carpenter trade which he followed 
at Charleston for thirty years, when he gave 
it up and located on his present place in Elk 
district and became a farmer. For fifteen years 
he conducted a general store here and for 
twenty-five years was interested in an under- 
taking business on Cooper creek. Mr. Sands 
has now entirely laid aside business cares and 
has rented his farm to a reliable tenant. He 
remains interested in the George Crook Post, 
G. A. R., at Charleston, of which he is a char- 
ter member. He has held many district of- 
fices in the gift of the Republican party, of 
which he has been an influential member for 
many years. 

On January 19, 1868, Mr. Sands was mar- 
ried first to Miss Elmyra Gatewood, a daugh- 
ter of Perry and Sarah (Slack) Gatewood. 
Mrs. Sands died June 9, 1871, at the age of 
twenty-one years, leaving two children : Perry 
C, a merchant at Charleston, who married 
Flora Gibson and they have one child; and Ida 
May, who is the wife of George Hammack, 
of Charleston, and they have eight children. 
Mr. Sands was married second, in 1874, to 
Miss Rachel Mace, who is the only living mem- 
ber of a family of eleven children born to her 
parents, who were Jacob R. and Anna (Moore) 
Mace. Mr. and Mrs. Sands have no children. 

MATHIAS WEHRLE, M. D., one of the 
well-known physicians of Kanawha county, W. 
Va., whose chosen field of labor is Elk district, 
has been practicing in this vicinity for the past 
eleven years. He was born February 5, 1865, 
at Charleston, W. Va., a son of Valentine and 
Mary (Orth) Wehrle. 

Joseph Wehrle, the grandfather of Dr. 
Wehrle, was a son of George Wehrle, a wine 
grower of Germany, who also followed distill- 
ing wine and raising fruit. He died in 1849 
at the age of forty-six years. He was married 
to Agnes Werner, who died in Charleston. Val- 
entine Wehrle was born in Baden, Germany, 
and came with his family to America in 1857, 
locating first at Charleston, where he engaged 



in farming, and later became connected with the 
liquor business, in which he continued until his 
death in May, 1875. He married Man' Orth, 
daughter of Mathias Orth, also of Ger- 
many, and they had three children: 
Mathias, Joseph B. of Denver, Col., and Cath- 
erine, who is deceased. After the death of her 
first husband, Mrs. Wehrle was married to John 
Siegenthaler, of Switzerland, and they located 
on Cooper's Creek, where Mrs. Siegenthaler 
died February 27, 1897. By the second union 
there were two daughters : Elizabeth, who mar- 
ried B. K. Given, of Pynesville, Ky. ; and Susan, 
who married George Hemmersdorfer of Elk 
district. 

Mathias Wehrle attended the common schools 
until sixteen years of age and then took a course 
at St. Alban's Institute, after which he taught 
school for three years. He then became inter- 
ested in the timber business, in which he con- 
tinued until deciding upon a medical career, 
when he entered the University of Vermont and 
later attended the University of Maryland. 
After his graduation he commenced practice 
in Jackson county, but in 1894 settled in Elk 
district, where he has continued to the present 
time. He is heavily interested in oil and gas 
development in Elk district, being president of 
the Elk Gas and Oil Co., of Charleston, and of 
the Shepherd Oil Co., in addition to being a 
large real estate owner in Charleston. 

Dr. Wehrle was married June 1, 1904, to 
Mary Fogarty, who was born January 26, 1875, 
at Cooper's Creek, a daughter of Jerry and 
Elizabeth (Hanna) Fogarty. Dr. and Mrs. 
Wehrle have two children : Elizabeth, born May 
14, 1905 ; and Marion, born July 5, 1908. Dr. 
W'ehrle is a charter member of Blue Creek 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is active in his 
support of the principles of the Independent 
party, and has held the office of county com- 
mitteeman. 

UPSHUR HIGGINBOTHAM, in whose 
death, which occurred September 7, 191 1, the 
city of Charleston, W. Va., lost one of its prom- 
inent young attorneys and popular citizens, was 
born near Athens, Mercer county, W. Va., De- 
cember 1, 1875, a son of Henry and Mary Su- 
san (Austin) Higginbotham. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



807 



Henry Higginbotham, who was also a native 
of Mercer county, was born in 1840, and 
throughout his life was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. He was a prominent Republican, 
serving as justice of the peace for a number of 
years. During the Civil War he was a mem- 
ber of the 17th W. Va. Cav., Federal army, 
under Col. French, and participated bravely in 
a number of important engagements. His 
death occurred in 1886. Mr. Higginbotham 
was married in Mercer county, to Mary Susan 
Austin, daughter of Rev. Garland A. and Eliza- 
beth (Hankins) Austin, natives of Henry coun- 
ty, Va. They were married there, but after the 
birth of six sons and six daughters came to 
Mercer county, W. Va., and there spent the re- 
mainder of their lives, Mr. Austin passing away 
at the age of eighty- four years, while his widow 
survived him until 1890, being ninety years of 
age at the time of her death. Both were mem- 
bers of the Christian church, in which Mr. 
Austin was a minister from young manhood 
until old age, infirmities causing his retirement. 
In political matters he was a Democrat. Of 
their twelve children, two sons and five daugh- 
ters were married and one son and three 
daughters still survive and have families. Five 
of their sons were in the Civil War. namely: 
Raleigh T., Dennis M., Daniel T., William C. 
and Albert G. Of these, Dennis M. was 
wounded at the battle of Winchester, and died 
in the hospital; Raleigh received a gunshot 
wound in the battle of Petersburg and died in- 
stantly; and Daniel T. also was wounded, but 
survives at this time, as do the other two sol- 
dier-brothers. Mrs. Henry Higginbotham was 
born in 1844, in Henry county, Va. 5 but was 
reared principally in Mercer county, and still 
lives, making her home with her children. She 
has been an active member of the Christian 
church all of her life. Of the children born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Higginbotham, one died in in- 
fancy; Marshall N., a graduate of the St. Louis 
Law school, and a prominent attorney of 
Charleston, married Mary Higginbotham of 
Taswell, Va., and has one daughter, Virginia; 
Olive is the wife of John G. Ellinghausen; T. 
Jefferson, a railroad engineer on the Virginia 
Railroad, married Macie Thorne, of Princeton, 
W. Va. ; and Upshur is deceased. 



Upshur Higginbotham was about fourteen 
years of age when he began work on a news- 
paper and a few years later entered Concord 
Norman. After that he taught school in Mc- 
Dowell and Mercer counties for several years 
and then entered the West Virginia University. 
After leaving the law department of that insti- 
tution, he engaged in the practice of law at 
Hinton, W. Va., and also edited the Summers 
Republican, and in addition to these activities 
he was appointed a referee in bankruptcy and 
later became private secretary to Congressman 
Joseph H. Gaines. After having been in Hin- 
ton for about four years, Mr. Higginbotham 
came to Charleston, where he was prominently 
identified in the practice of law until the time of 
his death. He was also active and successful as 
a Republican politician, being for six years 
secretary of the Congressional Committee of 
the Third district and for four years chairman 
of that committee. In 191 1, at the time of his 
death, he had been acting in the capacity of city 
solicitor for two years, an office to which he 
had been appointed my Mayor Holley. 
Throughout his public life in Charleston, Mr. 
Higginbotham enjoyed the friendship of hun- 
dreds of citizens who recognized in him a man 
of sterling qualities, always fair and honorable, 
and an active worker in all things which were 
for the good of his city and his party. He was 
a member of the local lodge of Elks and was 
also a charter member of Delta Tau Delta fra- 
ternity at West Virginia University. The fu- 
neral services were held under the auspices of 
the Charleston Lodge of Elks. 

In May, 1902, Mr. Higginbotham was mar- 
ried at Lowell, Summers county, W. Va., to 
Miss Roberta R. Kesler, who was born in that 
county, October 21, 1880, and educated in the 
public schools and the Concord State Normal 
College, from which latter institution she was 
graduated with the class of 1900. Abraham 
C. Kesler, grandfather of Mrs. Higginbotham, 
was a soldier in the Civil War, Confederate 
States Army. Her parents, Henry F. and Ella 
M. (Lively) Kesler, are now residents of 
Lowell, Mr. Kesler being a prosperous farmer 
and prominent Democrat, having served for 
some years as superintendent of schools. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Kesler were attendants of the 



808 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



State Normal school at Athens, W. Va., and 
he was well a known teacher of vocal music 
during the earlier days of singing schools. Four 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Higgin- 
botham, namely: Mary Catherine, who was 
born March 2, 1903 ; Henry Wesler, born 
March 30, 1905; Lucy Austin, born March 11, 
1908; and Upshur, born January 9, 1910. 

GEORGE A. SCHLOSSTEIN, president of 
the Dunkirk Window Glass Company, of South 
Charleston, W. Va., a very large and important 
enterprise, is a representative and successful 
business man of this city. He was born August 
10, 1867, in Germany, and is a son of George 
and Mary Schlosstein. 

George Schlosstein was born in Germany 
and in early manhood crossed the Atlantic 
ocean in a sailing vessel that required fifty-four 
days to make the voyage. He landed in New 
York and went from there to Cincinnati, where 
he learned the brewing business, and from there 
to St. Louis, Mo., where he embarked in both 
a grocery and liquor business, later selling the 
grocery store to a brother. He continued to 
handle high grade wines and liquors which were 
shipped to him from Europe by his brothers. 
On September 1, 1877, he went into partner- 
ship with a Mr. Shaffer under the firm name 
of Shaffer & Schlosstein, in the manufacture of 
window glass, and remained in that city until 
1894, when he discontinued there. Then, with 
his son, George A., he bought out the business 
of C. P. Cole, at Dunkirk, Ind., and started 
there with fine equipments and double capacity, 
but at that time natural gas was attracting in- 
vestments to that point and the father retired 
and returned to St. Louis, where his death oc- 
curred January 20, 1897, at the age of sixty- 
five years. His widow survives and makes her 
home at St. Louis, where some of her nine 
children live. 

George A. Schlosstein has been connected 
with window glass making almost his entire 
business life. He was born in Germany, while 
his parents were on a visit there, his mother 
being a native of Cleveland, O. His boyhood 
home was St. Louis, Mo., where he went to the 
public schools until sixteen years of age, when 
he entered Washington University, where he 



was a student for three years and then was 
graduated from one of the mechanical depart- 
ments. After his return, with a fund of prac- 
tical knowledge, he went into the glass business 
with his father and mastered all its details and 
continued in the business in St. Louis until 
1894, when the plant was moved to Dunkirk, 
Ind., where operations were continued until 
1907, when Mr. Schlosstein came to Charles- 
ton, establishing himself on his present site at 
South Charleston, his plant occupying seven 
and one-half acres, property which he owns. 
His factories are constructed of cement blocks 
and are equipped in a thoroughly modern man- 
ner. When operating at full power, he gives 
employment to 200 people. He has fine rail- 
road facilities, his plant being on the main line 
of the C. & O. Railroad. 

Mr. Schlosstein was married to Miss Eliz- 
abeth Shadburne, of Louisville, Ky. They 
have a fine home in South Charleston and they 
are members of the German Lutheran church. 
In politics he is a Democrat. 

FRANCIS L HAPTONSTALL, one of 
Charleston's substantial retired business men, 
resides in his comfortable home at No. 1541 
Washington street, having erected his residence 
here in 1905, and since 1858 has been a resident 
of this city. He was born December 28, 1834, 
near Frankford, in Greenbrier county, Va., and 
is a son of Isaac and Cynthia B. (Carpenter) 
Haptonstall. 

Isaac Haptonstall was also born in Green- 
brier county, where he spent his eighty years of 
life. He was a stone mason by trade and also 
followed farming. During the War of 1812 
he was drafted but secured a substitute. In 
politics he was a Whig and in religion a Bap- 
tist. He married Cynthia B. Carpenter, who 
was born on the Peedee river, in North Caro- 
lina, where her father died when she was 
young. The widow and children subsequently 
settled in Greenbrier county and all died there. 
Mrs. Haptonstall was a devoted worker in the 
Baptist church and always provided a hearty 
welcome for the traveling preachers of that 
faith. Eight children were born to Isaac Hap- 
tonstall and his wife, as follows: James, who 
was a brickmason by trade, died in Texas in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



809 



1880, survived by three sons and one daugh- 
ter; Sarah A., who died at Charleston, was the 
wife of Samuel Robinson and they had three 
daughters and one son; Samuel C, who prob- 
ably met death while serving as a soldier in the 
Confederate Army during the Civil War ; David 
S-, who died in Greenbrier county left two sons 
and three daughters; John E., who was a far- 
mer at the time of death, lived in Green- 
brier county; Elizabeth M., who married twice, 
is the widow of Denison G. Potter and lives 
with her children in Kansas ; Francis L. ; and 
Aurelia Maria, who is the widow of Richard 
Snead, and resides with a daughter in Fayette 
county, W. Va. 

Francis L. Haptonstall attended subscription 
schools in boyhood and the David L. Ruffner 
school at Charleston, and later Allegheny Col- 
lege. He learned the brickmason trade and 
followed it during his entire period of active 
life, working in Greenbrier, Monroe and Kana- 
wha counties and being concerned in the con- 
struction of many of the most imposing and 
substantial buildings in this section. During 
the Civil War he was a brave and cheerful sol- 
dier, serving for nearly three years and bear- 
ing the rank of sergeant. On August 13, 1862, 
he enlisted in Co. E, 13th W. Va. Vol. Inf., 
and was honorably discharged June 22, 1865, 
in the interim having participated in many bat- 
tles and in the dangerous campaign through 
the Shenandoah Valley. 

Mr. Haptonstall was married first to Miss 
Mary C. Hyer, who was born in 1837, her par- 
ents being of Jackson county, now West Vir- 
ginia. Her death took place at Charleston in 
1872 and she was survived by three children: 
Marcus L., who is weighmaster for a coal com- 
pany and lives at Boomer, W. Va., is married 
and has two sons and three daughters; Flor- 
ence, who is the wife of John Crawford, and 
lives in Illinois ; and Mary, who is the wife of 
Samuel Morgan, residing on Tupper Creek, 
Kanawha county. Mr. Haptonstall's second 
marriage took place in 1873, at Gallipolis, O., 
to Miss Katherine S. Conser, who was born 
July 30, 1 86 1, at Lock Haven, Pa., a daughter 
of George and Sarah Conser. Mrs. Hapton- 
stall is one of nine children, eight of the family 
still living. She is a member of the Methodist 



church, while Mr. Haptonstall is a Baptist. He 
is a Republican in politics and was a member 
of the first city council under the first charter, 
just after the war. 

OSCAR ALFONSO VEAZEY, civil and 
mining engineer at Pratt, W. Va., a man of 
years of experience along the line of his pro- 
fession, established his home at Pratt, W. Va., 
in 1877, but prior to that had been engaged in 
railroad construction in Kanawha county. He 
was born at Kanawha Falls, now Glen Ferris, 
Fayette county, W. Va., May 25, 185 1, and is 
a son of James A. and Eliza (Stockton) 
Veazey. 

James A. Veazey was born in Beaver county, 
Pa., and his wife at Kelly's Creek, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., her father, Aaron Stockton 
having settled there in 1830. James A. Veazey 
followed surveying in early manhood, but later 
became commander of a steamboat that plied 
between Pittsburg and Cincinnati. He died 
December 15, i860, surviving his wife for one 
year, and the burial of both was at Gauley 
Bridge, in Fayette county. Of their five chil- 
dren, Oscar Alfonso is the sold survivor. 

After the death of his parents, Oscar A. 
Veazey went to live with his maternal grand- 
parents and attended the private school taught 
by James H. Miller, Jr., and his wife, at Gau- 
ley Bridge. His next school was at Fayette- 
ville, where he was under the instruction of 
Prof. Heath, of Baltimore, and during the 
Civil War he pursued his studies with Mr. Brott 
at Charleston. In 1866 he entered St. Vin- 
cent's College, at Wheeling, where he remained 
for three years. On September 1, 1869, he 
came to Sewell, W. Va., as a member of the 
engineering corps under the late Major W. A. 
Jones, for the C. & O. Railroad, locating the 
line from Sewell to Hawks Nest. He then 
entered the office of the company at Kanawha 
Falls, doing estimating work, the offices being 
moved to Charleston in 1870. From then to 
1872 he held the position of level rodman in 
the construction work between Winifrede Junc- 
tion and Huntley, under A. H. Campbell, a 
resident engineer, and during the larger part 
of the time was assistant engineer, the others 
having in the meantime resigned. This was 



810 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the best kind of practical experience. In 1872 
he opened a civil engineering office of his own, 
doing land surveying, mining and railroad 
work, and continued there until 1877, when he 
married and then settled at Clifton, which now 
is Pratt, at the same time transferring his busi- 
ness office. 

On May 24, 1877, Mr. Veazey was married 
to Miss Mattie B. Smith, a daughter of J. S. 
F. and Martha J. (Hansford) Smith. Mrs. 
Veazey died October 21, 1906, survived by 
the following children: Verna, wife of J. A. 
B. Holt; Victor S., a civil engineer, married 
Marguerite Beirne; Kathleen E., wife of Brad- 
ford Coleman; Edward, a mechanical engin- 
eer; Louis A.; and three deceased. Mr. Vea- 
zey was married October 27, 1908, to Miss 
Maude C. Peery, a daughter of the late Capt. 
Thomas Peery, of Culpeper, Virginia, and they 
have two children: Genevieve and Mary A. 
Mr. Veazey is a member of the Roman Cath- 
olic church and belongs to the Knights of 
Columbus, at Charleston. 

JOHN H. HIGH, for many years an im- 
portant government official and a prominent 
Republican in Kanawha county, W. Va., and a 
member of the Charleston bar, although not an 
active practitioner, was born in Kanawha coun- 
ty, March 9, 1848, a son of Edwin and Martha 
(Slack) High. 

Edwin High was bom in Chester county, 
Pa., March 17, 1817 and he accompanied his 
parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Green) 
High, to what is now Harrison county, W. Va., 
in 1 82 1. They were pioneers in that section 
and acquired and improved land and Benjamin 
High and wife spent their remaining years 
there. He was a Democrat but all his six sons 
except one, became Whigs and later Republi- 
cans. In 1838, Edwin High came to Kanawha 
county and settled at Charleston, fanning be- 
ing, however, his main occupation. He died 
in Kanawha county when aged fifty-four years 
and four days. He was a man of courage and 
deep convictions politically and cast his first 
presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, 
and many years later cast the only vote for 
Abraham Lincoln in all Kanawha county. 
He married Martha Slack, who was born on the 



Elk river, Kanawha county, March 31, 181 5, 
and died at the home of her son, John H., in 
Charleston, November 20, 1893. She was a 
daughter of John and Comfort (Samuels) 
Slack, and a granddaughter of Philip Slack, 
who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
This veteran spent his last years in Kanawha 
county. Four children were born to Edwin 
and Martha High, three of whom survive, 
the eldest son dying in infancy. John H. was 
the second born. Charles resides with his fam- 
ily on a farm in Poca district, Kanawha coun- 
ty. Mary is the wife of Alexander Burns. 
She resides in Elk district and has one child. 

John H. High was reared and educated in 
Kanawha county. \\ 'hen seventeen years of 
age, in 1865, he enlisted in a company of the 
West Virginia State Guards and served three 
months, when the war closed. For twenty- 
three years Mr. High taught school in Kanawha 
county, prior to accepting a public office, and 
served two terms as a member of the board of 
education. In 1889 he was admitted to the 
bar at Charleston but in the same year he went 
into the revenue service of the government 
and never has given a great deal of attention 
to the practice of his profession. As far back 
as 1868 he was made a notary public and served 
continuously in that office until December, 1910. 
Also in 1889 he was appointed internal revenue 
guager, under President Harrison's adminis- 
tration, for the district of West Virginia, and, 
with the exception of the years of President 
Cleveland's administration, has been contin- 
uously in this office, being reinstated in 1897, 
under President McKinley. For 15 months 
afterward he was stationed in Kentucky, where 
he was government storekeeper under Collect- 
ors Sam J. Roberts and John W. Yerkes. He 
is a factor in county politics and at one time 
was a member of the Republican county com- 
mittee. 

Mr. High was married in Kanawha county, 
to Miss Caroline Olive, who was born here in 
1850, and they have had six children: Greens- 
bury, who died when aged twenty-five years; 
Ella; Martha, who is the wife of Charles M. 
Roberts, of Charleston and has two children — 
Charles and Rheul; Charles G, John L. ; and 
Anna who is the wife of C. S. Bracken, of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



811 



Middleport, 0., and has two children — John 
High and Bennetta. 

WILLIAM R. MALONE * a well known 
contractor at Charleston, W. Va., was born in 
Botetourt county, Va. y May 5, 1840, and is a 
son of William and Rebecca (Borden) Malone, 
and a grandson of Thomas Malone. 

Thomas Malone was born about 140 years 
ago in County Waterford, Ireland and came to 
America about the time of the Revolutionary 
War. He found employment as a farm boy in 
Pennsylvania and remained there until 1780, 
when he moved with his family to Botetourt 
county, Va., where he acquired a plantation and 
there he and wife lived into advanced age. 
In Pennsylvania he married Sarah Oiler, who 
was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and their 
children were Thomas, John, Henry, William, 
James B., David, Sarah, and two other sons 
who moved to the far West, whose family rec- 
ords are not known. Thomas, the eldest born, 
was an officer in the War of 1812. James B. 
was the first of the family to come to the Kana- 
wha Valley, but later in life moved to Ken- 
tucky and there both he and wife died. Sub- 
sequently the other members of this large fam- 
ily came to Kanawha, all married and reared 
big families and while all have passed away 
they have surviving descendants. 

William Malone, father of William R. Ma- 
lone, was born in 1807, near Buchanan, in 
Botetourt county, Va. He learned the trade 
of bricklayer in early manhood and followed 
it for many years. For some years he had 
charge of large plantations, for eighteen years 
managing for Charles T. Beale and the Widow 
Taylor. Early in his political life he was a 
Whig but later became a Republican. His 
death occurred at Charleston, in 1880. In his 
native county he was married to Rebecca Bor- 
den, who died there in 1843, when in the prime 
of life. Of this marriage, the eldest son, 
Thomas, was born blind and died from the 
effects of an accident when five years old. 
Charles, the eldest survivor, a farmer and me- 
chanic who lives near Weston, in Kanawha 
county, was a private in the W. Va. Inf., in 
the Federal Army, serving four years in the 
Civil War. James, who was the second in 



order of birth, died in Kentucky, at the age of 
fifty-three years. He served all through the 
Civil War as a private in the 2nd Va. Cavalry. 
William R. was the youngest of his mother's 
children.' 

His father was married secondly to Sallie 
Bryan, a native of Virginia, who died in Up- 
shur county, W. Va., when aged sixty-two 
years, the mother of six children, as follows : 
Laura B., who died unmarried; Rhoda, who is 
the wife of Mr. Morrison, and resides at Graf- 
ton, W. Va. ; Anna, who is deceased ; Zacha- 
riah T., now living in Gilmer county, W. Va., 
who served as a private in the 3rd Va. Cavalry 
during the Civil War; Benjamin F., now one 
of the leading and influential citizens of Bu- 
chanan, Botetourt county, who enlisted when 
only fifteen years of age in the 3rd W. Va. 
Vol. Cavalry; and Andrew, who died unmar- 
ried at Kansas City, Kansas. 

William R. Malone was seven years old when 
the family moved to Maiden, Kanawha county. 
He remained at home for some years and at- 
tended school and then started out for himself. 
While he was in Mason county, now West 
Virginia, the Civil War broke out and in 1861 
he enlisted for service, in Co. D, 4th W. Va. 
Vol. Inf., with the rank of sergeant, and served 
continuously until 1865, being promoted to first 
lieutenant. He took part in many serious bat- 
tles and was in that branch of the army com- 
manded by General Grant during the long cam- 
paign which resulted in the capture of Vicks- 
burg. He was an earnest and enthusiastic sol- 
dier and predicted the surrender of General 
Lee and frequently asserted that he would 
never resign his commission until that surren- 
der took place. He was as good as his word, 
sending in his resignation on the day following, 
but it was not accepted and he served until he 
was honorably discharged. He was never cap- 
tured although frequently in the greatest dan- 
ger, and was twice but slightly wounded. Mr. 
Malone is a member of George Crook Post, 
G. A. R., at Charleston. Since the close of the 
war he has been engaged in contracting in this 
city and makes a specialty of concrete side- 
walks. 

M. Malone was married September 14, 1865, 
to Miss Sarah Alexander, who was born in 



812 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Maiden district, Kanawha county, January 23, 
1845, a daughter of Otis C. and Mary A. (Ma- 
lone) Alexander. Mr. Alexander was born in 
Bedford county and Mrs. Alexander in Bote- 
tourt county, Va. They were married in Kana- 
wha county and lived here until after the 
Civil War and then moved to Greenup county, 
Ky., where he died at the age of seventy-four 
years, and she when aged fifty-two years. They 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. They were the parents of nine 
children, of which family Mrs. Malone was 
the eldest. All married and all except herself 
now live in California. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Malone the following chil- 
dren were born: Mary R., who is the wife of 
J. W. Martin, and a resident of Charleston; 
Charles B., who is a contractor at Han ford, 
Calif., married Oneda Price and has two chil- 
dren, Virginia and Catherine; Lida B., a well 
educated young lady who resides at home; 
Otey A., who is a contractor in California; 
Kathaline R. ; Bertha G., who is the wife of 
C. G. W. Queale, residing at Swiftsville, Pa., 
and has one son, Charles William; William R., 
Jr., a concrete contractor, living in West 
Charleston, who married Flora Raynes and has 
three children — Mary E., Julia and Florence 
R. ; Edith O., who, like her sisters, is employed 
in a physician's office at Charleston; and Ben- 
jamin, who is in the employ of Lewis, Hubbard 
& Co., wholesale grocers. Mr. Malone and 
family attend the Presbyterian church. 

S. S. BEANE, who is one of the prominent 
and substantial men of Poca district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., where he owns 700 acres of 
fine land situated within two miles of Sisson- 
ville, was born at Winfield, Putnam county, 
Va., October 25, 1850, and is a son of John 
J. and a grandson of William Beane, two of 
whose sons became ministers. 

William Beane was born near Dublin, Ire- 
land, and in early manhood came from there to 
the United States, settling in Monroe county, 
Va., where he engaged in farming, on Potts 
Creek. He was married there to Rachel Wise- 
man, who was born and died in that section, 
and the following children were born to them : 
John J., Thomas, Archibald M., Frank, Floyd, 



William, Betty, Lucinda, Caroline and Emily. 
During the Civil War, William Beane was ar- 
dent in his support of the Confederacy and it 
is possible that some differences of opinion be- 
tween him and a man named Booth, caused the 
latter to shoot the former, from the effects of 
which he died when aged about sixty years. 

John J. Beane was educated in Monroe coun- 
ty and afterward taught school in Kanawha 
county and also in Ohio. When he came to 
Kanawha county, in 1845, he was unmarried 
but shortly afterward he was united to Mary 
A. Summers, at Winfield, Putnam county. She 
was born at Halifax, Va., a daughter of Sam- 
uel Summers. After his marriage, John J. 
Beane lived in Putnam and Kanawha counties, 
being engaged in teaching school and also as 
a merchant at St. Albans and Sissonville. 
About 1853 he bought 400 acres of land in 
Poca district, which was known as the old Der- 
rick tract, and to this first purchase he added 
until he had three farms, all in the same dis- 
trict, aggregating 12.000 acres. It was all 
wild land but he was a man of much enterprise 
and brought about the clearing of almost the 
whole tract. He was the first man in this dis- 
trict to sow blue grass seed. In his early polit- 
ical life he was a Democrat, but later changed 
in his opinions and cast his first Republican 
vote for William McKinley. For a number of 
years he was a justice of the peace, was consta- 
ble for some time and held other offices. The 
children who lived to maturity, born to J. J. 
Beane and wife were the following: S. S. ; 
W. S., who lives on Poca river, three miles 
south of Sissonville, married Mary Johnson, a 
daughter of W. H. Johnson ; Arabella Wilmira, 
who was a graduate of Marshall College, died 
three months afterward, when aged seventeen 
years. The family home continued to be on 
the 400-acre tract that the father had first 
bought, and there his death occurred June 26, 
1890. He was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

S. S. Beane attended the schools of Poca 
district and then taught one term of school on 
Derrick Creek, after which he began farming 
on his present land where he has continued to 
live, a large portion of which he assisted to 
clear. He is his own manager and overseer 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



813 



and carries on extensive farm operations and 
also raises cattle and sheep. He has a part of 
his land leased to an oil and gas company. In 
politics he is a Republican and has served for 
two terms as a member of the board of educa- 
tion in Poca district. 

Mr. Beane was married to Miss Lucinda R. 
Matthews, a daughter of F. W. Matthews, of 
Sissonville, and the following children have 
been born to them : W. F., who resides in Poca 
district, married a daughter of Frank Carney's, 
and they have the following children — Goldie 
Beatrice, Golden S., Goble F., Ruby, Kyle and 
Irene; Effie B., who- is deceased, was the wife 
of J. S. Fisher, and is survived by two chil- 
dren — Eula and Nellie; John J., who was mar- 
ried first to a Miss Woodall and second to Lil- 
lian C. Humphreys, lives on his farm one mile 
from Sissonville and has three children, born to 
his first union — Senate Benton, Paul Blackburn 
and Kenneth Clifford; and Ida G. and Ruby 
Pearl, both of whom are deceased. 

BRADFORD N. RUBY,* a representative 
business man of Charleston, W. Va., who, in 
partnership with a brother, John Christopher 
Ruby, make up the grocery and real estate firm 
of Ruby Brothers, was born at Charleston, 
and is a son of John Christopher and Mary 
Frances (Noyes) Ruby. 

John Christopher Ruby was born in 1838, 
in Gallia county, O., a son of John and Made- 
line (Tilly) Ruby, both of whom were born 
in Ohio. The Rubys were agriculturists and 
early settlers in Gallia county. The maternal 
grandmother of Bradford N. Ruby was born 
at Lyons, France, a daughter of a descendant 
of Count Tilly. The Tilly family became ob- 
noxious to the French government about 18 12 
and escaped from France and after reaching the 
United States, settled at Gallipolis, O. When 
eighteen years of age, John Christopher Ruby 
came to Charleston and embarked in the gro- 
cery trade on Kanawha street and continued in 
business almost until the time of his death, at 
the age of fifty-two years. He was a man of 
importance in this city, twice serving as mayor 
and enjoying the respect and confidence of his 
fellow citizens generally. He was married to 
Miss Mary Frances Noyes, who was born at 



Charleston in 1840 and died in 1870. She was 
a daughter of Bradford and Harrie Noyes, old 
residents of Kanawha county. Mrs. Noyes 
lived to the age of ninety years. Five chil- 
dren were born to John Christopher and Mary 
Frances Ruby, namely : Hallie M., now de- 
ceased, who was married at Richmond, Va., to 
Luther L. Vaughn, who is also deceased ; Mary 
F., who married Wood Donnelly, both now de- 
ceased ; Bradford N. ; John Christopher, who 
is the junior partner in the firm of Ruby Bro- 
thers; and Emma Floyd, who died at the age 
of twenty-one years. 

Bradford N. Ruby and his brother were ed- 
ucated in the Charleston schools. For thirty 
years they have been associated in business here 
under the firm name of Ruby Brothers and they 
are numbered with the substantial business men 
of the city. When they first occupied their 
present quarters, No. 15 Capital street, it was 
at the end of Capitol Lane. As grocers they 
carry a high grade stock, catering to the best 
trade. They are also extensive owners of res- 
idential property and during the last few years 
have acquired much realty and have shown their 
public spirit by improving it and making their 
holdings some of the most attractive and de- 
sirable parts of the city. Bradford N. Ruby 
and brother are both stanch Democrats and 
both are Masons, the former belonging to the 
Blue Lodge and the latter being a "Shriner." 
Bradford N. Ruby is a charter member of 
Lodge No. 202 Elks at Charleston. 

Mr. Ruby was married in Cincinnati, O., to 
Miss Naomi C. Carpenter, who was born and 
educated at Maysville, Ky., and is a daughter 
of William B. and Maggie (Coons) Carpenter, 
now retired residents of Cincinnati. Mr. Car- 
penter is a deacon in the Presbyterian church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ruby have one son, John Brad- 
ford, who is a member of the class of 191 3 in 
the Charleston High school, and an unusually 
bright student. Mr. and Mrs. Ruby are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. 

GEORGE HERMANSDORFER, a retired 
farmer, who has lived on his present place in 
Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va., since 
1869, was one of the first settlers in the Ger- 
man colony in this section and in his neighbor- 



814 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



hood is affectionately known as "Uncle 
George." He was born February 4, 1838, in 
Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of Nicholas 
and Maria (Kischner) Hermansdorfer. 

Nicholas Hermansdorfer waws a son of Pan- 
tratz Hermansdorfer, and they were farmers 
and died in Germany. Nicholas married Maria 
Kischner, who died in 1895, aged eighty years, 
having long survived her husband. She was 
a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Popp) Kisch- 
ner. Five children were born to them, their 
son George being the only survivor. 

George Hermansdorfer came to America in 
1866 and for three years worked on farms in 
Beaver county, Pa., and then came to Kanawha 
county and purchased 155 acres of timber land 
in Elk district, the only improvement on the 
plac being an old log cabin. This he soon re- 
placed with a substantial log house and subse- 
quently erected all the excellent buildings on 
the place. Mr. Hermansdorfer cleared his land 
and has long been considered a successful far- 
mer and gardener, although his previous work 
in Germany had been milling. Mr. Hermans- 
dorfer has always been a very active and in- 
dustrious man and is well preserved and still 
takes an interest in his farm operations, al- 
though the hard labor is done by his son-in-law 
Kelly Cummings. He is a Democrat in poli- 
tics and in former years served in several dis- 
trict officf.-s. 

In 1868 Mr. Hermansdorfer was married 
to Margaret Ehman, who died November 22, 
1910, at the age of seventy-two years. Of the 
nine children born to them there are five liv- 
ing, namely: Barbara is the wife of Clifton 
Edens, of Elk district, and they have seven chil- 
dren. John, who is a fanner, married Tacy 
Wheeler and they have five children. Anna is 
the wife of Kelly Cummings, a farmer on the 
homestead, and they have one daughter, Mar- 
garet Dora is the wife of John Thumm, a mer- 
chant at Elk City, and they have five children. 
Herman, who is a farmer, married Susie Sie- 
genthaler and they have two children. Mr. 
Hermansdorfer is a charter member of the 
Lutheran church in his neighborhood. He is 
widely known and universally esteemed. 



GEORGE SINGLETON,* who is doing a 
very satisfactory business in the grocery line 
at Charleston, W. Va., with quarters at No. 
114 Lovett street, was born in this city, April 
20, 1870, and is a son of George and Amanda 
(Jarrett) Singleton. 

The grandparents of Mr. Singleton lived and 
died in England. They had a large family — 
two sons, Thomas and George, and a number 
of daughters — none of whom ever married. 
George Singleton, father of George, was born 
in 1829, in Lancaster, England, where he grew 
to mature years and then came to America, lo- 
cating at Charleston, W. Va. He began busi- 
ness here as a baker and confectioner and pros- 
pered, and so continued until near the close of 
his life, when fifty years of age. A fine marks- 
man, he was fond of hunting, and frequently 
went after game. He belonged to no church, 
but was a kind, generous man, nor did he take 
any active part in political campaigns. He 
was twice married, and four children survived 
the first wife: Anna, Emma, Belle and Lillian, 
the last named being deceased. Anna is the 
wife of Joseph Harper, and they reside at Co- 
lumbus, Ohio, and have two children — Byron 
and Marion. 

The second marriage of Mr. Singleton was 
to Miss Amanda Jarrett, who was born in 
Raleigh county, W. Va., in 1840, and died at 
Point Pleasant, W. Va., April 24. 191 1, her 
burial being by the side of her husband in 
Spring Hill cemetery. Five children were born 
to this marriage, George being the second in 
order of birth. The others are: John, who is 
a plumber doing business at Gillipolis, O. ; 
Fred, who is a member of the police force of 
Charleston ; Mollie, who is the wife of William 
Kenney, of Point Pleasant; and Lulu, who is 
the wife of George A. Jones, residing at Cin- 
cinnati. 

George Singleton secured a public school 
education and was only a boy when he first be- 
came connected with the grocery business, his 
earliest duties in this line being delivering 
commodities in a basket to particular custom- 
ers. He then became a clerk and learned the 
details of the business so rapidly that soon 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



815 



afterward he went into business with his 
friend, Wayne Clay, shortly afterward pur- 
chasing Mr. Clay's interest and becoming sole 
proprietor. He continued his store until 
1896. For four years afterward he was a city 
patrolman, and then for three years he was 
with the wholesale house of Lewis, Hubbard & 
Co., grocerymen. In 1902 he opened his pres- 
ent store on Lovett street and has built up a 
large and reliable trade. Mr. Singleton is a 
Democrat in politics; and in 1901 he served as 
street commissioner and in May, 1908, he was 
elected councilman and served until May, 191 1. 

Mr. Singleton was married to Miss Etta 
Chapman, who was born in Gallia county, O., 
thirty-two years ago, a daughter of George 
and Malissa Chapman, natives of Ohio, who 
spent their last years at Charleston, their burial 
being in Spring Hill cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. 
Singleton's children are: Julian Walton, 
Laura F., George L., Homer C, Geraldine and 
Roseanna V. The elder children are in school, 
the eldest son making creditable progress in the 
High School. Mrs. Singleton is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

J. KING SHEPHERD, deputy sheriff of 
Kanawha county, W. Va., and a member of 
one of the prominent and substantial families 
of this section, was born in Kanawha county, 
August 22, 1872, and is a son of John and 
Louise Ann (Aultz) Shepherd, and a grand- 
son of Robert Shepherd. 

Robert Shepherd was born at Salem, Va., 
just after the close of the Revolutionary War, 
his parents being natives of England. He was 
probably reared and educated in Roanoke 
county, where he married Mary Good, and 
some time previous to the Civil War they 
moved to what is now West Virginia. Mr. 
Shepherd settled in Charleston district but sub- 
sequently purchased a farm in Union district, 
becoming a man of substance and importance 
there and he lived to be seventy-nine years of 
age, dying in 1889, and being survived six 
years by his widow. They were quiet, virtuous 
people, devout members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. Three children were born to 
them : John, B. King and James Robert. 

John Shepherd was born in 1833, at Salem, 



Roanoke county, Va., and died March 17, 191 1. 
He came to West Virginia in early manhood 
as a school teacher, teaching in both public and 
private institutions, and probably was one of 
the best informed men concerning the history 
of the great Kanawha valley in the state. He 
was an active member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and in his views on public questions 
was very clear headed, casting his vote with 
those working for Prohibition. He married 
Louise Ann Aultz, who was born in Kanawha 
county, in 1841, and died at Charleston, April 
6, 1907. Her parents were Adam and Mary 
(Samuels) Aultz, the former of whom came 
from Rockbridge county, Va., to Charleston 
settlement, in 1800, when the beautiful Capi- 
tal City had but one dwelling house, and when 
he could have bought this entire section of land 
for twenty-five cents per acre. Adam Aultz 
did purchase a tract of one thousand one hun- 
dred acres of unbroken timber land, situated 
about nine miles from the present city limits. 
It was possible to subsist on the wild game that 
was then abundant in the forest, but the pio- 
neer had to exercise caution and ingenuity in 
order to protect his family and stock from the 
bears, panthers and wolves which were frequent 
unwelcome visitors. He died at the age of 
seventy-nine years, after having cleared off 
some four hundred acres of his purchase. He 
was well and favorably known in his section, a 
man worthy and reliable in every relation of 
life. In religion he was a Methodist and in 
politics a Republican. Mrs. Aultz bore her 
part in life as became the wife of a pioneer and 
in spite of hardships during many years, sur- 
vived until 1890, rounding out eighty-eight 
years. The children of John and Louise Aultz 
were five in number: Clark W., L. Ella, Adam 
Robert, J. King and Mattie M. 

J. King Shepherd was educated in Charles- 
ton, after which he went into the nursery busi- 
ness, in which he continued until 1907, when 
he sold his nursery property to the Kanawha 
Land Company, locating at South Charleston. 
He continues to have some landed interest, 
however, and owns fifty-five acres, which, on 
account of its nearness to South Charleston, is 
yearly increasing in value. Politically he is a 
Republican, and since January 1, 1909, has 



816 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



been deputy sheriff. He has been active in 
party councils and for eight years has been a 
member of the Republican County Committee 
and is secretary of the organization. He is also 
quite prominent in fraternal circles, belonging 
to the Masons at St. Albans, the Odd Fellows 
at Spring Hill, the Knights of Pythias at Spring 
Hill, and to the Red Men, also at Spring Hill. 

HON. SAMUEL C. BURDETT, judge 
of the Circut Court for Kanawha County, 
W. Va., for many years has occupied a 
prominent position as a lawyer in this state, 
and since 1904 has honorably and efficiently 
served on the bench. Judge Burdett was 
born September 23, 1848, in Scioto County, 
O., and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Rat- 
cliffe) Burdett. 

Samuel Burdett was born in England and 
resided in Ohio for a number of years after 
coming to the United States and died there 
in 1869. He married Sarah Ratcliffe, who 
was born in Pennsylvania but was also of 
English ancestry, and eight children were 
born to them, Samuel C. Burdett being 
the youngest of the five who lived to ma- 
turity. 

Samuel C. Burdett attended the public 
schools in Ironton, O., to which place his 
parents moved while he was an infant and 
then learned the trade of decorator and 
painter under his father, and afterward fol- 
lowed the same more or less continuouslv 
until 1880. He was ambitious for other 
things, however, and from youth had de- 
termined to engage in the practice of law 
as a career, and thus, while following his 
trade, spent all his spare moments in study 
and was finally rewarded by being admitted 
to the bar in West Virginia. In November, 
1870, he located at Charleston, which place 
has remained his home. His rapid advance- 
ment at the bar followed as he soon dem- 
onstrated his ability as a criminal pleader 
and as such is probably best known over 
the state, in which branch of law he pos- 
sibly has no equal in West Virginia. In 1884 
he was first elected prosecuting attorney of 
Kanawha County and was subsequentlv 
re-elected and served until 1889. in which 



year he was appointed assistant United 
States district attorney, which important 
office he continued to fill for four years. 
W hen President Benjamin F. Harrison's 
administration closed, Judge Burdett re- 
turned to his private practice, from which 
he was again called by reappointment as 
assistant United States attorney, by Presi- 
dent McKinley. His private practice, how- 
ever, by this time demanded so large a part 
of his attention and its emoluments were 
so satisfactory, that in 1900, Judge Bur- 
dett resigned his public office and for the 
next four years devoted himself entirely 
to his clients, who sought his services from 
all over the state. As judge of the Circuit 
Court he has shown himself the master of 
every situation, and his clear and practical 
decisions have still further added to his 
former judicial reputation. 

Judge Burdett has been twice married, 
first to a member of the old Taylor family 
of Louisiana, who was survived by eight 
children. His second marriage was to Miss 
Mary Cunningham, of Greenbrier County, W. 
Va. Judge Burdett and family reside at 
No. 1423 Quarrier Street, Charleston. He 
is a very prominent factor in Republican 
politics in West Virginia and has the repu- 
tation of being intensely loyal to his friends. 

MOSES W. DONNALLY. oil operator and 
producer, at Charleston, W. Va.. was born in 
Maiden district, Kanawha county. W. Va., 
January 27, 1859, and is a son of Dryden and 
Mary Rebecca (Thomas) Donnally. His 
great-grandfather was Col. Andrew Donnally, 
who was an officer in the Revolutionary War 
and built Fort Donnally in Greenbrier county, 
near the Kanawha river. 

Dryden Donnally was born in 181 1. in the 
vicinity of Maiden, a son of Andrew and Mar- 
jorie (Van Bibber) Donnally. the former of 
whom was born in Greenbrier county, Va., and 
was one of the early settlers in Kanawha 
county and one of the pioneer salt makers. 
Dryden Donnally was a graduate of a medical 
college in Philadelphia and of the State College 
at Athens. O.. but he early became interested in 
salt making and merchandising and never prac- 



HON. SAMUEL C. BURDETT 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



819 



ticed his profession. He located in eastern Illi- 
nois, where his store was destroyed by a cyclone, 
after which he returned to Kanawha county 
and resumed business at Charleston, where his 
death occurred in 1884. He was a Whig in his 
political views, and was a member of the Pres- 
byterian church. In Jefferson district, Kana- 
wha county, he was married to Miss Mary Re- 
becca Thomas, who was born in this county in 
181 5, and died in the old home on the Kanawha 
river. Nine children were born to them, as fol- 
lows : Andrew M., who lives in Idaho ; Anna 
and Florence, who reside at Charleston ; Ed- 
ward, who died at the age of sixteen years; 
Alma, who died in childhood ; Fannie, who is 
the widow of J. P. Crawford, who was a busi- 
ness man of Terre Haute, Ind. ; Dryden, Jr., 
who died unmarried ; Mary Rebecca, who died 
in early womanhood; and Moses, W., who is 
the youngest of the family. 

Moses W. Donnally attended school until he 
was ten years old, since which time he has been 
self supporting. He became a merchant and 
later a newspaper man, acquiring a one-half in- 
terest in the Charleston Gazette, which, in 
1880, he converted into a daily. Subsequently, 
at different times, he owned every journal in 
this city, including the Daily News, the Daily 
Gazette and the Daily Mail. For the past ten 
years he has been connected with the oil busi- 
ness and for the past eighteen months has been 
president and manager of the Big Five Oil and 
Gas Company, a valuable property situated six- 
teen miles northeast of Marietta. O. He also 
has twelve oil wells in the same vicinity, and is 
additionally interested in several other oil com- 
panies. 

Mr. Donnally was married at Charleston in 

1887, to Miss Mollie Starke, who was born and 

reared here, a daughter of John Willis and 

Jane (Stone) Starke, and a granddaughter of 

James Terrell Starke, who was a descendant of 

Gen. John Stark, of Revolutionary War fame. 

Mr. and Mrs. Donnally have four children : M. 

Starke, who is a student in the University of 

West Virginia: Edward T., who is a member 

of the class of 1912, in the Charleston High 

school; Mary P., who is a member of the class 

of 19 14. in the same school: and Willis Ward, 

who is fourteen years old, and attends the pub- 
45 



lie schools. The family are all members of the 
Presbyterian church. Mr. Donnally is a char- 
ter member of Lodge No. 202, Elks, at Charles- 
ton, in which he has served officially, and is 
also an Odd Fellow. He is a progressive Re- 
publican in politics, with independent ten- 
dencies. 

CHARLES H. BOARD, who is engaged in 
the contracting business at Clendenin, W. Va., 
was born September 23, 1877, in Big Sandy 
district, Kanawha county, W. Va., and is a son 
of John H. and Susan (Guinn) Board. 

John H. Board was born in Big Sandy dis- 
trict, December 15, 1850, a son of Patrick and 
Rebecca (Cobb) Board. The grandfather, 
born in Jackson county, Va., was the founder 
of the family in Big Sandy district, Kanawha 
county, securing the present family homestead, 
on which his son, John H., has spent his life 
and now lives retired. The latter was en- 
gaged in fanning through his active years and 
built the old Board sawmill that is still in ope- 
ration. He married Susan Guinn, a daughter 
of Thomas and Rachel (Harrah) Guinn, of 
Raleigh county, and the following children 
were born to them : Patrick T., residing at 
Charleston; Charles H. ; Nona M., wife of M. 
C. Shaver, a farmer living at Wellf ord ; Laura, 
wife of W. L. Brown; O. E., of Garrison, Ky. ; 
Kittie, wife of E. G. Young, of Wellford; and 
Carlos, living at home. 

Charles H. Board attended school through 
boyhood and then began railroading, spending 
many years with the C. & O. railway in the line 
of contracting and construction work. At pres- 
ent he is associated also with his brother in 
building and contracting on the Coal River 
division of the above mentioned railroad. He 
is widely known in railroad circles and has 
property investments at Clendenin, Kanawha 
county. 

Mr. Board married Miss Etta Shaver, who 
was born in 1880, in Roane county, a daughter 
of W. H. and Ann (Turpin) Shaver, farming 
people in Roane county. Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Board : Hila Vivian, 
Eugene Francis, and Thelma Vale, their ages 
ranging from six to two years. Mr. Board per- 
forms all the duties of citizenship but takes no 



820 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



very active interest in politics and belongs to no 
fraternal organizations. 

CLAUDE M. BOREN, district commercial 
manager of the Southern Bell Telephone and 
Telegraph Company, of Charleston, W. Va., 
for the past seven years has been representing 
the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph 
Company in this district composed of five coun- 
ties. He was born at YYheelersburg, Scioto 
county, O., where he attended the public schools 
and a commercial college. 

With ideas of independence, like the major- 
ity of young American boys, Mr. Boren early 
determined to be self supporting and accepted 
as his first work a position with Scioto Valley 
Railway Company, now the Columbus branch 
of the \Y. & W. railroad, then learned tele- 
graphing and finally became a telegraph opera- 
tor at Ironton, O. There his work and person- 
ality brought him to the attention of officials 
of the C. & O. railroad, and he was tendered a 
position, with headquarters at Russell, Ky. 
Within less than a year he was promoted to an 
agency at Vanceburg, Ky., where he remained 
three years and then returned to Russell, with 
increased responsibilities and commensurate ad- 
vance in salary. He gave faithful and efficient 
service as before, and then was sent to Ironton 
in the capacity of ticket agent and cashier in 
the passenger department. On January i. 
1 901, he was made city passenger agent. In 
February, 1903, Mr. Boren became interested 
with the Southern Bell Telephone and Tele- 
graph Company, with headquarters at Charles- 
ton, and his value has been abundantly recog- 
nized by the company, which has placed him in 
charge of many employes and with responsibili- 
ties that cover a large territory. In politics, 
Mr. Boren is a Republican and he takes a good 
citizen's interest in all matters pertaining to the 
welfare of the city but is no office seeker. 

Mr. Boren was married at Vanceburg. Ky., 
to Miss Minnie Ingram, who was born, reared 
and educated there. Mr. Boren is a very promi- 
nent Mason, being a member of Kanawha 
Lodge No. 20, A. F. & A. M. ; Tyrian Chap- 
ter, No. 73 ; Kanawha Commandery No: 4 ; 
Beni-Kedem Temple, of which he is a director, 
and is also a member of Perfection Lodge of 



the Scottish Rite. Both he and wife are work- 
ing members of the First Methodist Episcopal 
church at Charleston, and Mrs. Boren is active 
in the Ladies' Aid Society. 

W. S. BEANE, a representative of a well- 
known old southern family, resides on his valu- 
able farm of three hundred and forty-seven 
acres, which is situated in Poca district. Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., sixteen miles northwest of 
Charleston. He was born at St. Albans, Kana- 
wha county, May 29, 1852, and is a son of 
John J. and a grandson of William Beane. 

W illiam Beane was born in Ireland, came to 
America and settled in Monroe county, now in 
West Virginia. He met his death during the 
Civil War. on Pott's creek, while endeavoring 
to recover some stolen goods, for which he had 
a search warrant. He was about sixty years 
of age at that time. He married Rachel Wise- 
man, who died afterward and their burial was 
in Monroe county. They were members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, south. 

John J. Beane was born in Monroe count)-, 
Va., March 24, 1821, and when twenty-three 
years old went to Ohio and spent two years 
with his uncle, Isaac Wiseman, after which he 
came to West Virginia and taught school very 
acceptably in Putnam county and settled there 
after marriage. Later he moved to St. Albans 
and carried on farming and stockraising on his 
thirteen hundred acres of land in Poca district, 
and was also a merchant at St. Albans and Sis- 
sonville. His death occurred June 26. 1890, 
and his burial was at Sissonville. John J. 
Beane was married first, October 23, 1849, to 
Mary A. Summers, who died August 29, 1865. 
Eight children had been born to them, five of 
whom died in infancy. He devoted himself to 
the education of his little surviving daughter, 
but she also passed away on July 24, 1872, this 
being a very severe blow. Of his children two 
sons remained. On October 5. 1873. he was 
married second to Mrs. Eliza J. Holmes, who 
was reared in Kentucky and was the widow of 
N. G. Holmes and a daughter of John George. 
During the Civil War. John J. Beane was a 
member of the Home Guards. He was a 
Democrat until McKinley's first election, after- 
ward a Republican in politics. He was widely 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



821 



known and was held in high esteem by his fel- 
low citizens. 

W. S. Beane attended school in Poca district 
and remained on the home farm, this being the 
present place of residence of E. C. Crane. 
Seven years after his marriage he came to his 
present farm, which he has greatly improved, 
particularly in the way of buildings. In addi- 
tion to cattle and sheep, he raises hogs, horses, 
mules and poultry and carries on all the various 
industries which find a place in the every day 
life of a large and well managed estate. 

Mr. Beane was married August 20, 1877, to 
Miss Mary G. Johnson who was born in Poca 
district, August 13, 1857, and is a daughter of 
William H. and Lavina J. (Samuels) Johnson. 
William H. Johnson was born August 27, 
1832, in Fayette county, Va., where he married 
a daughter of John Samuels and afterward 
lived on a farm of three hundred acres in Poca 
district which is owned by his children. For 
several years he was president of the board of 
education of Poca district, elected on the Demo- 
cratic ticket. He was a prominent member of 
the Sissonville Methodist Episcopal church, 
south, and helped to build the present edifice. 
His death occurred January 8, 1899, at the age 
of sixty-six years, and that of his wife at the 
age of forty-four years. Mrs. Beane is the 
eldest of eleven children, the others being: J. 
N-, Nancy E., E. B., Lizzie C, William H., 
Fannie E., George F., Thomas H., Eunice 
Anna and M. Clarence. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Beane the following chil- 
dren were born : Mary Eliza, who is the wife 
of J. L. Barrett, of Boone County, W. Va., and 
they have two children — James D. and Mary 
G. ; Wilhelmina, who has taught school very 
successfully, is at present a student at the 
Mountain State Business College, Parkersburg, 
W. V a. ; Edg-ar Arnold, who resides on the 
home farm, married Mira C. Melton, a daugh- 
ter of J. T. Melton, and they have three chil- 
dren — Virginia Hester, Edith Irene and Bea- 
trice Genevra; and Albert Allen, Laurence Sum- 
mers, Samuel Clarence, Lulu Louvina and 
Katherine Belle, all at home; an infant son, 
who is deceased ; and Carl Henry. Mr. Beane 
is a Democrat and is a trustee of the Poca dis- 
trict school board. He is interested in the 



Home Folks Telephone line and the Kanawha 
& Putnam County Telephone. 

ROBINSON B. CASSADY,* deceased. 
An interesting personality and successful man 
passed off the scene of life when death claimed 
the late Robinson B. Cassady. He was born in 
Greenbrier county, now West Virginia, .August 
9, 1840, and was a son of William Cassady, a 
native of Franklin county, who assisted in the 
construction of the old Point Pleasant turnpike 
road between Charleston and Point Pleasant. 

Robinson B. Cassady was identified with 
many important business enterprises during a 
long and busy life. He was engaged in stave 
manufacturing on the Kanawha river, near 
Charleston, for a time and later, with Theodore 
Wright, purchased the Winnifrede coal prop- 
erty, one of the best known coal mines in this 
part of the state, this transaction taking place 
in 1883. Mr. Cassady became superinendent 
and general manager, continuing as such for 
twenty-seven years, and he also built the rail- 
road running from the mines to the Kanawha 
river, a distance of seven miles up Fields creek, 
this spur being known as the Winnifrede rail- 
road. He was one of the most thoroughly 
qualified coal men in the state, careful, observ- 
ant and conservative, and his reports on coal 
mine conditions and prospects, were accepted at 
their face value. He frequently was engaged 
to report on mines in different sections and in 
all cases his superior judgment was definitely 
shown. He was otherwise interested at the 
time of his death, as although then retired from 
active business participation, he was vice presi- 
dent of the Moore Construction Company, and 
president of the South Side Foundry and Ma- 
chine Company. He was also a director in the 
Capital City bank. 

For many years Mr. Cassady was a member 
of the city school board and was on the build- 
ing committee for the recently completed school 
building at Charleston, which is a modern 
structure very creditable in every way to a pro- 
gressive city. In his views on public questions 
he was a strong Republican and when a young 
man served one term as sheriff of Fayette 
county. He was a Blue Lodge Mason, but was 
identified with no other fraternal organizations, 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



being a man of domestic tastes and fond of his 
own fireside. K Mr. Cassady's death occurred on 
March 25, 1910, at Denver, Col., while visiting 
there in search of health. A professing Chris- 
tian, he was a member of the First Presby- 
terian church at Charleston. 

Mr. Cassady was married at Charleston to 
Miss Laura Dyer, who was born in Nicholas 
county, \Y. Va., in 1851, where she was mainly 
educated by private teachers. Soon after the 
close of the Civil War she accompanied her 
parents to what is now Charleston. She is a 
daughter of James R. and Katherine (Byrne) 
Dwyer, natives of Virginia, who were married 
in what is now Nicholas county, W. Va., where 
they settled and there their six children were 
born. Later they moved to Cabell county and 
a few years later to Charleston. In early busi- 
ness life, James R. Dyer was a merchant, then 
was elected to the office of county surveyor in 
Nicholas county, but after he came to Kanawha 
county he devoted himself to fanning. He was 
a Democrat in politics and was in sympathy 
with the Confederates during the Civil War. 
He died in 1900, at the age of eighty-seven 
years, having survived his wife, whose death 
took place in 1875, when she was in her fifty- 
sixth year. Their six children all grew to ma- 
turity ; all married and but one — Maria, the 
second born, who was the wife of M. W. Yen- 
able, — is deceased. Those surviving are : 
Louraina. who resides with a brother in 
Charleston; Mrs. Cassady; J. W., residing on 
the South Side, Charleston, who married Fan- 
nie Kelley, and has two children, Kelley and 
Mary L. ; M. K, who is a physician but has 
not been engaged in practice for some years, 
having turned his attention to insurance at 
Charleston (married Maggie W'oodhall, of 
Webster county, and they have a large fam- 
ily) ; and E. B., who is a lawyer and resides on 
Ouarrier street, Charleston. He married Lucy 
McMasters, of Marietta, O., and they have two 
daughters, Catherine and Dorothy. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cassady three children 
were born, namely ; Nellie Bright, Bruce Dyer 
and Robert Barr. The only daughter died 
when aged twenty years, just when blooming 
into beautiful young womanhood. She was a 



graduate of the Charleston High School and at 
the time of death was a student in Randolph- 
Macon College, at Lynchburg, Va. Both sons 
are yet at home and have been well educated. 
The younger, now in his seventeenth year, is 
preparing to enter the Armour Electric School. 
Mrs. Cassady and sons enjoy a beautiful home, 
one of the most substantial residences of the 
city, located on Columbus boulevard. It was 
completed in 19 10 and has an extended view 
overlooking the Kanawha river. 

CHARLES L. OSBORNE, general mer- 
chant at Clendenin, W. Va., was born at Os- 
borne Mills, Roane county, W. Va., September 
20, 1879, an d ' s a son of Louis Dryden and 
Louise Mathilda (Stump) Osborne. The par- 
ents of Mr. Osborne still reside at Osborne 
Mills, where the father is a merchant and far- 
mer. Both he and his wife are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. The paternal 
grandparents were Isaac and Salina (Hart) 
Osborne and the family name is perpetuated by 
the village and post office of Osborne Mills. 
Charles L. Osborne is one of a family of five 
children, the others being: Osie, who is the 
wife of N. J. Carper, residing in Roane county: 
and Amy F.. Holly and Erra, all residing at 
home. 

Charles L. Osborne obtained a public school 
education and is a graduate of the Capital City 
Commercial College of Charleston. For five 
years afterward he was in the timber business, 
getting out railroad ties. Then for four years 
he was a traveling salesman, and for three years 
conducted a hotel at Clendenin, but rented that 
property in 1909 and then opened his general 
store. He carries a first class stock and is one 
of the prosperous business men of the place. 
He is a Republican in his political views but has 
never been willing to accept any public office. 
He is a member of the U. C. T.'s at Charleston. 

In June. 1905, Mr. Osborne was married to 
Miss Caroline Drake, who was born in March. 
1879, in Roane county, a daughter of Marshall 
and Elizabeth (McQuain) Drake, natives of 
Putnam county, where they reside. Mr. and 
Mrs. Osborne have one daughter. Garnet Les- 
lie, born May 19. 1906. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



823 



THOMAS J. MASON,* a representative 
citizen and well known business man of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., was for many years prior to his 
retirement in 19 10 prominently identified with 
the oil and gas interests of Kanawha county, 
was born February 3, 1846, on Town Creek, 
Franklin county, Va., and is a son of Lewis T. 
and Catherine (Pearson) Mason. 

William Mason, the great-grandfather of 
Thomas J. Mason, was of English descent and 
a native of Franklin county, Va., where he died 
at an advanced age. He married a Miss Bob- 
bitt, by whom he had five children, two of 
whom, Samuel and Bird, were Baptist minis- 
ters, the former spending most of his life in 
Manchester, near Richmond, Va., and the lat- 
ter passing the years of his activity in Rich- 
mond proper. The other three sons were 
Charles, William and John. 

John Mason, who was born in 1780, spent 
his entire life in Franklin county, Va., being 
engaged in farming and tanning up to the time 
of his death, which occurred when he was about 
fifty-six years of age. He married Julia Ash- 
worth, a native of the same county, where she 
died when advanced in years. They were 
members of the Missionary Baptist church. 

Lewis T. Mason, the father of Thomas J. 
Mason, was born in Franklin county, Va., No- 
vember 13, 1823, and his death occurred May 
12, 1865, on Snow Creek, where he had spent 
all of his life in fanning and tanning. He was 
well and favorably known, was a stanch Demo- 
crat in political matters, and a consistent mem- 
ber of the Missionary Baptist church, being one 
of the organizers of the Providence church of 
that denomination, of whom seven were Ma- 
sons, including the father, the sons and the 
grandsons. John Mason succeeded to his 
father's tannery, and he was engaged in ope- 
rating it when he was conscripted into the Con- 
federate army. He was taken prisoner at 
Fishersville, near Staunton, Va., in February, 
1865, and confined at Fort Delaware, later con- 
tracting smallpox, then epidemic, from the ef- 
fects of which he died as above narrated. He 
was a member of the Thirty-sixth regiment, 
Virginia infantry, in Smith's brigade. 

Lewis T. Mason was married in Franklin 



county to Miss Catherine Pearson, who was 
born on Town Creek, Va., September 20, 1823, 
and died March 23, 1899. Thomas Pearson, 
the grandfather of Mrs. Mason, was probably 
born in Virginia, of English parentage, and he 
was reared to the occupation of farmer. Wher 
the Revolutionary War broke out, he enlisted, 
and at the battle of Camden, N. C, he was se- 
riously wounded and left on the battleleld as 
dead. Only the help given him by an old 
colored "Mammy," who took him to her little 
cabin and there nursed him until he was taken 
in charge by the Relief Corps, saved the life of 
Mr. Pearson, who later returned to Loudoun 
county, Va., and there married and lived to be 
an old man. His son, also named Thomas, was 
born in Loudoun county, Va., about 1790, and 
after his marriage to Elizabeth Hickman, set- 
tled in Roanoke county, but in 1820 removed 
to Franklin county, settling on Town creek, 
where he died at the age' of eighty-seven years, 
his wife living to be ninety years of age. They 
were Dunkards in their religious belief. To 
Lewis and Catherine (Pearson) Mason there 
were born seven children, of whom six are liv- 
ing: Thomas J. ; Joseph S., who is postmaster 
and a merchant at Villa, in Elk district; Na- 
thaniel C, who is a farmer, surveyor and civil 
engineer of Franklin county; Benjamin L., who 
is a retired merchant of Crescent Road, 
Charleston; Sarah E., who married William H. 
Lucas, a merchant of Charleston; Nancy A., 
who is the widow of J. W. Wilks ; and George 
W., who died in infancy. 

Thomas J. Mason was educated in private 
schools and as a young mart located in Elk dis- 
trict, purchasing a farm at what is familiarly 
known as Big Chimney, residing thereon until 
1896, in which year he came to Charleston. 
Here he entered the coal business, which he 
had started some years before at Big Chimney, 
and he carried on the business until his retire- 
ment in August, 19 10. While in Elk district 
he shipped the first load of merchandise — ten 
carloads of tanbark — that was sent out over the 
Coal and Coke railroad, in 1893, and he was a 
heavy shipper over this line for a number of 
years. For fifteen years Mr. Mason was post- 
master at Graham Mines and for twelve years 
he was a member of the school board. His po- 



824 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



litical views are those of the Democratic party. 
For some years he was a director of the 
Charleston National Bank. Mr. Mason is 
prominent fraternally, belonging to Kanawha 
Lodge No. 20, A. F. & A. M. ; Tyrian Lodge 
No. 13, R. A. M. ; Kanawha Commandery No. 
4, K. T., and the Order of the Mystic Shrine, 
and he also has taken degrees in the Odd Fel- 
lows, the Red Men and the American Me- 
chanics. 

Mr. Mason was married in this county to 
Miss Harriet Ashley, who was born in 1844, in 
Elk district, a daughter of John and Debora 
(James) Ashley, and died June 12, 1907, at 
her home in Charleston. Mrs. Mason was a 
lovable. Christian woman and a loving wife 
and mother, and during over forty years of 
married life had ever exhibited those traits of 
character that go to make up the true type of 
motherhood. To Mr. and Mrs. Mason there 
were born two sons and six daughters, as fol- 
lows: John L., who died in infancy; Thomas 
H.. who died when twenty-four years of age: 
Catherine L.. born in 1875, wno married David 
Carson, is now residing in Charleston and has 
three children, Clyde, Irene and Dorothea : 
Bessie, who married Claude A. Sullivan, confi- 
dential man for Hubbard & Bedel, wholesale 
grocers, and has two children. Mason and Har- 
riet; Frances D.. who married A. M. Sprague. 
of Charleston and has three children. Harry. 
Arthur and Thomas; Julia E.. who. like her 
sisters has been granted an excellent education, 
and who lives at home with her father: Nellie 
E.. also residing at home, who is a graduate of 
the high school and a teacher by profession in 
the schools of the city; and Hattie D.. living at 
home, who is a graduate of a commercial col- 
lege and is now employed as a stenographer for 
the Goshorn Hardware Company. Mr. Mason 
is a great believer in education, and his daugh- 
ters have been all given a thorough training 
along this line, fitting them for whatever posi- 
tion in life they may be called upon to fill. He 
has always supported those movements which 
have for their object the advancement of edu- 
cational, religious, business or social interests, 
and even during the busiest years of his career 
he found time to serve his county as a public 
official. The family are members of the Mis- 



sionary Baptist church, in which Mr. Mason is 
a deacon, and his daughter Nellie assistant 
treasurer. 

GARLAND TODD THAYER, pro- 
prietor of the South Side Foundry and 
Machine Works. Charleston. W. Va.. and 
one of the prominent business men of this 
city, was born at Maiden. Kanawha Coun- 
ty." W. Ya.. October 26. 1864. son of Otis 
A. and Annette (Putney) Thayer. He is 
a grandson of Job Thayer, born August 6, 
1782, who died near Maiden. W. Va., May 
8. 1857. The grandfather came with his 
parents (Job Thayer. Sr. and wife) when 
a young man. from Braintree. Mass.. in 
the year 1798. to what is now Upshur 
county. W. Ya.. they forming part of a 
colony of settlers. They purchased land 
on French Creek. Upshur county (then in 
Virginia), but owing to some legal in- 
formality the colonists lost their title to 
their possessions, and our subject's grand- 
parents thereupon took up their residence 
near Charleston, which was then but a 
small settlement. Later they removed to 
Maiden. Kanawha county, of which localitv 
they were pioneer settlers. Job Thayer fol- 
lowing agriculture for a livelihood. They 
were people highly esteemed for their mam- 
sterling qualities. 

Mrs. Job Thayer, whose given name was 
Fannie, was born February 1, 1790, and died 
January 17. 1857. when nearly sixty-seven 
years of age. Her death proved such a 
shock to her husband that he followed her 
to the grave May 8. 1857. less than four 
months afterwards. They had ten children : 
Seth. William Lawrence. Fannie Z.. Har- 
riet P.. Caroline M.. James S.. Job E.. 
Naomi L.. William T. and Otis A., whose 
records in brief are as follows: 

Caroline became the wife of Capt. Samuel 
Christy, a prominent Kanawha county man. 
by whom she had one daughter that died 
young. Naomi L.. born April 29. 1829, 
died unmarried. October 4. 1850. Fannie 
Z.. became the wife of John Hanna and 
died leaving a large family. Seth. who lived 
and died in Braxton countv. W. Ya.. was 




OTIS A. THAYEE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



827 



married and had a large family. Job mar- 
ried Adelaide Harbin and both died at an 
advanced age, the former passing away in 
1901 and his wife in 1908. At their death 
they left seven children, namely : Lyda, John 
J., Addie H., Julia, Hattie, Job E., and Edith. 
William T. married Annie E. Atkinson, of 
Ft. Smith, Ark., who was, however, born 
in Kentucky. They resided in Charleston, 
W. Va., and had two sons and a daughter, 
namely: William T., Jr.; Mary A., wife of 
Sidney Arthur, of Covington, Ky. ; and John 
A., an attorney of Charleston, W. Va. 

Otis A. Thayer, father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born at Point Pleasant, Va., 
October 26, 1835. He resided for some 
years in Maiden, W. Va., establishing there 
about 1852 the first iron foundry in the 
Kanawha Valley. Here he manufactured 
all kinds of castings and machinery used 
in this section at that time. His brother. 
William T., was later associated with him, 
and they continued in this , business to-' 
gether until separated by death. In the 
year 1871 they removed their plant to 
Charleston, on the south side of Kanawha 
river. Their business was uniformly suc- 
cessful, owing chiefly to their prudent and 
capable management. During the activity 
of the salt furnaces in this section, they 
manufactured practically all the machinery 
and equipment used in that industry, and 
with the decline of the salt business they 
engaged in the manufacture and sale of 
equipment for coal mines, which were then 
beginning to develop in the Kanawha Val- 
ley. Later they were associated with Capt. 
Joseph L. Beury, who came here from Penn- 
sylvania, and with him opened one of the 
first commercial coal mines in the now fa- 
mous New River coal district. The coal 
lands and property then purchased are still 
held by the family and have increased in 
value, like all other mineral lands in this 
section of the state. The foundry has con- 
tinued in active operation ever since it was 
established here in 1871, and employs from 
75 to 100 workmen, being- one of the largest 
and most important industries in or about 
Charleston. 



Otis A. Thayer died in Charleston, No- 
vember 23, 1900. He was an active mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church, in which 
he held the office of deacon, and was liberal 
in his support of the church. Largely at 
his own expense he built a mission church 
on the South Side, opposite the city, and 
he was always to be found in support of 
any movement that was calculated to ad- 
vance the moral and material welfare of 
the city and community. 

He was married in this county to An- 
nette Putney, who was born at Maiden, 
W. Va., in 1844, a daughter of Richard 
and Alethea (Todd) Putney, and who is 
still living at the family home on the South 
Side, apposite Charleston. Mrs. Thayer's 
mother belonged to the Todd family of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland, while her father was 
from Gloucester county, Virginia. They 
resided for many years at Maiden where 
they died, the father at the age of seventy- 
six years, and his wife in 1897 at that of 
seventy-three. They were early settlers in 
the Kanawha Salines, or what is now known 
as Maiden. The Putneys were all affiliated 
with the Presbyterian church. 

Otis A. Thayer and wife had a family of 
five children, namely: Garland Todd, James 
R., Annette, Otis A., Jr., and Harry G., of 
whom we make the following brief men- 
tion : G. Todd is the direct subject of this 
sketch and will be further mentioned here- 
in. James R., born August 22, 1867, died 
June 12, 1896, after graduating from Per- 
due University, at Lafayette, Ind. Annette, 
the only daughter, became the wife of Hon. 
Stewart W. Walker, a prominent attorney 
and well known politician of Martinsburg, 
W. Va. Mr. Walker is associated in his 
legal profession with the Hon. Charles J. 
Faulkner, ex-U. S. senator of Martinsburg, 
W. Va. Otis A. Thayer, Jr., who is asso- 
ciated with his brother, G. Todd, in the 
foundry business at Charleston, married 
Miss Coral Long, of Jackson, Ohio, and 
they have three children : two sons and a 
daughter, namely: Virginia. Harry James, 
and Otis A. (3d). Harry G. Thayer com- 
pleted his literary education at Hamden 



828 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Sydney College, Va., and is now associated 
in business with his brothers, G. Todd and 
Otis A., Jr., in the foundry business. He is 
unmarried. 

G. Todd Thayer, after attending public 
and private schools, continued his education 
in a business college at Poughkeepsie, N. 
Y., and in a military school conducted by 
Maj. Thomas F. Snyder, in Charleston, 
which had an excellent reputation as one 
of the best schools in this part of the state. 
He later entered the foundry of his father 
and uncle, O. A. and W. T. Thayer, first as 
bookkeeper, but subsequently received 
practical training in every department of 
the industrv, acquiring the necessary knowl- 
edge of the business in all its branches, 
as well as designing and construction. In 
1890 he became the practical manager of 
the foundry business, and in 1895 he leased 
the business and conducted it until his 
father's death in 1900. Subsequently it was 
incorporated as the South Side Foundry 
and Machine Works, with our subject as 
treasurer and general manager, and it is 
thus operated at the present time. The 
prosperity and growth of the business of 
this concern has steadily advanced until 
their output has reached into adjoining 
states. Mr. Thayer is also interested in 
coal lands in the New River District, as 
well as iron ore property in Virginia. He 
is one of Charleston's active and useful citi- 
zens and is always to the fore when any 
practical measure for the benefit of the city 
is proposed, giving it his support. He is a 
member of the First Presbyterian church. 

Mr. G. Todd Thayer was married in 
Charleston, in 1892, to Miss Gertrude 
Venable. who was born at Barbersville. W. 
Va., and educated in Kentucky. Her pa- 
rents were M. Walton and Margaret (Dyer) 
Venable, both natives of Virginia. Her 
father, a graduate of the University of Vir- 
ginia, served in the War of Secession. He 
is now a resident of Charleston, by profes- 
sion a civil and mining engineer. His wife. 
Margaret Dyer Venable, the mother of 
Mrs. Thayer, died in middle life in i8qi. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. G. Todd 



Thayer are as follows : Garland Todd, Jr., 
born March 21, 1894, is now a student at 
Culver Military Academy, at Culver, Ind., 
being a member of the Class of 19 1 3. Mar- 
garet, born March 14, 1896, is attending 
school at home, as are also the two younger 
children, Dorothy and Gertrude, the former 
of whom was born January 11, 1898, and 
the latter October 9, 1899. 

JAMES WILLIAM PRYOR. who con- 
ducts an undertaking business at East Bank. 
Kanawha county, W. Va., was born at East 
Bank, Septemher 17. 1849. and is a son of 
William Paxton and Elizabeth (Shelton) 
Pryor, and a grandson of a pioneer who once 
owned a large amount of land in this section. 

William P. Pryor and wife were born in 
Cabin Creek district. Kanawha county, and the 
venerable mother of James W. Pryor still sur- 
vives, but the father who was a farmer and for 
many years also had charge of coal barges at 
Coalburg, Kanawha county, is deceased. 
Eleven children were born to William P. Pryor 
and wife, namely: Frances, wife of Rev. E. 
M. McVey; James W illiam; Samuel S. : Levi 
W. ; Sallie. deceased, formerly wife of Samuel 
Walsh; Mollie, wife of Joseph Hubbard; 
John H. ; Tipton L. ; Nora, wife of Arthur 
Robinson ; Elizabeth, and an infant, deceased. 

James W. Pryor attended the early schools 
in Cabin Creek district and then learned the 
carpenter trade which he followed until some 
twenty years since, when he went into the un- 
dertaking business under the firm name of 
Pryor & Bricker. Mr. Pryor bought the 
Bricker interest at the time of the latter's death, 
and has conducted the business alone since then. 
He is an authorized embalmer. He has excel- 
lent quarters and equipments, a commodious 
building two stories high. 40 x 63 feet in di- 
mensions, operates a funeral car and has a 
large number of vehicles for hire, together with 
all the necessary and desirable appurtenances 
which go with funeral directing. He is a prac- 
tical business man and is a highly respected citi- 
zen and one of the best known residents of the 
place. 

In April. 1879. Mr. Pryor was married to 
Miss Mary Porter Bricker. a daughter of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



829 



James and Harriet Bricker, and they have had 
four children, namely: Harriet, who is the 
wife of Harry Davis, and they have four chil- 
dren — Gertrude E., Aline, Catherine and Mary 
Dilworth, all being residents of Oley, Cabin 
Creek district; Bessie Edith; Nora Ileen, who 
died at the age of three years; and Alice Man- 
ning. Mr. Pryor and family belong to the 
Free Will Baptist church. In politics he is a 
Democrat and fraternally he is identified with 
East Bank Lodge No. 63, Odd Fellows and No. 
20, Encampment, the Knights of Pythias at 
Cedar Grove, and the American Mechanics at 
East Bank. 

MALCOLM R. PRICE, D.D.S.,* one of 
the foremost members of his profession in 
Charleston, W. Va., has been established here 
since 1902, at that time being a recent graduate 
from the dental department of the University 
of Maryland, at Baltimore. He was born in 
1877, at Newport, Va., and is a son of Capt. 
Charles R. and Anna ( Ripley Price. 

Capt. Charles R. Price was born into "one of 
the old families of Virginia. His title was ac- 
quired in the marine sendee. For many years 
he was a large stockraiser. Formerly he was a 
representative from Pulaski and Giles counties 
in the State Legislature, being elected on the 
Democratic ticket. He now resides near Hin- 
ton, W. Va. He married Miss. Anna Ripley, 
also a native of Virginia. They are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church and are 
prominent people in their section. Four chil- 
dren were born to them: Malcolm R. ; Will- 
iam A., who is in the jewelry business at Hin- 
ton ; Thomas H., who is a commercial traveler; 
and R. Emmett, who resides at Camden, N. J. 

Malcolm R. Price is the youngest of the 
above family. He was a student in the Vir- 
ginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, after 
which he was employed by a business firm in a 
clerical position prior to entering the Baltimore 
school of medicine above referred to. Subse- 
quently he took a post graduate course in the 
Institute School of Orthodontia, where the art 
of regulating irregular teeth is taught, and Dr. 
Price has made this something of a specialty. 
He was president of his graduating class of 
ninety-eight students and was given honorable 



mention for his fine crown and bridge work. 
He has elegantly equipped dental parlors, keeps 
thoroughly informed on every scientific discov- 
ery in dental surgery and has a large and ex- 
clusive clientege. His professional standing is 
high all over the state, and he is a popular and 
respected citizen of the capital city. He is a 
member of the W est Virginia State Dental So- 
ciety. 

Dr. Price was married in Virginia to Miss 
Mary B. McNeal, who was born in Virginia. 
In politics Dr. Price is a Democrat, but is only 
active in public matters as becomes a good citi- 
zen. Fraternally he is identified with the order 
of Elks. 

F. M. RAY, a representative citizen of Sis- 
sonville, Kanawha county, W. Va., where he is 
a notary public, owns two hundred and fifty- 
nine acres of fine farm land situated in Poca 
district, on the Poca river, sixteen miles north 
of Charleston. He was born in Jackson county, 
near the Kanawha county line, November 22, 
1842, and is a son of William and Mary 
(Strain) Ray, and a grandson of Thomas Ray. 

William Ray was born in Augusta county, 
Va., and was brought by his parents when he 
was five years old, to Charleston, where he at- 
tended school and became a business man, ope- 
rating flat and salt boats on the river until 
1833. He then moved to Jackson county, 
where he settled on a farm on which he died 
when aged sixty-five years. 1 In the early days 
he was collector of taxes in Jackson county. 
He was a member of the Baptist church. He 
married Mary Strain, who was early left an 
orphan and was reared by an uncle. They had 
the following children born to them : Sarah 
Ann, who is the widow of David Hackney, and 
resides on the corner of Jackson and Roane 
counties; Elizabeth, who married Henry 
Painter; John E., who lives on the old home- 
stead; William T., who was a soldier in the 
Confederate army during the Civil War, and 
lives in Poca district ; Amelia, who is the widow 
of Nathan Cunningham, who was assaulted 
and killed by unknown parties on the public 
road ; Theoda, deceased, who was the wife of 
George Crane; J. M., who has been twice mar- 
riecli resides in Putnam county, and during the 



830 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Civil War was a soldier in the Federal army; 
F. M. ; Henrietta, who is the widow of George 
Haynes; Isaac M., who served through the 
Civil War as a soldier in the Federal Army, is 
deceased; A. S., who was also a soldier in the 
Union army; and Ira, who died at the age of 
five years. The mother of the above mentioned 
family died in her fifty-fifth year and was 
buried in the family cemetery. She was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

F. M. Ray attended school in Jackson 
county, XV. Va., and remained on the home 
farm until he was thirty-two years of age, since 
when he has made Sissonville his home. Dur- 
ing the Civil War he served as a member of the 
Home Guards. He has voted for every Repub- 
lican candidate for the presidency since Abra- 
ham Uincoln. Mr. Ray has served in public 
office for a number of years, being road super- 
visor, overseer of the poor and a justice of the 
peace in Poca district. In the latter office he 
served acceptably for four years and during 
this period he had one murder case brought be- 
fore him, which he sent to the grand jury. 

Mr. Ray was married to Miss America Will- 
iams, who was born on Poca river, a daughter 
of John and Delilah Williams. She died at the 
age of about forty-two years and was buried at 
Sissonville. She was a member of the Presby- 
terian church. Two children were born to this 
marriage: Eva, who is the wife of Charles 
Bernard and lives at No. 6133^ Virginia street, 
Charleston; and Frank M.. who resides with 
his family in Wisconsin. Mr. Ray was mar- 
ried secondly to Mrs. Eliza (Martin) Wheeler, 
widow of Edward Wheeler, and two children 
have been born to them: Osa A., who is the 
wife of John Schmittauer of Pomeroy. O. : and 
Ina, who lives at home. Mr. Ray is warden of 
the Sissonville lodge of Odd Fellows. 

PHILIP C. RUSSELL.* city sergeant at 
Charleston, W. Va.. a well known citizen and 
popular official, was born at Wellsburg. W. 
Va., May 2, 1849, and is a son of Edward and 
Eliza (Lourey) Russell, and a grandson of 
Philip Russell. 

Grandfather Philip Russell was born in Ire- 
land and when he emigrated in early manhood 
located at Baltimore, Mcl.-, where he married 



Maria Coleman, who was also of Irish ances- 
try. All their children were born there, the 
family subsequently removing to Steubenville, 
O., and a few years later to Wellsburg, W. Va., 
this being about 1847. Both Philip Russell 
and wife died there, he having lived out his 
three score and ten years and she reaching the 
age of ninety years. She was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of 
their ten children, four grew to maturity but 
all have now passed away. 

Edward Russell was born in 1826, at Balti- 
more, Md., and died at Charleston in 1854. In 
early manhood he served in the United States 
navy during the Mexican War. and then re- 
turned to Wellsburg, now W. Va., where he 
later embarked in a grocery business. In 1854 
he came to Charleston and started the first con- 
fectionery store in the place but his death oc- 
curred one month later. His widow continued 
the business for seven years and at present the 
site is one of the best business locations on 
Kanawha street. Edward Russell was married 
at Wellsburg to Eliza Lourey, who was bom 
January 20. 1828, at Milton, Pa., and who died 
at Clendenin, Kanawha county, May 17, 1879. 
They had three children, namely : Philip C. ; 
Walter S.. who was born March 28. 1851, died 
June 8. 1 88 1 (married Cassie McQueen, of 
Nicholas county and is survived by two chil- 
dren — William and Lillian) ; and Anna M., 
who was born September 15, 1852, and is the, 
wife of Thomas Simms, who is in the jewelry 
business at Clay Court House, Clay county, Va. 

Philip C. Russell was five years old when his 
parents came to Charleston. The death of his 
father was a very great grief and loss to the 
family, and resulted in the children not receiv- 
ing the educational advantages that they would 
otherwise have had. As soon as old enough 
he learned the carpenter's trade, and then served 
an apprenticeship of three years in the car shops 
of the Panhandle railroad, at Steubenville, O. 
Later Mr. Russell made his main business the 
building of houses and continued to work as 
house carpenter for some years and subse- 
quently became engaged in the saw-mill busi- 
ness in which he remained until 1900. Five 
years earlier he had been elected assessor of the 
Upper district of Kanawha county and served 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



831 



for four years. From 1889 until 1907 he was 
also interested in newspaper work and in the 
latter year was appointed, under civil service 
rules, as city sergeant of Charleston, by Mayor 
Holley. He has proved a very capable and ef- 
ficient official and has worked hard for the 
good of the service. Formerly Mr. Russell was 
a Republican, but later identified himself with 
the Democratic party. 

In 1876 Mr. Russell was married to Miss 
Sophia James, a daughter of Samuel and a 
granddaughter of Jesse James. Samuel James 
lived in Big Sandy district where he died, aged 
sixty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have 
had three children : John K., who was born 
June 6, 1877; Virgil, who was born in 1881, 
and died at the age of twenty-five years; and 
Sybil, who resides at home. Mrs. Russell and 
daughter are members of the Bowman Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. Sergeant Russell has 
never united with any fraternal organizations. 

WILLIAM R. MORRIS, superintendent of 
mines for the Queen Shoal Coal Company and 
general manager of their mercantile store at 
Queen Shoals, Clay county, W. Va., was born 
July 18, 1872, at Clifton, W. Va., and is a son 
of James Dickinson and Agnes L. (Haymaker) 
Morns. 

James Dickinson Morris was born sixty-nine 
years ago at Hanley, W. Va., and now lives at 
Pratt. He was sixteen years old when he en- 
listed for service in the Civil War. He served 
four years in Co. I, 8th Va. Vol. Cavalry, and 
after being mustered out of the army, became a 
blacksmith, and still does considerable work of 
that kind. He moved to Clifton about 1870 
and has resided there continuously since then. 
He has been a lifelong Democrat. He married 
Agnes L. Haymaker, who was born in Bote- 
tourt county, Va., and who is a daughter of 
Michael Haymaker, who was a shoemaker by 
trade. The Morris family came originally 
from Kentucky. Of the surviving children of 
James D-. Morris and wife, William R. is the 
eldest, the others being: Oscar L., who is con- 
nected with the railroad at Thurmond, W. Va. ; 
Eugene H., who is bookkeeper for a coal com- 
pany in Kanawha county; and Henry E., who 
is a clerk with Armour & Co.. at Louisville, 



Ky. The father of the above family has been 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
at Clifton, for the past twenty-five years. 

William R. Morris attended school, at Clif- 
ton and afterward was a clerk for his uncle, 
W. S. Haymaker, for five years. He then fol- 
lowed the carpenter's trade for two years. In 
1 89 1 he went with the Coal Valley Mining 
Company in the capacity of clerk and book- 
keeper and remained for six years. For the 
following five years he was with the Beury 
Coal and Coke Company ; for one and one-half 
years was buyer for the firm of Carver Bros, 
Montgomery, W. Va. ; for three years was with 
the Wacomah Coal Company ; and for two 
years was with the Paint Creek Colliery Com- 
pany, after which he came to the Queen Shoals 
Coal Company, and occupies a responsible po- 
sition with this corporation. In politics he is 
an active Prohibitionist. For two years he was 
also postmaster at Queen Shoals. 

Mr. Morris married Miss Edna Hughes, 
who was born in Fayette county, W. Va., a 
daughter of Ellis Hughes, who was born in 
Wales, and emigrated to America prior to his 
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have two chil- 
dren : James, aged ten years, and Agnes, aged 
six years. The family attends the First Presby- 
terian church at Charleston. Mr. Morris be- 
longs to the Knights of Pythias, Uniform 
Rank, at Montgomery, W. Va. 

H. S. MATHEWS, treasurer of the Math- 
ews Storage Company, "No. 600 Capitol street, 
Charleston, W. Va., and additionally "interested 
in a successful lithographing business, has been 
a resident of this city since 1907. He was born 
in the city of Philadelphia, June 1, 1882, and is 
a son of James M. and Bessie B. (Thompson) 
Mathews. 

H. S. Mathews spent his youth and early 
school days in his native city, afterward taking 
a course in Drexel Institute. Mr. Mathews 
then came to Kanawha County, W. Va., and 
spent six years in the coal business, being con- 
nected with Kelley's Creek Colliery Company, 
at Ward. In 1907 he came to Charleston as 
bookkeeper for the Charleston Tribune, and in 
the following year started his storage business 
in partnership with his brothers, R. L. Math- 



832 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ews, who is president of the company, and M. 
R. Mathews, its secretary. In 191 1 Mr. Math- 
ews and brothers embarked in the lithographing 
business and they occupy the third floor of the 
Capitol building. The family is one of busi- 
ness enterprise and their undertakings are pros- 
pering. 

Mr. Mathews was married March 24, 1909, 
to Miss Irene Taylor, a daughter of the late 
Charles T. Taylor, formerly of Parkersburg, 
W. Va. They reside at No. 8 Hubbard Court. 
Mr. Mathews is a Republican, but could 
scarcely be called an active politician, his in- 
terest being only that of an intelligent and in- 
terested citizen. He belongs to the order of 
Knights of Pythias, and is a lifeunember of the 
order of Elks, both at Charleston. 

BENJAMIN F. MAYS*, who was born in 
Kanawha county, W. Va., not far from the 
capital city, Charleston, October 28, 1838, is 
the third son of Ezekiel \Y. and Malinda E. 
(Glispie) Mays, and a grandson of William 

v _Mays, the latter of whom was a native of old 

Virginia. He lived in Albemarle county for 
many years, moved then to Kanawha county 
and died in 1869, in extreme old age. in La- 
fayette county, Ind. He married in Virginia 
and his wife died in Cabell county. They were 

, members of the close communion Baptist 
church. 

Ezekiel W. Mays was born in Albemarle 
county, Va., about 1800 and was one of the 
older members of the family. He had a brother, 
Hamilton Mays, who lived and died in Cabell 
county and was survived by descendants. 
There was also a sister. Elizabeth, who be- 
came the wife of Washington Mitchell, and 
they lived and died in Texas, leaving children. 
Ezekiel W. Mays was yet in boyhood when 
the family settled in Loudon district. Kanawha 
county, and there he became a merchant and 
farmer, owning two farms two and one-half 
miles from Charleston, on one of which he 
died. He was married on the Kanawha river at 
the mouth of the Elk river, to Malinda E. Glis- 
pie, who was born early in 1800, near Red 
House, in Putnam county, now West Virginia. 
Her children were pleased when they recalled 
that she was born on the exact day and year 



that witnessed the birth of that lieloved and 
royal lady, the late Queen Victoria of Britain. 
She doubtless had a less troubled life than had 
the English queen but both of them are remem- 
bered for their tender motherhood, a quality 
that makes all women equal. Mrs. Mays lived 
to be eighty-two years of age. surviving her 
husband for twelve years. They were people 
of worthy life. kind, neighborly, charitable, 
and were devoted members of the Baptist 
church. Twelve children were born to them, 
namely: Albert, who died at Lewisburg. W. 
Va., from illness contracted while serving as 
a soldier in the Confederate army; Marv, who 
is the widow of Samuel Gilliland, who died at 
Fort Donelson. while serving in the Confed- 
erate army during the Civil war ( lives with 
her one son. at Columbus, O. ); Benjamin F. ; 
Fannie, who is the wife of P. M. Price, and 
lives in a suburb of Charleston: Kate, who 
died some years ago. was the wife of Charles 
Harmon and is survived by a son and daugh- 
ter: Ella, who is the widow of Charles Wal- 
ton, was first married to W illiam Grove, and 
resides at Detroit. Mich. : Laura, who is the 
wife of Henry E. Wintz. of Elk City, and has 
two sons: Robert, who is a resident of Okla- 
homa City. Okla.. has been twice married and 
has children: and others who died in infancy. 

Benjamin F. Mays was reared as a farmer 
boy and since he has reached manhood his life 
has been one of quiet business, more or less 
confined to mercantile pursuits, with the elim- 
ination of several years of the Civil war. In 
September, 1863. Mr. Mays put aside what 
appeared to be favorable business considera- 
tions in order to lend his help in supporting a 
cause he felt to be iust. He enlisted in Capt. 
Richard O. Laidley's company of picked men. 
the Kanawha Rifles, which was recruited 
largely at Charleston for the Confederate army. 
He participated in nineteen engagements and 
fought on many a noted battle-field. In No- 
vember. 1864. he was made a prisoner at 
Fisher's Hill and was confined at Point Look- 
out until the war closed, when he was paroled 
and returned to his home, where care and at- 
tention from kindred repaired the ravages in 
his health occasioned by the hardships of mili- 
tary prison life. During the larger part of his 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



833 



service he was engaged in action in the Shen- 
andoah Valley as a sharpshooter. He is a 
member of Camp R. E. Lee United Confeder- 
ate Veteran's and is treasurer of the camp. 

Mr. Mays subsequently resumed business, 
having been trained by serving as a clerk in 
the mercantile line, and for the past eight years 
he has owned and conducted his own establish- 
ment at No. 214 Brook street, Charleston. He 
has the reputation of being a reliable business 
man and a straightforward and useful citizen. 

At Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, W. Va., 
Mr. Mays was married to Mrs. Fannie (Zim- 
merman) Thornhill. who was born in Green- 
brier county, in 1836, where she was reared 
and educated. She was married first to the 
late John L. Thornhill. and two children were 
born to that marriage, namely : John L., who is 
in the brokerage and real estate business at 
Charleston, married Cloratine Wharton and 
they have two daughters; and Rosaline, who 
is the wife of Edward L. Warren, who is in 
the real estate business at Lewisburg. They 
have two children : Evert and Pearl. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mays have five children, as 
follows: Hallie M., who is the wife of J. H. 
Sivold. of Lewisburg, and has three sons and 
three daughters ( one of the latter, the name- 
sake of Mrs. Mays, has promise of being a 
musician of note in the near future) ; Bertia 
Lee. who is the wife of R. M. Ellis, who owns 
one of the fine farms in the environs of Col- 
umbus. O.. and they have one daughter, Vir- 
ginia : F. Herbert, a resident of Lewisburg, W. 
Va.. who was married first to a Miss Pare, 
who left two children; Lula B.. who is the 
wife of J. E. Straw, residing at San Antonio, 
Tex., and they have two daughters: and Susie 
H., who is the wife of R. D. Johnson, a ship- 
ping clerk connected with a Charleston busi- 
ness house, and has one son, Robert Franklin. 
Mr. and Mrs. Mays are members of the Pres- 
byterian church. Politicallv Mr. Mays is a Dem- 
ocrat but he does not claim to be a politician. 

S. H. CAMPBELL, a retired resident of 
Marmet, or Brownstown as it was called when 
he came first to this section, was born in 1846, 
in Monroe county. Va.. and is a son of Isaac 
and Nancy (Vass) Campbell, both of whom 



were born also in Monroe county and both died 
there. Farming was the father's business and 
he was one of the owners of the Red Sulphur 
Springs property before the Civil War. There 
were eight children in the family, namely : 
James, who lives in Monroe county; William, 
who was a soldier and met death in the Civil 
War; L. P.. who lives in Monroe county; T. 
A., who lives at Bluefield, W. Va. ; R. M., 
who lives at Teays. W. Va. : and E. L. and 
Mary, both of whom are deceased. 

S. H. Campbell was given excellent educa- 
tional advantages as so considered in his youth 
in his native section, but after the Civil War he 
again became a student and then a teacher. 
When he enlisted in March, 1862, he was only 
sixteen years of age, but he served faithfully 
and courageously until the close of the war in 
the 17th W. Va. Cav.. under Col. W. H. 
French, participating in the battles of Win- 
chester, Monoxia River and Gettysburg, to- 
gether with numerous others and was fortu- 
nate enough to escape wounds. He was made 
a prisoner, however, and was confined eight 
months, being liberated but a few days before 
the surrender of Gen. Lee. In 1865 he came 
to Kanawha county and then was married in 
Boone county and began to teach school there 
and continued until 1880. In Boone county he 
was elected a justice of the peace and in 1869 
was elected to the State Legislature. When 
he left Boone county he entered the employ 
of the Winifrede Coal Company and lived at 
Wini f rede for eight years and then moved to 
Putnam county, where he was both farmer and 
merchant for four years. Mr. Campbell came 
from there to Brownstown and became one of 
the most important factors in the business life 
of this place. He conducted a hotel, operated 
a liver_v stable, served as express agent and as 
postmaster and at the same time carried on a 
general mercantile store, which last enterprise 
he continued until September, 19 10. when he 
practically retired. His sons are capable busi- 
ness men and still conduct the largest mercan- 
tile business in the town. 

In 1867 Mr. Campbell was married to Miss 
Nancy Jane Meddows, and they have seven 
children, namely: William, residing at Logan 
Court House; Anna, wife of E. T. Huddleson. 



834 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



of Russell, Ky. ; John, one of his father's suc- 
cessors; Nora N., wife of H. M. Duckling; 
Walter J. ; Grace, wife of Carl Hopkins, a trav- 
eling salesman, and Thomas E., one of the 
proprietors of the store above mentioned. Two 
children died young, in Putnam county. Mr. 
Campbell and wife are members of the Mis- 
sionary Baptist church. He is a Republican 
in politics and belongs to a number of fraternal 
organizations, including: the Odd Fellows, 
Knights of Pvthias, Red Men and the O. U. 
A. M. 

HON. JAMES A. HOLLEY, mayor of 
Charleston, W. Va., and one of the leading 
Democrats of the state, has been more or 
less identified with public affairs in Kana- 
wha County for many years. He was born 
November 12, 1855, in Cabell (now Lincoln) 
County, W. Va., a member of one of the 
old settled families of that section. 

James A. Holley was educated in the 
West Virginia University and Duff's Com- 
mercial College at Pittsburg. After grad- 
uating from the latter institution in 1875, 
he returned to Lincoln County, where he 
continued until 1880, engaged in farming 
and stock raising, after which he embarked 
in a general mercantile business at Hamlin, 
W. Va. In the meanwhile he had become 
deeply interested in public matters and took 
a more or less active part in supporting the 
candidates of the Democratic party. In 
1884 he was elected clerk of the circuit 
court of Lincoln County and served out his 
term of six years. In 1888 he was elected 
chairman of the Senatorial Committee and 
chairman of the Lincoln County Democratic 
Executive Committee and there are many 
who recall his loyal party work during that 
time, when many important issues were be- 
fore the people. In 1890 he was re-elected 
clerk of the court and in 1893 he was ap- 
pointed adjutant general of the state by 
Governor MacCorkle. In 1896 he was 
elected a member of the State Democratic 
Executive Commitee and in 1898 was ap- 
pointed a member of the State Democratic 
Organizing Committee. On January 11. 
1898 he was elected clerk of the highest 



tribunal in the state and served until No- 
vember 15, 1902. He came to Kanawha 
County in 1893 and was first elected mayor 
of the capital city, in March, 1907, and in 
April, 1909, was elected mayor a second 
time, for a term of four years. In 1908 he 
was elected chairman of the Kanawha 
County Democratic Executive Committee, 
and in the same year was appointed on the 
Advisory Committee of the Democratic 
State Executive Committee; each of said 
positions he now holds. He has efficiently 
filled other offices and his name is fre- 
quently mentioned for still higher honors 
from his party. 

Mr. Holley married Miss Zena Long, a 
daughter of James H. Long, of Kittanning, 
Pa., and they have one son, Homer K. 
Personally, Mayor Holley is a man who 
finds friends on every side, many of them 
being not in accord with him politically but 
admirers of his qualities as a man. He is a 
member of the we'll known business firm of 
Holley & Stephenson, dealers in coal and 
timber lands and oil and gas producers. He 
is a prominent Mason and belongs also to 
the Eiks. 

FRANK CONKLIN. who occupies the po- 
sition of junior engineer with the government 
engineers, was assigned to the Wheeling dis- 
trict, which includes the Kanawha river, W. 
Va.. in May, 1902. He was reared in Shelby 
count}". O., where he was born, the second 
child of his parents, William and Anna ( Spar- 
ling) Conklin. 

Robert Conklin. the grandfather, was one of 
three brothers who settled early in Shelby 
county, O., and he became a farmer. One 
brother, Jacob, became a circuit judge and an- 
other, Henry, a prominent physician. Robert 
Conklin married a widow, Mrs. Zeruah ( Wag- 
ner) Fox, and lived near Port Jefferson, Ohio. 
One of the daughters of Judge Jacob Conklin 
was the first woman ever made a member of 
the faculty of Delaware College, where she 
filled the chair of English literature. 

William Conklin, the father, was born in 
Shelby county, O., the only child of his par- 
ents. He went to the west, where he made a 



HON. JAMES A. HOLLEY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



837 



small fortune in the nursery business in Ne- 
braska and died at or near Omaha. He mar- 
ried Anna (Sparling) Stone, a widow, who 
was born in Shelby county, O., one of a large 
family. She survives and resides at Port Jef- 
ferson. Two sons were born to them: Hugh 
Robert and Frank. The former, who is a 
graduate of a dental college at Cincinnati, O., 
is engaged in the practice of dentistry at South 
Charleston, where he has a pleasant home cir- 
cle, his two children being "named Ann Louise 
and Rachel. 

Frank Conklin attended the Ohio Wesleyan 
University at Delaware, O., afterward becom- 
ing a student in the Ohio Normal University 
at Ada, Ohio, and secured his degree with the 
class of 1895 as civil engineer. His first as- 
signment on government work was on the Ohio 
River Survey, in July, 1899, under Major W. 
H. Bixby, who was then at the head of the 
Cincinnati district and is now the chief of the 
government engineers at "Washington, D. C. 
From the Cincinnati district he was assigned to 
the Pittsburg district in 1901, and worked on 
the construction of Dam No. 4, Ohio river, 
during that season. The following spring as 
stated above he was assigned to his present 
position at Charleston, W. Va. Mr. Conklin 
is a Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge at 
Port Jefferson, Ohio, and the Chapter at 
Charleston, W. Va., and has kept up his inter- 
est in his Greek letter society at Delaware Col- 
lege. Mr. Conklin is a Christian Scientist and 
is completing his third year as reader in the 
First C. S. Church at Charleston. He has 
never married. 

L. C. MONTGOMERY, M. D., physician 
and surgeon who is in active practice at Mont- 
gomery, Fayette county, W. Va., was born 
July 17, 1873, at this place when it was still 
known as Coal Valley. He is the eldest born 
of three children, his parents being John C. and 
Margaret J. (Lykins) Montgomery. One sis- 
ter, Bertha, is the wife of Dr. S. K. Owens, 
and the second sister, Blanche, is the wife of 
George N. Hancock. 

From the public schools, Lawrence C. Mont- 
gomery entered the Greenbrier Military Acad- 
emy and later he was a student at the -Uni- 



versity of Virginia and completed his medical 
education at the University of Cincinnati, in 
1897. He returned to his native place and en- 
tered into practice with Dr. S. K. Owens, his 
brother-in-law. He is a member of the Fay- 
ette Medical Society and the West Virginia 
Medical Association. For the past six years 
he has been surgeon for the C. & O. Railroad, 
for the past six years has been president of 
the Montgomery Board of Health, for the past 
ten years has been president of the Fayette 
County Board of Health, and for three years 
was coroner of Fayette county. 

Dr. Montgomery was married in December, 
1897, to Miss Patti Alderson Teamster, a 
daughter of Joe and Mary Jane Teamster, and 
they have three children : John Carlin, Janice 
Meredith and Lawrence C. Dr. Montgomery 
is an advocate of athletic sports and is presi- 
dent of the Montgomery base ball team. He 
is identified also with the Knights of Pythias 
and the Eagles, at Montgomery, and with the 
Modern Woodmen and the Elks, at Charleston. 

CASSIUS DADE HEREFORD, president 
of the Bank of St. Albans, at St. Albans, Kan- 
awha county, W. Va., the oldest business man 
of a place to the upbuilding of which he has 
been largely contributory, was born in Mason 
count)^, Va., now Putnam county, on what was 
known as the Ruffner farm, two miles west of 
Red House, November 14, 1846. His par- 
ents were Dr. Sydenham and Lavinia S. 
(Flower) Hereford. 

Dr. Sydenham Hereford was a native of 
Fauquier county, Va., where he was born June 
5, 181 1, a son of Dr. Thomas P. Hereford, 
whose second wife was a Lacey. Dr. Thomas 
P. Hereford was one of four brothers, all of 
whom were physicians. His death occurred 
in Putnam county, where he was well known, 
having a reputation both in medicine and litera- 
ture. Of his eight children, three were physi- 
cians : Sydenham, Marion Rush and William 
A. Marion Rush Hereford engaged in med- 
ical practice at Sommersville, Nicholas county, 
Va., where he died aged eighty-four years. 
William A. Hereford practiced at Wellington, 
Va.. four miles from Manassas Junction, 
where he died at the age of eighty-six years. 



838 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



One son, Thomas, was clerk of the courts of 
Prince William county, Va. His married 
daughters were Jane, Willie, Maria, Caroline, 
and Susannah. 

Dr. Sydenham Hereford was reared in Fau- 
quier county and from there came to the Kan- 
awha Valley in 1836, where he practiced med- 
icine until 1870, when he embarked in the mer- 
cantile business at Red House, where he con- 
tinued until 1882, his death occurring Decem- 
ber 21, 1884. He was a Democrat in his polit- 
ical convictions, and an honest man who never 
sought office for its emoluments. His fellow 
citizens elected him treasurer of his district in 
1869. He was twice married, first to Lavinia 
S. Flower, who died January 13, 1863, at Red 
House, aged forty-six years. He was married 
secondly to Mary Burford of Buffalo, W. Va., 
who is also deceased. Children were born to 
both marriages, those of the first union who 
grew to maturity being Thomas Patterson, 
Arieanna Elizabeth, Cassius Dade, and Henry 
Clay. To the second marriage were bom Ada 
B., Mollie, John Randolph and Louise. 

Thomas Patterson Hereford, the eldest of 
the above children, became a physician, receiv- 
ing his educational training in the Ohio Med- 
ical College and the Jefferson Medical College, 
at Philadelphia. He practiced at Coalsburg 
and Brownstown prior to the opening of the 
Civil War. and then entered the Confederate 
army as a private and was later commissioned 
regimental surgeon of the 14th Va. Cav. A 
part of the time he served under General Mc- 
Causlin. On one occasion he was hemmed in 
the valley with comrades and was taken pris- 
oner by the Union soldiers and before he was 
exchanged was imprisoned at Camp Chase. 
He located at Newberne, Va.. after the war 
and then moved to Coalburg and in 1870 to 
Elmwood. Saline county. Mo., where he died 
March 4. 1906. He served that county as cor- 
oner for four years and for twenty years was 
postmaster at Elmwood. He married Maria 
Jamison. 

The eldest daughter. Arieanna Elizabeth, 
who was the wife of J. H. McConahy, died at 
St. Albans, March 25, 1896. Henry Clay, 
whose death occurred in 1896 or '97. was a 
merchant on Davis Creek. Kanawha county. 



He married Clara Wooley, of Gallipolis, O., 
and they had one daughter, Ethel, who is the 
wife of L. V. Thomas, a merchant at Cannel- 
ton, W. Va. Of the second family, Ada B., 
who is now deceased, was the wife of R. B. 
Burke, who was chief engineer in the double 
tracking of the C. & O. Railroad. Mollie, who 
is the wife of Charles Robinson, lives at Red 
House. Kanawha county. John Randolph 
Hereford is a prosperous grocery merchant of 
West Charleston. Louise resides in Putnam 
county; 

Cassius Dade Hereford attended the coun- 
try schools and those of Red House, after 
which he became a clerk, first, in 1864, for Cap- 
tain McCauslin, at Point Pleasant, remaining 
with that employer until 1869. He then went to 
Missouri and for three years was a clerk in a 
store there and for six months was in business 
with a partner, but then sold out and came to 
St. Albans, in August, 1872. For twelve years 
after coming here, Mr. Hereford conducted a 
grocery store and then enlarged his scope and 
became a general merchant and for thirty-seven 
consecutive years he has been in the merchan- 
dising business at this place. He continued ac- 
tive until September, 1909, when he practicallv 
retired. He is one of the largest owners of 
real estate at St. Albans, having forty houses, 
including residences and business sites, and also 
has vacant property. Mr. Hereford has addi- 
tional business interests. He owns the under- 
taking business at St. Albans, which has been 
conducted at this place by W. A. White, for the 
past seventeen years and Mr. White also looks 
after his property. He was the organizer of 
the Bank of St. Albans and has been president 
of this institution ever since, backing the enter- 
prise with his name, capital and business judg- 
ment. It commenced business in 1900 and has 
grown to be one of the leading financial insti- 
tutions of the county, commanding the confi- 
dence of a large body of depositors. 

Mr. Hereford was married August 17. 1875. 
to Miss Anna May Roth, a daughter of Rev. 
Edward C. and Mary E. Roth. Rev. Dr. Roth 
was one of the most scholarly men in the Bap- 
tist ministry in his day and was conversant 
with several languages beside his own. He de- 
voted a life of fifty years to the work of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



839 



church and was widely known and much be- 
loved. Both he and wife died in Missouri. 
The father of Mrs. Hereford was of German 
ancestry but was born in Pennsylvania. Five 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Here- 
ford : Henry Kendall, William Delafield, Cas- 
sius D., Walter Donaldson and Herbert Roth. 
Henry Kendall and Cassius D. both died 
young, the former in infancy and the latter 
when aged seven months. 

William Delafield attended the public schools 
at St. Albans and then spent one year in the 
Charleston schools and three years at the Uni- 
versity of West Virginia at Morgantown, and 
in 1904 was graduated from the Baltimore 
Medical College. In 1905 he took a post grad- 
uate course, and in 191 1 took a second post 
graduate course in Xew York city. For the 
past six years he has been in active practice at 
St. Albans. He married Sallie C. Hanley, of 
Scott, W. Va.. in March, 191 1. and then lo- 
cated at Macon, Ga. 

Walter Donaldson attended the local schools 
and later a military academy at Staunton, Va., 
for two years, and was graduated from Wash- 
ington & Lee University Law School. He 
practiced law for two years with W. G. Barn- 
hart of Charleston, but in 19 10 located at Ok- 
lahoma City, Okla.. where he is engaged in 
the practice of his profession. He married 
Reba Reives Mohler, a daughter of William 
E. Mohler. of St. Albans. 

Herbert Roth, who is now in his nineteenth 
year, was formerly a student at Blackstone and 
later at Oklahoma City, and at present is at 
Washington and Lee University. Mr. Here- 
ford's sons have made very creditable progress 
in the educational institutions with which they 
have been connected. Walter Donaldson grad- 
uated at Washington and Lee when nineteen 
years of age and received a gold medal for 
scholarship, and received the class scholarship 
medal in his twenty-second year from the Uni- 
versity of West Virginia. 

Mr. Hereford is a member of the Baptist 
church. In politics he is a Democrat, as are his 
sons, and he has been an active and useful citi- 
zen, serving frequently in local offices and as a 
member of the city council, and in 1892 he was 
elected mayor and gave an admirable business 



administration. He is a member of Lodge No. 
202, Elks, at Charleston; to Lodge No. 119, 
Odd Fellows, at St. Albans; Lodge No. 71, 
Knights of Pythias; Washington Lodge, No. 
58, F. & A. M., and to the other branches, in- 
cluding the Mystic Shrine, at Charleston. A 
man of broad view and earnestness of purpose, 
he is a truly representative citizen. 

EDWARD W. HIGGINBOTHAM* ce- 
ment contractor, a representative business man 
of Charleston. W. Va., was born July 4, 1865, 
in Mason county, W. Va., a son of Frank and 
Miriam (Sayer) Higginbotham, and a grand- 
son of Samuel Higginbotham. 

Frank Higginbotham was born in Mason 
county and spent his entire life in Mason and 
Putnam counties. He was a cooper and 
farmer and a well known man in his section. 
He died in November, 1910. at the age of 
eighty-four years. He married Miriam Sayer, 
who was also born in Mason county and who 
still survives. She is a daughter of Absalom 
0. and Rachel (Freehart) Sayer. Seven 
children were born to Frank Higginbotham and 
wife, two of whom died young, the living 
being as follows: Ernest C, who is a commer- 
cial traveler for a Cincinnati business house, 
lives at Charleston, married Ida Selby and 
they have two children: Frank D., who is a 
commercial traveler, lives at Philadelphia. Pa., 
has been twice married and has one daughter ; 
Edward W., our direct subject; Daniel R.. 
who is a contractor and carpenter residing at 
Indianapolis, Ind.. married Rhoda Folk and 
has five children; and Mary Helen, who mar- 
ried Walter Cherry of Indianapolis, and has 
two daughters. 

Edward W. Higginbotham was mainly 
reared in Kanawha county and has been a 
resident of Charleston for the past twenty- 
seven years. He studied mechanics and en- 
gineering in a practical way and is competent 
in all work of this kind. For thirteen years he 
was a stationary engineer but lately has given 
the larger part of his attention to contracting, 
making a specialty of cement work. He has 
always been an active citizen and at times 
served in the city council, being first elected 
to this body in 1903. 



840 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Mr. Higginbotham was married first in 
Putnam county to Miss Cordelia Higgin- 
botham, who died in 1892, aged twenty-eight 
years. She was the mother of three children, 
namely : Lovell J., who resides at Charleston, 
married Hazel, a daughter of Peter Silliman, 
and has one daughter, Catherine M. ; Orvell 
S., who works with his father; and Mame, 
who met a tragic death at the age of thirteen 
years. She was on her way to school and 
was crossing the suspension bridge over the 
Elk river, when it collapsed and she was 
drowned in the water below. This disaster 
was one of the most lamentable in the history 
of the city. Mr. Higginbotham was married 
secondly to Kate D. Hoylman, who was born 
near Covington, Va. There have been three 
children born to this marriage — Albert, Vir- 
ginia and Dolly. Mr. and Mrs. Higgin- 
botham attend the Methodist Episcopal 
church, to which their parents belonged. In 
politics he is a Republican. He is a Knight of 
Pythias, and an Odd Fellow, belonging to the 
Encampment, having passed all the chairs in 
both lodges. 

ADOLPH LUCKHARDT, who is en- 
gaged in a wholesale and retail bakery busi- 
ness at West Charleston, W. Va., and is a 
substantial and respected citizen, was born 
September 25, 1872, at Singershausen. Ger- 
many, and is a son of George Henry and 
Anna Elizabeth (Weber) Luckhardt. 

George Henry Luckhardt was born in 1828 
in the above named part of Germany and there 
followed farming all his active life, his death 
occurring February 4, 1910. He married 
Anna Elizabeth Weber, who was born in Ger- 
many in 1833, and was a daughter of George 
Weber. They had five children, namely : 
Anna Elizabeth, who married I. J. Block ; 
Catherine, who married Calvin Jaeckel ; An- 
gela, who married J. Schlemener; Adolph ; 
and Conrad, who married Margaret Hope. 

Adolph Luckhardt was eight years old when 
he went to live in Bremen, Germany, where 
he attended school until he was sixteen years 
of age. He then came to America and located 
at Cincinnati, O. He learned the bakery busi- 
ness and worked as a baker from 1889 until 



1892, when he came to Charleston and has 
been engaged in the same here ever since. 
His business includes baking in all its depart- 
ments and he does an extensive business, both 
wholesale and retail, assisted by his daughter, 
three helpers being required and two wagons 
constantly in use supplying a large territory. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and 
the Maccabees, both at Charleston. 

On September 20, 1892, Mr. Luckhardt 
was married to Miss Mary Barth, who was 
born September 8, 1866, in Rheinprintz, Ger- 
many, and they have had the following chil- 
dren : Bertha Marie, who was born in 1893; 
Lillian, who is deceased; Anna Elizabeth, who 
was born in 1896; Alma Catherine, who was 
born in 1899; Rosa, who is deceased; Hilda 
Barbara, who was born in 1903; Arthur 
Adolph, who is deceased: and Henry Nicholas, 
who was born in 1907. Mrs. Luckhardt is a 
daughter of Peter and Margaret (Teiten) 
Barth, and a sister of Nicholas Barth. who is 
a retired fanner of Elk district. Kanawha 
county. 

JOHN V. R. SKINNER, a leading citizen 
of St. Albans. W. Va., who came first to Ka- 
nawha county as a promoter of the Coal River 
Railroad, was born in May, 1863, in Clarion 
county. Pa., and is a son of Augustus and 
Cecelia (Van Rensalear) Skinner. 

Augustus Skinner was born at Massillon. 
Stark county, O.. and was a son of Charles 
K. and Elizabeth (Reed) Skinner. Charles 
K. Skinner was born at Hartford, Conn., and 
was a man of great business enterprise. After 
moving to Ohio, in association with James 
Duncan and Arvine Wales, founded the town 
of Kendall, on the Tuscarawas river, on the 
site of the present city of Massillon, all these 
New England pioneers locating there before 
the Ohio canal was constructed. Charles K. 
Skinner was a manufacturer of woolens and 
his old factory still stands in Massillon, a land- 
mark of the old industrial days. He was one 
of the organizers of the First National Bank 
of Massillon and during his entire period of 
active life was a useful citizen of that place, 
the growth of which he had watched with 
pride. He died there in 1876. at the age of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



841 



eighty-four years. He was a Whig, an ar- 
dent Abolitionist, and later a Republican. 

'Augustus Skinner became a wool merchant. 
For many years he was a resident of Massil- 
lon and died there in 1876. He married Ce- 
celia Van Rensalear, who was born in New 
York but was reared in Ohio, and died at 
Massillon in May, 1889, at the age of forty- 
six years. Her parents were Saunders and 
Abigail (McCarthy) Van Rensalear, the for- 
mer of whom was an attorney at Canton, O. 
Three sons and one daughter were born to 
Augustus Skinner and wife : Charles, John V- 
R., Robert P., and Bessie W. Charles Skin- 
ner, who is a paper merchant in Cincinnati, 
married Mary Budd, a native of Elyria, O. 
Robert P. Skinner for many years has been 
a man of prominence and for the past several 
years has been consul-general of the U. S. 
Government, at Hamburg, Germany. He 
formerly was editor of the Massillon Inde- 
pendent. A personal friend of the late Presi- 
dent McKinley, he was offered the position of 
consul-general to Marseilles, France, soon 
after Mr. McKinley's administration began. 
He received a special appointment as com- 
missioner for the purpose of negotiating a 
commercial treaty with King Menelik, of 
Abyssinia and successfully accomplished the 
commission through his tact and diplomacy. 
In 1909 he was appointed consul-general at 
Hamburg. He married Helen Wales, a 
daughter of Arvine Wales and a granddaugh- 
ter of Arvine Wales, one of the pioneers who 
founded Massillon with his early associates. 
The parents of the above family were mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church. 

John V. R. Skinner was educated at Mas- 
sillon and after leaving school opened a book 
and general mercantile store which he con- 
ducted for ten years, afterward building a 
pottery at Navarre, O., which he operated un- 
til 1902, when he came to St. Albans, in the 
interest of the Coal River Railroad, the first 
seventeen miles of which, from St. Albans to 
the mouth of Fork creek, were constructed un- 
der his supervision and it later was sold to 
the C. & O. Railroad. For some years he was 
interested in the real estate business at St. 
Albans but now gives his attention mainly to 



his own coal and timber properties and his 
real estate holdings. 

Mr. Skinner was married in Heidelberg, 
Germany, July, 1889, to Miss Anna C. Die- 
terich, who was reared and educated in France 
and Germany, a daughter of Carl and Anna C> 
(Braun) Dieterich, of Heidelberg, Germany. 
They reside in one of the most beautiful homes 
of St. Albans. The residence was erected by 
and formerly was owned by Edward Hunting- 
ton. It is surrounded by ten acres of land, in 
a grove of beech and oak trees. Mr. Skinner 
is a member of the Episcopal church. He is a 
Republican in politics but his career has been 
a business rather than a political one. 

WILLIAM H. DAFFRON, who is district 
sales agent for the Fisher Leather Belting 
Company ; for the Keasbey & Mattison Com- 
pany, manufacturers of all kinds of asbestos 
goods and supplies, and for the Maryland 
Rubber Company, a branch of the U. S. Rub- 
ber Company is the successor to the Daffron 
& Ellyson Company, and is an able and thor- 
oughly qualified business man, well and fa- 
vorably known in different sections. He was 
born at Richmond, Va., in 1871, and is a son 
of William and Margaret (Kerse) Daffron. 

William Daffron was born in the city of 
Dublin, Ireland, while his wife came from 
Cork, both coming to America when young. 
In 1862, when at Philadelphia, Pa., he en- 
listed in a U. S. regiment and served until the 
Civil War was over, in 1867 locating at Rich- 
mond, Va. He had an honorable war record 
and was trusted by both General Grant and 
General Rosecrans with the perilous duty of 
carrying their dispatches. At Richmond he 
went into the furniture business, where he 
continued for forty years and then retired to 
Pittsburg, dying at the home of his son, Will- 
iam H., in 1905, at the age of seventy-two 
years. In politics he was a Democrat, while 
in religion he was a Roman Catholic. His 
widow, who is now in her sixty-third year, 
resides at Richmond. 

William H. Daffron was educated at Rich- 
mond and St. Mary's College, at Belmont, N. 
C, where he was graduated with his degree 
of M.A., in 1887, since when his life has been 



842 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



mainly one of business. In 1898, however, 
he testified to his patriotism by enlisting' for 
service in the Spanish- American War, enter- 
ing Co. B, 2nd Va. U. S. Inf., and accom- 
panied the command as far as Jacksonville, 
Fla.. w hen the war ended. In politics, Mr. 
Daffron is an independent Democrat. On 
March 1, 1907, Air. Daffron and Charles El- 
lyson went into business at Charleston as man- 
ufacturers' agents and in 1909 it was incor- 
porated as the Daffron & Ellyson Company. 
In April, 191 1, Mr. Daffron took over the 
business, under the name of W. H. Daffron, 
manufacturer's agent. From 1893 until 1907, 
he was on the road for different belting com- 
panies. He was for several years in the office 
of the old Southern Rubber Company, of 
Richmond, later was with the Patapsco Rub- 
ber Company, later still with the McGowan 
and other rubber factories at Trenton. X. 
and elsewhere, and subsequently was in the 
leather belting line in New York City and 
Pittsburg. 

Mr. Daffron is a grand knight of the order 
of Knights of Columbus, and district deputy. 
Additionally he belongs to the Elks and is a 
member of the National Order of Hoo Hoos, 
and of the U. C. T. Mr. Daffron is unmar- 
ried. 

GEORGE A. KINSER.* a general farmer 
residing on one hundred acres of excellent 
land, situated in Loudon district. Kanawha 
county, W. Va., operates the whole tract, of 
which he is part owner, and is numbered with 
the successful and enterprising agriculturists 
of this section. He was born in Smith county. 
Va., March 20. 1855, and is a son of E. and 
Sophia (Helmach) Warrick, and a stepson of 
David Kinser. He was bom after his father's 
death, one of four children. His mother was 
married secondly to David Kinser and both 
are now deceased. 

George A. Kinser came to W r est Virginia 
during the closing year of the Civil War and 
attended school in this state. He then went 
to work and has been actively engaged ever 
since, working in the timber, farming, and 
buying and selling stock. In 1906 he came to 
his present farm which he has put into fine 



condition and his residence, which he erected 
at a cost of $3,000, is the handsomest private 
residence on this road. It is fitted with mod- 
ern improvements and is a model home. Mr. 
Kinser is a man of progressive ideas and takes 
pleasure in bringing his land and stock up to 
high standards. 

Mr. Kinser was married first to Pollv A. 
Dingus, who was survived by four children — 
G. Stonewall, Rosie, Grover, and one whose 
name has not been ascertained. He was mar- 
ried secondly to Sallie Starkey, and they had 
six children: Alma, who is deceased; and Etta, 
Maud. Joseph and Guy; and Arthur, who is 
deceased. Mr. Kinser was married thirdly to 
May Martin. In his political opinions he is 
a stanch Democrat. 

WILLIAM ANDREW FOSTER, car- 
penter, contractor and builder at Charles- 
ton. W. Va.. is one of the city's enterpris- 
ing business men and leading citizens. He 
served as a member of the city council 
from. 1895 until 1897, and was city build- 
ing inspector from 1908 until 1909. He was 
born in Monroe county, now West Virginia. 
May 8. i860, and is a son of Jacob Henry 
and Martha Ann (Criner) Foster. 

Jacob Henry Foster was a son of Madi- 
son Foster, who was born in Virginia and 
was of English and German ancestry. The 
latter lived to be eighty years of age and 
both he and wife died near Indian Mills, 
W. Va. Jacob Henry Foster enlisted for 
service in the Confederate Army, at Center- 
ville, now Greenville. W. Va.. in 1861. and 
served in Captain Chapman's batterv until 
February. 1863. when he came home on 
furlough and while there contracted typhoid 
fever, from which he died February 27, 
1863. and his burial was in the family plot 
on Hands Creek. W. Va. He had been a 
brave and faithful soldier and had partici- 
pated in many important battles. He mar- 
ried Martha Ann Criner. who was born in 
Giles County. Va.. and died at the home 
of a sister, in Charleston. July 22. 1893. 
She had contracted a second marriage, with 
Henry Inhooff. a Pennsylvania German, 
who was a Federal soldier. He died July 3. 



AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



843 



1893, just nineteen days before the death 
of his widow. Their burial was in Gibens' 
Cemetery, on the Elk River, fourteen miles 
above Charleston. They had one child, 
Francis, who died in infancy. Jacob Henry 
Foster was survived by three children, 
namely: Louis Henry, born October 6, 1858, 
a farmer residing on Narrow Branch, near 
Blue Creek, married Martha Martin and 
they have had five children: William, Math- 
ew Err, John. Alethia and one deceased : 
William Andrew ; and Mathew Henderson, 
born January 4. 1862, residing at Ridgeville, 
Ind., is a traveling salesman. He married 
Ida Brooking and they have a son and 
daughter. 

William Andrew Foster at the age of 
seven years came to Elk District, Kanawha 
County, with his mother who was then a 
widow, and afterward attended the public 
schools until he was eighteen years of age. 
From 1880 until 1881 he taught school and 
then entered the railroad service in the sur- 
vey department, and had made some head- 
way when the enterprise engaged in was 
abandoned. In August, 1883, Mr. Foster 
began to learn the carpenter trade. He 
was then twenty-three years of age and 
fifty cents a day was all the wage he could 
command, but he showed commendable 
perseverance and continued until he had 
acquired a full knowledge of this trade. 
In July. 1887. he went to Pittsburg, where 
he worked for a while and then came back 
to Kanawha County, worked for a time at 
Charleston and then went farther south to 
Birmingham. Ala., for a period. He re- 
turned to Charleston and continued to work 
as a journeyman until 1900, when he em- 
barked in business on his own account and 
has prospered. 

On December 3. 1889, Mr. Foster was 
married near Charleston, to Miss Louella 
May Bowers, who was born in Adams 
County. Pa., October 11, 1864. a daughter 
of George and Malissa (Bower), Bowers. 
They came to West Virginia in 1886 and 
the mother of Mrs. Foster still lives in Elk 
District, being in her eightieth year, but the 
father died in October, 1878. in his home 



on Elk Two-Mile Creek. He was a Dem- 
ocrat in politics. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bow- 
ers were church members all their lives. 
Mr. and Mrs. Foster have one son, Sigsbee 
Lee Bowers, who was born October 6, 
1898, and is a bright student in the Charles- 
ton public schools. The family home has 
been at No. 1319 Bigley Avenue ever since 
Mr. and Mrs. Foster settled here, on March 
17, 1890. 

Mr. Foster is a wide awake, well informed 
man and an independent thinker. He is 
identified with the Democratic party in polit- 
ical affairs. In December, 1908, he was 
elected city building inspector and was fill- 
ing out an unexpired term at the time the 
city became bi-partisan in its government 
and resulted in the appointment of a Repub- 
lican for this office, in which Mr. Foster had 
shown efficiency and thoroughness. He is 
a member of two fraternal organizations : 
the K. O. T. M., and the A. O. Y. W. 

During the Civil War, not only his father 
but an uncle, Michael Andrew Foster, served 
in the Confederate Army and was a sharp- 
shooter under General Jackson. He was a 
brave and fearless man and his courage was 
recognized by his commander, as this pleas- 
ant little incident proves. On the march of 
General Jackson through Virginia, when 
the troops were halted at Winchester, they 
were cheered by the presence of many ladies 
and these asked that the bravest man be 
shown them. Without hesitation the gen- 
eral called for Michael Andrew Foster and 
before the assembled soldiers and audience 
of ladies and gentlemen, introduced him as 
his bravest man, although he wore only the 
uniform of a private soldier. The ladies 
presented him with a bouquet of flowers 
which he preserved as long as he lived. 
This brave man received a wound at Appo- 
mattox from which he subsequently died. 

FRANK HAMMAKER, a general mer- 
chant at Hollow Grove, W. Va.. where he also 
attends to the duties of express agent, may be 
called the pioneer settler of this hamlet as he 
built the first house in the place in 1901, and 
has resided here ever since. He was born No- 



844 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



vember 27, 1871, at what was then called En- 
terprise but now bears the name of Riverside, 
in Cabin creek district, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., and is a son of Charles and Ellen 
( White) Hammaker. 

The father of Mr. Hammaker was a carpen- 
ter by trade. He married Ellen W hite, who 
was born in Kanawha county, and they had 
the following children: Frank; Rena, who is 
the wife of W. T. Smith ; George ; and Laura. 
The last named, who is deceased, was the wife 
of Alfred Parrish. Charles Hammaker died 
in 1880 and his widow subsequently married 
Thomas Bragg. She still survives. 

In the boyhood of Frank Hammaker the 
family moved to Clifton and from there to 
Paint creek, which is now Hansford, and 
there he learned the brickmason trade and con- 
tinued to work at the same not only until he 
opened his store but up to the present, being 
a man of great industry and commendable en- 
terprise. After building his residence here in 
1901 he erected his store building two years 
later and as his trade has grown has enlarged 
his quarters from time to time. To accommo- 
date his patrons through the mining district, 
he operates a wagon route. He is the owner 
of considerable real estate at Hollow Grove. 

Mr. Hammaker married Miss Matilda 
Dame, a daughter of Robert and Susan Dame 
natives of Virginia who moved to West Vir- 
ginia. Mr. and Mrs. Hammaker have four 
children: Mabel, Agnes, Gladys and Frank. 
They are members of the Missionary Baptist 
church. 

VIRGIL GATES MARTIN, secretary 
and treasurer of the Kanawha Planing Mill 
Co.. doing business at Charleston, W. Va.. is 
a substantial and representative citizen here, 
where he was born November 19. 1873. His 
parents were Erasmus E. and Elizabeth ( At- 
kins) Martin. 

Erasmus E. Martin was born at Maiden. 
Kanawha county, in 1835, and now lives re- 
tired at Charleston. His parents were Tipton 
L. and Martha Martin, the former of whom 
came to Maiden among the early settlers. He 
was a plasterer by trade. Erasmus E. Martin 
was a soldier in the Union army during the 



Civil War. For a number of years he was in 
the Government service as mail clerk on the 
steamboat between Charleston and Gallipolis, 
O., and also on the K. & M. Railroad. He 
married Elizabeth Atkins, who died in 1906, at 
the age of seventy-one years. She was born 
in Henry county, Va., and in girlhood was 
brought to Kanawha county, where her father, 
William Atkins, was a farmer. Ten children 
were born to the above marriage, Virgil Gates 
being the eighth in order of birth. Mattie. 
the eldest, is the widow of J. J. Krantz, of 
Charleston. Joanna is the wife of Gordon 
Nelson, residing on Campbell's creek. Ella 
is the wife of W. H. Anderson, of Mercer 
county, W. Va. James L.. who is engaged in 
the insurance business in Mercer county, was 
formerly a mine inspector. Minnie is the wife 
of Thomas Wilson, of Charleston. Emma 
died at the age of thirteen years and Samuel 
W. died when aged thirty years. Bessie is 
the wife of N. C. Smith, of Charleston. Hu- 
bert, the youngest of the family, is with the 
Frankenberger Clothing Company. 

Virgil Gates Martin was educated at 
Charleston and after completing the high 
school course, took a position as clerk in the 
Charleston post-office, under Judge McWhor- 
ter. and remained there for three and one- 
half years, after which he entered the Rolland 
& Elliott Business College, where he was 
graduated and then entered the employ of the 
James Lumber Company, in this city, as sten- 
ographer and bookkeeper, and while connected 
with this firm was also associated with the Elk 
River Boom Co. as bookkeeper, and from 
1900 to 1903 was manager of the concern. 
Mr. Martin remained with that firm from 
1896 until August. 1903. when he came to the 
Kanawha Planing Mill Company, first in the 
capacity of bookkeeper, later on acquiring 
stock in the company, and since 1909 has been 
secretary and treasurer and also a director in 
the same, one of considerable importance in 
Kanawha county. Mr. Martin has property 
investments at Charleston but devotes his en- 
tire time to his lumber interests. 

In 1899 Mr. Martin was married to Miss 
Mamie A. Van Sandt. a daughter of Joseph 
and Marv (McClure) Van Sandt. Mrs. Mar- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



845 



tin was reared at Dayton, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. 
Martin have three children: Margaret, Grace 
and William, all of whom are pupils in the 
public schools. The family belongs to the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Martin is 
a Republican in politics. 
J 

JACOB C. MAY, a retired farmer resid- 
ig at St. Albans, W. Va., was born in Loudon 
district, Kanawha county, W. Va., April 3, 
1841, and is a son of J. W. May and a grand- 
son of Jacob Ma}". 

Grandfather Jacob May was born in Bed- 
ford county, Va., and was the first of the 
.Ala}- family to settle in Kanawha county. He 
was a salt maker and was kettle tender for 
some time. To his first marriage he had but 
one child, J. W., who was born at Marmet, 
W. Va. For his second wife he went back 
to Bedford county, after the death of his first, 
at the age of thirty-eight years. She was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Grandfather Ma}- was a Whig in politics. He 
lived to be seventy-one years old and died in 
Amherst county, Va. 

J. -W. May, father of Jacob C, was reared 
in Kanawha county and in early manhood mar- 
ried Annie Heff, a daughter of Frank Heff, 
of the same county, and they had eight chil- 
dren, all of whom survive: J. L., W. H., Ever- 
ett. Jacob C, Cynthia, Octavia, Evelyn and 
Ann. J. W. May followed salt making for a 
time and then moved to Lincoln county and 
for several years was engaged in farming 
there. He died at the age of seventy-two 
years and was buried at Griffithville. His 
wife did not long survive and her burial was 
at the same place. After the death of her hus- 
band she united with the Missionary Baptists, 
he having been a Methodist. 

Jacob C. May obtained his education in sub- 
scription schools in Lincoln county. At the 
outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in Co. 
G. nth W. Va. Vol. Inf., and served until he 
was honorably discharged, and at Richmond, 
Va., was mustered out as corporal of his com- 
pany. He had never been absent from his 
command, with the exception of the time re- 
quired for the healing of two bad wounds, one 
in his right hand and the other in his foot. 



He then came to Charleston and for five years 
was an engineer in salt works between 
Charleston and Maiden, at the end of which 
time he bought a farm in Lincoln county, con- 
taining one hundred and forty-nine acres, two 
miles east of Griffithville, which he still owns, 
and lived there for forty-three years. He then 
retired for two years and lived at Danville, in 
Boone county and from there moved to St. 
Albans, where he has lived ever since and is 
identified with the interests of the place. He 
is a member of the council at St. Albans, is 
a stockholder in the Bank of St. Albans and 
also of the First National Bank of St. Albans 
and is a charter member of the Boone County 
Bank. Additionally he owns eighty-three and 
one-fourth acres in Putnam county. 

Mr. May was married January 9, 1868, to 
Miss Edna Jane Spurlock, who was born in 
Cabell county, Va., January 12. 1 85 1, a 
daughter of Alexander and Mary Spurlock, 
and they have had the following children : 
Landon H., who is unmarried; Wilber S.. who 
lives in Jefferson district; J. Everett, who lives 
at St. Albans, married Lulu Lawrence and has 
four children — Vere, Ralph, Alemett and Bes- 
sie; C. C, who lives in Nebraska; B. F., who 
lives at home : Carrie B., postmistress at Dan- 
ville, Boone county, who is the wife of Charles 
H. Price, and has two children — -Rexford and 
Jacob; and Annie E., who is the wife of C. B. 
Curry, lives at Lock No. 7, Jefferson district, 
and has three children — Verbal, Richard and 
Edna Ruth. Mr. May's comfortable resi- 
dence is located on Railroad avenue, St. Al- 
bans. 

GUY PARISH MATTHEWS, deceased, 
was born in 1805, in Buckingham county, Va., 
a member of a family of importance in that 
and other sections of Virginia. He was a son 
of Thomas Matthews, whose father was 
Thomas Matthews, who was a son of William 
Matthews, who soon after the death of Oliver 
Cromwell came from Wales to the United 
States or colonies, settling in Virginia. It is 
said of him that he acquired an immense es- 
tate but was a man of such simple habits that 
he was just as willing to earn his living by 
labor as to live in luxury. He had three sons : 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



846 

Thomas, Matthew and Sampson, and three 
daughters, one of whom married a Waller, 
another a Seddon, and the third also a Waller. 

Thomas Matthews, son of William the set- 
tler, was the great-grandfather of Guy Parish 
Matthews. He was born in Virginia and 
owned a fine estate in Buckingham county, on 
which his son, Thomas Matthews, was born 
and spent his life. He was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War. Supposedly he was a 
man of wealth but his death occurred when 
away from home and his hidden money was 
never discovered. He married Farnut Sharp, 
of Sharpsburg, Ky., and they had these chil- 
dren : Thomas, Judith, Jemima, Barbara, Di- 
ana, Joseph, Guy Parish, R. Lot, and Thomas 
(2), who was the father of the subject of this 
record. 

Thomas Matthews was born in Buckingham 
county, Va., and was a farmer there, but after 
coming to Kanawha count) - , in 1808, was a 
watch and clock maker and acquired a large 
fortune. For a time he lived in the house 
where Miss Sarah Matthews lives, but died 
where Major Moulton formerly lived, in Ka- 
nawha. He married Mary Jones, of Buck- 
ingham county, Va., but her people were from 
South Carolina, being French Huguenots. 
Three children were born to Thomas and 
Mary* (Jones) Matthews ; Thomas Seddon, 
Lucy Jones and Guy Parish. 

Guy Parish Matthews remained with his 
father and from him received the old family 
farm that is now owned by the former's two 
daughters, situated in Loudon district, which 
formerly contained two hundred acres. Mr. 
Parish engaged in farming during his active 
years and survived into old age, passing away 
November 1, 1889. He was very highly re- 
spected and during the Civil War this was 
plainly seen. He was a Democrat but was 
not in sympathy with secession, nevertheless 
he had no difficulty in securing a protection 
paper from General Cox, and neither he nor 
his were ever molested. 

Mr. Matthews married Miss Jane W r ilson, 
who was born in Kanawha count}*, a daughter 
of John Wilson, and seven of their children 
grew to maturity, as follows : Marv. who is 
deceased, was the wife of Frank Porter, also 



deceased; Elizabeth Mosby, who died in 1908, 
was the wife of Mr. Berks, who is also de- 
ceased; Thomas Jones, who is a resident of 
Loudon district, formerly was a well known 
surveyor, married Mary Fletcher Wygar, of 
Pulaski county; Lucy, who is deceased, was 
the wife of George Morrison, also deceased; 
Sarah and Martha, who reside on the old 
homestead and own it; and John, the second 
youngest, who is deceased, married Mary Jo- 
sephine Walker, who survives. Five children 
died young. This is one of the old Southern 
families that through many changes has kept 
up many of the customs of former days and 
the two ladies occupying the old home have a 
wide circle of appreciative friends. 

HENRY C. CAPITO. superintendent of 
the Diamond Ice and Coal Company, of 
Charleston. W. Va., is one of the progressive 
and enterprising business men of this section. 
He was born at Charleston in 1881, and after 
completing the high school course, entered the 
University of West Virginia, where he was in 
attendance three years, since when he has been 
identified with the Diamond Ice and Coal 
Company. He is a son of Charles Capito, 
who is a prominent citizen of Charleston and 
is president of the Kanawha National Bank. 

The Diamond Ice and Coal Company was 
established in 1883 and was the pioneer in the 
ice making business in this city. Its plant on 
Elk river, situated on Elk and Welch streets, 
covers a large area, and its ice capacity is 150 
tons of ice daily. The company sells both by 
retail and wholesale and supplies a large sec- 
tion in the Kanawha valley with coal and ice, 
employment being given in the latter industrv 
alone to fifty men. 

Mr. Capito was married at Fairmont, Mar- 
ion county, W. Va.. to Miss Pauline Barns 
Miller, a daughter of Thomas C. Miller, who 
was formerly state superintendent of free 
schools and is now principal of Shepherd Col- 
lege, at Shepherdstown. W. Va. Mrs. Capito 
was educated at the National Park Seminary, 
at Washington. D. C. They are members of 
the Lutheran church. Mr. Capito is a Repub- 
lican in national political issues. He is promi- 
nent in Masonry, being a Shriner. and is con- 




.JAMES KAY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



849 



nected with Beni-Kedem Temple at Charles- 
ton, and has taken fourteen degrees in the 
Order of Perfection, Scottish Rite. 

WILLIAM BROWN MAIRS,* whose 
very valuable farm of three hundred acres, 
situated in Poca district, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., is mainly devoted to cattle and sheep 
growing, is one of the county's substantial 
citizens and is a member of one of its old 
families. He was born in Poca district, March 
I, 1856, and is a son of William Mairs. 

Mr. Mairs was married to Miss Virginia 
Morgan, who was born at Charleston, W. Va., 
November 15, 1859, and is a daughter of 
Philip W. and Lucy (Trent) Morgan, natives 
of Prince Edward county, Va. They were 
young when their parents moved to Charles- 
ton, where they subsequently married and 
lived for many years. Mr. Morgan was a 
boatman on the Kanawha river and a barrel 
manufacturer, in later life purchasing a farm 
in Poca district on which he resided. He also 
operated a mill for the rest of his active life, 
his death occurring there in 1886, when he 
had attained the age of eighty-two years. His 
widow survived him until 1905. Both were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and Mr. Morgan was the largest contributor 
to the support of the State Street church, was 
president of its board of trustees and super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. He was 
twice elected sheriff of Kanawha county and 
was serving in this office at the time when two 
notorious felons were taken from the jail and 
executed by an outraged community. Four- 
teen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mor- 
gan, ten of whom grew to man and woman- 
hood and seven of whom still survive, Mrs. 
Mairs being one of the intermediate members 
of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Mairs have an 
adopted daughter, whom they reared and edu- 
cated and who is now the wife of M. C. 
Morecott, a merchant of Richmond, Va., who 
also owns a farm in Poca district. Mr. Mairs 
devotes himself to a large degree to looking 
after his stock interests and his land, as the 
most of it is rich in gas and coal deposits. 
Mrs. Mairs is a very capable business woman 
and successfully conducts the American House 
at No. 323 Laidley street, Charleston. 



JAMES KAY, one of Charleston's honor- 
able and successful business men, who has 
been identified with many of the leading in- 
terests of Kanawha County, was born in 
1849, within twenty-five miles of Glasgow, 
Scotland. He was one of twelve children 
born to parents in humble circumstances, 
who, in their declining years were brought 
by him to America to share in his pros- 
perity. 

Mr. Kay's life is one that may well in- 
terest all those who delight in the real re- 
wards that come as the result of industry, 
temperance, honesty and fidelity. He was 
but nine years old when he left the little 
home that scarcely provided a shelter for 
so rapidly an increasing family, and from 
that time until the present has directed his 
own affairs. Until he was fourteen years 
old he was employed by the farmers living- 
near his birthplace, and then learned the 
stone mason trade ; before he was nineteen 
years of age was working as a journeyman 
stone mason. In 1869, when tw r enty years 
old, he left Glasgow for America and was 
disappointed after landing in New York to 
find that no one apparently needed his serv- 
ices in that great city. He pressed on to 
Cleveland, O., where the Euclid Avenue 
Baptist Church was in course of erection 
and there secured his first job. From there 
he went to Sharon, Pa., and in the fall of 
1870 to Charleston, and here became gen- 
eral manager for the firm of Shanahan & 
Mason, general contractors for the build- 
ing of the stone work and grading for the 
C. & O. Railroad, and the time soon came 
when he took contracts on his own account. 
On New River he built the Big Doddy arch 
culvert and did other heavy stone work. 
He then went to Marietta, O., and then to 
Athens, and during the panic of 1873 was 
in business there, afterward going to an- 
other part of the State, thence to where he 
was engaged on the Cincinnati & Southern 
Railroad, the taking of these contracts be- 
ing guided by practical knowledge and turn- 
ing out successfully. In 1875 he found a 
good business opening in Canada and built 
locks and dams in the Dominion for two 
years. By this time he had acquired con- 



850 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



siclerable capital and purchased a farm in 
Maryland, with the intention of becoming 
an agriculturist, but soon discovered that 
such quiet and peaceful surroundings did 
not satisfy him, therefore, in 1879, he left 
there and came back to West Virginia. He 
settled at Quinnimont, in Fayette County, 
and for two years was engaged mainly in 
building coke ovens and during this time 
built the Page's oven, at Hawks nest, which 
is probably the largest in the whole state. 
In the meanwhile he kept on acquiring 
property, buying New River coal land. 

Mr. Kay was then called to Inman, Tenn., 
where he did some important work for a 
New York company, and then, at Tarry- 
town, N. Y., built all the shops for the 
Rand Drill Company, which consumed two 
years of his time. He was then appointed 
receiver for a mining company in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., the duties of this position 
claiming his attention for two years. His 
large holdings in New River lands, which, 
by this time aggregated several thousand 
acres, brought him back to West Virginia, 
and as chief owner, he proceeded to open 
up the coal properties of the Royal Coal and 
Coke Company. For about twelve years 
he remained at Royal and from there came 
again to Charleston, retaining, however, 
possession of his New River lands. His 
next enterprise was the opening up of the 
Kaymoor mines, of which he was general 
manager for three years. During the pre- 
ceding years he had been gradually acquir- 
ing land in Cabin Creek District, Kanawha 
County, and opened up the Cabin Creek 
Coal Company district, and. as president 
of this company, resided at Cabin Creek 
for six years, at which time the Cabin Creek 
Consolidated was formed, in 1906, when Mr. 
Kay retired to Charleston. It was. how- 
ever, with no intention of laying aside busi- 
ness responsibilities, being' too active and 
wide awake a man for that, and shortly 
afterward he established the Elk Milling 
and Produce Company, one of the lar°"e in- 
dustries of this section, becoming president. 
He also opened up other mines on Camp- 
bell's Creek, becoming president of what 



is known as the Virginia Coal Company. 
He is also first vice president of the Con- 
solidated Coal Company, a director in the 
Kanawha Valley Bank, also in the Noyes, 
Thomas and Company, the Thomas Shoe Com- 
pany and others. In his political views he is 
independent of party ties. He belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity and is a Shriner. 

Mr. Kay was married near Youngstown, 
O., to Miss Julia Ballantyne, a native of 
Ayrshire, Scotland, who came to America 
when fourteen years of age, to join her 
uncle's family in Ohio, he being Rev. Rich- 
ard McLean a local Methodist preacher. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Kay the following children 
were born : Jessie, who is the wife of Will- 
iam T. Thayer; Jean, who is the wife of 
George E. Thomas, the latter being presi- 
dent of the Thomas Shoe Company and a 
member of the firm of Noyes, Thomas and 
Co.; Edith B., who resides at home: 
Thomas A., who is general manager of the 
Virginia Coal Company, married Nan. 
Parker from North Carolina ; William R., 
who is a commission man for the Elk Mill- 
ing and Produce Company; James F., who 
lives on a ranch in North Dakota; and John 
F.. who is private secretary for his father. 
The sons are all college men and all are 
creditaWe members of society. The family 
is Presbyterian in religion and belong to the 
First Presbyterian Church at Charleston. 

There are few men in the State of West 
Virginia and particularly in Kanawha 
County, who are better known for what 
they have personally accomplished than 
James Kay. His many interests represent 
the work of an active man. one who began 
life a poor boy. who, in fact, possessed noth- 
ing but the knowledge of his self-supporting 
trade when he landed on an alien shore. 
When he sought employment he still was 
so young and looked so incompetent, that 
the contractor on the Euclid Avenue Church, 
which has become more or less known the 
countrv over as the house in which Ameri- 
ca's richest man chooses to worship, that 
he would trust him only with a bit of con- 
tract work bv the piece. He soon saw that 
the voting Scotchman thoroughly under- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



851 



stood the work and the contractor was then 
very willing to entrust more important narts 
to him and paid him accordingly. Mr. Kay 
not only succeeded in making money but 
he was thrifty as well as industrious and 
one of his first acts, after he became inde- 
pendent, was to send back to Scotland for 
his aged parents and his eleven brothers 
and sisters, fourteen altogether, joining him 
in America. He established the family on 
a small farm in Ohio and the opportunities 
afforded by this devoted son and brother 
were not neglected. It has been a matter 
of just pride with him that he could give 
those dependent on him the advantages he 
never had himself. 

W. M. PUCKETT, vice-president of the 
Cabin Creek Consolidated Coal Company, of 
Kanawha county, W. Va., has been connected 
with important business concerns almost his 
entire mature life. He was born in Montgom- 
ery county, Ya., July 29, 1869. 

Mr. Puckett was still a young man when he 
became interested in business, becoming cash- 
ier of the First National Bank, of Hinton, W. 
Va., and while there made investments in the 
Kay ford mines, his introduction to the coal in- 
dustry. In 1902 he came to Charleston and 
bought the Boggs pharmacy and conducted it 
for three years and while still in the drug busi- 
ness became interested with coal operators on 
Cabin creek and accepted the general manage- 
ment of the Kanawha Fuel Company, coming 
later to his present company, of which he was 
made vice-president in 1907. 

In December, 1894, Mr. Puckett was mar- 
ried to Miss Katherine Hallorn, and they have 
two children: Anita and Elizabeth. Mr. 
Puckett is an advanced MasOn and belongs to 
the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commanderv and 
Mvstic Shrine, all at Charleston. 

JOHN R. DAVIS, a teacher, living at 
Clendenin. V". Va., where he has been secre- 
tary of the village board for the past five 
years, has spent the larger part of his life in 
educational work. He was born at Clendenin, 
April 20, i860, and is a son of William H. 
and Man^ C. (Hill) Davis. 



William H. Davis was born in Rockingham 
county, Va., in 18 16, a son of Mathew S. and 
Susan (Ferris) Davis, the former of whom 
was born in England and came to America 
with five brothers and settled in Rockingham 
county. He served as a soldier in the War of 
181 2. William H. Davis was a mechanic and 
after being in business at New Orleans, where 
he suffered an attack of yellow fever, came 
from there to the Elk river in Kanawha 
county, and operated saw and grist mills. He 
died in Roane county in 1880. He married 
Mary C. Hill, who was born in Kanawha 
county in 1828, a daughter of Henry and 
Susan (Smith) Hill. Eleven children were 
born to this marriage : Florence, who is de- 
ceased; Adelaide, who is the wife of L. Smith, 
of Roane county ; Susan, who is the wife of 
A. J. Hindman, of Kanawha county; Lucy, 
who is the wife of Jones Myers, of Roane 
county ; Rose Ann, who is deceased ; John R. ; 
Mathew H. and Albert G, who are of Roane 
county; Philip B., who is deceased; W. W., 
who lives at Spencer, Roane county; and the 
others died in infancy. 

John R. Davis was educated in Kanawha 
county and enjoyed two terms at Marshall 
College, after which he went into educational 
work, and to teaching his life has been mainly 
given. Mr. Davis is one of the best known 
educators in Roane and Clay counties and 
has a very wide circle of friends in those sec- 
tions, many of whom were his pupils for a 
longer or shorter time. He was married first 
to Miss Lucy Argabright, who died in 1901, 
aged thirty-one years, a daughter of Floyd 
Argabright, of Roane county. Four children 
were born to them : Edith, who died in in- 
fancy; Mabel Gertrude, who is eighteen years 
of age; Walter Guy, who is sixteen; and Roy 
Glen, who is now deceased. Mr. Davis mar- 
ried for his second wife, Miss Mattie E. 
Hayes, a daughter of Vincent and Elizabeth 
(Naylor) Hayes, residents of Big Sandy dis- 
trict. Mr. Davis is identified with the Odd 
Fellows at Clendenin and has been secretary 
of the local lodge for five terms. 

On the maternal side of the family, Mr. 
Davis traces his ancestry back to Sir Francis 
Drake. His great-grandfather, James Hill, 



852 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



was one of the oldest settlers in Kanawha 
county. On the paternal side the Davis fam- 
ily included Jefferson Davis, president of the 
Confederacy during the Civil War, who was 
a second cousin of the father of John R. 
Davis. 

HON. CORNELIUS CLARKSON 
WATTS, a member of the well known law 
firm of Watts, Davis & Davis, at Charleston, 
W. Va., has long been professionally promi- 
nent, and as United States attorney for West 
Virginia for four years, distinguished himself 
in public affairs. He was born at Amherst. 
Va., April 23, 1848, and is a son of James 
D. and Lucy A. (Simms) Watts. 

Cornelius C. Watts accompanied his par- 
ents in 1861 in their removal from Amherst 
to Albemarle county and afterward, while still 
a boy, he enlisted for military service in the 
Confederate army and served under Col. 
Mosby until the close of the Civil War. He 
then completed his interrupted education, at 
the University of Virginia, studied law and 
was admitted to the bar. In 1870 he became 
a citizen of West Virginia and entered into 
practice in Wyoming county, immediatelv im- 
pressing his fellow citizens with his abilities 
as a lawyer and to such an extent that in 1872 
he was elected prosecuting attorney for Wvo- 
ming count)-, serving acceptably in that office 
until 1875, when he came to Charleston and 
the capital city has been his home ever since. 

In 1880 Air. Watts was elected attorney 
general of West Virginia, on the Democratic 
ticket. In August, 1886. he was appointed by 
the late President Cleveland, United States 
attorney for the District of West Virginia, 
was removed by the late President Harrison 
and was reappointed in the second administra- 
tion of President Cleveland, serving in this 
office with honor, efficiency and great profes- 
sional ability until 1896, when he retired in 
order to accept the nomination of the Demo- 
cratic party for governor of West Virginia. 
In the present space it would be impossible to 
record all the important litigation in which 
General Watts was concerned during his many 
vears of official life, but no student of West 
Virginia history can escape the conviction that 



one of the state's most valuable as well as able 
men during the years above indicated, was 
Attorney General W atts. He won his cases 
for the state in contests with some of the most 
brilliant legal minds in the country, and the 
resulting legislation has contributed largely to 
general prosperity. One notable case deserves 
perpetuation in these records, both on account 
of its far-reaching importance and also on ac- 
count of the distinguished professional men 
against whom General Watts pitted his argu- 
ments, his experience, his facts, his great tech- 
nical knowledge of every point of law, to- 
gether with his oratory — and won. It was 
the great tax suit against the C. & O. Rail- 
road, which was appealed to the United States 
court, in which he was the special United 
States attorney. The talent arrayed against 
him included such men as Senator Edmonds 
of Vermont. William J. Robertson of Vir- 
ginia, Judge James H. Ferguson, and Col. 
William H. Hageman. of the highest legal 
ability. General Watts recovered not only 
the sum of $200,000 for the state, but the 
right to the State of West Virginia to forever 
impose the railroad tax against this and all 
other roads operating and doing business in 
the state. 

After retiring from public life. General 
Watts resumed his law practice at Charleston, 
and since 1905 has been the senior member of 
the above firm, which maintains its offices in 
the Citizens' National Bank Building. As a 
lawyer in general practice, General Watts' 
reputation is high. He combines thorough 
knowledge with eloquence and as a speaker is 
in demand for many occasions, and also as a 
writer has more than a local reputation. Like 
many Southern born gentlemen, he is fond of 
and a fine judge of horses and he takes a par- 
donable pride in being the owner of the trot- 
ting horse Gen. Watts (3), 2.06% estab- 
lished in 1907, as a three-year-old. General 
Watts owns and lives at Breezemont in this 
city, a beautiful home which stands on an emi- 
nence that commands a beautiful view of the 
capital city. 

ALTON NORMAN DAVIS, who is as- 
sistant superintendent and one-half owner of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



853 



the stock of the Eastern Carbon Black Com- 
pany, a vast enterprise doing business in Ka- 
nawha county, has been identified with the 
manufacturing of carbon black all his business 
life. He was born at Pittsfield, in Warren 
county, Pa., March 8, 1876, and completed his 
education in the high school there and in a 
commercial college. 

Mr. Davis then went into the business of 
manufacturing carbon black, in association 
with his brother, O. L. Davis, at Eaton, Ind., 
and with the family owned and operated a 
plant there for seven years and then became 
interested with the Eastern Carbon Black 
Company and when the plant was transferred 
to Kanawha county, W. Va., and located on 
Barren creek and Elk river, became assistant 
superintendent. Mr. Davis is a practical car- 
bon maker, understanding every detail, and 
this knowledge, combined with excellent busi- 
ness judgment, has made him an important 
factor in the concern which manufactures 
more than a million pounds of carbon black 
per year. 

Mr. Davis was married in Steuben county, 
X. Y., to Miss Lillian A. Thatcher, who was 
born there in 1873, a daughter of William K. 
and Roxy J. (Tuller) Thatcher, the father 
being a retired farmer living with his wife at 
Canisteo, N. Y., where they are prominent in 
the affairs of the Baptist church. Mr. Davis 
has one brother and one sister: Richard T.. 
who is a table manufacturer, married Laura 
Carter and they have one daughter, Aileen ; 
and Pearl E., who is the wife of Carl Flohr, 
a railroad engineer, and they have one daugh- 
ter, Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have three 
daughters, namely: Esther T., Frances E. and 
Virginia L., their ages ranging from thirteen 
to four years. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are mem- 
bers of the Christian church. In politics he 
is a Democrat and fraternallv he is identified 
with Lodge No. 452, Elks, at Clarksburg. 

JOHN C. MALONE, assistant cashier of 
the Kanawha Valley Bank of Charleston, W. 
Va.. was born March 6. 1871. at Maiden. Ka- 
nawha county, W. Va., and is a son of Joseph 
and Marv E. (Farley) Malone. Both parents 
were of Irish ancestry. The mother was born 
in West Virginia and died at Maiden, at the 



age of forty-seven years. The father was 
born in Botetourt county, Va., and after mar- 
riage settled in the Kanawha Salines, now 
Maiden, afterward for a number of years be- 
ing an engineer on steamboats and well known 
to river men. His death occurred at his home 
in Charleston, in 1900, at the age of sixty- 
nine years. He had three sons: James A., 
who died at the age of sixteen years; John C, 
and Joseph, who also died when in his six- 
teenth year. 

John C. Malone was educated in the 
schools at Maiden and Charleston and after- 
ward he became a clerk for the well known 
clothing house of Philip Frankenbarger & Co., 
at Charleston, and in 1891 he first became 
connected with the Kanawha Valley Bank. 
From a somewhat humble position in this 
banking institution he was advanced to others 
of responsibility as they were earned through 
industry and fidelity and in 1901 he became 
assistant cashier. Mr. Malone, like his late 
father, is a Democrat in politics but is no poli- 
tician and has never accepted any civic office ex- 
cept membership, at one time, in the city coun- 
cil. He is an active member of the Masonic 
fraternity, being a Knight Templar and a 
member of Beni-Kedem Shrine, at Charles- 
ton. 

Mr. Malone was married at Charleston to 
Miss Sallie K. Gresham, a daughter of Will- 
iam T. and Margaret J. Gresham, the former 
of whom is now deceased. Mrs. Gresham is 
a resident of Charleston, in which city Mrs. 
Malone was reared and educated. Mr. and 
Mrs. Malone have two children : Margaret, 
who is a graduate of the Charleston high 
school, in the class of 191 1; and Joseph W.. 
ivho is a satisfactory student in the public 
schools. Mr. and Mrs. Malone, with Mrs. 
Gresham. are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. South. 

PORUS J. YOUNG,* who is interested in 
life insurance at Clendenin, W. Va., and also 
in various patent rights which he has secured 
for inventions, belongs to one of the old fam- 
ilies of the Kanawha vallev. He was born 
May 26, i860, on Mill creek, Kanawha 
county, W. Va. 

Conrad Young, the pioneer settler of this 



854 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



family, came with his wife from Germany, 
and the latter was drowned while fording the 
Susquehannah river. Conrad's son, John 
Young, married a Taggart. He was a bear 
hunter and had a record of slaying thirty 
bears in one season. Family annals have 
much to say of this intrepid man and one 
story is that he pushed a canoe containing his 
family all the way from St. Albans to Charles- 
ton, to escape Indian pursuers. This was be- 
fore the Revolutionary War. His son, John 
B. Young, lived east of Charleston at a point 
known as Cabell's Gap. He married Mar- 
garet Young, who died in 1864, aged sixty- 
five years, while he survived until 1880. when 
aged eighty-five years. It was probably his 
father, John Young, who is credited with kill- 
ing the last Indian in this section, who had 
attempted to steal his children. 

Harvey Young, son of John B. Young, was 
born on Mill creek and spent his short life in 
the same neighborhood, a school teacher and 
farmer, his death occurring in t866, at the 
age of thirty-five years. He married Mary 
E. Griffith, who died in 1909, aged seventy- 
four years. She was a daughter of William 
and Mahala (King) Griffith, and a grand- 
daughter of Patrick and Marv 1 Mullen) 
Griffith. 

Poms J. Young obtained his education in 
the local schools, after which he engaged in 
the lumber business until he was twenty-seven 
years of age. He then worked at sawing and 
stone cutting in Rowan county, Ky.. for four- 
teen years. In 1901 he came to Clendenin and 
for two years was a salesman in a business 
house and then became agent for life insur- 
ance companies and has continued to be inter- 
ested in this line. He married Miss May 
Boyd, who was born in 1867 and died in 1900, 
leaving no children. Her parents were James 
S. and Anna (Bailey) Boyd, the latter of 
whom was a daughter of Judge Bailey, a well 
known jurist in Kentucky. Mr. Young is not 
interested to any degree in politics. He be- 
longs to the order of Red Men at Clendenin 
and to the Odd Fellows at Morehead, Ky., 
and to the Encampment at Blue Creek, W. Va. 

HENRY A. WALKER, deputy assessor 
of Charleston, W. Va., and the owner of 387 



acres of fine land in Elk District, Kanawha 
County, was born December 6, 1881, in 
Monroe County, W. Va., and is a son of 
Charles H. and Alalissa A. (Zirklej Walker. 

The parents of Mr. Walker belong to old 
Virginia families. The father, Charles H. 
Walker, was born in Monroe County, Sep- 
tember 26, 1843, an d is a son oi J. H. and 
Caroline (Caldwell) Walker, and their only 
child. J. H. Walker was a native of Craig 
County, Va., of which he was sheriff at one 
time. He moved to Monroe County after 
middle life and died there at the age of sev- 
enty years. He married Caroline Caldwell, 
who died in Kanawha County, at the age of 
seventy-four years, three months and seven 
days. 

■Charles H. Walker attended the country 
schools and later became a farmer. On 
June 9, 1862, he enlisted for service in the 
Civil War, and was assigned to Co. C, 45th 
Va. Inf., Confederate Army, and remained 
a faithful and reliable soldier until the sur- 
render of Gen. Lee closed hostilities. Dur- 
ing this long interim he participated in many 
of the serious battles of that great war. 
He was engaged in the Loring Raid of the 
Kanawha Valley to Charleston, while a 
member of Co. C. and after being trans- 
ferred to Co. A, 60th Vol. Inf., took part in 
the battle at Cloyd's Farm, afterward ac- 
companving his regiment to the Valley of 
Virginia and was in the hard-fought battle 
near Staunton, Va. The battle of Lynch- 
burg followed and the Confederate troops 
pursued the Union forces to near Salem and 
then back to the Valley of Virginia. He 
was in the engagement at Manassa Junc- 
tion and Karnstown. His command crossed 
the Potomac River twice and then went 
into Maryland under General Early. His 
regiment was very active at that time and 
being composed of brave and fearless men 
was usually at the place of greatest danger, 
hence he was captured on September 19, 
1864, at the battle of Winchester. He was 
confined at Point Lookout until he was ex- 
changed on March 18, 1865. Mr. Walker 
went to Richmond and was given a furlough 
of thirty days and thus was not on the field 
in the closing days of the war. 



HENRY A. WALKER 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



855 



In Monroe County, W. Va., Mr. Walker 
was married to Miss Malissa A. Zirkle, who 
died in Elk District, Kanawha County, in 
1907, at the age of fifty-nine years, seven 
months and twelve days. She was a daugh- 
ter of Samuel S. and Amanda M. (Dairly) 
Zirkle, the latter of whom was born in Mont- 
gomery County, Va., and when left a widow 
came to the home of her daughter, Mrs. 
Walker, where she died in advanced age. 
She was a member of the Methodist church, 
while Mr. Zirkle was a member of the Ro- 
man Catholic church. Three sons and five 
daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Zir- 
kle and record as follows is given of the 
survivors: John Zirkle lives in Kanawha 
County; Maggie is the wife of Frank Pax- 
ton, a farmer in Kansas ; Katherine is the 
wife of Henry H. Hill, of Belva, Nicholas 
County, W. Va. ; and Emma is the wife of 
David Brackman, of Charleston. To 
Charles H. Walker and wife the following 
children were born : Archibald, who was 
born July 1, 1870, died August 1, 1871 ; 
Charles S., who was born March 19, 1872, 
lives on a farm in Elk District, married 
Myrtle Cart, and they have four children : 
Hallie, Ray, Kermit and Quenton ; Carrie, 
who was born April 22, 1874, married Harry 
Robinson, proprietor of the Commercial 
Hotel, at Charleston, and they have had 
one child, Goldie, who is deceased; Will- 
iam F., who was born January 3, 1876, is 
a physician, a graduate of the Kentucky 
School of Medicine, at Louisville, in the 
class of 1907; Eugene E., who resides on 
his farm of 260 acres, in Elk District, was 
born February 12, 1874, married Eva C. 
Frail, and they have three children : Charles 
I., Elbert and Virley ; Anna M., who was 
born December 1, 1879; Henry A.; Hugh 
C, who was born in Kanawha County, 
March 16, 1883, resides at home, his wife, 
formerly Masel Hanna, having died a year 
after marriage; Nora F., who was born in 
Kanawha County, February 14. 1886, mar- 
ried John L. Hammack and they reside in 
Elk District and have one child, Naomi ; 
Romeo H., who was born March 21, 1888, 
is a student in the college of Physicians and 



Surgeons at Baltimore, Md. ; and Albert C, 
who was born July 22, 1890, died August 
24, 1890. In October, 1883, Charles H. 
Walker came to Kanawha County and pur- 
chased land on Little Sandy Creek, where 
he has resided ever since. He has done a 
large amount of improving and now owns 
a fine place with substantial buildings and 
a considerable amount of stock. In 1907 
he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, 
a member of the board of Education and is 
still serving. He is one of the successful 
agriculturists and highly respected citizens 
of his neighborhood. 

Henry A. Walker obtained his education 
in the Elk District and afterward taught 
school for seven years before he settled 
down as a farmer. He followed agricul- 
tural pursuits and resided on his farm until 
January 1, 1909, when he was appointed 
deputy assessor, under Assessor Grant 
Copenhaver, and since then has given the 
larger part of his time to the duties of 
office which he is performing in a very effi- 
cient manner. He is a Republican in his 
views but has never been a seeker for polit- 
ical honors. 

Mr. Walker was married in 1906, to Miss 
Adelia C. Nutter. She was born in Elk 
District, Kanawha County, W. Va., Febru- 
ary 8, 1887, and completed her education in 
the Charleston High School. Her parents, 
AVilliam E. and Sarah E. (Hammack) 
Nutter, were born in Kanawha County. 
Her father, William E. Nutter, is one of 
Charleston's well known business men, be- 
ing a grocery merchant here for a number 
of years. He is a Republican in politics but 
holds no public office. In his religious 
views he belongs to the Adventist church 
body. He married Sarah E. Hammack, 
who died in 1899, survived by three chil- 
dren: Mrs. Walker: James A., who is a resi- 
dent of Charleston: and Myrtle M., who 
married J. E. Cannon, residing at Scran- 
ton, Pa., and they have one daughter, 
Mary B. 

Mr. and Mrs. Walker have two interest- 
ing little children: Beatrice Basel, who was 
born January 6, 1907; and William Nutter, 



856 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



who was born September 18, 1908. They 
are pretty sure to have many educational 
as well as social advantages, and it may 
not be too much to say that they have, be- 
side other kindred, two very indulgent and 
admiring grandfathers. For a number of 
years Mr. Walker has been identified with 
and active in the fraternal order of Knights 
of Pythias and he belongs also to the order 
of American Mechanics. He is one of the 
representative men of this section and in 
every way is well qualified for official life 
although never very anxious to secure pub- 
lic office. He is liberal in his neighborhood 
in giving support to benevolent enterprises 
and contributes to both church and schools. 

EDWARD CLARK COLCORD. JR., civ- 
il engineer, who is connected with the Bow- 
man Lumber Co. at St. Albans, W. Va., was 
born at AA-'illiamsport, Lycoming county, Pa., 
January 15, 1885, and is a son of Hon. Ed- 
ward C. Colcord, who is a prominent business 
man and politician in Kanawha county. The 
latter was born in Vermont, but for a number 
of years has been active in affairs of West 
Virginia, for twenty years having been a large 
factor in the lumber industry. For two terms 
he has served as a member of the West Vir- 
ginia house of delegates, and one term as state 
senator. He married Mary McManigal. who 
was born in Center county. Pa., and was 
reared at Williamsport. 

Edward S. Colcord, Jr., is the eldest in a 
family of seven children. He obtained his 
early educational training in the public schools 
at St. Albans, after which, in 190 1, he en- 
tered the preparatory department of the L T ni- 
versity of West Virginia, where he was grad- 
uated in the class of 1907, as a civil engineer. 
In 1909 he came to St. Albans in his present 
capacity but for two years prior to that had 
been at work on the locks and dams of the 
Ohio river. 

On March 27, 1910, Mr. Colcord was mar- 
ried to Miss Gertrude Rock, a daughter of 
Capt. A. A. and Julia (Doddridge) (Lackey) 
Rock, of St. Albans. Mr. and Mrs. Colcord 
have one son, Edward C. (3rd). In politics 
Mr. Colcord is a Republican. 



MRS. HELEN MARGARET CUNNING- 
HAM, highly esteemed in society, president 
of one of the literary associations of the state 
federation, and of life-loijg activity in the 
Episcopal church, is a daughter of Samuel and 
Helen Mar (Kassick) Benedict, and was 
born in Alexander, Genesee county, N. Y. 
She was one of several children: Evelyn, 
George Kassick, Janet, Helen, Frank Lee ( the 
well known novelist and writer who was lion- 
ized in America and on the Continent forty 
years ago, and some of whose writings were 
published in several languages, in England and 
the chief countries of Europe), and Park B,, 
all of whom were born in New York. 

Samuel' Benedict, father of Mrs. Cunning- 
ham, was born at Norwich. Conn., in 1798, 
and early manifested that devotion to his coun- 
try which distinguished his course in later 
years. He took active part, though but fifteen 
years of age. in the defense of Fort Erie 
against the British. Entering politics, he was 
twice elected a member of the Pennsylvania 
legislature, and in after years was successful 
as a coal operator, merchant and president of 
a bank. In 1858 he removed to Coalsmouth, 
Va. (now St. Albans, W. Va.). took an active 
and prominent part in the Civil War. and 
rendered valuable service in the work of re- 
organization under the laws of the new state. 
In connection with his son-in-law, John S. 
Cunningham, he owned, among other tracts 
of land, the one hundred and forty-two thou- 
sand acre De Witt Clinton tract, in which the 
Cunningham heirs have still an interest, and 
a survey through which, made by Col. Tohn 
S. 'Cunningham, was the basis of the present 
Coal River Railroad, which has its junction 
with the Chesapeake & Ohio in St. Albans. 

Helen M. Benedict attended several well 
known private schools and was carefullv 
reared. She was married at Pittston, Pa., to 
John S. Cunningham, a civil engineer and sur- 
veyor, farmer, soldier and statesman, who was 
born in Orange. N. J., in 1827. In 1858 he 
permanently settled in West A r irginia. At the 
outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Union 
army, was commissioned second lieutenant, 
nth Inf., promoted to adjutant. 13th I. V. V. 
He was next commissioned as captain and pro- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



857 



moted to lieutenant-colonel in the 18th Vir- 
ginia Militia. He participated in many en- 
gagements during the civil strife. He was a 
member of the Grand Arm of the Republic, 
the Army of the Cumberland and Loyal Le- 
gion. After the war he took interest in public 
affairs and was the first superintendent of free 
schools under the new regime. He received, 
among other important commissions, an ap- 
pointment by the state legislature as commis- 
sioner to represent the state's interest in the 
Covington & Ohio Railroad Co., with a view 
to the formation of a new company and the 
completion of the road to the Kentucky line. 
The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad is the out- 
come of the energies of that commission. In 
the meantime he was president of the county 
court for six years and it was through his in- 
fluence that Kanawha county has the finest 
court house and jail in the state. Col. Cun- 
ningham was also director and president of 
the board of public works for the improve- 
ment of the Great Kanawha river, and by a 
system of sluice navigation removed various 
shoals and otherwise improved the navigation 
of the Kanawha. 

Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Cunningham: Evelyn, John B., Helen Mar- 
garet, and a son, who died in infancy. They 
own one of the most beautiful homes of the 
Kanawha valley, "Belvil," immediately east of 
St. Albans, which has become one of the cen- 
ters of work for the Prohibition party. 

BOB BAKER BINFORD, commercial 
traveler, for many years has been associated 
in this relation with the Hubbard, Bedell Gro- 
cery Co., a leading wholesale grocery house of 
Charleston, W. Va., and has a wide acquaint- 
ance all over a trade territory that takes in 
West Virginia and adjacenf states. Mr. Bin- 
ford was born October 26, 1867, in Bucking- 
ham county, Va., and is a son of Joseph T. 
and a grandson of Baker Binford. 

Baker Binford was born in Prince Edward 
county, Va.. a descendant of one of three 
brothers who emigrated from England and 
settled at Jamestown, Va., prior to the Revo- 
lutionary War. Baker Binford was one of 
the early graduates of Hampden-Sidney Col- 
47 



lege and his estates were situated near that 
famous educational institution. He was a 
member and officer in the Methodist Episco- 
pal church and was, in every way, a type of 
the old-time Southern gentleman. He lived 
to the age of seventy years. His wife, Cath- 
erine Moss, was also born in Buckingham 
county, Va., and on the maternal side her an- 
cesthy was traced to the Bourbons of France. 
Four sons and six daughters were born to 
them, of whom two sons and two daughters 
survive. 

Joseph T. Binford was born in what is now 
Prince Edward county but formerly was Ap- 
pomattox county, Va., sixty-nine years ago, 
and died in September, 1905. He was eighteen 
years of age and a student at Hampden-Sid- 
ney College when the Civil War broke out, 
and he enlisted in Co. I, 18th Va. Volunteers, 
which was attached to Gen. Pickett's brigade, 
and served all through the war. He partici- 
pated in many of the leading engagements of 
that unhappy period of strife, these including: 
Bull Run, Manassas, Chickamauga, the cam- 
paign in the vicinity of Richmond, and he was 
with Gen. Pickett's command when that Con- 
federate officer made his famous charge at 
Gettysburg and was one of the nine men of 
his company who lived through that awful 
day of carnage. He received a gunshot wound 
at Manassas, another at Gettysburg and also 
was injured by an exploding shell that caused 
him to be more or less of an invalid during 
the rest of his life. He was also a prisoner 
of war for some eight weeks and was confined 
at Delaware Bay. He was a man of sterling 
principles, a deacon in the Baptist church and 
for years was identified with the Masonic fra- 
ternity. He married Lucy S. Harper, a 
daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Coleman) 
Harper. She was born in Tennessee and lost 
her father when young and was brought back 
to Virginia by her mother, who was a daugh- 
ter of Col. Stephen Coleman, who, at one 
time, owned slaves and twenty-three hundred 
acres of land in Pittsylvania county, Va., on 
a part "of which Mrs. Binford resides. She 
became the mother of the following children : 
Bob Baker; Anna Hortense, who is the wife 
of Gordon B. Sneed, now living on the old 



858 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Coleman homestead and they have three sons 
and five daughters ; Elizabeth C, who is the 
wife of E. J. Dawson, living in Pittsylvania 
county, and they have four sons and two 
daughters; Joseph Newbill, who is a Baptist 
minister, a missionary worker in Fayette 
county, W. Va., married Lillian Bragg and 
they have one son and one daughter; Lucy S., 
who is the wife of C. W. Sneed, living on a 
farm in Pittsylvania county, and they have 
five sons and three daughters; Mary Virginia, 
who is the wife of Robert Lee Dawson, a 
farmer and tobacco grower residing at Dan- 
ville, Va., and they have two sons and three 
daughters; and Thomas H., who is pastor of 
the Calvary Baptist church at Charleston, 
married Ethel Layman, of Louisville, Ky. 

Bob Baker Bin ford remained in his home 
in Pittsylvania county until he was about 
twenty-two years of age and then became a 
clerk in a store at Maybeury, W. Va., later 
worked in the coal mines and afterward was 
connected with the Empire Coal & Coke Com- 
pany's store at Landgraff, \Y. Va., for seven 
years. He then accepted a position as cash- 
ier for the branch of Armour & Co., at Eck- 
man, W. Va., and later was transferred to the 
sales department and was made branch house 
manager at Thurman, W. Va. In 1904 he 
came to Charleston and when the wholesale 
grocery house of Hubbard, Bedell Grocery- 
Co., came into existence, he became connected 
with it and has been one of this firm's com- 
mercial men ever since. He has additional 
interests and responsibilities, owning a one- 
half interest in the retail grocery business of 
William H. Sullivan & Co., of Charleston. 
Politically he is a Democrat and fraternally is 
a Mason, belonging to Kanawha Lodge at 
Charleston. 

Mr. Binford was married in 1897. at 
Chatham, Va., to Miss Bessie E. Lewis, who 
was born in Pittsylvania county, and they have 
four sons : Joseph Lewis, Robert Carey, Hub- 
bard Bedell and James A. Mr. and Mrs. Bin- 
ford are members of the Baptist church. Mr. 
Binford is a widely known and popular mem- 
ber of the United Commercial Travelers' As- 
sociation and is president of the Band of Gid- 
eons, a branch of the Commercial Travelers 



made up of church members and he was one 
of the organizers of the third band in West 
Virginia. 

C. R. SHIPLEY, vice-president and treas- 
urer of the Barrett-Shipley Company, one of 
Charleston's most prosperous business firms, 
is a representative of the class of mddern 
young business men of America that claims 
attention the world over for its enterprise and 
energy that so often spells remarkable success. 
Mr. Shipley was born at Lisbon, Md., June 
23, 1883, and is the only child of Joseph E. 
and Deborah Ann (McDonald) Shipley. 

Mr. Shipley was educated in the common 
and high schools at Baltimore and later took 
a business course in a commercial school, but 
his business life dates from the age of thirteen 
years, when he spent his school vacation as a 
clerk in a grocery store. At the age of fifteen 
years he entered the employ of a retail hard- 
ware, coal and lumber firm with which he con- 
tinued for two years, and then secured a posi- 
tion in the big mercantile house of John E. 
Hurst & Co., prominent wholesalers of dry 
goods at Baltimore. He remained with that 
house until he came to Charleston, where, on 
September 20, 1905, in association with J. H. 
Barrett and J. J. Warwick, he founded the 
firm of Warwick, Barrett & Shipley. On 
January 1, 1906, the business was incorpor- 
ated under the name of Warwick, Barrett. 
Shipley Company, which continued until July 
10, 191 1. when the style became Barrett and 
Shipley Company. The business was started 
in the old State Hotel, on the corner of Quar- 
rier and Hale streets, where one floor 25 x 120 
feet was occupied. In March. 1907. twenty- 
five feet of frontage was added and two floors 
of the building were secured and on October 
10, 1910, more space was secured, made 
necessary by the rapidly expanding of the 
business, and since then the firm has occupied 
the two floors of the old building and four 
floors of a new building with dimensions of 
75 x 120 feet, the floor space aggregating 
79,000 square feet. Mr. Shipley's activities 
in promoting the above expansion have been 
continuous and he devotes all his attention to 
the interests of his firm. 




ALEXAXDEK M. PUTNEY 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



859 



Mr. Shipley was married June 3, 1908, to 
Miss Edna Young, a daughter of Charles W. 
and Margaretta (Wiley) Young, old residents 
at Charleston, and they have one daughter, 
Anne McDonald. The family residence is at 
No. 1529 Quarrier street, Charleston. Politi- 
cally, Air. Shipley is a Democrat. 

ALEXANDER MOSELEY PUTNEY, 
manager of the Campbell's Creek Coal Com- 
pany stores in Maiden district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., and postmaster at Putney, 
which town was named in his honor, was born 
January 20, 1852, at Maiden, W. Va., and is 
a son of Richard Ellis and a grandson of Dr. 
Richard Ellis Putney. The Putney family 
was established in America by three brothers 
who emigrated from England, one of these 
settling in New England, one in Virginia and 
the third in North Carolina, the last named 
never marrying. 

The great-grandfather of Alexander M. 
Putney, was Ellis Putney, who married a Miss 
Ellis of Cumberland county, Va. Their first 
son, Richard Ellis, was born in Buckingham 
county, Va., March 13, 1793, became a physi- 
cian of prominence in Maiden district, mar- 
ried Ann E. Ruffner of Kanawha county, Oc- 
tober 11, 1 81 5, and they had six children: 
James. Richard Ellis, Lewis, Frances Norton, 
Ann E. Doyle and Susan E. Thayer. 

Richard Ellis Putney, Jr., was born in 
Maiden district, Kanawha county, March 18, 
1818, and spent the greater part of his life 
in this section, his death occurring in 1895, 
at the age of seventy-seven years. On Octo- 
ber 15, 1840, he married Alethea Todd, a 
daughter of Valentine Todd, and she lived 
into her seventy-third year. They were well 
known people and are still kindly remembered 
in the section in which their lives were spent. 
The following children were born to them : 
Garland, who died young; Anne E., who mar- 
ried Otis A. Thayer; David H., who is now 
deceased; Lilly P., who survived her husband, 
Joseph Alderson, and is also deceased; Lena 
and Jennie G., twins, the latter being the wife 
of William McClung, the former being de- 
ceased, having survived her husband for some 
years, J. W. Parrish; Alexander Moseley; 



and Minnie G., who is the wife of I. J. 
Stanley. 

In 1868 Alexander Moseley Putney first 
started in business with Genl. Lewis Ruffner 
in the manufacturing of salt, at Sinkersville, 
in the Pioneer Furnace, one-half mile below 
Maiden, on the Kanawha river. During 187 1 
and 1872 he was with R. C. W. Lorell in the 
coal business. On May 1, 1873, he became in- 
terested in and connected with Campbell's 
Creek Coal Company, having charge of that 
company's office for three years in Cincinnati. 
He then was given the management of the 
company's stores at Coal Fork, Dana and 
Putney, at the mines in Kanawha county, W. 
Va. During the thirty-six years of Mr. Put- 
ney's association with the Campbell's Creek 
Coal Company, he has never failed, but once, 
to personally pay the employees of the mines, 
and that lapse was caused by his being on his 
wedding tour. He is a man who prides him- 
self on being steady at his place of business, 
thorough and accurate in every detail, true to 
his pact, always reliable and ever worthy of 
the great trust and confidence placed in him, 
not only by the company but by every one who 
knows him. His word is his bond. His most 
intimate friends know him to be the embodi- 
ment of nobleness, truthfulness, gentleness 
and patience. He is mild and pure in his 
language, being thoroughly disgusted with 
and avoiding those who use profane language. 
Thoroughly temperate, he has always been op- 
posed to the use of any intoxicant. Mr. Put- 
ney belongs to neither secret society nor social 
club, preferring to spend his evenings at home 
with his family to whom he is fondly de- 
voted, and with his books and papers, having 
collected a very handsome and valuable li- 
brary. He is a man of great energy and in- 
dustry and always finds something to do 
which is worth while. 

Mr. Putney has always been interested in 
politics, although never a politician to any de- 
gree, but his party's success has ever been 
close to his heart. While zealously working 
for party and candidates at times, regardless 
of personal interests, he has but once consented 
to enter any political race, — that for county 
clerk — and he was defeated by the Repub- 



860 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



licans, as was every Democratic candidate on 
that ticket. Frequently he has served as a 
delegate to county and state conventions. Al- 
though a Democrat, he was appointed post- 
master at Putney by President Roosevelt. 

Mr. Putney was married September 14. 
1892, to Birdie Rebecca Littlepage, a daugh- 
ter of Adam Brown and Rebecca (Wood) 
Littlepage, and they have two children: Re- 
becca Alethea and Moseley Littlepage. Mr. 
Putney erected a handsome residence in 
Charleston district, at the mouth of Kanawha 
Two-Mile. Mr. and Mrs. Putney are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. 

In naming the town of Putney. Mr. S. F. 
Dana of Cincinnati, who is president of the 
Campbell's Creek Coal Company, thought it 
a compliment and well deserved honor to one 
who had served his company so long and faith- 
fully. The town has prospered and now has 
some fifteen hundred inhabitants. 

JOHN H. COPENHAVER*. who is ac- 
tively interested in the stock business, on Blue 
Creek, Elk district, where he owns 1,000 acres 
of blue grass for stock grazing, has long been 
otherwise interested in this section and since 
1902 has been postmaster of Blue Creek. He 
was born in Kanawha county, July 1, 1856, 
and is a son of Jacob Thomas and Virginia 
( Newcomer) Copenhaver. 

The grandfather of John H. Copenhaver 
was born in Denmark and from there he came 
to America as one of the early settlers in W. 
Va. as it it now, his home being in Nicholas 
county. Jacob Thomas Copenhaver. father of 
John H., was the second son of the family. 
He was born in Nicholas county and died in 
Kanawha county March 21, 1906, aged eighty- 
one years. In 1850 he moved into Kanawha 
county, where he followed farming, stockrais- 
ing and surveying. He married Virginia New- 
comer, who was born in Marion county, Va.. 
March 16, 1828, a daughter of Henry and 
Margaret (Smith) Newcomer. Mrs. Copen- 
haver still lives, being now in her eighty-sec- 
ond year and has many friends and numerous 
social interests and is a valued member of the 
Baptist church. To John Thomas Copenhaver 
and wife the following children were born : Mil- 



dred Jane, who is the wife of W. H. Burdett, 
of Kanawha county; William F., who is a 
farmer and stockraiser ; John H. ; Ellen, who 
is the wife of Dr. J. L. Stump, of Charleston ; 
Grant, who is a resident of Charleston and is 
county assessor; Virginia Florence, who is the 
wife of James M. Fleshman, of Roanoke 
county, W. Va. ; and two that died young. 

John H. Copenhaver taught school for a 
time after completing his own education and 
then assisted his father in farming for some ten 
years. He then moved to Charleston, where 
he was engaged in laboring and teaming until 
1886. Then coming to Clendenin, he was in- 
terested here in the lumber business for six 
years. In 1892 he returned to Charleston and 
resided there until 1900, when he. came to Blue 
Creek, where he embarked in the general mer- 
cantile business and carried it on until Febru- 
ary. 1910, when he disposed of it and now 
gives all his attention to his large stock in- 
terests. 

In 1877 Mr. Copenhaver was married to 
Miss Lizzie Given, who was born November 
29, i860, and died September 13, 1893. She 
was a daughter of A. J. and Nancy (Goff) 
Given, the former of whom died while serving 
as a soldier in the Civil war. To this mar- 
riage three children were born. Ramey H., 
who was born December 10, 1877, is a stock- 
man and grazer; he married Sally Petty and 
they have three children. Delia, who was born 
May 18. 1879, is the wife of J. R. King, a mer- 
chant at Spokane. Wash., and they have two 
children. Erna May, who was born May 19. 
i88=. is the wife of Fred Simms, a merchant 
in Kanawha county, and they have one child. 

Mr. Copenhaver was married secondly No- 
vember 8. 1894. to Miss Chloe J. Jarrett. who 
was born at Kettle. W. Va., May 4, 1874, a 
daughter of Columbus and Jane (Slack) Jar- 
rett. Thev have one child. Hazel, who was 
born October 30, 1897. Since 1876 Mr. Copen- 
haver has been a member of the A. C. church. 
In politics he is a Republican and has fre- 
quently been elected to important county of- 
fices. In 1892 he was elected county assessor 
and served as such for four years and in 1896 
was elected sheriff of Kanawha county and 
served out his full term. He is identified with 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



861 



the Masonic fraternity at Clendenin, the Odd 
Fellows at Charleston, and the Knights of 
Pythias at Blue Creek. 

WILLIAM L. BROOKMAN* who is one 
of the substantial and representative citizens 
of Charleston, W. Ya., owning a large amount 
of valuable property, was born August 14, 1839, 
in Craig county, Ya., and lost his father when 
he was three months old. He was a son of 
Samuel and Mahala (Philips) Brookman. 

Samuel Brookman was born in 1800 in Craig 
count}'. Ya., and was a son of Peter and Mary 
(Swisher) Brookman. Grandfather Brook- 
man was a soldier in the War of 1812 and was 
killed in the last battle of that war. leaving a 
young widow with one son and two daughters : 
Samuel; Sallie, who became the wife of John 
Johnson; and Nancy, who became the wife of 
David Wright. In order to take care of her 
children. Grandmother Brookman became a 
midwife and in her profession was well known 
and at different times lived in Craig. Pulaski, 
Montgomery and Raleigh counties. She sur- 
vived her husband for sixty-five years and was 
ninety-seven years of age at the time of death. 
Samuel Brookman was drowned in 1839 while 
trying to move rails from Craig creek during 
a flood. He was survived by his widow and 
three sons, the former dying while still under 
fifty years of age. Of the sons. John, the eld- 
est, died about the age of maturity; David was 
probably killed while serving in the Confeder- 
ate army; and William L. 

William L. Brookman went to live with his 
grandmother after the death of his mother and 
remained with her for seven years and when 
he started out for himself, at the age of fifteen 
years, her precepts and advice followed him as 
did her affection. He worked first for twenty- 
five cents a day and later, growing ambitious 
and working for sixteen hours a day. he was 
able to earn fifty cents. He had been taught 
frue-ality and early learned the necessitv as well 
as the power of money and has never forgotten 
it. hence, while his beginnings were small, he 
has been able to build up a substantial fortune 
where others of his acquaintance, with less 
provident habits, have never accumulated any- 
thing. In 1863 he came to Elk district, where. 



with the capital he had been able to acquire, he 
bought 600 acres of land and became a farmer 
and stockraiser and prospered. From his farm 
he came to Charleston in 1905 and here, as 
mentioned above, he has large realty interests. 
He is a stanch Republican and has been more 
or less active in political matters in the county 
for many years, but has never been willing to 
accept office for himself although he has been 
a hearty worker for his friends. 

Mr. Brookman was married in Raleigh 
county, W. Ya., to Miss Lydia McMillian, who 
was born there in 1840, and died in Elk dis- 
trict. July 4, 1 87 1. They had five children: 
Samuel, Avho died aged twenty-six years, left 
a widow and three children: Mary E., who is 
the wife of William Milton, lives at Charles- 
ton; Mattie, who died in early womanhood; 
Virginia, who is the wife of Thaddeus Hum- 
phrey, of Elk district; and Anna, who died in 
childhood. Mr. Brookman was married sec- 
ond, in Elk district to Miss Adaline V. Nay- 
lor, born February 11, 1844. in Big Sandy, 
Kanawha county, daughter of John M., and 
Martha (Ashley) Naylor. The father of Mrs. 
Brookman was a substantial farmer and dur- 
ing the Civil war served in the Federal army 
for three years. He was a member of the 13th 
W. Va. Vol. Inf., and was in many engage- 
ments and assisted to capture General Morgan 
who was then engaged in his raids in Ohio 
and other sections. Although Mr. Naylor es- 
caped wounds and imprisonment, he suffered 
from sunstroke. Mr. and Mrs. Brookman had 
one son, W. Lewis, who was born July 4, 1870, 
and died April 16, 1896, leaving a widow and 
three children, the latter being Carrie. Hattie 
Lydia, and Addie Lois, the youngest being 
born five months after the father's death. 
Hattie is the wife of Cornell Humphrey, and 
they reside in Little Sandy district, Kanawha 
county. Mr. and Mrs. Brookman are promi- 
nent members of the Baptist church, in which 
he has been a deacon for the past thirty-five 
years. 

JOHN H. SUTHERLAND. M. D.. a 
prominent physician and surgeon of St. Al- 
bans, W. Va., where he has resided since 1864, 
was born February 22, 1853, and is a son of 



862 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Dr. William B. and Catherine Frances (Mor- 
ris) Sutherland, members of old families of 
Kanawha county. 

Dr. William B. Sutherland was born in Ken- 
tucky and was a son of a Scotch Dissenter, who 
had been expelled for his religious views from 
the south of Scotland and had sought freedom 
in the mountains of Kentucky. The son, Will- 
iam B. Sutherland, became a physician and 
was well known as a medical practitioner at 
Poplar Plains, O., Maysville, Ky., Aberdeen, 
O., and St. Albans, W. Va., his death occur- 
ring at the last named place in 1885, when he 
was aged sixty-four years. He married Cath- 
erine Frances Morris, who was born near the 
mouth of Paint Creek, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., and died in 1900, aged eighty-three years. 
Her father, Carroll Morris, and a man named 
Kelley were the first two white settlers to pen- 
etrate into this section of the Kanawha Valley. 
They settled at the mouth of a stream, which 
they named Kelley's creek, where they erected 
a cabin. Mr. Morris at that time had a fam- 
ily, in a civilized section of Virginia and he left 
his partner alone and journeyed back to the 
old home for his family. In those days trans- 
portation especially through such a wild region 
was necessarily very slow and when Mr. Mor- 
ris reached Kelley's creek he discovered that 
Indians had not only burned his cabin but had 
killed Mr. Kelley. It required considerable 
courage to remain, practically alone and at the 
mercy of the savages, but apparently there was 
nothing else to do, and Mr. Morris rebuilt his 
cabin and, so far as known, lived in peace dur- 
ing the remainder of his days, and undoubtedly 
was the first permanent white settler in the 
section. 

To Dr. William B. Sutherland and his wife 
three sons and three daughters were born, 
namely : Alice, who is the wife of Frederick 
Carroll, who was for many years well known 
as a journalist: Elizabeth, deceased, who never 
married; AVilliam and Katie, both of whom 
died young; John H. ; and George Lipard. who 
died in childhood. 

John H. Sutherland is one of the two sur- 
vivors of his parents' family and since he was 
eleven years old has had his home at St. Al- 
bans. He attended the public schools and has 



been a medical practitioner since 1874, attend- 
ing the Louisville Medical College. In 1881 
he passed the medical State board of Examin- 
ers. For thirty-seven years he has been a phy- 
sician and since 1878 has been in the drug busi- 
ness, having a large drug store at' St. Albans, 
which he lost by fire in 1907. In politics, Dr. 
Sutherland is a stanch Democrat and has been 
the candidate of his party for mayor of St. 
Albans for eleven times and has been elected 
in eight campaigns. He is a man of wide in- 
fluence and a representative citizen in the full 
sense of the term. 

Dr. Sutherland was married first to Miss 
Leah C. Wilson, who was born and reared in 
Kanawha county, and died here in 1885. Her 
parents were William S. and Sarah L. W r ilson. 
Mrs. Sutherland was survived by two of her 
three children. Lillian Alice died at the age of 
seven years. Sarah Kate is the wife of G. D. 
Bryan, of St. Albans. John W., who is a 
graduate in pharmacy, conducts a drug store 
on the corner of State and Court streets, 
Charleston. He married Annie Morris, a 
daughter of Marshall Morris of that city. In 
1892 Dr. Sutherland was married to Miss 
Nora B. Madox, of Putnam county, W. Va., 
a daughter of Henry Madox, and they have 
had three children : Guy Morris, who died when 
aged eighteen months; Henry Bailey, a bright 
school boy of ten years; and Clifford Hans- 
ford, who is three years old. Dr. and Mrs. 
Sutherland are members of the Presbyterian 
church. He is a member of the county, state 
and American Medical Associations, while fra- 
ternally he is identified with St. Albans Lodge 
No. 1 19, Odd Fellows, of which he is a char- 
ter member; Ivanhoe Lodge No. 71, Knights 
of Pythias: and Red Hawk Tribe, No. 24, of 
the Improved Order of Red Men. 

WATT S. OXLEY, who is one of the sub- 
stantial business men of St. Albans, has been 
a merchant here for fourteen years and owns 
a well arranged stock and a fine establishment. 
He was born November 11, 1861. in Lincoln 
countv, W. Va., and is a son of Thomas and 
Sarah (McGhee) Oxley. 

The parents of Mr. Oxley were natives of 
Franklin county and the father was a farmer. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



863 



In 1858 Thomas Oxley moved with his family 
to what is now Lincoln county but which was 
then called Boone county, and spent the re- 
mainder of his life as an agriculturist, dying 
at the age of eighty-three years, at Scott, W. 
Va., having moved to Putnam county about 
1896. His father was Archibald L. Oxley and 
his death occurred about 1875 or '76. Five 
sons and three daughters were born to Thomas 
Oxley and his wife, namely: Silas, who died 
at the age of thirty-three years (was a physi- 
cian who practiced at Hamlin, Lincoln county, 
and married Mattie Sweetland, of Hamlin) ; 
Matilda, who is the wife of J. C. Reynolds, a 
retired merchant of Milton, Cabell county; 
Marinda. who died unmarried, at the age of 
twenty-one years; Watt S. ; Lucy, who is the 
wife of W. S. Reynolds and lives at Hunting- 
ton, W. Va. ; Archibald, who died when aged 
twenty-three years ; Demetrius, who was a tel- 
egraph operator on the C. & O. Railroad, and 
died at Maiden, February 4, 1906 (married 
Rose Frazier) ; and Chilton K., who resides 
at Huntington, where, for the past eleven years 
he has been connected with G. A. Northcut & 
Co. He married Frances Eskey. The sons, 
like their father, always have given support to 
the Democratic party but none have been seek- 
ers for office. The children are divided in their 
religious views, but the parents belonged to the 
old Baptist church. 

Watt S. Oxley was well educated, attending 
his last term of school when twenty-two years 
old, and afterward, for four years, he taught 
school in Lincoln county. From the school- 
room he became a salesman for a wholesale 
drug house and traveled for five years, after 
which he went into the mercantile line, for 
some two years being established at Hunting- 
ton, and then came here. On June 1, 1897, he 
purchased the general store of S. T. Canter- 
bun- and has continued in this business ever 
since, although he has twice suffered loss from 
fire, first in 1904. and again in 1907. His 
stock includes groceries, fancy and staple, fur- 
niture, carpets and shoes. He erected two 
large store rooms, one 80 by 25 feet in dimen- 
sions, and the other 80 by 16 feet, two stories 
high, with basement, and occupies all of the 
floor space thus afforded. 



On June 2, 1891, Mr. Oxley was married 
to Miss Sallie Sweetland, a daughter of I. V. 
Sweetland, and they have three children : Vir- 
ginia, aged ten years; Sweetland, aged eight 
years, and Florence, aged six years. Mr. and 
Mrs. Oxley are members of the Presbyterian 
church and he has been a liberal donater to the 
erection fund of the new church edifice. He 
belongs to Elkanah Lodge, No. 63, Knights of 
Pythias, at Charleston; and to the Modern 
Woodmen at Huntington. Having devoted 
himself exclusively to the mercantile business, 
Mr. Oxley has expert knowledge of it and this 
he makes use of in providing for the wants of 
his customers, supplying first class goods at 
reasonable rates, having long since founded a 
reputation for strict integrity in business. 

ROBERT L. MATHEWS*, president of 
the Mathews Storage Compan)^, doing business 
at Nos. 600-602 Capitol street, Charleston, W. 
Va., was born December 25, 1844, at Philadel- 
phia, Pa., where he was reared and educated, 
and is a son of James M. and Elizabeth 
(Thompson) Mathews. 

Harold S. Mathews, the paternal grand- 
father, was born in New York and became a 
civil engineer, in which profession he went to 
England and while there married Theresa 
Yates. After returning to America he settled 
in Philadelphia, where he had a successful pro- 
fessional career, and his death occurred in that 
city. His widow survived him many years, her 
death taking place September 6, 19 10, at 
Charleston, when she was aged eighty-one 
years. 

James M. Mathews was reared in the city of 
Philadelphia and came from there to Charles- 
ton in 1 88 1 and purchased a business interest 
here. His death occurred while on a business 
visit to Philadelphia, June 8, 1910. when he 
was fifty-nine years of age, he having survived 
his wife for twenty years. Their children 
were: Harold R.. secretary and treasurer of 
the Mathews Storage Company and also of the 
Tribune Printing Company, who married Irene 
Taylor, who was born at Parkersburg, W. Va., 
but was reared in Charleston; Robert I., sub- 
ject of this sketch: Malcolm R., who is vice 
president of the Mathews Storage Company, 



864 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



married Elizabeth Connell, of Charleston. All 
three brothers are members of the order of 
Elks, of which their father was past exalted 
ruler. They all are active workers in the order 
and Harold R. and Robert L. are also mem- 
bers of the Charleston Lodge of Knights of 
Pythias, their father having been very promi- 
nent in this fraternity, being past chancellor 
and grand trustee of the Grand Lodge of the 
state. 

Robert L. Mathews, in association with his 
brothers, conducts a large business including a 
general storage line. They are also lithograph- 
ers and have the largest and most modern 
equipment for lithographing in this section of 
the state, including the noted Harris automatic 
press. In all its departments the company is 
prosperous. The storage and printing house 
are built of concrete and reinforced steel and 
are four stories high, with dimensions of 
50x100 feet, one of the finest examples of sub- 
stantial building in the state. 

GEORGE LEWIS WELCH, who re- 
sides on his farm near Spring Hill, W. Va., 
has been a busy man all his life, identified 
with the coal industry to a large extent and 
during the stormy days of the Civil War. 
testified to his courage and the strength 
of his convictions, by becoming a soldier 
and suffering in the defense of the cause 
he had espoused. He was born at Charles- 
ton, now the capital of West Virginia, 
October 14, 1833, a son of John and Julia 
(McFarland) Welch, and a grandson of 
George Welch. 

George Welch was one of the early mer- 
chants of Charleston. He and wife died in 
this city leaving children, one son. John, 
the father of George Lewis, and another 
being Levi, who also became a man of con- 
sequence and capital in this section and 
some of his descendants still reside here. 
Levi Welch settled at Maiden and he and 
John Welch were merchants and salt manu- 
facturers together for many years. They 
had charge of the Salt Makers Association 
for five years, attending' to the shipping 
of this commodity when salt making was 
the leading industry in the Kanawha Valley. 



John Welch was born in 1790 and died 
in 1855, having come to Charleston about 
181 1, from Brownsville, Fayette County. 
He married Julia McFarland, who died in 
1879, aged eighty-two years. She was a 
sister of James C. McFarland, who, for 
many years was president of the Branch 
Bank of Virginia and died at Charleston in 
1867. The children of John and Julia Welch 
who reached maturity were the following: 
Eliza S., who married Henry W. Goodwin, 
died at Charleston in 1907; George Lewis; 
and Cornelia H., who resides in California. 

George Lewis Welch was reared at 
Charleston and attended the best schools 
of the place and when he reached manhood 
embarked in the mercantile business. In 
1862 he enlisted for service in the Civil 
War then in progress, and was connected 
with military affairs until the surrender of 
General Lee. in 1865, occupying an impor- 
tant position during the greater part of this 
period, serving as a member of the staff 
of Gen. Seth Barton, of Fredericksburg, 
Va., in Gen. Olmstead's brigade. Later he 
was transferred to Gen. Pickett's Division, 
2nd Brigade, and took part in all the move- 
ments of this command through North 
Carolina. Georgia and Mississippi, which 
are matters of history. From May 14 until 
July 4, 1863. he was one of the beleaguered 
host at Vicksburg, from there being sub- 
sequently transferred to Richmond where 
he remained until he was finally exchanged. 
He was twice wounded at Vicksburg and 
still bears traces of these scars of battle. 

For eleven years Mr. Welch followed 
farming on the Upper Coal River and after- 
ward spent ten years as a producer of can- 
nel coal in Boone County, moving from 
there to Allegheny County. Va., where he 
was connected with the Lowmoor Iron 
Works for nine years. He then went to 
Roanoke County, Va.. where he erected a 
large furnace for a Pennsylvania company 
and remained four years in that county and 
then purchased a farm situated one and one- 
half miles from Staunton. Va. There he car- 
ried on farming for four years, when he sold 
the property and returned to Kanawha 



GEOEGE L. WELCH 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



867 



County and became a coal operator thirteen 
miles above Charleston, and was in busi- 
ness at Coalmont for several years, finally 
disposing of his interests to the Pittsburg 
corporation. Mr. Welch then permitted 
himself about three years of comparative 
rest, residing at Charleston during this time, 
and then opened the Champion mine three 
miles above Coalmont and operated it for 
four years, finally disposing of it to Cin- 
cinnati capitalists. Since then Mr. Welch 
has devoted himself to agricultural pur- 
suits, at Spring Hill, Kanawha County, W. 
Va. 

In 1872, Mr. Welch was married to Miss 
Caroline Donally Kenna, who died in 1908, 
at Spring Hill. She was a daughter of Ed- 
ward and Marjorie (Lewis) Kenna, the lat- 
ter of whom married Lewis Ashby, of 
Charleston, for her second husband, and a 
sister of Hon. John E. Kenna, who died dur- 
ing his service in the U. S. Senate as a rep- 
resentative of West Virginia. Two daugh- 
ters and one son survive of the five chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Welch. Julia 
is the wife of J. G. Calery, of Pittsburg. 
George K. is engaged in business in New 
York. Marjorie resides with her father. 
Catherine died in 1875, aged three years; 
and Mary died in 1900, aged, eleven years. 
Mr. Welch has been a lifelong Democrat. 

MALCOLM JACKSON, of the law firm of 
Brown, Jackson and Knight, of Charleston, 
Kanawha county, West Virginia, was born in 
Richmond, Va., March 21, i860, son of Rich- 
ard and Anna M. (Knott) Jackson. His 
grandfather, Richard Jackson, Sr., and his 
great-grandfather, John Jackson, were natives 
and residents of the north of Ireland, where 
also they died. Richard, Sr., married a Miss 
Hardy, who after the death of her husband, 
or somewhat late in life, came to the United 
States. She subsequently died near Cincin- 
nati, O., and is buried at Spring Grove, near 
that city. She was a member of the Church of 
England, as was also her husband and their 
respective families. They had quite a large 
family of children, including Richard. Jr., 
father of our subject, who came to the United 



States when a young man, settling first in New 
York. Sometime in the fifties he came to Rich- 
mond, Indiana, and remained a resident of that 
city until his death in 1881 at the age of about 
fifty-four years. He was a strong and hearty 
man, a Democrat in politics, and a member of 
the Episcopal church, following family tradi- 
tions in his religious affiliations. He married 
in the state of New York, Anna M. Knott, who 
was born in that state of Irish parentage, her 
grandfather having been a rector in the Church 
of England as formerly established in Ireland, 
but since disestablished. Her father, Benja- 
min Knott, came to the United States and died 
at Madison, Ind., at an advanced age, being a 
well known and respected citizen at the time of 
his death. 

Mrs. Anna M. Jackson, mother of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, died in Richmond, Ind., in 
1902, being then nearly seventy-five years of 
age. She was, like her husband, an Episco- 
palian. Their children were as follows : Llew- 
ellyn B., a lawyer who died at the age of fifty 
years, leaving a son now living; Mary, wife of 
Joseph Ruffner of Charleston, who has one son, 
Joseph; Richard A., a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia law class of 1879, who is 
vice president and general counsel at St. Paul 
for the Great Northern Railroad, is married 
and has a son, Fielding; Malcolm, whose name 
appears at the head of this sketch ; Abigail, 
widow of George S. Needham, who resides 
with her brother Malcolm, and has two sons, 
Richard E. and Edgar. The family are mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church. 

Malcolm Jackson was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Richmond, Ind., at Earlham Col- 
lege, that state, at the U. S. Naval Academy at 
Annapolis and at the University of Virginia, 
where he was graduated in the law class of 
1 88 1, with the degree of B. L. In the follow- 
ing year he was admitted to the bar and since 
the year 1883 has been engaged in the practice 
of his profession in Charleston. The firm of 
which he is now a member was founded Jan- 
uary 1, 1892, and. in addition to the three part- 
ners already named now includes several junior 
associates, namely, V. L. Black, John Wehrle, 
A. W. McDonald, George S. Couch. Jr., and 
O. P. Fitzgerald. Mr. Jackson is a Republi- 



868 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



can in politics, and in 1901 served one term as 
a delegate to the legislature, but with this ex- 
ception has not been very active politically, de- 
voting his chief attention to his profession. 
He is a member of Kanawha Lodge, No. 20, 
of Charleston, of Kanawha Commandery, 
Charleston, and Beni-Kedem Temple, M. S. 

Mr. Jackson was married in Charleston in 
1891 to Miss Louise Fountain Broun, a daugh- 
ter of Major Thomas L. Broun, a well known 
lawyer of Charleston, W. Va. Her great- 
great-grandparents on the paternal side were 
George and Margaret Broun, who were natives 
of Scotland. Her great-grandfather was Will- 
iam Broun, who came to America in 1740 
with his brother Robert, he settling at North- 
ern Neck, Va., where he practiced law in co- 
lonial days. He married Janetta McAdam and 
they reared a large family, his descendants be- 
ing now scattered through all the southern 
states. Edwin Conway Broun, Mrs. Jackson's 
grandfather, was twice married, his second 
wife, from whom she is descended, being Eliz- 
abeth Channel, daughter of James Channel. 
Thomas Lee Broun, Mrs. Jackson's father, 
was the third child born of this marriage, 
the date of his nativity being December, 
26, 1823. He served in the Confederate 
army, enlisting as a private but being 
soon advanced to the rank of major in 
the 60th Va. Vol. Infantry, which formed 
a part of what was known as the Wise 
Legion. He was severely wounded at Cloyd's 
Mountain, Va., being subsequently incapaci- 
tated for a long time. From 1866 to 1870 he 
practiced law in New York, but since the latter 
date has been a member of the Charleston bar, 
being now the senior member of the firm of 
Broun and Broun. Major Broun is one of the 
substantial citizens of Charleston and is also 
one of the best known and most highly re- 
spected. He married in June, 1866, Miss Mary 
M. Fontaine, a daughter of Col. Edmund Fon- 
taine, formerly president of the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Railroad. Their daughter Louise F. 
(Mrs. Jackson) was educated in Charleston, 
in private schools. Mrs. and Mrs. Jackson 
have two children : Thomas Broun, who is 
now preparing for Princeton College, as 
student at Woodberry Forest School in Or- 



ange county, Va., and Anna Arbuthnot. who 
is now attending the Sherred Hall private 
school, in Charleston. 

WILLIAM EVAN MOORE, president and 
organizer of the Moore Construction Company, 
a large business enterprise of Charleston, W. 
Va., with offices on the corner of Lee and Dick- 
inson streets, has additional interests here and 
at other points and is favorably known as 
builder and contractor in several other states 
than West Virginia. He is in the prime of 
life, born September 26, 1870, at Richmond, 
Ky., and is a son of Evan and Rosa Belle 
(Armstrong) Moore. 

The parents of Mr. Moore were born in 
Kentucky and the father devoted a large part 
of his life to agricultural pursuits in that state. 
Later he moved to Indianapolis, Ind., and there 
his death occurred in June, 1907, when aged 
sixty-three years, his wife having passed away 
seven years previously, in her fifty-second year. 
To Evan and Rosa Belle Moore eight children 
were born, as follows: Sallie, who is the wife 
of John W. Harris; Josephine, who is the wife 
of James H. Harden; William Evan; Cath- 
erine; Julia; John D.. who is treasurer of the 
Moore Construction Company; Ruby, who is 
the wife of George McKay; and Junius H., 
who is vice president of the Moore Construc- 
tion Company. 

William E. Moore spent his boyhood on his 
father's farm in the rich blue grass section but 
when nineteen years of age learned the carpen- 
ter trade, through which he has reached a high 
position in the business world. He never re- 
sumed farming, ever since having devoted him- 
self to building or contracting. In 1893 he 
went to Indianapolis, Ind., and there his ad- 
vance was rapid and he became known as one 
of the most efficient and reliable contractors in 
the state, although his activities even then, were 
not confined to that commonwealth. He 
erected the Central Union Telephone Company 
Building, the American National Bank Build- 
ing, the Central Indiana University, the Baker 
apartments, in Indianapolis. He has a large 
acquaintance through Indiana and has many 
personal friends as well as business ones there, 
Indianapolis being his home for fourteen vears. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



869 



In May, 1907, Mr. Moore came to Charles- 
ton and in the following year organized the 
Moore Construction Company, since when it 
has done an average annual business of from 
$500,000 to $700,000. On one square alone, 
in Charleston, the company has completed over 
$1,000,000 worth of work. Among the many 
large buildings constructed by this company 
must first be mentioned the Alderson-Stephen- 
son Building, a 12-story structure on the banks 
of the Kanawha river, which is Charleston's 
highest building. It was designed by Hard- 
ing & Upman, noted architects of Washington, 
D. C, and would be a credit to almost any of 
the great metropolitan centers. Others only a 
shade less admirable are: the Bigley Avenue 
school building; the Capital City Supply Com- 
pany; the building of Ruffner Brothers; the 
Kanawha school; the National City Bank, and 
the warehouse of R. G. Hubbard. The Broad- 
dus Institute at Phillippi, W. Va., was erected 
by this company and its cost was over $100,- 
000. The company has also done a large 
amount of work for the McKell Coal & Coke 
Company, of Thurmond, Fayette county, W. 
Va., and in many other sections are found ex- 
amples of their satisfactory building. They 
make no specialty of erecting dwelling houses 
but accept contracts for the same when they 
are of a high class of building, the handsome 
residence of O. F. Payne probably being a par- 
ticularly good specimen. Recently the com- 
pany has taken over the interest of a new street 
paving plant. Mr. Moore's additional inter- 
ests include the ownership of real estate at 
Charleston, and he is vice president of the Nor- 
folk Brick and Tile Company, oT Norfolk, 
Va., of which he was formerly president, and 
is a stockholder in the Hinton-Bellevue 
Relty Company, at Hinton, W. Va. 

On January 19, 1893, Mr. Moore was mar- 
ried, in Kentucky, to Miss Emma Miller, who 
was born at Cincinnati, O., and they have four 
children: Junius T. Robert A., Evan G. and 
Philip J. The family residence is at No. 1418 
Kanawha street. Mr. Moore is an active and 
advanced Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge 
and Chapter at Indianapolis, and to the Mystic 
Shrine at Charleston. He is identified also 
with the Elks at Charleston and the Knights 



of Pythias at Indianapolis. Socially Mr. 
Moore has pleasant connections, one of these 
being membership in the Charleston Gun Club. 

I. N. ARNOLD, a retired farmer living on 
Davis Creek, in Jefferson district, where he has 
twenty-one acres of land, was born at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., March 14, 1850, and is a son of 
E. S. and Cynthia (Noyes) Arnold. 

E. S. Arnold was born at Lenox, Mass., 
from which place he removed to New York, 
and thence to Charleston, W. Va. (then in Vir- 
ginia), where he was a merchant and also 
engaged in the salt business with Mr. Noyes. 
Subsequently he entered into the dry goods 
business as a partner of W. J. Rand and was 
a well known business man. He was also 
prominent in Democratic politics and, being 
elected sheriff of Kanawha county, was serv- 
ing in this office at the time the Civil war broke 
out. Pie then enlisted in the southern army 
and was attached to the quartermaster's de- 
partment, having charge of shoes and other 
supplies, and during the early part of the war 
acted as paymaster, C. S. A. On the close of 
the war he returned to Charleston, but finding 
a coolness on the part of some of his old friends 
who had been sympathizers with the north, 
he went to New Orleans, where he resided 
for a time. Returning finally to his old 
Charleston home, after the animosities and 
prejudices excited by the war had partly 
subsided, he again entered into the dry 
goods business, this time with James Ruff- 
ner as partner, and later he was in the 
wholesale trade with Mr. Abney. He re- 
tired some years before his death, which 
took place when he was eighty-four years 
old. He was a member of the Presbyterian 
church and was also a Mason. His wife, 
Cynthia, was born in Charleston, a daughter 
of Isaac and Cynthia Noyes. They had four 
children — two that died in infancy; I. N., 
the direct subject of this sketch ; and Kate, 
now deceased, who was the wife of F. W. 
Abney. 

I. N. Arnold was educated in Charleston, — 
among his early teachers here being Miss The- 
resa Dotraee and Mr. Barr — and at Roanoke 
College, Salem, where he was under the tutor- 



870 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ship of Prof. Biddle. For some time he was 
with C. H. Small at Emory mines; has spent 
eight or ten years in Texas, Mexico and Ten- 
nessee, and was afterwards in business at Hin- 
ton and at Lewisburg. He has never married 
but has an adopted son, Noyes Arnold, who is 
now in the U. S. army, being stationed at pres- 
ent with an artillery regiment at Fort Banks. 
In addition to his home farm, on which he 
erected his present comfortable residence, Mr. 
Arnold owns improved property in south 
Charleston. He casts his vote with the Demo- 
cratic party but is not an active politician. He 
attends the Presbyterian church. 

WILLIAM THOMAS STOFFEL*, a 
leading business man and widely known citizen 
of Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va., con- 
ducting a store, a blacksmith shop and also en- 
gaged in wagonmaking, at Pricedale, was born 
September 13, 1857, in Monroe county, O. 
His parents were Stephen and Mary (Penner) 
Stoffel. 

Stephen Stoffel was born in Germany and 
died in America in 1890 at the age of sixty 
years. He was a shoemaker and followed his 
trade at Pittsburg, w here he married. Later 
he moved to Monroe county, O., where he was 
engaged in farming for seven years. He then 
moved to Butler county, Pa., remaining sev- 
eral years there, arid then to Beaver county, 
where he bought and occupied a farm and from 
there came to Elk district, where he followed 
farming until the close of his life. He was a 
member of the Presbyterian church. He mar- 
ried Mary Penner, who survived him, dying at 
the age of sixty-five years. She was born in 
Germany and was nine years old when her 
parents came to America and settled at Pitts- 
burg, where her father, Henry Penner, died. 
Of the children born to Stephen Stoffel and his 
wife the following are living: Mary, who is 
the wife of William Carson, of Charleroi, Pa. ; 
William Thomas; Stephen, who lives on the 
old homestead ; Elizabeth, who is the wife of 
M. S. Jarrett, of Charleston; Caroline, who 
is the wife of E. E. Price, of Pricedale ; Lou- 
isa, who is the wife of C. F. Morris, of Charles- 
ton; Charles, who is a fanner in Pennsylvania; 
and John H., who was a soldier and was killed 
in the Philippine Islands. 



William Thomas Stoffel attended school 
through boyhood and then worked on the home 
farm until he was twenty-three years of age. 
He later bought a farm on Willis Creek, which 
he operated for two years and then sold, in 
October, 1889, coming to Pricedale, after first 
prospecting with an idea of locating at Colum- 
bus, Ind., in the saw mill business. He then 
bought the blacksmith shop at Jarrett's Ford, 
which he improved and now has a large black- 
smith and wagon-making plant and in 1904 
bought the present store at Jarrett's Ford to- 
gether with a farm. 

Mr. •Stoffel married Miss Elvira Waugh, 
born in Clay county, W. Va., a daughter of 
Alexander and Frances (Cochran) Waugh. 
Mr. Waugh was a cabinetmaker and mill- 
wright. To Mr. and Mrs. Stoffel the follow- 
ing children w ere born : George W., who con- 
ducts a restaurant at Charleston, married Grace 
B. Jarrett and has one child, Thelma. Everett 
A., is a photographer, who lives at Denver, 
Colo. ; Bertha, who resides with her parents ; 
Emmett, who is a bookkeeper with Price, Hig- 
ginbotham & Co., Charleston; and Chloe and 
Lillian. Mr. Stoffel and family are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church in which he 
has been steward and trustee. He is a Pro- 
hibitionist and is president of the Elk district 
board of education, while Mrs. Stoffel was ap- 
pointed postmistress of Stoffel, near Pricedale. 

COL. MICHAEL T. ROACH, a prom- 
inent coal operator in West Virginia, presi- 
dent of the Piney Mining Company, located 
in Raleigh County, is at the head of or offi- 
cially connected with many other business 
enterprises of this section and is an asso- 
ciate of men of large capital and business 
qualifications like himself. He is in the 
prime of life, born forty-six years ago, in 
Virginia, in which state he was educated. 
During his earlier years and before coming 
to the Kanawha Valley he was connected 
with railroad work, spent five years in 
Georgia and Kentucky, served as train- 
master for the C. & O. Railroad at different 
points until 1902, when he resigned and be- 
came traffic manager for the Kanawha Fuel 
Company, later being elected president of 
that company. 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



871 



The Piney Mining Company of New 
River, on the C. & O. Railroad, was incor- 
porated in January, 1909, with a capitaliza- 
tion of $625,000, and has since been in ac- 
tive operation, producing and selling the 
coal known as the New River Smokeless. 
The mines of this company produce 2,000 
tons per day and employment is given more 
than 400 men. Col. Roach has been identi- 
fied with this large enterprise since its be- 
ginning, when he assumed control of affairs. 

He is also president of the Luring Coal 
Mining & Washing Company, of Ohio. The 
mines produce 1,800 tons of coal per day 
(known as Hocking coal), and are located 
at Athens, O. The company was incor- 
.porated in 1910 with a capital of $625,000. 
They have one of the largest and best wash- 
ers in the country, with a capacity of 1,000 
tons per day. In addition to the above vast 
business interests, Col. Roach has others. He 
is president of the Memphis Mining Com- 
pany of Kentucky, incorporated in 1909. 
which produces Western Kentucky coal. 
The capacity is 600 tons per day and is 
steadily increasing. Col. Roach is a stock- 
holder in the New River Company of the 
New River District, producing 11,000 tons 
per diem, and has been officially connected 
with numerous other coal companies. He 
was connected with the Paint Creek Col- 
lieries Company, operating fourteen mines 
and producing 6,000 tons per day and was 
president of the New River Kanawha Fuel 
Company, selling agents for the many 
mines he was interested in. Additionally 
he is a stockholder in a number of oil com- 
panies. 

Col. Roach undoubtedly is a man of great 
business capacity and in all the large enter- 
prises with which he has been connected he 
has also impressed his associates and the 
public with his business integrity. He is 
at present the receiver for the Charleston 
News-Mail Company, issues the Daily Mail 
and conducts a large jobbing plant. In all 
matters concerning the progress and devel- 
opment of this city and section he is vitally 
interested and few men are better known in 
varied ways than is Col. Roach. In 1908 



he was honored by his fellow citizens by 
election to the General Assembly and was 
made chairman of the committee on mines 
and mining, than whom no better informed 
representative could have been selected. 
Col. Roach is a member of the staff of Gov- 
ernor Glasscock, having the rank of colonel, 
and has served in this honorable position 
for two administrations. 

Col. Roach was married in West Virginia 
to Miss Jessie Knopp, who was born in 
Mason County, where she was reared and 
educated. She is a member of the Presby- 
terian church. Col. Roach is identified with 
the Masons and is a "Shriner," also with 
the Elks and belongs to the order of Rail- 
road Conductors. He is a man of marked 
personality, has a deep understanding of 
human nature and possesses that convinc- 
ing manner that commends attention and 
the knowledge that enables him to prove his 
claims concerning any project he desires to 
bring forward. 

HARRISON B. SMITH, of Charleston, 
W. Va., is a man with many important busi- 
ness interests and stands among the foremost 
citizens of this section although but in the 
prime of life. He was born September 7, 1866, 
a son of Isaac N. and Caroline (Quarrier) 
Smith, the former of whom was born in 1828 
and the latter in 1840. They had seven chil- 
dren. 

Harrison B. Smith enjoyed excellent edu- 
cational advantages. He is a graduate of 
Princeton College of the class of 1886, and of 
the law department of the University of Vir- 
ginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1889. 
In 1894 he became a member of the very prom- 
inent law firm of Price, Smith, Spileman & 
Clay, of Charleston, with offices in the Coyle & 
Richardson Building. In addition to his large 
law practice, Mr. Smith is actively interested 
in numerous successful business enterprises and 
is an officer in a number of them. His busi- 
ness activities are mainly along the line of 
financial institutions. 

Mr. Smith married Miss Katharine Bowne, 
a daughter of Samuel Bowne of New York, 
and they have three children : Harrison Bowne, 



872 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Helen Dana and Alex. Q. Mr. Smith and 
family are members of the Presbyterian church. 
Politically he is a Democrat and in 1896 he 
served as city solicitor of Charleston. His nu- 
merous business interests, however, have left 
him little time for public office even if he de- 
sired distinction along that line. He is identi- 
fied with the Masonic fraternity. The family 
residence is at No. 1223 Virginia street, 
Charleston. 

ELDREDGE BRAXTON CLAY*, a gen- 
eral merchant at Eskdale, W. Va., where he 
is a representative and respected citizen, was 
born February 9, 1862, on his father's farm in 
March Fork district, Raleigh county, W. Va., 
and is a son of Henry B. and Nancy Jane 
(Thompson) Clay. 

Henry B. Clay was also born in Raleigh 
county and there his life was spent, with the 
exception of the period during which he was a 
soldier in the Confederate army during the 
Civil war. He served three years in the 7th W. 
Va. Infantry, participating in many battles and 
suffering both imprisonment and wounds. He 
died at his home in Raleigh county before he 
was fifty years old. His business was farm- 
ing and dealing in timber. He married Nancy 
Jane Thompson, who still survives, and their 
children were Eldredge Braxton, Andrew B., 
John L., Ira T., W. Harvey, Charles. Etta 
Belle and Virginia. All are living except Etta 
Belle, who was the wife of B. Miller. Vir- 
ginia is the wife of John Miller. 

Eldredge B. Clay spent his boyhood on the 
home farm and attended the local schools 
and recalls the old log building with its slab 
benches. Wishing to see something of the 
world and having some dramatic talent, 
after leaving home at the age of sixteen 
years, he traveled for eighteen months with 
a minstrel show. Afterward he worked for 
one year digging coal for J. B. Lewis, at 
Campbell's Creek, and for eighteen months 
was engaged in the same work in the Wini- 
frede coal mines. He then returned to the 
home farm, which he cultivated for a time 
after his marriage and which he still owns. 
In 1904 he came to Cabin Creek district, 
Kanawha county, and has been engaged 



ever since in mercantile business at Esk- 
dale. He is a Republican in politics. 

In 1887 Mr. Clay was married to Miss 
Eliza Jane Milam, a daughter of the late 
A. D. Milam, of Raleigh county, and they 
have three children, Ada Belle, Dennis C. 
and Clinton, the elder son being manager 
of the store for his father. 

A. L. THOMAS, who owns an excellent 
farm of forty-six acres, near Spring Hill, 
lying between the railroad and the Kana- 
wha river, in Jefferson district, Kanawha 
county, W. Va., is a water well driller and 
for the past twenty-three years has done a 
large amount of business in this line. He 
was born on Coal River, Kanawha county, 
December 18, 1852, and is a son of David 
and Caroline E. (Thomas) Thomas. 

David Thomas was born in Albemarle 
county, Va., and from there came to Kana- 
wha county in early manhood. He married 
Caroline E. Thomas, who was born and 
reared in Kanawha county, a daughter of 
Lindsey Thomas. Her father was one of 
the early Freemasons in Albemarle county, 
uniting with the Warren lodge on April 11, 
1807. Of the children born to David 
Thomas and his wife, there were four to 
reach maturity, namely: James, Maria, Joel 
F. and A. L. James Thomas was a soldier 
in the Confederate army during the Civil 
War and died in 1868. After marriage 
David Thomas lived for a time on Coal 
River and then moved to Spring Hill and 
acquired a large tract of land along the 
Kanawha river, this land having been inher- 
ited by his wife, from her father's estate. 
They were members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, south. 

A. L. Thomas attended school at Spring 
Hill and afterward went to work on the 
railroad and also followed farming. Since 
1888 he has been engaged in the water well 
drilling business in connection with farm- 
ing. On October 18, 1882. he was married 
to Annie Louisa Hamilton, who was born 
April 6, 1857, m Louisa county, Va., a 
daughter of A. M. and Mary Virginia 
(Lewis) Hamilton. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas 




VINCENT T. CHURCHMAN. M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



875 



are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south, at Spring Hill. He has 
always given political support to the Demo- 
cratic party but has never desired to hold 
any office. He is a well known and re- 
spected citizen of this section. 

WILLIAM HOMER WILSON, M. D., 
physician and surgeon at St. Albans, W. Va., 
where he has practically spent all his life, 
was born in this place, November 14, 1875, 
and is a son of O. T. and Mary C. (Carpen- 
ter) Wilson. 

O. T. Wilson, who is now one of the older 
residents of St. Albans, where he spent his 
active life as a carpenter and contractor, 
was born here after his father had settled on 
the Kanawha river, coming probably from 
either Scotland or Ireland. The latter was 
a farmer and tobacco manufacturer. O. T. 
Wilson married Mary C. Carpenter, who 
was born at Richmond, Va., and is a daugh- 
ter of Nathan and Maria Carpenter. Na- 
than Carpenter came to Kanawha county 
as a contractor on the Chesapeake & Ohio 
railroad. Six children were born to O. T. 
Wilson and wife, namely: Oliver, who died 
when one year old; William Homer; Sam- 
uel Spencer, a resident of St. Albans who 
has charge of the sales department of the 
Electric Supply Company; Maria Parthenia, 
who is the wife of William A. Burgess, of 
St. Albans; Rena ; and Maria, who is the 
wife of Samuel Bartholomew, a timber con- 
tractor on the Kanawha river near Cedar 
Grove. 

William Homer Wilson attended the pub- 
lic schools at St. Albans until he was seven- 
teen years of age and then was engaged 
for four years as a telegraph operator for 
the C. & O. railroad, and during this time 
made his preliminary preparation for medi- 
cal college. He then entered the Louisville 
Medical college at Louisville, Ky., and was 
graduated in the class of 1898, from the Bal- 
timore Medical college. For three years he 
was engaged in medical practice at Spencer 
and for three years more at Huntington, 
being assistant physician at the asylum 
there, and this was followed by two years 



of mining practice at Cabin Creek. This 
varied experience contributed in an unusual 
degree to qualify Dr. Wilson for a general 
practice and for the past five years he has 
been at St. Albans, where he founded the 
St. Albans Hospital, in 1910. His reputa- 
tion as a surgeon is by no means confined 
to St. Albans or Kanawha county. He is a 
member of the county, state and American 
Medical Associations and keeps closely in 
touch with all the advancement made in 
medical science. 

Dr. Wilson was married in 1901, to Miss 
Kate L. Lackey, a daughter of John and 
Julia (Doddridge) Lackey, the former of 
whom was from near Natural Bridge, Va., 
and the latter of whom was born in Ohio. 
Mr. Lackey, who was a timber contractor, 
died at St. Albans. 

In politics Dr. Wilson is a Democrat and 
on that ticket was elected mayor of his 
native city, in April, 191 1. He is affording 
an example of how beneficial the adminis- 
tration of a trained man of science may be 
to a municipality. He is a member of 
Moriah Lodge No. 38, F. & A. M., at Spen- 
cer, W. Va. 

VINCENT TAPP CHURCHMAN, M. 
D., who has been a leading physician at 
Charleston, W. Va., for a number of years 
and a resident for twenty years, was born 
in Augusta County, Va., August 31, 1867, 
a son of Vincent T. and Margaret Jane 
(Graham) Churchman. 

Dr. Vincent T. Churchman, father of the 
present Dr. Churchman, was also born in 
Augusta .County, a son of John K. Church- 
man, who was once a large planter in Au- 
gusta County and a man of public import- 
ance there, serving as sheriff for twenty 
years prior to the Civil War. John K. 
Churchman married Nancy Tapp, who was 
a daughter of Vincent Tapp, an honored 
name that has been preserved in the family. 
The Churchmans descended from William 
Churchman, who came from England to 
America in 1670 and settled in Delaware 
and once owned the land on which the city 
of Wilmington now stands. William 



876 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Churchman was a son of Rev. John Church- 
man, who was an Episcopal clergyman. 
The direct ancestor of Dr. Vincent T. 
Churchman of Charleston, settled in Au- 
gusta County prior to the Revoluntionary 
War and later participated in the same. 

The late Dr. Vincent T. Churchman was 
a practicing physician at Greenville, 
Augusta County, for twenty-five years. He 
received his academic training at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute and was graduated 
from the medical department of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, in the class of 1847, 
and from Jefferson Medical College, Phila- 
delphia, in the class of 1848. He was one 
of the organizers of the Virginia Medical 
Society and served through the Civil War 
as a surgeon in the Confederate Army. His 
death occurred while he was in the midst of 
his usefulness, in January, 1872, at the age 
of forty-seven years. Dr. Churchman was 
a member of the Methodist church. While 
he was a Democrat in his political belief, he 
was opposed radically to the secession of 
the states from the Union. He married 
Margaret Jane Graham, who was born in 
Augusta County and who died at the home 
of a son. in Philadelphia, March 3, 1897, 
aged sixty-four years. Her parents were 
Thomas and Susan (Smith) Graham, the 
former of whom conducted a hotel at Green- 
ville, for a number of years. To Dr. Vin- 
cent T. and Margaret J. Churchman, seven 
children were born, four of whom are de- 
ceased: J. Frank, who died at Philadelphia, 
was a merchant there; Anna, who died at 
the age of thirty-seven years, was the wife 
of John A. Kegler, of Newark, O. ; Alice 
Clark, who resides at Charleston, is the 
widow of James C. Matthews ; Vincent T. ; 
Henry Jouette, who is a druggist, residing 
at Springfield, O. ; Margaret, who died aged 
ten years; and Graham, who died at the age 
of four years. 

Vincent Tapp Churchman, as did his hon- 
ored father, received his academic instruc- 
tion in the University of Virginia, and in 
the class of 1889 graduated from Jefferson 
Medical College, Philadelphia. In the same 
year he located at Alderson, W. Va.. where 



he engaged actively in the practice of his 
profession for two years, when he returned 
to Philadelphia and took advantage of the 
thorough scientific instruction offered in 
her noted colleges of medicine and surgery, 
making a special study of diseases of the 
eye, ear and throat. In 1892 he came to 
Charleston and his time has been con- 
tinuously taken up with the duties of his 
profession, his knowledge and skill having 
made his name one of much more than 
local prominence. He is a member of both 
the Kanawha County and the West Virginia 
State Medical Associations, and has served 
for six years as treasurer of the State Med- 
ical Association, of which he was president 
for one year. 

Dr. Churchman was married to Miss 
Janette Kay, a daughter of John Kay, of 
Putnam County, W. Va., and they have two 
children: Vincent T. and Margaret Chris- 
tina. Dr. Churchman is advanced in Ma- 
sonry, being a Knight Templar and a 
Shriner. He has few fads, being a man of 
unusually liberal mind, a lover of good 
horses, perhaps, being the only special in- 
terest he delights in. outside his profes- 
sional work. He maintains his thoroughly 
equipped offices in the Alderson-Stevenson 
Building, Charleston. 

J. LYNN RICHARDSON.* of the well 
known firm of Coyle & Richardson of 
Charleston, one of the largest dry goods 
houses in the state, was born in Frederick 
county, Md., April 12, 1853. He comes of 
an old and highly esteemed Maryland fam- 
ily dating back to colonial days, the first 
American progenitor of whom came from 
England. Our subject can trace his pa- 
ternal ancestry back to William Richardson, 
who was born in Maryland about 1750 and 
who died in that state at an advanced age. 
William married Lady Ann Edlind, who 
also lived and died in Maryland. 

Of the children of William and Ann Rich- 
ardson, Davis, the next in line of descent 
and the grandfather of the subject of this 
article, was born March 22, 1785. and died 
about 1857 or 1858. He married Elizabeth 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



877 



Lynn, a daughter of Col. John Lynn, who 
took a prominent part as a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war, and who was seriously 
wounded in the battle of Eutaw Springs, 
S. C, Sept. 8, 1 78 1. She was born March 
12, 1790. Col. Davis Richardson and his 
wife were well known and highly esteemed 
people of their locality; in religion Episco- 
palians. Their children were Alexander 
Hamilton, John, Ann Ursula, William and 
Ellen, twins (born July 15, 1819), Eliza- 
beth, Mary Jane, George Washington and 
Rebecca. 

William Richardson, the date of whose 
birth is given above, spent all his active life 
as a farmer in Frederick county, Md., dying 
in 1882. In politics he was first a Whig and 
later a Republican, and was a man active in 
all good causes. For some years he served 
as sheriff of his county. He was reared in 
the Episcopal church though he was not a 
communicant of that church. He was 
married in Frederick county to Elizabeth 
Johnson, who was born in that county in 
1827 and died in Charleston, W. Va., in 
1904. She was a noble minded woman of 
many virtues. She was a grand niece of 
Gov. Thomas Johnson, one of Maryland's 
prominent men. Her paternal grandfather 
was Rodger Johnson, who was an officer in 
the Revolutionary army — an honored Mary- 
land citizen and soldier. He married Eliza- 
beth Thomas, daughter of James and Emma 
(Newman) Johnson, the former born in 
1794. The Johnsons were also well known 
people of the state. 

William Richardson and wife were the 
parents of children as follows : Elizabeth, 
who died in infancy; Emily, who is unmar- 
ried ; John Lynn, whose name appears at 
the head of this sketch; James J., who is 
married and resides in California; Davis, 
who died in early childhood ; Larned, who 
also died in childhood; and William, who is 
married and resides in Cincinnati, O., but 
has no children. 

J. Lynn Richardson was educated in the 
public schools of Frederick county, Md., 
and at the Annapolis high school. He be- 
gan his apprenticeship to the dry goods 



business at Stanton in the Shenandoah 
Valley, in the employ of a Mr. Timberlake, 
and being a fellow clerk with Mr. George F. 
Coyle, his present partner. For a time he 
was placed in charge of a branch store at 
Winchester, Va., and when in 1878 he and 
Mr. Coyle left Mr. Timberlake's employ, 
they bought out this branch store, which 
they conducted together for some years; 
and with the exception of a period of about 
two years, they have been associated in 
business together ever since. In July, 1884, 
they established their present business in 
Charleston, and after three removals took 
possession of their present quarters, in 
March, 1908. Here they have a model 
establishment of its kind, the store being 
large, well equipped and thoroughly mod- 
ern in all its appointments, with perfect 
sanitary conditions and every convenience 
both for employees and customers. The 
building, which is worthy of a more detailed 
description, is 50 by 115 feet, with six stories 
and basement, and of concrete and rein- 
forced steel construction, making it one of 
the largest and most substantial mercantile 
emporiums in the state. Their stock in- 
cludes all staple wares usually handled in 
this line of trade, such as dress goods, no- 
tions, wearing apparel and dry goods of 
every kind, all goods being sold at retail. 
The business gives employment to thirty- 
five clerks — a well trained and well organ- 
ized force, polite and efficient, and well paid 
and liberally treated by the proprietors. The 
firm enjoys a Avell deserved and gratifying 
degree of prosperity and is held in high fa- 
vor by the purchasers of dry goods through- 
out the county and beyond. 

Mr. Richardson was married in Frederick 
county, Md., to Miss Alice McPherson 
Dennis, who was born, reared and educated 
in that county. Her parents were Col. 
George R. and xAJice (McPherson) Dennis, 
both natives of Maryland. Col. Dennis was 
a prominent citizen of his locality, at one 
time a banker, and was commander of the 
Home Guards during the Avar. He died in 
1902 at the age of seventy-one vears. his 
wife having died many years previously at 



878 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the age of thirty. They were active mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church, he serving as 
vestryman. Though a Democrat in poli- 
tics, he was a strong Union man during our 
great civil strife. His early progenitors in 
this country landed on the eastern shores 
of Maryland in 1660 and some of their de- 
scendants took prominent parts in the de- 
velopment of the state's history. Mr. and 
Mrs. Richardson are working members of 
the Episcopal church, the former having 
been one of the wardens for five years and 
vestryman for fifteen years. Their children 
are : Frances McPherson, now eighteen 
years old, who was educated in the high 
school and is now a student at Sweet Brier 
College, Va., in the class of 1 9 1 3 , and 
Elizabeth Johnson, now twelve years old, 
who is attending the Sherred Hall private 
school at Charleston. 

HON. JOHN S. McDONALD, now liv- 
ing on his farm on Elk river, four miles 
from Charleston, Kanawha county, W. Va., 
was born December 11, 1837, in Marshall 
county, Va., now West Virginia. He is a 
son of William R. and Ann (Howard) Mc- 
Donald, the latter of whom was a daughter 
of Samuel Howard, of Winchester, Va. 

William R. McDonald was born on the 
old McDonald homestead in Marshall coun- 
ty, Va., where he continued to reside until 
after his marriage and until the birth of his 
son, John S. McDonald, when he moved to 
the vicinity of Baton Rouge. La. Subse- 
quently, however, he returned to Virginia, 
residing for a time at Wheeling, but later 
removing to Moundsville, in Marshall coun- 
ty, where he was engaged in the milling 
business for many years. In 1850 he went 
to California, where he was engaged in min- 
ing for seventeen years, then returned to 
his native state, locating at Cameron, which 
is now in West Virginia. Soon afterward 
his fellow citizens elected him to the 
state legislature and when his term of pub- 
lic office terminated he retired to the old 
homestead where his death occurred. 

After his school days were over, John S. 
McDonald learned the carpenter's trade in 



Marshall county and worked at it until 
1861, when President Lincoln called for 
75,000 soldiers. He enlisted under that call 
and served three and one-half years in the 
army, being promoted to the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel. After the war he was elect- 
ed in Marshall county, W. Va., assessor of 
the Lower district of that county, and at 
the expiration of a term in that office he 
was elected a member of the county court 
of that county. In 1876 he moved to the oil 
territory in Wood and Ritchie counties, 
\\ Va., and built oil tanks and oil rigs 
there until 1880, when he moved to Par- 
kersburg, W. Va. On August 29, 1883, he 
came to Charleston and soon became a 
prominent factor in politics. In 1894 he was 
elected a member of the Kanawha county 
court and by his associates was made presi- 
dent of that judicial body and served as such 
until January, 1899. During this term, 
through his energy and progressive spirit, 
an Infirmary building was erected, a fine 
brick structure, with provision made for 
300 inmates, so that the unfortunate poor 
could be better cared for. It was through 
Mr. McDonald's energy and influence also 
that eight iron and steel bridges were built 
over the different streams, for the better 
accommodation of the traveling public. 
These bridges were the following: one 
spanning the Elk river, which is over 400 
feet long; one over Cooper's creek, 300 feet 
long; one over Blue creek, sixty-five feet 
long; one over Two-Mile creek of Elk riv- 
er, which is sixty-five feet long, with fill 
reaching 300 feet, and with depth at bridge 
of thirty feet ; one over Cabin creek, 260 
feet long; one over Poca river, at Beans 
Ford, 240 feet long; one at Dawson's Ford, 
which is 240 feet long over the same river ; 
and one small steel bridge over Brown's 
creek. The securing of the building of the 
Infirmary and bridges made him very pop- 
ular with the voters of the county and in 
1904 he was elected a member of the legis- 
lature and served one term. The measures 
he advocated while a member of that body 
served to increase a deserved popularity, 
and in 1896 he was again elected to the 



johx s. Mcdonald 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



879 



county court and again made president of 
it. At that time Kanawha county, while 
being one of the richest in the state, was 
practically bankrupt, and orders of the 
court on the sheriff for money to pay for 
the necessary expenses to carry on the 
county affairs, could not be paid by the 
sheriff and were sold at from fifteen to 
twenty per cent discount, which was a very 
deplorable situation for a county like Kana- 
wha to be placed in. It had been brought 
about by the extremely low valuation on 
both personal property and real estate and 
the law's limit to levy, it not being per- 
mitted by law to levy sufficiently to pay ex- 
penses of conducting county affairs and 
paying the county debt, the debt having 
been accumulating for more than fifty 
years. 

Mr. McDonald as a public spirited citizen 
was deeply concerned in this matter and 
while he was a member of the legislature 
had succeeded in securing the passage of a 
bill allowing a county levy of ten cents on 
one hundred dollars for the purpose of pay- 
ing this increasing county debt. This was 
recognized as an excellent measure of re- 
lief but as it would take several years to 
pay this debt in this way. Mr. McDonald 
with other clear-headed business men saw 
the necessity of making some kind of ar- 
rangement with the parties holding the 
county's obligations, to pay on demand, so 
that the authorized levy would pay the coun- 
ty debt in installments, a plan that finally 
succeeded. It was through Mr. McDon- 
ald's energy and civic pride that this burden 
was finally lifted. He had the service and 
assistance of Hon. James F. Brown, and 
the services of Hon. E. B. Dyer and Hon. 
John B. Floyd, who managed all the legal 
points, and thus the end was accomplished, 
the debt was funded satisfactorily and the 
county's paper became worth 100 cents on 
the dollar. Not only this, but the county's 
business was put upon a cash system under 
this funding of the debt. Kanawha county 
will pay the last of the funding orders on 
January i, 1912, and will be clear of debt 
shortly afterward. Soon after this matter 



of immense importance to the county was 
concluded, Mr. McDonald resigned from the 
county court. 

Judge McDonald married Miss Mary M. 
Tarr for his first wife. She was a daughter 
of John Tarr, an old resident of Marshall 
county, W. Va., and eight children were 
born to them. Four of these survive their 
mother, namely: James F., a carpenter, who 
resides at Wheeling, W. Va. ; Charles S., 
who follows the same trade; and Milton R., 
and Jefferson L., both of whom are in busi- 
ness at Wheeling. For his second wife 
Judge McDonald married Mrs. Emma J. 
Miller who was the widow of S. P. Miller. 
He is a member of the Eagles and attends 
the meetings of this fraternal organization 
at Charleston. 

During his ten years of residence at 
Charleston, prior to the purchase of his 
farm, in 1893, Mr. McDonald was engaged 
in contracting and building, his last work 
along this line being the superintendence 
of the construction for an addition to the 
Charleston postoffice. Mr. McDonald's as- 
sociation with both business and public af- 
fairs has been honorable and effective, and 
while he has chosen to retire from the pub- 
lic arena and engage in the peaceful pur- 
suits of agriculture, his fellow citizens have 
not forgotten his efforts in their behalf, nor 
is it beyond the bounds of possibility that 
an old soldier might again respond to the 
call of duty if emergency should arise. He 
still bears on his person the scars of batt^ 
received at Slaughter Mountain, during the 
great Civil War, and has many times since 
proved his courage as a soldier battling for 
his fellow citizens on quieter fields. 

J. A. WORK, M. D. * physician and sur- 
geon. at Blue Creek, W. Va., is additionally 
interested to some extent as a farmer. He 
was born at McConnellsville. O.. February 
4, 1870, and is a son of Franklin A. and 
Julia Ann (Carr) Work. 

Franklin A. Work was a native of Athens 
county, O., born July 15, 1837, and during 
his active years followed carpenter con- 
tracting. Following his marriage he moved 



880 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to Athens, later to Parkersburg, W. Va., 
and still later to Point Pleasant, where he 
now resides. He served for two terms in 
Mason county, as deputy sheriff. At the 
opening of the Civil War, he enlisted for a 
period of ninety days and subsequently re- 
enlisted for three years. His patriotism 
was aroused on the first call to arms and he 
entered Co. B, 53rd O. Vol. Inf., and his 
service continued all through the war, his 
honorable discharge being given him at 
Washington, D. C. He was once slightly 
wounded, suffering from the bursting of a 
shell. He was married in Morgan county, 
O., to Miss Julia Ann Carr, who was born 
April 25, 1842, a daughter of James and 
Margaret (McConnell) Carr. The McCon- 
nells were of the earliest stock of Morgan 
county. To Franklin A. Work and wife 
the following children were born : J. A. ; 
Emma, who is the wife of D. A. Howell, of 
Ohio; Grace, who is the wife of J. Norton, 
of Point Pleasant, O. ; Mary, who lives with 
her parents ; and Margaret, who is the wife 
of J. Stribling, of Point Pleasant. 

J. A. Work was afforded excellent edu- 
cational opportunities and after doing some 
preliminary medical reading, entered the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons at Bal- 
timore, Md. After three years of close 
study under the most admirable conditions 
for scientific training, he successfully passed 
the medical board of examination and 
was awarded his degree on April 15. 1898. 
He began practice at Copenhaver Station, 
W. Va., where he remained two years and 
then practiced for eleven years at Hamil- 
ton Station, coming from there to Blue 
Creek in the spring of 191 1. Dr. Work 
owns several farms in Elk district. 

Dr. Work was married June 2, 1897, to 
Miss Virginia Florence Burdette. who was 
born December 5, 1871, in Kanawha coun- 
ty, a daughter of W. H. and Mildred Jane 
(Copenhaver) Burdette, the latter of 
whom resides at Blue Creek. Mr. Burdette 
died March 26, 1899. Dr. and Mrs. Work 
have three children : William Franklin, 
born March 29, 1898; Mary Mildred, born 
November 2, 1899; and Julia Florence, 



born January 25, 1910. Dr. Work belongs 
to the Kanawha County Medical Society 
and is identified also with several fraternal 
organizations. He belongs to Clendenin 
Lodge, F. & A. M., at Clendenin; the 
Woodmen of America, Charleston Camp, 
No. 5719; and the Knights of Pythias at 
Blue Creek. Of the last named body he is 
a very active member. He belongs also to 
the Masonic Protective Association. A Re- 
publican in politics, he is interested in party 
success but only to the extent of good and 
intelligent citizenship. 

MRS. LAURA A. RICHMOND, a high- 
ly esteemed resident of Spring Hill, Kana- 
wha county, W. Va., is the widow of Wil- 
liam L. Richmond, who was a prominent 
citizen and capitalist of this section and 
many of his interests are still ably handled 
by Mrs. Richmond. She was born in Gooch- 
land county, Va., and is a daughter of A. 
M. and Mary Virginia (Lewis) Hamilton. 

The father of Mrs. Richmond was born 
in Cumberland county, Va.. and the mother 
at Columbia, Va. They were parents of 
eleven children, all of whom survive except 
two. William Alexander and Augustus M. 
Hancock Lee, who was wounded while 
serving as a soldier in the Confederate 
army, resides in Putnam county. W. Va. 
Kendall Lewis lives in Huntington. W. Va. 
John M. lives at Newport News. Va. Rich- 
ard H. resides in Goochland county. Eliza 
Virginia is the widow of W. I. Oaks, of 
Charleston. Mary R. is the wife of W. J. 
Thomas of South Charleston. Ann Louisa 
is the wife of A. L. Thomas of Spring Hill. 
Laura A., Mrs. Richmond, was the eighth 
in order of birth. Frances is the wife of 
J. S. Chilton of Spring Hill. The parents of 
Mrs. Richmond came to Charleston in 
1870 and to Spring Hill in 1872. The 
father died in Charleston in 1897. He was 
an attorney-at-law and w r as in partnership 
with Joseph Chilton, a prominent lawyer of 
Charleston. The mother, who is now in her 
eighty-fifth year, resides with her daughter, 
Mrs. Oaks, at Charleston. She is a member 
or the Presbyterian church, while her hus- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



881 



band belonged to the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. 

Mrs. Richmond was carefully reared and 
well educated. On December 9, 1885, she 
was married to William L. Richmond. He 
was born in Raleigh county, Va., a son of 
William and Sarah (Williams) Richmond. 
In 1883, he and his brother, John Richmond, 
came to Spring Hill, where they embarked 
in the mercantile business under the firm 
name of Richmond Brothers, William L. 
subsequently purchasing his brother's inter- 
est and continuing the business alone until 
his accidental death, on November 30, 1899. 
Together with his store, Mr. Richmond 
owned a roller flour and feed mill, a saw- 
mill in Lincoln county, W. Va., and a farm 
of 105 acres, in Raleigh county. In addition 
to owning- various properties of her hus- 
band's estate, Mrs. Richmond also has sev- 
eral acres in town lots, near Spring Hill, 
very valuable property. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Richmond four children were born, namely: 
Hamilton, who was accidentally killed on 
the railroad at South Ruffner; and Francis 
P., Richard N., and Augusta Kendell, all of 
whom reside with their mother. Mrs. Rich- 
mond has sold the store at Spring Hill but 
has continued to reside in this vicinity. She 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, south. Mr. Richmond was a Demo- 
crat in politics. 

T. C. LUCADOE,* who owns forty-five 
acres of valuable land which is situated two 
miles from Charleston, W. Va., on Joplin 
Creek, in Loudon district, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., was born in this district in 1890, 
and is a son of J. W. and Jennie (Asbury) 
Lucadoe. The father was a logger and 
helped in the clearing of a large part of 
Kanawha county. He was born in Vir- 
ginia but died in Loudon district, Kanawha 
county, at the age of fifty-two years. He 
married Jennie Asbury and of their chil- 
dren there are five living. 

T. C. Lucadoe was sent to school in 
Charleston and after his father died he was 
reared by an uncle. He has followed farm- 
ing and teaming during the most of his life 



and now operates a dairy, keeping twenty 
cows and running a wagon to Charleston. 
He is unmarried and looks after his own 
domestic affairs. Mr. Lucadoe is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. 
He is an honest business man and a hard 
worker and he has many friends among 
those with whom he has dealings. 

GARRETT D. BRYAN, who is engaged 
in the real estate and insurance business at 
St. Albans, W. Va., and is a representative 
business man of this place, was born August 
15, 1871, in Jefferson district, Kanawha 
county, three miles from St. Albans. His 
parents are Andrew J. and Hannah E. (Wil- 
son) Bryan. 

Andrew J. Bryan was born October 12, 
1837, in Kanawha county, and resides on 
his farm in Jefferson district. His father, 
Andrew Bryan, was born here in 1800 and 
died in 1872, a son of Richard Bryan who 
came here from Kentucky. The family has 
not been a very prolific one but each gener- 
ation has produced men of sterling worth. 
Andrew J. Bryan married Hannah E. Wil- 
son, a daughter of Charles B. and Mary Ann 
(Scleaver) Wilson, both of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan have six 
sons, their one daughter being deceased. 
The sons all reside in West Virginia. Of 
these, Garrett D. is the eldest. The second, 
Charles W., who was born April 23, 1874, 
is a farmer near Lower Falls and married 
Allie B. Wood, a daughter of N. F. and 
Margaret Wood. Lewis McFarland, who 
was born July 9, 1878, resides at home. 
John S., who was born November 29, 1883, 
married Ida Comstock, of Putnam county. 
Walter, who was born in August, 1886, 
married Dora Miles. Herbert D., who was 
born September 29, 1889, is a resident of 
Kanawha county. The brothers form a 
very united family and have a community 
of interests. 

Garrett D. Bryan was educated in the 
public schools and at Marshall College, after 
which he taught school in Kanawha county 
for ten years and later engaged in farming. 
He has always taken a hearty interest in 



882 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



public affairs and has been an influential 
Democrat. In November, 1898, he was 
elected a justice of the peace in Jefferson 
district, in a campaign in which he and his 
constable were the only Democratic candi- 
dates who were successful. He has been a 
resident of St. Albans for the past four years 
and is quite extensively interested in the line 
of real estate and insurance. He is also sole 
owner and proprietor of St. Albans Bottling 
Works, manufacturers of soft drinks. 

In June, 1907, Mr. Bryan was married to 
Miss Catherine Sutherland, a daughter of 
Dr. J. H. and Leah C. (Swisher) Suther- 
land, and they have two children: Herbert 
Wilson and Elizabeth Wilson. Mr. Bryan 
is prominent in Washington Lodge No. 58, 
A. F. & A. M. 

WILLIAM TAULBEE MOORE, assist- 
ant treasurer and general manager of the 
Kanawha Land Company, with offices at 
Charleston, W. Va., is one of the enterpris- 
ing young business men of this section and 
has been a resident of the Capital city since 
he was sixteen years of age. He was born 
March 19, 1887, in Magoffin county, Ky., 
and is a son of John W. and Mary E. 
(Wheeler) Moore. 

The early ancestors on the paternal side 
were of Virginia birth and from that state 
went to Kentucky, where the father of Mr. 
Moore engaged for a number of years in the 
practice of law. It is probable that the 
Whee^rs also moved from Virginia to Ken- 
tucky at an early date. Mrs. Moore was a 
cousin of General Joseph Wheeler, who won 
mi'itary renown in the Civil war. 

Wi'liam T. Moore had but few early edu- 
cational advantages. After he came to 
Charleston, with the determination of win- 
ning his own way in the world, in the 
scheme of things he included application to 
his stucbes, as occasion offered, which re- 
su t^d in his securing a liberal and helpful 
edn atirn. His first sa'aried position after 
co ins? to Charleston, was that of messen- 
ger in th 1 Kanawha Va'ley Bank, which, at 
th; tir was the iea r b'nor financial institu- 
te in ' 'e city, and w' f Vrn three years he 



was made discount clerk. Shortly afterward 
he became bookkeeper in the Kanawha 
Banking and Trust Company, and one year 
later accepted his present offices with the 
Kanawha Land Company. He has no out- 
side interests, either political or commercial, 
devoting all his time to the company's af- 
fairs. 

Mr. Moore is unmarried and resides with 
a brother, Fred N. Moore, beside whom he 
has other brothers — Frank, George, Henry, 
Benjamin, and Albert, and two sisters, Em- 
ma and Elizabeth. Mr. Moore was reared 
in the Democratic party, and has never seen 
any reason why he should depart from the 
political faith of the family. 

D. S. MEYERS,* a representative busi- 
ness man of Mammoth, W. Va., a member 
of the Meyers-Dunbar Company, general 
merchants, was born in Boone county, W. 
Va., July 21, 1873, and is a son of John and 
Letha (Farrall) Meyers. 

John Meyers, father of D. S., was born in 
Alexander county, Va. ; he was a civil engi- 
neer and prospector and was a man who 
was widely known in his profession. His 
death occurred in 1897, at Mt. Hope. Fay- 
ette county, W. Va. He married Letha 
Farrall, who was born in Boone county, 
W. Va., and died in July, 1898. They were 
parents of four children, namely: William 
H., Daniel Summers. Milton and Frank L., 
the last named being now deceased. 

Daniel Summers Meyers spent his boy- 
hood on the home farm in Boone county, 
attended the public schools and later the 
Summerville normal school and business 
college at Huntington, W. Va. He has 
been industrious all his life and from work- 
ing in the woods, become a c'erk in a store 
and later served at office work; a'so, for a 
while, he was on the rai'road and for some 
time a traveling sa'esman. He embarked 
first in the mercantile business at Anstead, 
in Fayette county, in partnership with T. A. 
Deitz, and later continued the ^■ •iiness 
alone until 1905, when he catrc to Mam- 
moth and bought his first stock her° from 
James Estep. occupying the o'd 1 ^rters 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



883 



until he completed his present commodious 
store building in June, 1909. On January 
10, 191 1, he admitted H. A. Dunbar to a 
partnership. This business firm has a high 
rating and is unusually prosperous. 

Mr. Meyers was married first in 1900, to 
Miss Elizabeth Switzer, who died in 1903, 
leaving two children, Daniel and Charlotte. 
In September, 1906, Mr. Meyers married 
for his second wife Miss Minnie Marshall, 
a daughter of J. D. and Mary Alice (Bowe) 
Marshall, and they have two sons, Homer 
and Milton. Mr. Meyers is a member of 
Warren Lodge No. 109, A. F. & A. M., at 
Berry, W. Va. 

LUTHER VAUGHN KOONTZ, banker 
and capitalist, is one of the progressive and 
foremost citizens of Clendenin, W. Va., was 
elected its first mayor and was instru- 
mental in obtaining the town charter, se- 
curing it through personal effort from the 
Circuit and County Courts. Many of the 
enterprises of the place that are now flour- 
ishing, owe much to his interest and en- 
couragement. He was born January 28, 
1875, at Kesler's Cross Lane, in Nicholas 
County, W. Va., and is a son of John and 
Alice (Groves) Koontz. 

John Koontz was born in Nicholas 
County, in March, 1835. He occupied the 
same farm and home for seventy-six years, 
and died there on July 4, 191 1. His father, 
James Koontz, was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, while his mother, Rebecca Long- 
anecker, of German extraction, was born 
in Greenbrier County, Va. James Koontz 
went to Nicholas County in early manhood, 
about 1830, and acquired 700 acres of land 
on which he spent the remainder of his life, 
dying in 1876. John Koontz has always fol- 
lowed farming and stock raising. He is a 
Democrat in politics and served one term 
as sheriff of Nicholas County in the early 
sixties. He married Alice Groves, who was 
born in Nicholas County, sixty-three years 
ago, a daughter of John and Catharine 
(Duffy) Groves. John Koontz and wife 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Their children aside from two that 



died in infancy, were as follows : Louis Kos- 
suth, who is a mine manager at Goldfield, 
Nev. ; James William, who is a practicing 
physician at Greenville, Ky. ; Arthur Burke, 
who is a practicing attorney at Charleston, 
with office in the Alderson-Stephenson 
Building; Patrick Duffy, who is now study- 
ing law at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; Luther 
Vaughn, subject of this sketch; Lula Maud 
and Ada Blanche, both of whom are suc- 
cessful teachers. Rouena Catherine, now 
deceased, who was the wife of Dr. A. L. 
Morris, of Fayette County; and Gertrude, 
also deceased, who was the wife of L. S. 
Tully. She left two children, Maurine and 
James, both of whom live with their grand- 
parents. 

Luther Vaughn Koontz left school at the 
age of sixteen years, and from then until he 
was twenty-three years of age, taught 
school during the winters, in the meanwhile 
taking a Normal School course. He was 
then in the mercantile specialty business 
for three years, as a salesman, afterward 
married and spent one year at Charleston 
and in 1900 came to Clendenin, where he 
has been interested in real estate ever since. 
In 1903 he organized the First National 
Bank and has been its first and only presi- 
dent. He is president of the Koontz Oil 
and Gas Company, of Kanawha and Clay 
Counties; secretary and treasurer of the 
Koontz Realty Company, operating all 
over the state ; president of the Clendenin 
Water, Light and Fuel Company; and a di- 
rector in the King Hardware Company and 
the Clendenin Oil and Gas Company. He 
is president also of the board of Education 
of Big Sandy District. Since the incorpora- 
tion of the village, Mr. Koontz has served 
in all its offices, his many business inter- 
ests combined with his foresight, public 
spirit and good judgment, making him par- 
ticularly well qualified to direct public 
affairs. 

On April 4, 1900, Mr. Koontz was mar- 
ried to Miss Edith Osborne, who was born 
February 10, 1874, near Osborn's Mills, 
Roane County, a daughter of D. F. and 
Arabel (Jarrett) Osborne. Mrs. Koontz 



834 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



previous to her marriage taught five terms 
of school in Kanawha County. Three chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Koontz : Catharine, aged seven years ; James 
Philip, aged four years, and Louise, now 
two and one-half years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Koontz are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, in which he has served as 
Sunday-school superintendent since its or- 
ganization at Clendenin. He has reached 
high position in the Masonic fraternity. He 
is a member of Blue Lodge, No. 126, at 
Clendenin, of which he has been master; of 
Wheeling Consistory, No. 1 ; Albert Pike 
Council, No. 1, Wheeling; Charity Chapter 
of Rose Croix, Wheeling, No. 1 ; Albert 
Pike Council of Kadosh, of Wheeling, No. 
1 ; charter member of Charleston Lodge of 
Perfection ; York Rite of Kanawha Com- 
mandery, No. 4 ; Charleston ; Tyrian Royal 
Arch, No. 13, Charleston; and Beni-Kedem 
Temple, Mystic Shrine. Charleston. He 
is identified also with the Odd Fellows at 
Clendenin. 

JOSEPH SAMUEL BARKER, president 
of the St. Albans Wharf Company, at St. 
Albans, W. Va., and for the past six years 
a resident of St. Albans, was born near Pey- 
tona, Boone county, W. Va., May 25, 1872, 
and is a son of Andrew J. and Elizabeth 
(Scragg) Barker. 

Joseph H. Barker, grandfather of Joseph 
S., was born in Kanawha county. Va., and 
moved to Boone county, December 25. 181 1. 
He was a farmer by occupation. He was 
quite prominent in military life and was 
second lieutenant of the Fourth W. Va. Cav. 
which regiment was made up after the 
State was created and he served until the 
close of the Civil war, being honorably dis- 
charged October 5, 1865. He married Ma- 
linda Lawrence, of Logan county, W. Va.. 
who was born August 6, 1812, and died 
February 11, 1866. Joseph H. Barker died 
June 12, 1880. They had the following chil- 
dren: Sarah, who died May 20, 1867, was 
the wife of Hugh Snodgrass ; James H., who 
is crier of the Court of Appeals, at Charles- 
ton; Rufus L., who was superintendent of 



the coke works at Stonecliff, W. Va. ; Susan 
E., who is the widow of R. E. Perry; John 
A., who is a farmer near Peytona ; Joel, who 
died at the age of eight years; Mary A., 
who is the wife of James K. Bias, of Hunt- 
ington, W. Va. ; Andrew Jackson; Farlena 
E., who is the wife of James A. Jackson, of 
Montgomery; and Jacob B., who lives at 
Dixon, O. 

Isaac Barker, the great-grandfather of 
Joseph S. Barker, lived to the age of ninety- 
six years, his death occurring in June, 1869. 
He came to Kanawha county across the 
mountains from the East and settled on Big 
Coal river when his nearest neighbor was 
at Brownstown, twelve miles away. Wild 
animals roamed through this part of the 
country at will and after Joseph H. Barker, 
at the age of fourteen years, had killed a 
pnther, the nearby stream was called Pan- 
ther Branch. This pioneer came here as 
early as 1807. He married Spicey Scott, 
and eleven children were born to them. 

Andrew J. Barker was born in Boone 
county, W. V., in 1851, and continued to 
live there until 1887, when he moved to 
Paint Creek for a residence of two years. 
He then went to Winfield and from there 
came to St. Albans in August, 1905. Before 
coming to this place he was a car builder. 
He was married first to Elizabeth Scragg, 
a daughter of Samuel Scragg and his first 
wife, Alice ( Worthington) Scragg. Grand- 
father Scragg was thrice married, his sec- 
ond wife being Cynthia Scott and his third, 
Evalyn Browning. The mother of Mr. Bar- 
ker had the following brothers and sisters: 
William, of Elmwood, 111. ; Stephen, of Ka- 
nawha county; Esther, deceased; Benjamin, 
of Lincoln county, and Samuel, residing 
near Marmet, in Kanawha county. Seven 
children were born to Andrew J. Barker 
and his wife, namely: Malinda Alice, who 
died at Winfield, W. Va., was the wife of 
Thomas Javins; Joseph Samuel; Ollie, who 
is the wife of Shaver Crouch, of Winifrede ; 
Elizabeth, who is the wife of Joseph Hudles- 
ton, of Boomer, W. Va. ; Rutherford E.. 
who married Lillian Watson, of Barbours- 
ville; Esther, who is the wife of Rev. W. A. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



885 



Byrus, pastor of the Lawrence Methodist 
Episcopal church at Charleston; and Lucy 
B., who is the wife of John Inghram. The 
mother of the above family died April II, 
1881. Mr. Barker was married secondly 
November 15, 1884, and four children were 
born : Ellard, who is deceased ; Joyce, who 
lives at home; Inez, who is deceased; and 
Hartzell, who lives with her parents. 

Joseph Samuel Barker came to St. Albans 
in 1905 and went into his present business. 
The St. Albans Wharf Company is incorpo- 
rated and has abundant capital. It handles 
feed and building- material. He was mar- 
ried to Miss Maria Teass, who was born 
March 27, 1874, and is a daughter of 
Thomas A. and Victoria (Hansford) Teass, 
the former of whom was a captain in the 
Confederate army during the Civil war, 
under Gen. McCausland. He was born in 
Campbell county, Va., in 1834, a son of 
John and Malinda (McCaleb) Teass, and 
died at St. Albans, February 18, 1901. The 
latter was born November 23, 1837, at 
Paint Creek, Kanawha county, a daughter 
of John and Maria (Morris) Hansford, and 
died November 6, 1904. Mrs. Barker has 
one brother, Carroll Rutherford, who was 
born October 30, 1875, and is a successful 
young business man connected with the 
Mohler Lumber Company at Lock No. 7, 
where he is also postmaster. Mr. and Mrs. 
Barker have three children: Elizabeth 
Victoria, Thomas A., and Joseph S., Jr. He 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, his wife being a member of the Bap- 
tist church. In politics a stanch Republican, 
Mr. Barker gives hearty support to his 
party but seeks no office. He is a member 
of Maiden Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., 
which is one of the oldest Masonic lodges 
in West Virginia. 

ROBERT HENRY WILEY, a leading 
citizen of Maiden district, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., part owner of the old Gen. Lewis 
Ruffner estate of 1,300 acres, in this district, 
was born September 12, 1855, on his grand- 
father's farm at the mouth of the Little 
Guyan river, in Cabell county, Va., and is a 



son of Robert and Betsey (Hannan) Wiley. 

Robert Wiley was born in Meigs county, 
O., and from there went to Cabell county in 
young mnhood, where he followed the car- 
penter trade until 1858, when he moved to 
Gallipolis and operated a ferry across the 
river, making his home in Virginia. He con- 
tinued there until 1868, when he returned to 
Cabell county and bought a part of the 
John Morris estate at Mud Bridge and sub- 
sequently served as postmaster there for 
some years. His death occurred while on a 
visit to his son, Robert Henry Wiley, when 
he was aged seventy-six years. He married 
Betsey Hannan, who was born in Cabell 
county and her death in 1884 preceded that 
of her husband by seventeen months. Her 
father, John Hannan, was a magistrate and 
later became sheriff of Cabell county. Eight 
children were born to Robert Wiley and his 
wife, namely: William C. ; Margaret, who 
is the widow of Frank Day ; Lucinda, who 
married W. S. Turley, and both are de- 
ceased ; Fannie, who is deceased, was the 
wife of Thomas Reece; Mattie, who mar- 
ried W. C. Henson, is his widow; Robert 
Henry; Jesse and James. 

Robert Henry Wiley grew up on the 
home farm and attended the subscription 
schools in the home neighborhood. In 
1880 he came to Kanawha county, W. Va., 
and rented the C. C. Lewis farm in Maiden 
district, and in 1883 purchased a part of this 
farm and resided at Maiden. From there 
he later removed to the Willim Tompkins 
property adjoining the Lewis estate. In 
1883, when his father-in-law, General Ruff- 
ner, died, Mr. and Mrs. Wiley moved to the 
Ruffner homestead on the river, below Mai- 
den. Mr. Wiley has always been interested 
in farming and stockraising. 

On November 21, 1881, Mr. Wiley was 
married to Miss Stella B. Ruffner, a daugh- 
ter of Gen. Lewis and Viola (Knapp) Ruff- 
ner. The Ruffner family is one of the old 
ones of the county and in spite of great 
losses during the Civil war, for years after- 
ward maintained to a considerable extent 
the old-time customs and extended a lavish 
hospitality. Mrs. Wiley remembers many 



886 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



interesting events in the life of her parents 
showing- their social standing in the county 
and also demonstrating personal character- 
istics which, in their exercise, provided op- 
portunities for others less fortunate than 
themselves. To the mother of Mrs. Wiley, 
the prominent negro educator, Booker T. 
Washington, owes much. He came to the 
estate as a boy to work in the garden and 
the kindly interested mistress of the house 
noticed him and recognized his laudable 
ambition to obtain an education. She fur- 
nished the means for his start on a path 
which has led him far and away ahead of 
the majority of his race and he has done cre- 
dit to her sympathetic understanding. Seven 
children were born to Mr and Mrs. Wiley, 
three of whom died young: Veva, Ossie and 
Clarence. The survivors are : Robert 
Lewis, who married Anna Curry; and Lulu 
May, Harry Ruffner and Sadie Ray. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wiley are members of the Mis- 
sionary Baptist church and for several years 
he has been superintendent of the Sunday 
school. For the past twenty years he has 
been identified with the Prohibition party 
and recently was its candidate for the state 
legislature. 

JOHN M. HUTCHINSON, JR., presi- 
dent of the firm of Hutchinson & Stephen- 
son Hat Co., dealers and jobbers in hats and 
caps, at No. 912 Virginia street, Charleston, 
W. Va., has been a resident of this city for 
five years and has been employed here for 
the last twenty years. He was born in 
Nicholas county, now in West Virginia, in 
1864, a son of John M. and Nancy (Rader) 
Hutchinson, who still reside there, the 
father being in his seventy-sixth and the. 
mother in her sixty-eighth year. They are 
well known people, the mother being a de- 
vout Baptist, while the father has always 
been a member of the Methodist church, 
south. They have two children: John M. 
and Laura, the latter being the wife of C. 
F. Herold of Nicholas county. 

John M. Hutchinson obtained his educa- 
tion in the schools of Nicholas county and 
then turned his attention to merchandising, 



for some years being a retail dealer at Sum- 
mersville, W. Va., but for more than twenty 
years has been with Charleston business 
firms, during twelve of these a commercial 
salesman for the Payne Shoe Company, and 
for two years afterward was with the Ka- 
nawha Drug Company. Mr. Hutchinson 
then became one of the incorporators of his 
present firm, being made its first president, 
with William Abney vice president, and L. 
C. Stephenson, secretary and treasurer. 
The business is conducted in fine quarters, 
the building occupied being 120x25 f eet 
in dimensions. The firm handles a general 
line of hats and caps, gloves, umbrellas and 
leggings, dealing strictly wholesale, with six 
salesmen on the road, and the territory 
covered being in West Virginia and portions 
of Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. 

Mr. Hutchinson married Miss Lola Fitz- 
water, who was born at Summersville, 
Nicholas county, W. Va., a daughter of J. 
J. W. and Rebecca J. (W'illiams) Fitzwater, 
both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hutchinson have had seven children, name- 
ly: E. Daisey, who is the competent book- 
keeper of the Hutchinson & Stephenson 
Hat Company ; Emmett Frank, Nita Mae, 
Hattie Prudence, Wilby Barnes, Carl Payne 
and Bradford, the youngest dying in his 
second year. Mr. Hutchinson is a member 
of the U. C. T. and belongs to the Blue 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. No. 76, at Summers- 
ville, W. Va. 

JOHN CHRISTOPHER SEAFLER* 
who is well known to the lumber trade 
throughout the East and Southeast, was for 
many years a representative of some of the 
largest lumber concerns in the country and 
is now engaged in business on his own ac- 
count with headquarters at Big Chimney, 
in Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va. 
Mr. Seafler was born September 12, 1856, 
in Hancock county, Va., now West Vir- 
ginia, and is a son of Peter and Louisa 
(Crimmer) Seafler. 

Peter Seafler was born in Germany and 
came with his parents to America at the 
age of four years, the family settling first 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



887 



in Butler county and later removing to 
Beaver county, Pa. After attending school 
until eighteen years of age, he went to 
work on the old Erie canal, and later located 
at Pittsburg, where he spent two or three 
years working at various occupations. 
From that city he removed to Shouston, 
Pa., being employed there in the shipyard, 
but eventually went to New Cumberland, 
W. Va., where he secured employment in 
the brickyard. In 1865 Mr. Seafler moved 
to Kanawha county, where he was engaged 
in farming in Elk district until his death. A 
Democrat in politics, he served two terms 
as supervisor in Kanawha county, and for 
twelve years was a member of the board of 
education of Elk district. He was con- 
nected with the Presbyterian church. Peter 
Seafler was married to Louisa Crimmer, 
also a native of Germany, and they had four 
children: John C. ; Lee A., who is a resident 
of Bridgeport, O. ; Sarah C, who is the 
wife of U. B. Debord of Newark, O. ; and 
William J., who is a lumberman and farmer 
of Elk district. 

John Christopher Seafler was educated in 
the common schools, after leaving which he 
was employed as a railroad grader, and for 
two years was foreman of a gang. Return- 
ing home at the end of that time, he was 
engaged in farming for his parents for two 
years, and then entered the lumber trade, 
buying timber, ties and supplies for different 
railroad companies. He then engaged in 
the timber line, buying and selling for east- 
ern concerns and being connected with the 
Wheeler-Holder Co., of Buffalo, N. Y. for 
nine years. Returning to the home farm 
he remained there for one year, but at the 
end of that time became buyer for the John 
F. Blessing Co., with which concern he re- 
mained until September, 1900, in that year 
becoming a partner of W. F. Thorns in the 
buying of railway supplies, ties and lumber 
for bridges and other railway construc- 
tion work. He has continued thus occupied 
to the present time and has been very suc- 
cessful in his undertakings. 

Mr. Seafler was united in marriage with 
Miss Roxey Woody, who was born April 



15, 1866, at Charleston, W. Va., a daughter 
of Fleming and Sarah (Alexander) Woody 
and granddaughter of James and Roxey 
(Morris) Woody. James Woody, who died 
in 1870, was a native of Virginia and one of 
the early settlers of Elk district, while the 
Alexander family also came from Virginia 
at an early day and settled in this section. 

Fleming Woody, who is now living re- 
tired at the age of eighty years, has been a 
lifelong resident of Elk district, where dur- 
ing his early years he was engaged in steam- 
boat and ferry work on the Kanawha river 
and later engaged in agricultural operations. 
He was also a soldier during the Civil War. 
Mr. Woody married Sarah Alexander, who 
died in 1900, aged seventy-four years. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Seafler there have been born 
three children: Blanchard, a sailor in the 
United States navy, and Romeo and Nellie, 
who reside at home. Mr. Seafler is a mem- 
ber of Clendenin Lodge No. 126, A. F. & 
A. M., and his politics are those of the Dem- 
ocratic party. Mrs. Seafler is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

ARTHUR BURKE KOONTZ, attorney- 
at-law at Charleston, W. Va., one of the 
younger members of the Kanawha county 
bar who has shown unusual ability and for 
whom a future is predicted by his collegues, 
was born January 29, 1885, in Nicholas 
county, W. Va., and is a son of John and 
Alice (Groves) Koontz. 

The Koontz family is of German extrac- 
tion and the first member to settle in Nich- 
olas county, then Greenbrier county, was 
the grandfather, James Koontz, who came 
from Pennsylvania, where he had married 
Rebecca Longanecker. They were the par- 
ents of the following children: Samuel, who 
died at St. Albans, W. Va. ; Middleton, who 
is a farmer in Nicholas county; John, who 
was the father of Arthur B. Koontz ; Allen, 
who died on a boat while on the way to 
Maiden from St. Louis; Hannah, who lives 
near Zela, Nicholas county, is the widow of 
Willis Nichols ; Sarah, who is the widow of 
Donally Van Bibber; Eliza, deceased, who 
was the wife of John Legg; and Jeanette. 



888 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



who was the wife of Anthony Rader of 
Nicholas county. 

John Koontz was a very well known resi- 
dent and active business man of Nicholas 
county, at one time being elected sheriff on 
the Democrtic ticket and for many years a 
strong- political factor. He was an exten- 
sive farmer and dealer in stock. His death 
occurred near Kessler's Cross Lanes, July 4, 
191 1. He was married in the early sixties 
to Alice Groves, a daughter of John and 
Catherine (Duffy) Groves, who were farm- 
ing people in Nicholas county and who had 
the following children: David, who died in 
Nicholas county; John, who is a very 
prominent public man in Nicholas county, 
served several terms in the lower House in 
the state legislature and later was candidate 
for the Senate ; Alfred, who, like his broth- 
ers, is a large farmer, also a school teacher, 
and at present resides at Huntington, \V. 
Va. ; Mary, who lives near Kessler's Cross 
Roads, and is the widow of Alexander Dun- 
bar; Elizabeth, residing near Drennen, who 
is the widow of Nathan Neil ; Alice, who is 
the widow of John Koontz, and resides on 
the old homestead; and Belle, who is the 
wife of Rev. G. W. Young, D. D., of Louis- 
ville, Ky., who is secretary of the National 
Anti-Saloon League, having been connected 
with this line of philanthropy for fourteen 
years. 

Six sons and five daughters were born to 
John and Alice Koontz, two of whom died in 
infancy, those who reached maturity being 
as follows : Louis Kossuth, who for a num- 
ber of years has been identified with the 
manufacturing interests of Pittsburg and 
the mining interests of Goldfield, Nev., re- 
sides at the latter place and married Ada Hal- 
stead; James William, who is a graduate of 
the Kentucky School of Medicine, has been 
in practice for a number of years at Green- 
ville, Ky., and married Martha Frey, of 
Owensboro, Ky. ; Luther Vaughn, who is 
president of the First National Bank of 
Clendenin, W. Va., and is prominent in 
many corporations in Kanawha county, 
married Edith Osborne, a daughter of 
David F. Osborne; Arthur Burke, who is 



the subject of this sketch; Patrick Duffy, 
who is a law student at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; 
Rouena Catherine, now deceased, who was 
the wife of Dr. A. L. Morris; Lulu Maude, 
who is a teacher and resides at home; Ger- 
trude, now deceased, who was the wife of 
L. S. Tulley; and Ada Blanche. This is an 
intellectual family and eight members of it 
have been successful teachers. 

Arthur Burke Koontz attended the pub- 
lic schools in Nicholas county, his first in- 
structor being his brother, L. V. Koontz, 
later the Summersville school and from 
there entered Marshall college, where he 
was creditably graduated in the class of 
1907. In the fall of that year he entered 
Yale University, where he was graduated 
with the class of 1910 and in January, 191 1, 
opened his law office in the Alderson- 
Stephenson building in Charleston. He still 
retains membership in the Phi-Alpha-Delta 
Law fraternity. 

LUTHER C. STEPHENSON, secretary 
and treasurer of the Hutchinson & Stephen- 
son Hat Co., dealers in hats and caps, 
wholesale, at Charleston, W. Va., was born 
June 19, 1873, in Nicholas county, W. Va., 
a son of Samuel and Maria (Hutchinson) 
Stephenson. The father was a merchant 
and a farmer and both father and mother 
died in Nicholas county, the former at the 
age of fifty-six years and the latter at the 
age of thirty-five years. Samuel Stephen- 
son was thrice married, Luther C. being 
born to the second union. 

Luther C. Stephenson came to Charles- 
ton some seventeen years ago and until 1903 
was a traveling salesman, for some years 
with Abney, Barnes & Co., and for four 
years for Noyes, Thomas & Co., in whole- 
sale dry goods and notions. The Hutchin- 
son & Stephenson Hat Co., was incorpor- 
ated in 1903, with John M. Hutchinson as 
president, William Abney as vice-president, 
and Luther C. Stephenson as treasurer and 
secretary. A large wholesale business is 
done, six commercial travelers of the firm 
visiting the trade in West Virginia and in 
portions of Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia. 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



889 



Mr. Stephenson is a member of the U. T. 
C. and has served in all the chairs of the 
local organization and was grand represen- 
tative at the State Grand Lodge meeting at 
Huntington, W. Va., in 191 1. He belongs 
also to the Blue Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at 
Charleston. Mr. Stephenson has never 
married. 

JAMES DAVID RUTLEDGE, a general 
merchant at Riverside, W. Va., and also as- 
sistant postmaster, has been established 
here in business since 1907 and is a repre- 
sentative citizen of Cabin Creek district. 
He was born in Giles county, Va., August 
10, 1853, and is a son of Charles E. and Sa- 
rah E. (Sartain) Rutledge. 

Charles E. Rutledge and wife were both 
born in Giles county and he followed 
farming there until 1876, when they came 
to Kanawha county and settled at Cedar 
Grove, Mr. Rutledge operating the Tomp- 
kins farm for a time and later a farm 
on Elk river. On the latter farm both he 
and his wife died in 1905. separated by but 
three months, his age being seventy-six 
years and hers seventy-three years. They 
had a family of six children born to them, 
namely: James David, Nancy P.. Laura V.. 
Charles W., Robert Lee and John H., the 
two survivors being James David and 
Charles W. The others died young with 
the exception of John H.. who lived to the 
age of thirty years. 

James David Rutledge attended a sub- 
scription school in his boyhood and spent 
his time on the home farm, assisting in the 
tobacco fields when still young. After com- 
ing to Kanawha county Mr. Rutledge be- 
came a school-teacher and continued in 
educational work for sixteen years, mainly 
in Cabin Creek district although he also 
taught in Big Sandy and Elk districts. He 
also conducted a store for two and one half 
years on Big Sandy creek and then moved 
to the mouth of Blue Creek, on Elk river, 
where he remained for five years. From 
there he went to Valley Grove, in Maiden 
district, two and one-half years afterward 
removing to Reemer. one year later to Fall- 



ing Rock, where he was in business for two 
and one-half years more. In 1907 he came 
to Riverside, where he bought his present 
place in that year. Before settling perma- 
nently, however, he made some other 
moves, conducting business enterprises at 
Indian Creek, at Belva in Fayette county, 
and at Gauley Bridge. This property he 
originally bought from Peter Britt, later 
sold it to Frances Watson but subsequently 
repurchased it. He carries a large and well 
assorted stock and has a fine trade, his store 
being the only one between Cedar Grove 
and Hugheston. , 

Mr. Rutledge was married March 13, 
1879, to Miss Mary W. Hudnall, a sister of 
Dr. Hudnall, well known in this section. 
Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge have no children of 
their own but they have reared Annie M. 
Naylor, who is now sixteen years of age. 

GEORGE WILHELM CONNELL, a 
prominent citizen of Charleston, W. Va.. 
his residence being at No. 1121 Virginia 
street, was born in Hancock county, now 
West Virginia, August 21, 1854, and is a 
son of Daniel F. and Catherine (Wilhelm) 
Connell. 

The family record of the Connells has 
been so carefully preserved that it is not a 
difficult matter to trace backward for sev- 
eral generations and to recall interesting 
family events. The great-grandfather of 
George W. Connell was a staff officer under 
Gen. William Henry Harrison in the Indian 
wars. He had four sons: James S., Harri 
son, Philip and John. Of the above, James 
S. Connell was born in Brook county, Va., 
where he owned large tracts of land and fol- 
lowed an agricultural life. He married 
Eliza Mendell, who was also born in Brook 
county, and their lives were spent there un- 
til 1844, when they went to Ohio and from 
Ohio he assisted in the removal of the Wy- 
andotte Indians to the Ohio river, and in 
the following year came to Charleston. 
Here, in partnership with Judge Paulsley, of 
Point Pleasant, he purchased 35,000 acres 
of land, a tract known as the Samuel Smith 
survey, a large part of which they sold to 



890 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



neighboring farmers or to those who came 
to this section in search of permanent 
homes. James S. Connell died at Charles- 
ton in 1868, at the age of sixty-three years. 
The following children were born to James 
S. and Eliza Connell: Daniel F., father of 
George W. Connell ; John H., who is a resi- 
dent of Charleston ; Henry, who died at 
Portsmouth, O., and was buried at Charles- 
ton ; Mary, who is the widow of John A. 
Carter, who was a coal operator in the Ka- 
nawha Valley and died in the fall of 1908; 
Julia, who died in 1909, was the wife of W. 
Q. Adams, of Portsmouth, O. ; and Sarah, 
who died in 1908, unmarried. 

Daniel F. Connell was bdrn in 1827, in 
Brook county, Va. He accompanied his 
father in 1844, in the expedition that re- 
moved the Wyandotte Indians to their new- 
location, and in 1846 he went to Colum- 
biana county, O., in iS^i moving from 
there to Fairview, Hancock county, now 
West Virginia, where he was engaged in the 
mercantile business until 1855, when he 
moved to New Cumberland, Hancock coun- 
ty, W. Va. In 1868 he organized the Scioto 
Fire Brick Company, at Sciotoville. near 
Portsmouth, O., becoming president of the 
company, selling the works in 1874, when 
he organized and became president of the 
Peabody Coal company of West Virginia, 
and also manufacturers of fire brick and 
gas retorts for a time at Cincinnati, O. He 
owned and operated coal mines at North 
Coalburg, eighteen miles above Charles- 
ton, in Kanawha county, on the Kanawha 
river, also operated the Peabody Coal com- 
pany in West Virginia and owned a large 
acreage of mineral land in Craig and Mont- 
gomery counties, Va. He was a man of 
great business foresight and through his 
thoughtful and intelligent management 
brought his many undertakings to a suc- 
cessful conclusion. His death was one of 
those tragic affairs that are of too frequent 
occurrence in a country that claims to be 
at the acme of civilization. While traveling 
on a railroad train, between Charleston and 
his destination. Richmond. Va.. he was sud- 
denly aroused in the middle of the night 



from his sleep in a private berth of a Pull- 
man car, by a robber with a demand for 
money. Mr. Connell replied by a vigorous 
kick at the intruder, who immediately shot 
his helpless victim and escaped. Fully fif- 
teen minutes elapsed before Mr. Connell 
could make the gravity of his injury under- 
stood to his fellow passengers, but when the 
train reached Charlottesville, he was car- 
ried forth in a dying condition, and he 
passed away on August 5, 1891. He was a 
member of Christ Episcopal church at 
Portsmouth, O., from which his funeral was 
conducted. 

Daniel F. Connell was married to Cath- 
erine Wilhelm, who was born in 1834, in 
Hancock county, Va., and died in 1907. 
Her father, George Wilhelm, was a pros- 
perous farmer in Hancock county, Va., to 
which his father, a native of Germany, had 
come from western Pennsylvania. George 
Wilhelm died in Hancock county in 1880, at 
the age of eighty-eight years. He had two 
children : Joseph, who was a farmer in Ohio 
at the time of his death ; and Catherine, who 
became the wife of Daniel F. Connell. They 
were the parents of the following children: 
George W. ; James B., who died in 1897, at 
Portsmouth, O., married Nellie Tynes; Wil- 
liam A., who is a practicing physician at 
Kansas City, Mo., was educated at Ports- 
mouth and the Ohio State University at 
Columbus, and married Miss Young, of 
Lexington, Mo. ; Daniel F., who is book- 
keeper for the Kelly Nail and Iron Com- 
pany, at Ironton. O.. married Essie Pixley; 
Arthur D., who is with the U. S. Steel cor- 
poration at Gary, Ind. ; Julia A., who is a 
resident of Kansas City; Anna E., who is 
the wife of Leonard W. Goss, an attorney 
at Cincinnati : Louise E., who is the widow 
of George J. Burke, of Portsmouth, O. ; and 
Mary, who died at Portsmouth, O., was the 
wife of Augustus A. Brown. 

George W. Connell attended school at 
Portsmouth. O.. and for three } r ears subse- 
quently was a student at Kenyon college, 
leaving at the age of nineteen years, when 
he accompanied his father to Charleston 
and soon became interested in the coal busi- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



891 



ness. He spent two and one-half years as 
storekeeper at Quinnamont Furnace, on 
New river, and then assisted his father for 
one year in surveying- the wild lands which 
they developed later into fine coal proper- 
ties and which still later they sold to John 
Carter, an uncle of Mr. Connell. The latter 
also became interested in the timber busi- 
ness in Kanawha county and in his many 
enterprises has shown the wisdom, judg- 
ment and foresight of an able business man. 
When his father died he had charge of the 
settling up of the large estate, which was 
one of considerable volume. After the 
death of his father, Daniel F. Connell had 
purchased the interest of James S. Connell 
and also the interest of Judge Paulsley in 
the immense tract of land they had owned 
together and at that time there remained 
about 7,000 acres, which he retained to the 
time of his death. He also owned valuable 
lands in Ohio. In 1887 George W. Connell 
became a resident of Charleston and hand- 
ling real estate has been his main business, 
much valuable property having changed 
ownership through his efforts, while a large 
amount of capital has been invested here by 
outside parties which has assisted in the 
building up and development of the city and 
vicinity. 

In 1883, Mr. Connell was married to Miss 
Lydia Norvell, who is a daughter of Gaston 
and Ruth (Smithers) Norvell, an old fami- 
ly of Kanawha county. Mr. Norvell was in 
the mercantile business at Charleston for a 
number of years and was a prominent and 
reliable business man. His death occurred 
in 1904. when aged sixty-five years. The 
mother of Mrs. Connell survives and is a 
member of a substantial family of Kanawha 
county. Mrs. Connell was reared and edu- 
cated at Charleston. Four children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Connell : Nor- 
vell Gaston, who is in the business of poul- 
try raising, married Maria Hogue, a daugh- 
ter of William and Anna Hogue, of Charles- 
ton : Elizabeth, who is the wife of Malcolm 
R. Matthews, a member of the Tribune 
Printing company, of Charleston ; George 
W., Jr., who is with the Lewis Hubbard Co. ; 



and Catherine, who is in school. The fam- 
ily belongs to the Episcopal church. Politi- 
cally Mr. Connell is a Democrat. 

HON. GROVER CLEVELAND ROB- 
ERTSON, M. D., physician and surgeon at 
Clendenin, W. Va., formerly recorder of 
the village for two years and a leading and 
useful citizen, was born August 8, 1885, at 
Kettle, Roane County, W. Va. His par- 
ents are George W. and Delilah E. (Met- 
ton) Robertson. 

George W. Robertson was born in 1844 
and now lives retired at Clendenin. He was 
a lumberman and merchant during his ac- 
tive years. He married Delilah Elizabeth 
Metton and ten children were born to them, 
Dr. Robertson being the youngest. The 
others are : James A., who is a merchant 
at Clendenin; Nancy Jane, who is the wife 
of W. H. Cantebury; Everett E. and Mor- 
gan M., both of whom are attorneys at 
Charleston; Sidney H., and Alvin B., both 
of whom are merchants at Clendenin; Ed- 
gar S., who is a clerk; and George W., who 
lives at Kettle, W. Va. 

After his school days w T ere over and his 
preliminary medical reading done, Grover 
C. Robertson entered the Kentucky School 
of Medicine, at Louisville, where he was a 
student for four years. In 1907 he came to 
Clendenin and has built up a large and sat- 
isfactory practice here. He belongs to the 
Medical Society of Kanawha County and to 
the American Medical Society, and keeps 
fully abreast with the times in all medical 
research. 

Dr. Robertson was married to Miss Hat- 
tie M. Lytton, and they have one child, 
Lillian Virginia, who was born June 21. 
1910. They are members of the Baptist 
church. He is identified with the Modern 
Woodmen of America at Clendenin, the 
Knights of Pythias at Blue Creek and is a 
Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the higher 
branches at Charleston. In politics a Dem- 
ocrat, Dr. Robertson gives hearty support 
to his party. He has frequently been 
elected to office and at present is serving 
as a member of the village council. 



892 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



F. M. EASTWOOD, whose beautiful 
farm in Jefferson district, near Spring Hill. 
W. Va., contains 500 acres, is one of the 
well known residents of this section and be- 
longs to an old Kanawha county family. 
He was born in Maiden district, November 
18, 1830, and is a son of Benjamin and 
Elizabeth (Roy) Eastwood. 

Benjamin Eastwood was born in Orange 
county, N. Y., and came from there in early 
manhood to Kanawha county and found 
employment near Maiden. There he mar- 
ried Elizabeth Roy, who was born in Jack- 
son county, Ohio, and they had ten children 
born to them, the only survivor being F. M. 
Eastwood of this record. Benjmin East- 
wood was a Democrat in politics. He died 
at the age of fifty-six years and his wife 
when aged fifty-seven years and their burial 
was in the Cobb cemetery. They were 
members of the Baptist church, good and 
worthy people in every relation of life. 

F. M. Eastwood attended school in what 
is now Loudon district and afterward 
worked in the lumber regions and also be- 
came a farmer and the owner of property. 
His first farm was the one on which D. G. 
Courtney of Charleston now has his saw- 
mill. After marriage he bought his present 
farm which had been already improved. 

On January 8, 1856, Mr. Eastwood was 
married to Miss Virginia H. Corley, born in 
Jefferson district, a daughter of Henry and 
Katherine Corley, and the following chil- 
dren have been born to them : Nancy, who 
is the wife of George Senate, of Charleston; 
Mary Ida. who lives at home ; Enos A., who 
married Willa Smith, and they live in Jef- 
ferson district; Frank M., who is a farmer 
in this district, married Mrs. Eva Meadows; 
Elbert, who lives in Jefferson district, mar- 
ried Mary Tyler, and an infant son and 
daughter, both of whom are deceased. Mr. 
Eastwood has always lived in Kanawha 
county and he remembers when all the 
salt barrels for the great salt industry in 
this section were made by hand, the cooper 
trade then being a profitable one. He has 
never been anxious to hold local offices but 



for many years has been a member of the 
school board. 

WILLIAM EDWARD NUGEN,* a car- 
penter contractor doing a large business at 
Pratt, W. Va., was born at Kanawha Falls, 
Fayette county, Va., May 9, 1859, and is a 
son of William E. and Sarah A. (Huddles- 
ton) Nugen. 

The parents of Mr. Nugen were born at 
Kanawha Falls and married there. In i860 
they came to Kanawha county and located 
at Paint Creek, where the father was em- 
ployed in the cannel coal mines, making oil. 
In 1861 he enlisted in Co. I, 8th Va. Con- 
federate army and served as a brave soldier 
until he met death on the battlefield of Lacy 
Springs, in the Shenandoah Valley, in 1864. 
As one of his most highly prized posses- 
sions, William Edward Nugen has the pow- 
der-stained and bullet-riddled Confederate 
flag that was taken from his father's hand 
when he fell. The mother survived for 
many years, dying at the age of seventy- 
three in 1909. They had three sons — John 
W.. William Edward and George Henry. 

William Edward Nugen was a child when 
his parents came to this section and his 
father's early death left little provision for 
the educating of his children. Mr. Nugen 
made the most of his opportunities and 
learned the carpenter's trade, starting in 
with W. H. Hudson at the age of sixteen 
years. He is well known all through this 
section as a skilful carpenter and builder 
and also, since 1901, as a contractor. He 
erected his own attractive residence at Pratt 
and also the store building which is oc- 
cupied by T. S. Chapman. 

Mr. Nugen married Miss Emma W. 
White, a daughter of Robert White, a pio- 
neer of this section, and they have two 
sons, William Ernest and Ira V. In poli- 
tics he is a Democrat. He is prominent in 
Masonry, being a "Shriner," belongs to the 
Blue Lodge at Montgomery, W. Va., and 
to the higher branches at Charleston. He 
is also a member of Lodge No. 202. of Elks, 
at Charleston, and of Ruth Lodge, Knights 
of Pythias, at Cabin Creek. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



893 



PETER A. HALEY, M. D., specialist in 
eye, ear, nose and throat diseases, has been 
professionally established at Charleston, W . 
Va., since 1903. He was born in 1874, in 
Louisa county, Va., and is a son of Rev. 
L. J. and Mary (Long) Haley. 

Rev. L. J. Haley, who for forty years was 
active in the ministry of the Baptist church, 
now lives retired on his farm, on Elk creek, 
in Louisa county. He was one of a family 
of six children born to his parents, William 
A. and Mary (Allen) Haley, natives of Vir- 
ginia, whose closing years of life were spent 
in Kentucky. He was graduated with the 
degree of A. M. from Richmond college and 
then entered the University of Virginia, but 
the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, 
and the closing of the University, pre- 
vented his receiving his degree from that 
institution. He was a man of brilliant parts 
in early and middle life and until he retired 
was considered a leading minister of the 
Baptist church in this section. Formerly 
he served in the Virginia legislature and 
for twenty years was county superintendent 
of schools. He married Mary Long, who 
was born in Spottsylvania county, Va., and 
of their eight children, six survive. Nannie 
is the wife of Dr. George H. Cook. Fannie, 
who is now deceased, was the wife of W. 
W. Boxley. William A. is a railroad con- 
tractor living at Clifton Forge, Va., married 
Miss Champ Bupass and they have five 
children. Littlebury J. resides at Birming- 
ham, Ala., where he is engaged in the prac- 
tice of law. He married Leila Byrd, and 
they have one son. Jeter G., who is now 
deceased, was a physician in practice at 
Hinton, W. Va. He is survived by his 
widow, two sons and a daughter. John 
Long is a farmer in Northampton county, 
Va. He married Anna Thomas. John C. 
is a railroad contractor, living at Salem, 
Va., married Flossie Chishohn and they 
have one son. The youngest member of 
the fami 1 y* Peter A., is the on'y one resid- 
ing ?t Cha^eston. 

After completing the High School course, 

PetT A. Halev entered Wi 11 iam and Mary 

college, that hoary and noted educational 
49 



institution of Williamsburg, Va., and sub- 
sequently became a student in the Univer- 
sity College of Medicine at Richmond. Va., 
where he was graduated in 1899. He lo- 
cated at Hinton, W. Va., where he engaged 
in practice until 1903, when he came to 
Charleston. He is identified with the lead- 
ing medical organizations, is a member of 
the National, State and county associations 
and is a member of the State Board of 
Council of the State Medical Association. 

Dr. Haley was married in Caroline coun- 
ty, Va., to Miss Lula Mahon, who was born 
there and was educated at Burkville Fe- 
male Seminary. She is a daughter of Jo- 
seph and Lizzie (Butler) Mahon, the for- 
mer of whom still lives in Caroline county 
but the mother of Mrs. Haley is deceased. 
Dr. and Mrs. Haley have two sons : Wil- 
liam Allen and John Bagby. Dr. Haley and 
wife are members of the Baptist church. 
Fraternally he is connected with the Ma- 
sons and the Elks. 

JOHN MERRELL CHASE, a general 
merchant doing business at Nos. 525-527 
Charleston street, Charleston, W. Va., has 
been a resident of Kanawha county since 
1906. He was born in Meigs county, O., 
near Rutland, August 18, 1851, and is a son 
of William and Elvira (Winn) Chase. 

William Chase was born in Athens coun- 
ty, O., a son of John Merrell and a grand- 
son of John Merrell Chase, the older mem- 
bers of the family coming from Maine to 
Ohio, in Indian times and were of English 
descent. The first John Merrell Chase died 
in Ohio and his son, John Merrell, in Illinois. 
William Chase was married in Meigs coun- 
ty, O., to Elvira Winn, a daughter of Arm- 
strong Winn, who was a native of Canada. 
In 1858 William Chase went to Pike's Peak 
among the gold seekers and was there 
when the Civil W T ar broke out and enlisted 
for service in the 2d Col. Vol. Cav., whose 
commander, Captain Wagner, was later 
slain by the bandit, Jesse James. William 
Chase served through the war and then re- 
turned to Colorado with the intention of 
closing up his mining business. His family 



894 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



received a letter dated at St. Lous, Mo., to 
that effect and containing the statement 
that he expected to start for home within 
three days of its date. He was never heard 
of afterward, his death being supposed and 
his disappearance one of those mysteries 
which have clouded the happiness of so 
many families. His widow survived until 
1876, her death occurring in Ohio. There 
were seven children in the family, namely : 
Julia, who is deceased, was the wife of W. 
G. Giles, who is also deceased ; John Mer- 
rell, the third of the name in the family; 
Alice, who is the wife of J. S. Bradfield, of 
Harrisonville, O.; Armstrong, formerly a 
deputy sheriff at Charleston, who now re- 
sides in Colorado; Charles F., who is de- 
ceased; Lillian, who is the wife of C. F. 
Morris, of Armel, Colo.; and Efhe, who is 
the wife of Rev. James Martin, residing in 
Kansas. 

John Merrell Chase spent his boyhood on 
the home farm and attended the district 
schools and an academy at Wilkesville, O. 
When seventeen years of age he went to 
Kansas, where he took up a claim in Elk 
county and then secured 160 acres in How- 
ard county and remained three years, when 
he returned to Ohio, where he completed 
his interrupted education. Mr. Chase then 
bought a farm in Lincoln county, W. Va., 
and taught school in both Lincoln and Ka- 
nawha counties for fourteen years, after 
which he went on the road for a shoe firm 
of Baltimore, Md., and later for the Thomas 
Shoe company of Charleston, and was a 
commercial traveler for twelve years. At 
the end of this period he embarked in the 
mercantile business for himself, starting 
with a limited stock but as his trade has in- 
creased he has entered into the general 
mercantile line and has proven his ability 
as a business man on his own responsi- 
bility. Politically he is a Republican and 
was nominated by that party for the legis- 
lature while living in Lincoln county. 

On April 16, 1882, Mr. Chase was mar- 
ried to Miss Aley Fisher, a daughter of the 
late Anderson Fisher, and they have had 
three children : Effie, who died aged twenty- 



three years, was the wife of J. M. Hollings- 
worth and left one child, Francis Chase : 
Verne M., who is a teacher in the Charles- 
ton schools; and Elvira. Mr. Chase is iden- 
tified with the Masons, Odd Fellows and 
Maccabees. The family resides on Indiana 
avenue, Charleston. 

WILLIAM H. SISSON, who has been 
serving as deputy sheriff since January, 
1909, in Charleston, Poca and Union dis- 
tricts, Kanawha county, W. Va., resides on 
his farm of 100 acres which lies one mile 
north of Sissonville, the same having been 
his grandfather's property. He is one of 
the representative men of this part of the 
county and was born March 14, 1873, at 
Sissonville, Poca district, and is a son of 
Henry C. Sisson, a grandson of Henry C. 
Sisson, and a great-grandson of James Sis- 
son. 

James Sisson was born in Botetourt 
county, Va., where he was reared, educated 
and married. His wife was a Miss Cart- 
mill, who was of Irish descent. After mar- 
riage James Sisson and wife moved into 
Poca district, Kanawha county, now West 
Virginia, and the settlement they started 
was subsequently named Sissonville in hon- 
or of James Sisson. To James Sisson and 
wife the following children were born : 
Allen, who made his home in Missouri, died 
while on a visit in Poca district; John, who 
also located in Missouri, married there and 
afterward came back to Poca dstrict and 
remained until 1856, when he returned to 
Missouri, where he remained ; James lived 
at Middle Fork, Jackson county, W. Va., 
married a Miss Aultz and they moved then 
to Missouri; Sallie, who married Benjamin 
Milard, lived about four miles from Sisson- 
ville and owned much land and there both 
spent long lives; Eliza, who became Mrs. 
Koontz, lived in Missouri and sent seven 
sons to the war; Mary, who married a Mr. 
Street, and moved to Missouri ; Ann, who 
was reared by her uncle Cartmill, in Vir- 
ginia, married a Mr. Gorgus during the Civil 
War. 

Henry C. Sisson, grandfather of William 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



895 



H. Sisson, was born in Virginia and was 
young when he accompanied his parents to 
Poca district, Kanawha county. There he 
became a man of large estate, the lands for- 
merly owned by his brothers coming into 
his possession. He served two terms as a 
justice of the peace. His marriage was to 
Rebecca Samuels and they had the follow- 
ing children born to them : James M., 
Greenberry, Julia Ann, Henry C. Jr., John 
W., Benjamin N., Mary C, Thomas, Lizzie 
and Willie. James M. Sisson of the above 
family was a well known man in Poca dis- 
trict, where he served one term as a justice 
of the peace. He married Clara C. Atchin- 
son and they lived and died at Sissonille. Of 
their nine children, five grew to maturity: 
Fannie, Joseph, Minnie, Charles and Mary. 

Greenberry Sisson was reared and edu- 
cated at Sissonville and enlisted from there 
as a soldier in the Civil War. At one time 
he had a horse shot from under him but 
survived to return home where he suc- 
cumbed to typhoid fever in July, 1866. He 
never married. Julia Ann Sisson died early 
in married life, leaving her husband, Wil- 
liam C. Williams, and one child, Lewis. 
John W. Sisson resided near Sissonville, 
married Louisa Ann Jones, and their chil- 
dren were : Mollie, Clement, Effie, Edward, 
Howard, John H. and Greenberry. Benja- 
min N. Sisson married Lizzie Johnson and 
they now reside on the old Sisson farm in 
Poca district and have seven children — Eth- 
el, Erna, Flossie, Ruth, Harry, Press and 
Myrtle. Mary C, who is the wife of John 

G. Newhouse, resides on Grapevine Creek, 
and they had the following children : Ed- 
ward, Mollie, Thomas, Vett, Lizzie, Erna 
and Bert. Thomas, who is now deceased, 
married Esther Spencer and she is also de- 
ceased. 

Henry C. Sisson, Jr., father of William 

H. , was born and reared at Sissonville, his 
birth taking place in 1847, and his death oc- 
curring in his fifty-seventh year. He spent 
his life on the old family homestead and 
was one of the best known men in his dis- 
trict. Prior to his time the Sissons had al- 
ways voted the Democratic ticket, but he 



was a Republican. The Sissons have all 
been worthy members and liberal support- 
ers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Henry C. Sisson, Jr., married Mary J. Mc- 
Clanahan, who was born and reared in 
Poca district and still survives, residing at 
Sissonville. Three children were born to 
ths marriage, namely: W. H., Boyd A., and 
Benjamin O. Boyd A. Sisson is a resident 
of Sissonville. He married Dica Ellmore 
and they have had four children : Mary, 
Henry Thomas, Earnie R. (deceased), and 
William Allen. Benjamin O. Sisson died at 
Sissonville at the age of thirty years. 

William H. Sisson has always been more 
or less interested in farming and stockrais- 
ing. He is a stockholder in several tele- 
phone companies. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican and has frequently been called 
upon to serve in district offices. He was- 
constable for six years in Poca district and; 
served two years under Sheriff John A, 
Jarrett as deputy prior to his present ap- 
pointment in 1909. Mr. Sisson married 
Miss Alice Archibald, who was born at 
Raymond City, Putnam county, W. Va., a 
daughter of E. G. and Julia Ann (Samuels) 
Archibald, the former of whom was born 
in England. Mr. and Mrs. Sisson have 
three children: Ocea Rebecca, Lucy J., and 
Julia Virginia. 

WILLIAM E. R. BYRNE, attorney-at- 
law, Charleston, W. Va., was born October 
26, 1862, at Fort Defiance, Va., a son of 
Col. Benjamin Wilson and Mary L. (Holt) 
Byrne. Her parents had been residents of 
Braxton county, now in West Virginia, un- 
til the breaking out of the Civil War. Col. 
Byrne was a member of the Constitutional 
(Secession) Convention of Virginia and af- 
terward was in the Confederate service. 
At the close of the war the family returned 
to West Virginia and lived at Weston, 
Parkersburg and Clay Court House. 

In 1871 Col. Byrne was elected to the 
Constitutional Convention which was held 
at Charleston and on the first day of Janu- 
ary, 1872, moved with his family to this city. 
In the same year he was elected state su- 



896 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



perintendent of free schools and served in 
that office from March 4, 1873, until March 
3, 1877. Upon the removal of the capitol 
from Charleston to Wheeling, in 1875, Col- 
onel Byrne moved with his family to Wheel- 
ing, where they lived for almost two years, 
returning to Charleston in the latter part of 
March, 1877. 

William E. R. Byrne attended the com- 
mon schools of Wheeling and Charleston 
until the age of sixteen years when he ac- 
cepted employment as a member of an en- 
gineering corps and for about five years 
was engaged in the work of civil engineer- 
ing, devoting some of his spare time to the 
study of law. In January, 1884, he went to 
Lewisburg, W. Va., where he read law for 
about ten months with his uncle. Judge 
Homer A. Holt, and was admitted to the 
bar in October, 1884. In April, 1885, he 
located at Sutton, Braxton county, W. Va.. 
and practiced his profession in Braxton and 
adjoining counties, and was elected prose- 
cuting attorney of Braxton county for the 
term from 1893 to 1897, at the conclusion of 
which, on the first day of January, 1897, he 
returned to Charleston, where he has since 
resided. He was elected clerk of the state 
senate at the session of 1893, and clerk of 
tthe House of Delegates at the session of 
1899. 

Mr. Byrne was married to Miss Amanda 
Austin, eldest daughter of Dr. Samuel 
Hunter and Mary (McPherson) Austin, of 
Lewisburg, Greenbrier county. W. Va., on 
June 12, 1889, and their children are: 
George Austin, born April 15, 1891 ; Marie 
Louise, born June 16, 1893; Barbara Linn, 
borri July 9, 1895 ; Charlotte Virginia, born 
January 23, 1901 ; and William Eston Ran- 
dolph, Jr., born December 10, 1906. 

The death of Col. Benjamin W. Byrne 
occurred September 12, 1903, at the age 
of eighty-three years and four months. 
His widow survived until December 6. 
1906, passing away at the age of seventy- 
eight years. The surviving" members of 
their family, in addition to William E. R.. 
are : George, who, for a number of years 
was a journalist in West Virginia, and is 



now a member of the editorial staff of the 
Baltimore Sun; Ella T., who is the wife of 
J. C. Given; Anne H., who is the wife of 
M. W. Venable, both of whom reside at 
Charleston; Lida W., who is the wife of J. 
M. Boggs, of Big Otter, W. Va. ; and Ger- 
trude, who is the wife of Olin White, of 
Nashville, Tenn. 

WILLIAM J. BUCK.* vice-president 
and a director of the Bauer Meat & Fish 
Company, wholesale and retail dealers in 
these commodities at Charleston, W. Va., 
is one of the active, reliable and practical 
business men of this city. He was born at 
Waukegan, Lake county, 111., October 22, 
1863, and is a son of Jacob and Eliza (Till- 
man) Buck. 

Jacob Buck was born in Wertemberg. 
Germany, and came to the United States in 
early manhood. He had learned the butcher 
trade in his native land and followed the 
same until the time of his death, in 1872, 
at the age of forty-four years. He was 
married at Waukegan, 111., to Eliza Tillman, 
who was born in Baden, Germany, seventy 
years ago and still resides in that city. She 
and husband were reared in the German 
Lutheran church. Their family consisted 
of four sons and three daughters, namely : 
William J.; Fred; Charles, who is a retired 
retail butcher, residing at W : aukegan, has 
a family; George D., who is in the butcher 
business at Evanston, 111., has a family; 
Eliza, who is the wife of A. F. Rose, a boat- 
builder at Palm Beach, Fla., has two daugh- 
ters ; Matilda, who is the wife of George 
Mawman. a newspaper man residing at 
Lake Bluff, has four children; and Lulu, 
who married Fred Millimore, and they live 
at Waukegan and have one daughter. 

William J. Buck was nine years old when 
he lost his father. He remained at school 
for a few years and then learned the butch- 
er trade and when nineteen years old went 
into business for himself in his native city, 
in partnership with his brothers. For thir- 
teen years the firm of Buck Brothers con- 
trolled a large part of the best meat trade 
at Waukegan. For the twelve following 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



899 



years he was with the Swift Packing Com- 
pany in Chicago, for three years being a 
resident of that city and from there came to 
Charleston sent as manager of the Swift 
plant here. He continued in that position 
for eight years and then resigned in order 
to enter into his present business relation. 
He was one of the incorporators of the 
Bauer Meat & Fish Company and has a 
large interest in the concern which is a very 
important enterprise at Charleston. 

Mr. Buck was married at Lake Forest, 
111., to Miss Louise J. O'Neal, who was born 
in that exclusive suburb of Chicago, and 
they have one son, William J., Jr., who was 
born at Waukegan, in 1898. He is a grad- 
uate of the Charleston high school, passing 
his examinations with much credit when 
only seventeen years of age. For the past 
five years he has been credit man with the 
firm of Lewis, Hubbard & Co. Mr. Buck 
and family are members of the Presbyterian 
church. Both he and son are members of 
Kanawha Lodge No. 20, F. & A. M., and 
Mr. Buck belongs also to the Elks. 

GEORGE MYERS, lock master at Lock 
No. 2, on the Kanawha river, near Mont- 
gomery, W. Va., has occupied his present 
position of responsibility since 1900, having 
had a large amount of previous experience. 
He ws born in Pittsylvania county, Va., 
April 30. 1856, and is' a son of Charles T. 
and Mary (Willis) Myers. 

The parents of Mr. Myers were natives of 
the same section of Virginia in which he 
was born, and they came from there in 
1 87 1 to Kanawha county and settled at 
what was then called Brownstown. but was 
later changed to Marmet. He operated a 
blacksmith shop there and was a well known 
and respected business man. His death 
took place in March. 1896. when he was 
aged seventy-seven years, his widow sur- 
viving only until the following November, 
her age being seventy-two years. Of their 
thirteen children three died young, the 
others being as follows: James M. ; Joel D., 
who is deceased ; Allison ; John R. ; Charles 
T. ; Alwilda E., who is the wife of Robert 



Willis; Josephine, who is the wife of 
Thomas Daniel ; George ; Sallie, who is the 
wife of Charles Chapman; and Crafton T. 

George Myers spent his boyhood on the 
home farm and remained with his parents 
until he was nineteen years of age, when he 
began work as a water boy on the section 
of the C. & O. railroad then in course of 
construction, and in 1875 became a regular 
employe of D. M. & C. P. Dull, who were 
the contractors having the building of the 
locks and dams in the Kanawha river in 
charge. He worked first in the construc- 
tion of Lock No. 5, near Marmet and later 
on Lock No. 3, near Pratt. From 1882 un- 
til 1884 he worked at the carpenter trade 
and then came back to the river and as- 
sisted in the construction of Lock No. 2, 
and after its completion was made a lock 
hand, under Lockmaster J. B. Rader, to 
whom he became assistant and succeeded 
in 1900. His long experience has made Mr. 
Myers one of the most reliable men along 
the whole river. 

On May 29, 1878, Mr. Myers was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Berry, a daughter of 
William and Mary Berry, old settlers in 
Kanawha county. Ten children have been 
born to them, as follows: Margaret, who 
is the wife of William Dunlap, and they 
have two children — Pearl and Lonna ; Er- 
nest H., who married Percie Dunlap, and 
they have three children — Vernon, Doris 
and Maurice : Mary, who died at the age 
of twenty-seven years ; Bettie ; George, who 
died when aged twenty years; and Lee F., 
Theodore S.. Iva, Jennings and Fern. Mr. 
and Mrs. Myers are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, south. He is iden- 
tified with the Odd Fellows at Montgom- 
ery. 

RICHARD OSBORNE BAILLIE. civil 
and mining engineer and dealer in real es- 
tate at Hansford, W. Va., has lived in Kan^ 
awha County for thirty-three years and 
during the larger part of these has been 
engaged in work pertaining to his profes- 
sion. He was born August 18, 1861. at 
Racine, Wis., and is a son of Nathaniel A. 
and Mary Matilda (Bigelow) Baillie. 



900 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Nathaniel A. Baillie was born in Ireland, 
in 1826. After graduating in civil engi- 
neering from Trinity College, Dublin, he 
came to the United States in 1848 and set- 
tled in Western Pennsylvania, but subse- 
quently became prominently identified with 
railroad construction all over the United 
States. He was the U. S. civil engineer 
that built Lock No. 3, at Hansford, W. Va. 
His death occurred at Lewisburg, Septem- 
ber 17, 1892. He was married in Michigan 
to Mary Matilda Bigelow, who died Jan- 
uary 15, 1893, and they were the parents 
of five children, namely: Mary M., who 
died December 2, 1905; William, who died 
November 9, 1867; Nathaniel A., who was 
a physician, died March 22, 1889; Charles 
R., who died April 12, 1903; and Richard 
O., the only survivor. 

Richard O. Baillie accompanied the fam- 
ily in 1869 to Uniontown, Fayette County, 
Pa., and in 1872 from there to Baltimore, 
Md. At the age of sixteen years his father 
took him out of school in order to give him 
practical experience in engineering and 
from then until the death of the father they 
were associated in business and closely 
bound by the tie of kindred as well as iden- 
tical interests. When his father was sent 
to oversee and assist in the improving of 
the Great Kanawha River in West Virginia, 
he accompanied him and assisted in the con- 
struction of Lock No. 3. 

Mr. Baillie was married February 10, 
1883, to Miss Bettie Middleton Doddridge, 
only daughter of Philip and Sallie Hans- 
ford Doddridge, and granddaughter of Mrs. 
Felix G. Hansford, who, on that day cele- 
brated her ninety-second anniversary. The 
father of Mrs. Baillie was born at Wells- 
burg, Brook County, Va., a son of Philip 
and Juliana (Musser) Doddridge. He was 
a noted attorney and a prominent man in 
public affairs, serving for seven consecutive 
terms in the U. S. Congress. The mother 
of Mrs. Baillie was a daughter of Felix G. 
Hansford, Sr., and his parents were Major 
John and Jane (Morris) Hansford, the for- 
mer of whom gave the name to the present 
town of Hansford and erected the first 



house in the county with glass windows, 
outside of Charleston. The residence of 
Mr. and Mrs. Baillie was built in 1824 by 
Felix G. Hansford, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. 
Baillie have three children: Sallie D. ; 
Mary M., wife of J. Albert Schroeder, of 
Piqua, O. ; and Eleanor. The family be- 
longs to the Protestant Episcopal church. 
In politics Mr. Baillie is a Republican. 

JOHN H. BARRETT, president of the 
Barrett, Shipley & Co. department store, a 
large and prospering business enterprise of 
Charleston, W. Va., was born in Isle of 
Wight county, Va., in October, 1877, and 
is a son of Joseph Alfred and Alice (Crump- 
ler) Barrett. 

The Barretts have belonged to Virginia 
since prior to the Revolutionary war and 
the grandparents of John H. Barrett, John 
and Mary (Hancock) Barrett, spent their 
long lives in Isle of Wight county, living 
on their large plantation and being sub- 
stantial and representative people. They 
had eight children and all survive except 
Joseph Alfred, father of John H., who was 
born in 1849 and died in 1902. He followed 
farming and stock raising and became a 
man of considerable prominence in his dis- 
trict. He married into an old and aristo- 
cratic Virginia family and his widow now 
resides at Norfolk, Va. She was reared in 
the Baptist church, but after marriage 
united with her husband, with the Christian 
church. The five children born to this mar- 
riage were: D. P., who is a minister in the 
Christian church ; John H. ; Maggie E., who 
is the wife of F. H. Snipes, a railroad con- 
tractor; Eunice L.. who is a resident of 
Norfolk, Va. ; and Mills Pressley, who re- 
sides with his mother at Norfolk. 

John H. Barrett secured a good, practical 
education and then was trained along mer- 
cantile business lines. He came to Charles- 
ton from Baltimore, Md.. where he had 
been in the jobbing trade from 1901 until 
1905, and during the last two years had 
been the commercial representative of a 
dry goods house. His present business was 
established in 1905 at Charleston as a co- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



901 



partnership under the firm name of War- 
wick, Barrett & Shipley Company, and was 
incorporated with John J. Warwick as 
president; John H. Barrett as vice-presi- 
dent, and C. R. Shipley as secretary and 
treasurer. In July, 191 1, the outstanding 
stock was called in and Mr. Warwick re- 
tured and under the reorganization Mr. 
Barrett became president and secretary and 
Mr. Shipley, vice president and treasurer. 
It was capitalized at $50,000, with paid in 
capital of $25,000, for doing business as a 
department store, and its first quarters were 
in a building 25x125 feet in dimensions. In 
1907 a new building, just double in size 
was utilized and in 1910 an addition to these 
was completed, 75x120 feet, four stories in 
height. The present building is of solid 
steel frame and brick construction, has a 
frontage of 125 feet on Quarrier street, 120 
feet on Hale street, and 120 feet on Dickin- 
son street, three and four stories high, with 
basements, and two passenger and one 
freight elevator are in use. The immense 
stock is divided into fifty departments and 
here every want of a discriminating pubic 
can be supplied. This is one of the most 
modern establishments in the state. Their 
business is both retail and wholesale, the 
latter line including furniture and groceries. 

Mr. Barrett was married at Baltimore, 
Md., to Miss Sue Ward Clark, a daughter 
of James and Emma V. (Lumpkin) Clark, 
old Southern families of distinction. Mr. 
and Mrs. Barrett have one daughter, Vir- 
ginia Lumpkin, who was born September 
II, 1910. They are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. In politics a Dem- 
ocrat, Mr. Barrett gives his support to 
Democratic candidates but is no active poli- 
tician himself, his interests being mainly 
along business lines and in this connection 
he is a valued member of the Charleston 
Chamber of Commerce. 

NATHAN GUTHRIE,* who owns a val- 
uable farm of eighty-six acres, lying in 
Union district, seven miles west of Charles- 
ton, belongs to one of the old settled fami- 
lies of this section. He was born in Ka- 



nawha county, five miles northwest of 
Charleston, July 22, 1848, and is a son of 
John Guthrie and a grandson of James 
Guthrie, who was one of the pioneers of 
this county, being one of three brothers 
who emigrated to America from Ireland, the 
Scotch-Irish parents and other members of 
the family remaining at home. James 
Guthrie prospered in the new country and 
acquired an ample estate in what is now 
West Virginia. 

John Guthrie was born on his father's 
farm in Kanawha county, on which his son 
Nathan was later born, and obtained his 
education in the early subscription schools. 
He remaned at home with his father and 
when he came into possession had 533 
acres, all of which land is still owned by his 
heirs. He cleared the larger part of this 
property and as he had natural mechanical 
ability was able to erect his own buildings, 
doing even the stonemason's work. He 
was a man of enterprise and vigor, and not- 
withstanding much hard work, he lived to 
be ninety-three years of age, his death oc- 
curring on February 14, 1910. His wife 
had died ten years previously. Their burial 
was on the home farm, as was then a gen- 
eral custom and with many families an ex- 
clusive privilege. In politics he was a 
Democrat and he served as a trustee of his 
school district. In his later years he was 
a member of the Church of the Latter Day 
Saints. 

John Guthrie married Mary Wallace, who 
was a daughter of Alexander Wallace, a 
native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a family 
of eleven children was born to them, as fol- 
lows : Alexander, Harriet, Nancy, Louisa, 
Nathan, Virginia, Carolina, F. J., John I., 
S. A., and William G. Nancy and Louisa 
died young. The mother of the above 
mentioned family was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

Nathan Guthrie attended school with 
some regularity in Union district until he 
was about sixteen years of age, after which 
he exerted his young strength in the hard 
work that is necessary in properly taking 
care of land and stock. That he never over- 



902 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



strained himself was owing perhaps to good 
luck, for he has always been very industri- 
ous and has possessed a robust constitution, 
and now can do more hard work in a day 
than two men can ordinarily accomplish. 
He continued to live in Kanawha county 
for twenty years following his marriage and 
then moved to Cleveland county, Okla., 
but two years later returned to his native 
county and purchased his present farm in 
Union district, fifty-five acres of which is 
finely cultivated. He put up all the sub- 
stantial buildings on the place and has made 
the excellent improvements. Mr. Guthrie 
takes no active interest in politics but casts 
his vote with the Democratc party. He has 
been ordained to the priesthood in the 
Church of the Latter Day Saints. 

Mr. Guthrie was married in 1868 to Miss 
Rachel Lewis, who was born in Nicholas 
county, a daughter of George Lewis, and 
they have had a family of eight children 
born to them, namely: Silas, who is now 
deceased; Monroe; Miles G, who is now 
deceased ; Fred, who married Aldie Gertie 
Crews; Mary, who is deceased; Jesse, who 
married Delia Carter; John, who married 
Mabel Sawyer, and lives in Oklahoma ; and 
Mettie, who is unmarried. 

BEVERLY N. BURRUSS, who has 
been engaged in the mercantile business at 
Spring Hill, W. Va., for some twenty-seven 
years and is identified with the leading in- 
terests of the place, was born November 
14, 1853, n Goochland county, Va., and is a 
son of Rodger D. and Elizabeth Ann Bur- 
russ. 

The parents of Mr. Burruss were also 
born in Virginia and there the father died 
at the age of seventy-six years. He was a 
man of culture and education and during 
the larger part of his life was an educator. 
The mother survives, being now in her sev- 
enty-sixth year. Five sons and four daugh- 
ters were born to them, the family record 
reading as follows: Josephine, deceased; 
Olivia, wife of Benjamin McClelland of 
Richmond, Va. ; Lottie, wife of Arthur Cha- 
pin, of Richmond ; Lula, wife of Parker 



Lacy, a farmer near Louisa Court House; 
William Joseph, deceased; Walter james, 
a miller, living in Virginia; Rodger, a car- 
penter, living at Richmond; and Beverly N. 

Prior to coming to Kanawha county, Mr. 
Burruss was variously engaged after his 
school period was over, and in 1884 he em- 
barked in the mercantile business at Spring 
Hill, in which he has been continuously en- 
gaged with the exception of two years. He 
has partners in his present enterprise which 
is known as the Spring Hill Grocery Com- 
pany, the stockholders being B. N. Burruss 
and A. R. Shepherd, the latter of whom is 
postmaster at Spring Hill, Mr. Burruss be- 
ing assistant postmaster. With the excep- 
tion of a serious loss by fire at one time, 
the business has prospered and is an im- 
portant one in the commercial life of the 
place. 

Mr. Burruss was married in 1884, to Miss 
Mary Josephine Ellett, a daughter of Wm. 
H. Ellett, of Fife, Va., and they have had 
five children born to them, namely: Annie 
Fenton; Norval Hansford, who is a billing 
clerk in the offices of the C. & O. Railroad 
at Catlettsburg, Ky. ; Mary B., who is the 
wife of James Feamster, of Middleport, O. ; 
Josephine and William Frederick, both of 
whom are students at Charleston. Mr. 
Burruss and family attend the Methodist 
church. He is a Democrat in his political 
views. 

JAMES EDWARD HANSHAW. of the 
firm of Hanshaw Brothers, No. 102 Charles- 
ton street, Charleston, W. Va., was born on 
his father's farm in Clay county, W. Va., 
May 6, 1873, and is a son of Francis and 
Polly Ann (Bloomer) Hanshaw. 

Francis Hanshaw was born in Clay 
county, then in Virginia, near the Kanawha 
county line, and was a son of J. Hanshaw. 
who moved to Kanawha county. The lat- 
ter owned a boat that he navigated on the 
different rivers and in later years went to 
Missouri. Francis Hanshaw remained in 
Clay county until the opening of the Civil 
war, when he became a soldier. After three 
years of service he returned to Clav county 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



903 



and married and then engaged in farming, 
moving later to a rented farm in Cooper's 
Creek, in Kanawha county. The family 
then spent two years in Texas but subse- 
quently took up their residence in Kanawha 
county and the father now owns a farm on 
Sugar Creek in partnership with his sons. 
Of his children, James Edward is the 
youngest, the others being named as fol- 
lows, all but three surviving: Mary, who 
is the wife of William Tulley; David; Jo- 
sephine, deceased, who was the wife of 
Clinton Copeland ; Anna, deceased, who 
was the wife of Jacob Kessler; Maggie, 
who is the wife of Alfred Rogers; and Ber- 
tha, Amos, George W., Robert and William 
M., Robert dying at the age of seven years. 

James E. Hanshaw was fourteen years of 
age when the family came to Kanawha 
county, where he remained, not accompany- 
ing his father to Texas. When he was 
seventeen years old he became a street car 
driver and thus continued for two years, 
when electricity was installed and he then 
turned his attention in another direction. 
For one year he traveled for the firm of L. 
Bluestein & Co., buying ginseng, wool and 
hides. He then embarked in the meat busi- 
ness, opening his store in 1901, in partner- 
ship with S. Ellis, under the firaname of 
Hanshaw & Ellis, two years later buying 
the Ellis interest. He then admitted H. B. 
Graham as a partner and for two years the 
firm style was Hanshaw & Graham. In 
February, 191 1, William M. Hanshaw 
bought the Graham interest and since then 
the firm style has been Hanshaw Bros. In 
1906 they took possession of their present 
commodious quarters and here they have a 
large trade. They do their own butchering 
and attend personally to the business, 
James E. being the inside man and William 
M. operating a wagon. They have many 
particular customers who much prefer home 
cured meats to the packing house products. 

Mr. Hanshaw was married in 1895 to 
Augusta R. Cooper, a daughter of W. J. 
and Electa Cooper, and they have four 
children : Cora Belle, Earl, Norris and Mil- 
dred. The family residence is at No. 530 



Wyoming street. Mr. Hanshaw belongs 
to the order of Maccabees and to the Amer- 
ican Mechanics. 

WILLIAM D. LEWIS, retired lumberman 
and one of the well-to-do residents of Charles- 
ton, was born near Maiden, Kanawha county, 
W. Va., June 21, 1850, son of John D. and 
Betty (Darneal) Lewis. His immigrant an- 
cestor came to America from the north of Ire- 
land and was of Scotch-Irish blood. 

Charles Lewis, son of the immigrant, was 
born in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. He 
enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812-15, 
subsequently became a colonel, and was killed 
at the battle of Point Pleasant, in Mason 
county, (now) W. Va. He left a family, in- 
cluding Charles Lewis, Jr., the grandfather of 
our subject, who was a young man at the time 
of his father's death. 

Charles Lewis, Jr. settled in Mason county, 
near Point Pleasant, on the Ohio river, which 
had been the scene of his father's death. Here 
he followed agriculture. He married and had 
a small family, among whom was John D., the 
father of William D. Lewis. 

John D. Lewis was born in the Old Do- 
minion in the year 1800 and died at Kanawha 
Salines, a mile below Maiden, this county, in 
December, 1882. He was but a boy when his 
parents settled in Mason county where he was 
reared. Later he came to the Salines on the 
Kanawha river and engaged in the business 
of salt making, being among the firsl to en- 
gage in that industry here. He also became 
a large land owner, owning in his own right 
70,000 acres of timber land, underlaid with 
fine coal deposits, though the latter source of 
wealth was then unsuspected. This land, much 
of which he obtained for an almost nominal 
price, is now worth millions on account of its 
coal and timber. He was a successful and 
wealthy man and at one time owned as many 
as 100 slaves. He was a very well known 
and highly esteemed citizen and was once a 
delegate to the legislature. He died on his own 
estate at the age of eighty-two years and his 
funeral was attended by almost everybody, 
white and black, for miles around. A man of 
great energy, he was accustomed to ride twenty 



904 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



miles from his home to Charleston to attend 
court, returning the same day. While insist- 
ing upon industry in his servants, he was never 
a hard master but was always kind to them. 
He was always ready and willing to help any- 
one who needed assistance, provided they 
showed a disposition to help themselves. In 
politics he was first a W T hig and later a Dem- 
ocrat, and religiously he was a most staunch 
member of the Episcopal church. 

John D. Lewis was four times married, first 
to Miss Shrewsbury, who died in early life, 
leaving one son Joel S., now deceased, who 
was married and left five children. The sec- 
ond marriage of John D. Lewis was to Ann 
Dickinson, who died in the prime of life, leav- 
ing three children, namely, Charles C. ; Sallie 
J., residing on Virginia street, Charleston, 
who is the widow of H. Clay Dickinson, and 
has three children; and Mary D.. wife of John 
Q. Dickinson, the well known business man 
and financier of Charleston, who has two sons. 

John D. Lewis was married the third time 
in this county to Betty Darneal, a native of 
Kentucky. She died in 1851, when under 
thirty years. She was the mother of two chil- 
dren, Julia D. and William D., the latter be- 
ing the direct subject of this sketch. The for- 
mer, Julia D., is the wife of Jarhes M. H. 
Beale, an extensive farmer of Point Pleasant. 
They have six children, namely : Charles. 
William L., Thompson, V. M., Julia M., Jose- 
phine and Rebecca. 

John D. Lewis's fourth marriage was with 
Mrs. Sarah Spears, a native of Virginia, 
whose first husband was killed while serving 
in the Confederate army. By him she had a 
daughter, who is now married and resides in 
Birmingham, Ala. 

William D. Lewis was educated at Wash- 
ington-Lee University, at Lexington. Ya. and 
since his graduation has kept in close touch 
with his alma mater, of which he was made a 
trustee in 1907. After his student days were 
over he became identified with the lumber in- 
dustry, looking after the timber lands left by 
his father and operating as a lumber manufac- 
turer. He retired some time ago from active 
participation in this industry and is now prac- 
tically retired, residing in a pleasant home at 



No. 417 Broad Street. He is, however, in- 
terested in the firm of Hubbard-Bedell, whole- 
sale grocers of Charleston. He is an elder 
in the First Presbyterian church and in poli- 
tics is a Democrat. 

Mr. Lewis was married in Maiden, this 
county, thirty years ago to Jennie G. Stanley, 
who was born, reared and educated in Kana- 
wha county. She is a daughter of Joel Stan- 
ley, who passed nearly all his life in Kanawha 
county and who died near Maiden when ad- 
vanced in years. Mrs. Lewis's mother is also 
deceased. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis 
are as follows: William D. Lewis, Jr., resid- 
ing in Charleston; is unmarried. John D., 
also unmarried, is a commercial man in the 
employ of the Hubbard-Bedell Company. 
Linn, a daughter, who was educated in Lewis- 
burg, W. Va., resides at home with her pa- 
rents and is unmarried. Brown is now a 
student in Washington-Lee University, Class 
of 19 1 2. Julia Beale, is attending the city 
high school, being a member of the class of 
I9I3- 

HON. WILLIAM SYDNEY LAIDLEY, 
a prominent citizen of Charleston, W. Va. and 
author of this history of Kanawha County, 
is by descent, from the Laidlaws of Ayrshire, 
Scotland ; and from Baron Jost Hire of 
Strawsburg, Germany ; there is also a mingling 
of English and French blood in his veins from 
the Scales and Du Bois, — to some one of these 
nationalities he is indebted for his humor and 
his artistic and literary taste; so marked in 
the man. He was born June 27, 1839 at 
"Lamartine," the Laidley homestead, in Cabell 
County, Va. He was the seventh son of John 
Osborn Laidley and Mary Scales Hite. His 
schoolmates dubbed him "Doc," remembering 
the old saying "the seventh son must be a doc- 
tor." He attended school at Marshall Col- 
lege until he was nearly grown, then went to 
North Carolina to assist his brother, Col. T. 
T. S. Laidley, commander of the arsenal at 
Fayetteville, N. C. After his father's death 
in 1863, Mr. Laidley came to Kanawha (at 
the earnest solicitation of his brother-in-law, 
Judge George W. Summers) : he entered his 
office and read law with him, in 1865 was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



905 



admitted to the Bar, and the firm of Summers 
and Laidley was formed but did not last for 
many years, as the Judge's health failed and 
in 1868 he died. Then Mr. Laidley and Col. 
W. H. Hogeman (a talented young lawyer 
'from New York) formed the new firm of 
Laidley and Hogeman. This continued for 
seventeen years. Besides their general prac- 
tice they were attorneys for the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Railroad and interested themselves 
in all public matters of importance — legal, so- 
cial, and political. In 1885 Col. Hogeman 
died, and Mr. Laidley was again left alone, 
lamenting the loss of a congenial friend and 
able partner. He declined all proposals of 
new partnerships, remaining in the office by 
himself until the present time, when he has 
his son associated with him under the title of 
Laidley & Laidley. Mr. Laidley has been a 
resident of Kanawha for nearly fifty years and 
has seen the many changes that have swept 
over Charleston, how the little aristocratic 
village grew to the beautiful cosmopolitan city 
of to-day, and has ever been interested in her 
welfare, her citizens and her beauty, doing his 
share to help the home of his adoption. 

He has followed his profession industriously, 
especially practicing, with pleasure and suc- 
cess in the Appellant Courts of the state, but 
still has found time to serve the town, as City 
Solicitor and as a Councilman for years and 
the County as Judge of the County Court to 
which office he was elected in 1900, when ev- 
ery other Democrat was defeated. During 
his term of office, the present Court House was 
erected, the road to Sissonville rebuilt and many 
other permanent improvements made, showing 
the wisdom and good management of the 
Court. He resigned before his term expired. 
He was elected to the legislature and served 
in the sessions of 1872 and '73. Ever a 
staunch Democrat, serving his party when and 
where he could, never bitter or vindictive, he 
always had many friends among his op- 
ponents. For years he was either the Chair- 
man or the Secretary of the County Demo- 
cratic Executive Committee and had much to 
do with the success of the party. In the coun- 
cils of the Church he was well known too; 
many times he was sent as a delegate to the 



Diocesan Councils and to the National Coun- 
cil — the General Convention of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. As a man he is quiet and 
unpretentious, genial in manner, with a keen 
sense of humor and fine appreciation of a good 
joke, clear and concise in his arguments, hon- 
est and true in his dealing with all men, in- 
heriting his father's integrity and love of jus- 
tice and disgust with all that is mean and 
tricky, a great reader, always happy with his 
books and especially fond of historical research. 
He was a member of the Historical Society 
while it lasted arid editor of the Historical 
Magazine, doing much of the writing himself 
and stirring up others to good works, thus 
preserving much of interest and value in the 
history of the state, for future generations 
that would otherwise have been lost. 

He never sought an office, but when elected 
he served honestly and ably, thinking only of 
the good of the public and not of his own ag- 
grandizement. With much labor he has gath- 
ered from many sources the facts presented in 
this valuable history and transcribed them, 
thus saving from oblivion much interesting 
data that every Kanawhaian will appreciate. 

J. R. BOHANNON 

CHARLES D. BURDETTE, who is one 
of Charleston's enterprising and able young 
business men, secretary and treasurer of 
the W. F. Shawver Company, No. 620 
Kanawha Street, has resided in this city 
since the spring of 1895 and has been iden- 
tified with business interests here. He was 
born on his father's farm in Greenbrier 
County. W. Va., May 14, 1870, and is a 
son of Lewis and a grandson of Miles Bur- 
dette. 

The Burdette family is of English extrac- 
tion and probably the father of Miles Bur- 
dette was the first of the name to settle in 
Virginia. Lewis Burdette was a child when 
the family became established in Green- 
brier County, where he grew to manhood, 
married and continued to live until he was 
thirty-five years of age, when he moved with 
his family to Roane County and followed farm- 
ing there for six years, afterward returning to 
Greenbrier County and purchasing the 



906 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



farm on which he spent the rest of his life, 
his death occurring in 1898, at the age of 
sixty-nine years. His widow survives and 
makes her home with her son in Greenbrier 
County. The family consisted of four chil- 
dren : Etta, who died when aged twelve 
years ; Charles D. ; Clouny V. ; and Xancy 
A., who is the wife of Charles A. Surbaugh, 
residing in Greenbrier County. 

Charles D. Burdette was educated in the 
public schools and also attended a business 
college at Danville, Ind., after which he 
taught several terms of school in Green- 
brier County. Shortly after coming to 
Charleston in April, 1895, he entered the 
offices of the firm with which he is now 
officially connected, and worked four years 
in the home office and then went out for this 
firm as a commercial traveler. In 1901 he 
was admitted to a partnership, the firm 
name being then W. F. Shawver & Co., the 
present style being adopted when the busi- 
ness was incorporated in 1903, and Mr. 
Burdette has been secretary and treasurer 
since that time. He has always been an 
active citizen but -not particularly along po- 
litical lines although he is a stanch Demo- 
crat. 

On February 22, 191 1, Mr. Burdette was 
married to Miss Elizabeth Lory, a daugh- 
ter of Fred Lory, of Charleston. They re- 
side at No. 509 Capitol Street, Charleston. 
He is a member of the U. C. T., and of the 
K. of P. and the D. O. K. K., all of 
Charleston. 

WILLIAM R. JARRETT* superintend- 
ent of the U. S. Mails at the Charleston, 
W. Va. Post Office, has been identified with 
the post office here since 1895, under sev- 
eral administrations and has been thor- 
oughly trained for his present responsible 
position. He was born at Charleston, No- 
vember 21, 1876, and is a grandson of Will- 
iam Jarrett and a son of Strawther and 
Nancy (Young) Jarrett. 

William Jarrett was born in Kanawha 
County and spent the greater part of his 
life on the Elk River, in Elk District, late 
in life retiring to Charleston, where he con- 



ducted a hotel on Kanawha Street for some 
years. He married a member of the At- 
kinson family, to which former Governor 
Atkinson also belonged, and they reared 
a large family. They were members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. In early 
days he was a W hig in politics and later be- 
came a Republican and one of his brothers, 
John Wise Jarrett, served through the Civil 
War in the Federal Army. 

Strawther Jarrett was born in 1848, in 
Elk District, and died at Charleston, June 
22, 1898. For some years he was engaged 
in manufacturing barrels for the salt trade, 
being a practical cooper, and afterward be- 
came connected with gas manufacturing 
for the city of Charleston and his life cov- 
ered the period that saw natural gas sup- 
planting the artificial commodity. Although 
he was no politician, he contributed his vote 
in support of Republican policies and can- 
didates. He married Nancy Young, who 
was born in 1852, near Charleston and is a 
resident of this city, a member of the family 
of her son, William R. She is a devout 
Methodist as was her husband. To Straw- 
ther Jarrett and wife two children were 
born: William R. and Ida F. The latter is 
the wife of E. W. Waugh, who is manager 
of the Colonial Amusement Company of 
Huntington. AY Va., and they have one 
daughter, Alise. 

William R. Jarrett was educated in the 
Charleston schools and before he com- 
pleted his High School course, was given a 
position in the Charleston Post Office and 
has served under four postmasters: Kenna, 
Petty, Dana and Hudson, for four years 
being manager of the registry department, 
and being advanced to his present position 
in 1908. In political affiliations he is a Re- 
publican. He belongs to Lodge No. 20. 
Kanawha A. F. & A. M.. and also to the 
National Insurance Union. 

PETER H. CAMP, justice of the peace 
for a number of years at Clendenin. W. Va.. 
and an attorney with a good practice, is 
also interested in the real estate business. 
He was born May 26, 1873. near Walton. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



907 



Roane County, W. Va., a son of John A. 
and Virginia (Hammock) Camp, and a 
grandson of St. Clair Hammock, of a well 
known Roane County family. 

John A. Camp was born in Monroe 
County, Va., sixty-two years ago, and is 
now an active business man in the State of 
Washington, where he is interested in lum- 
ber. He followed farming in Roane Coun- 
ty until 1898, when he moved to the West. 
He married Virginia Hammock, and they 
have had twelve children born to them, 
Peter H. being the second oldest. The 
other members of the family are : Ulysses 
S., who is a resident of Milwaukee; Ida, 
who is the wife of Scott Hickman, of Roane 
County; Mary A., who is the wife of T. A. 
Gandee, of Arizona ; William A., who lives 
at Clendenin ; Cora E.., who is the wife of 
W. Fisher, of Roane County; Rebecca, who 
lives in Wetzel County ; Margaret, who is 
the wife of F. Lawrence of Roane County; 
Henry A., who is a resident of Charleston; 
Gertrude, whose home is at Akron, O. ; 
and Emmerson, who continues to live in 
Roane County. 

After he had completed his school at- 
tendance, Peter H. Camp engaged in 
farming until he was twenty-four years old 
and for three years afterward was employed 
on public construction work and then filled 
the position of weigher in the coal mines 
for the Elk Coal Company for three years, 
and it was during this time that he com- 
pleted his course in law by utilizing his 
spare moments in study with the National 
Correspondence School of Indianapolis, 
Ind. He then opened a law office at Clen- 
denin and has built up a remunerative prac- 
tice. He is a Republican in politics and in 
1908 was elected a justice of the peace. He 
is a^o local agent for the Union Accident 
Insurance Company and along every line 
is one of the town's enterprising and pro- 
gressive men. 

Mr. Camp was married to Miss Sallie 
Lynch, who was born August 12, 1877, in 
Roane County, a daughter of John W. and 
Mary (Looney) Lynch, and they have 
three children: Mary Dulcie. Macil and 



Orville, all at school. Mr. Camp is iden- 
tified with the Red Men at Clendenin; the 
Senior Order of American Mechanics at 
Walton, W. Va., and the Junior Order of 
this organization, at Berrien Creek, AW Va. 

MARION SNODGRASS,* who is owner 
and proprietor of a general store at Mar- 
met, formerly called Brownstown, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., was born near this place 
March 12, 1853, and is a son of Thomas and 
Eliza (Price) Snodgrass. 

Thomas Snodgrass, who was a farmer in 
Kanawha County from early manhood until 
his death, at the age of twenty-four years, was 
born in Giles County, Va. He married Eliza 
Price and they had six children born to them, 
namely: Benjamin, who died at the age of 
twenty-two years ; Letha, who resides at Pa- 
tonia, in Boone County, the wife of J. C. Edle- 
man; Lucinda, who is the wife of Fred Til- 
ton and lives at Kingston; Marion; Fenton, 
who is deceased, and an infant also deceased. 

Marion Snodgrass attended the old log 
school-house in the neighborhood of his 
father's farm in boyhood, and then was en- 
gaged in farming for some years, after which, 
some thirty-four years ago he opened his gen- 
eral store and has continued it on the same site 
ever since. At one time he operated a sec- 
ond store in the center of the town but as this 
section became more closely settled, sold his 
other etablishment. He is also an undertaker 
and carries in stock a full line of undertaking 
goods, owns a funeral car and takes personal 
charge of all funeral directing. He owns his 
own buildings and a considerable amount of 
other property at Marmet, together with lands 
at Henshaw, St. Albans and Andalia and a 
farm in Boone County. 

Mr. Snodgrass married Miss Rachel Har- 
less, a native of Virginia, and they have had 
the following children : Virginia, who died 
February 24, 191 1, was the wife of Smith 
Hayhurst, and they had three children, all now- 
deceased ; Alice, who is the wife of B. W. 
Welaker, lives at Shelin and they have three 
children ; William, who is deceased ; William 
H., who is a railroad man, married Jessie J. 
Fowler, of Russell, Ky. ; and Blanche, who re- 



908 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



sides at home. Mr. Snoclgrass and family are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
south. Politically he is a Democrat and he 
served six years in the office of constable. He 
belongs to the order of American Mechanics. 

JAMES R. THOMAS, president of the 
Carbon Fuel Company, a business corpora- 
tion with vast interests in Cabin Creek 
District, Kanawha County, W. Va., has ad- 
ditional business connections at other points 
and is one of the men of large affairs in the 
commercial world today. He was born in 
Virginia, a son of Rufus W. and Sarah F. 
(Hopkins) Thomas. The mother died 
some years since but the father survives and 
is a remarkable example of vigorous old 
age, at the age of eighty-seven years not 
hesitating to attempt a horseback ride of 
twenty-five miles. He served in the Civil 
War in a Virginia regiment and at one time 
was severely wounded. For fifty years he 
has been an elder in the Presbyterian 
church. 

The Carbon Fuel Company started into 
business as active miners in 1902 and James 
R. Thomas has been the only president, 
while Charles A. Cabell is secretary and 
treasurer and W. J. MaGee is general man- 
ager. The company was organized to open 
mines and produce and sell coal. The company 
owns the Carbon Coal Company, the West 
Virginia Colliery Company, the Republic 
Coal Company and others, and the aggre- 
gate of their investment is more than $1,- 
000,000. The mines are all located in the 
Cabin Creek District on the C. & O. Rail- 
road, there being thirteen mines with a ca- 
pacity of 2,000,000 tons of coal per year. 
The business is divided into two depart- 
ments, the operating and the selling, the 
former being under charge of C. A. Cabell, 
with headquarters at Carbon. W. Va.. and 
the latter in charge of W. J. MaGee, with 
headquarters at the office of the Carbon 
Fuel Company in the Traction Building at 
Cincinnati, O. President Thomas divides 
his attention between both ends of the bus- 
iness. The number of employes varies from 
1.000 to 1,500 people. The various compa- 



nies own and operate 10,500 acres of land 
lying on the head waters of Cabin Creek 
extending into Kanawha and Fayette 
counties. The coal produced from these 
mines is of high grade and is sold largely to 
traction lines, railroad companies and man- 
ufacturers in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois, quantities going to the docks on 
the great lakes during the summer months. 

WILLIAM GORDON MATHEWS,* a 
w ell known attorney of Charleston, a member 
uf the firm of Mollohan, McClintic & 
Maihews, and a man who has taken a prom- 
inent part in public life, was born in Green- 
brier county, W. Va., in 1877, a son of Henry- 
Mason and Lucy (Fry) Mathews. The 
branch of the Matbews family now settled in 
West Virginia is descended from Thomas 
Mathews, a Welshman, who served in the 
British navy under Admiral Bing (1751). 

Capt. John Mathews, son of the naval of- 
ficer, emigrated to America in 1730, settling 
in Augusta county, Va. His son, Capt. George 
Mathews, born 1739. commanded a company 
of regular soldiers at the battle of Point Pleas- 
ant, Va., in October, 1774. Later Capt. 
George Mathews went to the state of Georgia, 
where he became a leading citizen and was 
elected governor, serving from 1780 to 1794. 
His death took place in 1812. 

The direct line of descent to the subject of 
this sketch is represented in the next genera- 
tion by Joseph Mathews, a nephew of Capt. 
George Mathews, and great grandfather of 
William Gordon Mathews. Joseph was a 
merchant and farmer and a much respected 
citizen of Greenbrier county, where he spent 
his entire life and was married. His wife in 
maidenhood was Mary Edgar, a daughter of 
James and Man* (Mason) Edgar, of Rock- 
bridge county, Va.. and they were the parents 
of several children, including Mason, our sub- 
ject's grandfather. 

Mason Mathews was born at Lewisburg, 
Va. (now W. Va.). in 1804 and died at his 
native place in 1878. He was a man prom- 
inent in the public affairs of Greenbrier 
county. He held many local offices, was a 
member of the County Court, and by virtue 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



909 



of that office a commissioner, and was a dele- 
gate to the Virginia legislature just previous 
!o the Civil war, being in sympathy with the 
cause of secession. He was one of the largest 
landholders in Greenbrier county. 

He was married in his native county to 
Eliza Shore Reynolds, a daughter of Thomas 
Bird and Sally Ann (McDowell) Reynolds, 
and a member of an old and prominent fam- 
ily. They were the parents of seven children : 
Mary, Henry Mason, Alexander, Sallie, Eliza, 
Joseph William, and Virginia Amanda,— 
whose record in brief is as follows : Mary mar- 
ried Richard Manzy, who was for many years 
editor of the Staunton (Va.) Spectator, and 
both are now deceased. They left two daugh- 
ters — Birdie and Christiana. Henry Mason 
was the father of the subject of this sketch and 
will be again referred to herein. Alexander, 
formerly president of the Lewisburg Bank, of 
Lewisburg, W. Va., died in 1907. He was 
also one of West Virginia's eminent lawyers, 
and was prominent in public life. A Demo- 
crat in politics, he was a delegate to the Na- 
tional convention of his party which nomi- 
nated Grover Cleveland in 1892, and was a 
presidential elector in 1904. He married 
Laura Gardner, of Christiansburg, Va., who 
is also now deceased. Their living children 
are Mason, Charles, Henry A. and Patty, all 
of whom are prominent members of society. 
Mary Miller, Florence and Maude, the other 
children of Alexander, died after attaining 
maturity. Sallie (daughter of Mason and 
Eliza S. Reynolds) married Henry Dunn, who 
is now deceased. She resides in Lewisburg 
with her daughter Hannah. Eliza married 
Andrew Mathews, of Pulaski county, Va., who 
spent the latter years of his life in farming in 
Greenbrier county, but is now deceased. She 
resides in Lewisburg, her children being An- 
drea (an unmarried daughter residing in 
Philadelphia), and Elizabeth Shore, wife of 
David Lloyd of New York City. Joseph Will- 
iam, now deceased, married Rose C. Mc- 
Veigh, of Baltimore, Md. His widow sur- 
vives and has four surviving children. Her 
son. John W., married Anna McVeigh, who 
is now deceased. Another son, Joseph Will- 
iam, was cashier of the bank of Lewisburg, 



W. Va., from its organization until his death 
in 1897. 

Virginia Amanda married Dr. Alfred S. 
Patrick, of Kanawha county, a son of Spicer 
Patrick, one of the most prominent citizens of 
this county. Dr. Alfred S. Patrick was a prom- 
inent physician of Charleston, and served 
throughout the Civil war as surgeon in the 
226. Virginia Regiment. Dr. Patrick died 
leaving three children, namely : Lieut-Col. Ma- 
son Mathews Patrick, of the United States En- 
gineer Corps, who married Miss Grace Cooley, 
of Plainfield, N. J.; Virginia S. Patrick, 
who married Joseph W. Hill, of Dayton, Ohio ; 
and Mary Maud Patrick, a teacher in the high 
school at Charleston. 

Gov. Henry Mason Mathews was born in 
Frank ford, Greenbrier county, West Virginia 
(then Virginia), in 1834 and rounded out an 
active and distinguished career of half a cen- 
tury, dying April 24, 1884. He prepared 
for college at Lewisburg Academy and was 
afterwards graduated from the University of 
Virginia with the degree of B. A. While at 
the University he studied law and he later 
continued the study of that profession under 
Judge John W. Brockenborough at Lexington, 
Va., graduating with the degree of Bachelor 
of Laws. He began the practice of his pro- 
fession in Lewisburg in 1857, but subsequently 
accepted the chair of History, Modern Lan- 
guages and Literature in his Alma Mater, at 
the same time however, continuing to prac- 
tice in the courts. 

In 1861 he volunteered for service in the 
Confederate army and saw three years of ac- 
tive service in the field, gaining the rank of 
major of artillery. He took part in many hot 
engagements and was in every sense a veteran 
soldier when "the war closed. Elected to the 
State Senate after his return home, he was 
unable to take his seat because he could not 
take the required oath that he "had not aided 
or abetted the rebellion." 

In 1872 he was elected attorney general of 
West Virginia and served in that office credit- 
ably for four years. In the same year also — 
1872 — he was a member of the Constitutional 
Convention. In 1876 he was elected governor 
of West Virginia by the largest majority ever 



910 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



given a candidate in this state. His superior 
educational attainments rendered him pecu- 
liarly well qualified to serve in this high office 
and his administration was all that could be 
desired and reflected great credit both on him- 
self, his party and the state. 

Gov. Mathews married Lucy, daughter of 
Judge John M. Fry, an eminent lawyer of 
Wheeling, W. Va., the marriage taking place 
in November, 185 1. She was a granddaugh- 
ter of Joshua Fry, who was a professor in 
William and Mary College and subsequently 
colonel of the First Infantry regiment serving 
under General Braddock in the French and In- 
dian war, and of which George Washington 
was Lieut-Colonel. Her maternal grand- 
father was Rev. John Mcllvaney, D. D., who 
was the founder of the Presbyterian church in 
the Great Kanawha Valley, and who was pas- 
tor of the "Old Stone Church" at Lewisburg, 
built in 1789, for sixty years. 

Gov. Henry Mason Mathews and wife had 
three children — William Gordon, Lucile Jo- 
sephine, and Laura Hearn, the last mentioned 
of 'whom died in 1897, at the age of eighteen 
years. Lucile Josephine is a graduate of New 
Windsor College, of New Windsor, Md., and 
resides with her brother in Charleston. 

William Gordon Mathews, after the usual 
period of public school attendance, became a 
student at Lewisburg Military Academy, and 
subsequently at Washington College, in the 
Law Department, being later graduated from 
the University of Virginia at Charlotteville, in 
the class of 1897 when only twenty years of 
age. The following year, being then of age, 
he was admitted to practice, and coming to 
Charleston, became a member of the firm of 
Mollohan. McClintic & Mathews, this being 
in iqoo. In 1908 he was nominated by accla- 
mation, on the Democratic ticket, as candidate 
for the office of Judge of the Supreme Court 
of Appeals, but lost the election by a small 
maiority. He has been a delegate to even- 
state convention of his party ever since he was 
twenty-two years old. and was an alternate 
deWate to the National convenion at St. 
Loin's in 1904. He takes a keen interest in 
public affairs and is a strong worker for his 
party. As a lawyer he has gained an excel- 



lent reputation, the firm of which he is a mem- 
ber being one of the strongest legal combina- 
tions in the county. 

On January 28, 1903 Mr. Mathews was mar- 
ried to Miss Helen Bradley Davis, who was 
born in Charleston, W. Va., and was educated 
in the city schools. Her parents were F. O. 
M. and Margaret (Stockton) Davis, the lat- 
ter of whom is still living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Mathews are prominent in the social circles of 
Charleston. They have two children — Lewel- 
lyn, born January 30, 1904; and Helen Clay- 
ton, born January 11, 1908. 

JAMES B. WEIR, coal, oil and gas op- 
erator, is one of the busy men of affairs in 
Kanawha County. W. Va.. and a potent 
force in the business circles of Charleston, 
of which city he has been a resident for the 
past ten years. He was born in the city 
of New York, which, in spite of the many 
social claims and business advantages pre- 
sented him by this section of West Vir- 
ginia, he still calls home. He was edu- 
cated in the great metropolis and was 
trained in business methods in that world's 
center. 

The Weir family has been interested for 
many years in the development of the great 
natural resources of the Kanawha Valley 
and the father of James B. Weir, James B. 
Weir, a New York capitalist, for the last 
fifty years has been identified with coal and 
oil production in this section. With his 
family he was concerned in the building of 
the Elk & Gauley Railroad, and the Weirs 
shipped the first oil ever sent out of Kan- 
awha County, which they produced from 
their own wells. 

James B. Weir is treasurer and secretary 
of the Falling Rock Cannel Coal Company, 
which was incorporated in 1893, w ' tri R- W. 
Weir as president, and has prospered from 
the first. In addition to developing the 
eleven wells which are now producing, can- 
nel coal mines are also operated. Mr. Weir is 
also president of the Elk & Gauley Rail- 
road and has additional business interests, 
all of which are managed with the quiet, 
efficient, systematic methods which mark 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



911 



the trained and successful business man. 
Genial, although ever busy, Mr. Weir is a 
man of agreeable personality and he and 
family are welcome in the social circles of 
Charleston. He was married in New York, 
to Miss Rosamond Floyd Macdonald, and 
they have one son, Donald. 

JAMES VINTON JORDAN,* farmer in 
Elk District, Kanawha County, W. Va., 
who was born in Poca District, August 20, 
1865, is a member of a well known family of 
this section. He is a son of Wesley and a 
grandson of Woodson Jordan, the latter 
being one of the first to settle in this part 
of Kanawha County and the founder of the 
family here. 

Woodson Jordan was born in North Car- 
olina and died when aged sixty-seven years. 
Wesley Jordan, son of Woodson and father 
of James V. Jordan was born also in North 
Carolina, March 8, 1830, and died in 1896, 
aged sixty-seven years. He followed farm- 
ing and stock raising. In 1850 he married 
Martha Cavender, born June 10, 1830, in 
Kanawha County, daughter of Andrew and 
Nancy (Caldwell) Cavender, the Caldwells 
being natives of Ohio. After marriage, 
W r esley Jordan lived on Tupper's Creek for 
twenty years and then moved" to Elk Dis- 
trict on the farm now owned by his son, 
James Vinton Jordan. He was a member 
of the Baptist church. In politics he was a 
Republican and at times filled many offices 
of responsibility in his district. Airs. Jor- 
dan still survives and has two brothers : 
Wilson Cavender, who lives on Cooper's 
Creek ; and Morrison Cavender, who lives 
on 2-Mile Creek. The paternal grandfa- 
ther of Mrs. Jordan, was John Cavender. 
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Jordan, five of whom survive : Charles, 
Frank A., James Vinton, Silas, and Nancy, 
who is the wife of John Creed. 

James Vinton Jordan was educated in the 
local schools and then turned his attention 
to farming and stock raising in which he 
has been interested ever since. After 
spending two years in the western country 
he engaged in farming in Poca District for 



two years and then sold and settled on his 
present farm and at present is one of the 
most extensive and most successful stock- 
raisers in Elk District. 

Mr. Jordan married Miss Martha Nutter, 
a daughter of Thomas Nutter, now deceased 
who served in the Civil War with rank of 
colonel and they have three children: Bes- 
sie, Grant and Emory V., their ages rang- 
ing from twenty to twelve years. 

CHARLES W. DERING, who occupies 
a very important position as chief clerk in 
the office of the state auditor of West Vir- 
ginia, assumed the duties of this office in 
March, 1909, having been previously con- 
nected for two years with the office of the 
state tax commissioner, and before that 
served in other public capacities. He was born 
at Morgantown, Monongalia County, W. 
Va., November 12, 1864, and is a son of 
E. W. S. and Cordelia (Walker) Dering. 

The father of Mr. Dering was also a na- 
tive of Morgantown, while the mother was 
born at Newark, O., where they were mar- 
ried. Her death occurred at the age of 
forty-seven years and his in his sixty-first 
year. They were members of the Presby- 
terian church at Morgantown. 

Charles W. Dering was given educational 
advantages at Morgantown, after which he 
served an apprenticeship of four years with 
a local cabinetmaker and subsequently fol- 
lowed that trade for eleven years. In the 
meanwhile he had moved to Kingwood, 
W. Va., and while there he was tendered a 
remunerative clerical position if he would 
learn the art of stenography. In a short 
time he had mastered the dashes, curves, 
shadings and phrasings of this fascinating 
and useful accomplishment. He came to 
Governor Dawson, in 1902, when he was 
secretary of state, at Charleston as his pri- 
vate secretary and afterward became chief 
clerk with Secretary of State Charles W. 
Swisher and was connected with his office 
for two years. His subsequent business 
connections have been mentioned. He has 
not only been satisfactory in every position 
he has held — his accuracy, promptness, in- 



912 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



telligence and fidelity commanding respect 
and inviting confidences never betrayed — 
but his uniform courtesy has won him hosts 
of friends among the public. 

Mr. Dering was married at Kingwood 
to Miss Bertha Wilcox, who was reared and 
educated in Preston County, a daughter of 
Richard and Mary (Marsden) Wilcox. 
The father of Mrs. Dering was born in New 
York and the mother in England. The lat- 
ter is still living but Mr. Wilcox died in his 
native state when in the prime of life. Mr. 
and Mrs. Dering are members of the First 
Presbyterian Church. An ardent Republi- 
can, as was his father and grandfather, Mr. 
Dering has consistently supported the cause 
of his party and often has proven an able 
champion of needed reforms. He is prom- 
inent in Masonry and is a member of Beni- 
Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine, Charleston. 

CREED J. PEARSON, president of the 
First National Bank of St. Albans, W. Va., 
is a progressive young business man of this 
place, who has been remarkably successful 
in his business undertakings. He was born 
in Franklin County, Va., May 15, 1877, and 
is a son of Thomas and Sarah J. Pearson. 

Mr. Pearson comes of an agricultural 
line, both grandfathers having been farm- 
ers. The paternal grandfather Peyton Pear- 
son, who died at the age of 94 years, 
resided in Franklin County all of his life. 
The father Rev. Thos. P. Pearson, was a 
minister in the Missionary Baptist church. 
Thomas Pearson and his wife were both 
born in Franklin County, where the latter 
still lives. Thomas Pearson died in 1909, 
agen seventy-eight years. His family con- 
sisted of four sons and four 'daughters, all 
of whom survive : Peyton S. is a farmer in 
Kanawha County; Edmond I. is a contractor 
at Covington, Va. : Creed J. : George V. is 
a contractor at Andover, N. J. ; Bettie is the 
wife of J. J. Williams, of Franklin County; 
Ruth is the wife of F. L. McGhee of Frank- 
lin County : Sarah is the wife of A. M. Mc- 
Guffin, of Franklin County; and Jerusha, 
who is unmarried, resides with her mother. 
The Pearsons have all been members and 



liberal supporters of the Baptist church. 
The ancestry of the family leads back to 
England on the paternal side and to Scot- 
land on the maternal. 

Creed J. Pearson attended the public 
schools in Franklin County and later took 
a civil and mining engineering course in the 
Scranton School of Correspondence, after 
which, for eight years, he was engaged as 
an engineer in West Virginia and Kentucky, 
during the larger part of this period having 
his office at Charleston, but he has been a 
resident of St. Albans since 1907 and has 
been president of the First National Bank 
of St. Albans since its organization in 1910, 
at which time he was the youngest National 
bank president in the State of West 
Virginia. 

The First National Bank of St. Albans 
opened for business on January 26, 1910, 
with a capital stock of $25,000, with Creed 
J. Pearson as president, M. W. Stark as vice 
president, and R. C. Sweet as cashier. In 
addition to the officers of the bank the 
board of directors has two other members : 
W. H. W'ilson and Z. H. Throwbridge. Mr. 
Pearson owns the bank building and much 
other property here including his handsome 
residence, which he erected in 1907. In 
addition to his other business interests, he 
deals in real estate. 

Mr. Pearson was married in 1905 to Miss 
Effie Morris, a daughter of the late J. H. 
Morris, of Spangler, Kanawha County. He 
came to this section from Bedford County, 
Va., embarked in the mercantile business 
and continued until his death in the spring 
of 1911. He married Mary Johnson, whose 
mother belonged to the old Shelton family. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Pearson: Mildred, Heloise and Phillis. 
In politics he is a Republican but he is not 
as much interested in public matters as he 
is in advancing the business growth and de- 
velopment of his town. He is identified 
with Odell Lodge No. 114. F. & A. M.. at 
Madison. W. Va. 

JOHN J. CARMACK.* contractor, at 
Charleston. W. Va.. and a survivor of the 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



913 



great Civil War, was born in Bedford 
County, Pa., in 1848. He is of Scotch and 
German ancestry. In boyhood he accom- 
panied his parents, Samuel and Catherine 
(Appleman) Carmack, to Ashland County, 
O., they being then in middle life, and their 
subsequent lives were spent in Ohio. The 
father dealt in stock and was well known 
in that section as a drover, on many occa- 
sions driving his cattle, sheep and hogs long 
distances to find good markets. Thirteen 
children were born to Samuel and Catherine 
Carmack, eleven of whom reached maturity 
and ten of whom married. The only sur- 
vivor is John J. Carmack. One brother, 
Daniel J., a member of the 64th O. Vol. 
Inf., in the Civil War, was killed at Chicka- 
mauga, and another, Thomas J., a member 
of the 57th Pa. Vol. Inf., was killed in the 
battle of the Wilderness. 

John J. Carmack was reared on the home 
farm and attended the district schools for 
a time but was only fifteen years of age 
when he enlisted for service in the Civil 
War, entering Co. E, 64th O. Vol. Inf., 
under Captain Colter. This was in the lat- 
ter part of 1862 and he was in active serv- 
ice until he was made a prisoner by the Con- 
federate forces at Franklin, Tenn., and fol- 
lowing his capture was confined in the pris- 
on at Selma, Ala., until he was exchanged 
and started for home on the ill-fated 
steamer, Sultana. This vessel was de- 
stroyed by an explosion when a few miles 
north of Memphis, with an appalling loss 
of life, of the 21,000 soldiers on board, 18,000 
perishing. Of the pitifully small number 
who escaped, Mr. Carmack was one, he suc- 
ceeding in securing a bale of hay, on which 
he supported himself in the water until a 
boat picked him up. His honorable dis- 
charge from the army followed and he re- 
turned home, being then not yet eighteen 
years old but having the rank of a second 
sergeant in his company. 

Mr. Carmack then embarked in a mer- 
cantile business and some years later be- 
came a contractor and builder. In 1900 he 
came to Charleston and with other Ohio 
men of means and foresight, purchased the 



traction company at the receiver's sale, pay- 
ing the sum of $21,000. In the reorganiza- 
tion of the business, Mr. Carmack became 
a stockholder and was given the superin- 
tendence of the rebuilding of the road, an 
undertaking he successfully completed, his 
association with it continuing for six years. 
Later Mr. Carmack made railroad contract- 
ing his leading business interest and has 
been successfully identified with much work 
along this line in West Virginia. He built 
the Blue Creek branch of the Kanawha & 
Western Railroad and recently has had 
charge of the building of the Charleston 
& Dunbar Traction Company, five and one- 
half miles of this line having been already 
completed. He is an able and far-seeing 
business man and is w r ell known in both 
Ohio and West Virginia. Mr. Carmack has 
been a Republican all his mature life and 
has been more or less prominent in public 
affairs connected with politics, for years, 
frequently serving as a delegate to impor- 
tant conventions and being particularly ac- 
tive during the political campaigns of his 
personal friend, the late President McKin- 
ley, on several occasions introducing the dis- 
tinguished statesman to audiences. He was 
in close political friendship with many of 
the party leaders in Ohio, notably the late 
Senator Mark Hanna, and Hon. T. E. Bur- 
ton. 

Mr. Carmack was married at West Salem, 
in Wayne County, O., to Miss Theresa J. 
Felger, who was born, reared and educated 
there. She is a daughter of Joseph and 
Elizabeth (Faulk) Felger, natives of Wayne 
County, where Mr. Felger still resides, be- 
ing now in his eighty-seventh year. The 
mother of Mrs. Carmack died in middle life, 
leaving four children, three of whom sur- 
vive. Mr. and Mrs. Carmack have one son, 
Mont J. He was born at West Salem. O., 
in 1876. After completing the High School 
course at Cleveland, O., he became a me- 
chanical and a civil engineer and is now at 
the head of the Kanawha Engineering Com- 
pany, which takes and completes contracts 
for all and every kind of engineering work. 
He is unmarried and, like his father, is a 



9U 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



stanch Republican. The family from the 
time of the grandparents, have been Meth- 
odists. 

CLARKE WESLEY SHEPHERD, 
M. D., who has been actively engaged in 
the practice of medicine at Spring Hill, in 
Kanawha County, W. Va., for the past nine- 
teen years and deservedly stands high both 
personally and professionally in this sec- 
tion, was born in the city of Charleston, 
W. Va., January 27, 1864, and is a son of 
John and Louesa (Aultz) Shepherd, and a 
grandson of Robert and Maria Shepherd, 
who settled in Kanawha County after the 
birth of their three sons. 

John Shepherd was born in 1834, in 
Prince Edward County, Va.. and moved 
later to Roanoke, Va., enjoying excellent 
educational advantages, and before he came 
to Kanawha County, taught school for two 
years in his native state, and after becom- 
ing a resident of this county, prior to the 
Civil War, continued to teach school. He 
became one of the leading educators of 
W r est Virginia and was a member of the 
first board of education in this the capitol 
city. He was one of three brothers, all 
surviving until his death. March 17, 1910, 
which took place at the home of his son, 
Judge A. R. Shepherd. He was a man of 
strong character and exerted a wide influ- 
ence for good. He was almost a lifelong 
member of the old State Street Methodist 
Episcopal Church at Charleston. During 
the Civil War he served as an internal rev- 
enue collector and during his earlier vears 
was identified with the Republican party 
but later became thoroughly interested in 
the Prohibition party and labored for the 
promulgation of its principles and several 
times was nominated by that party on the 
legislative ticket. 

In 1863. John Shepherd was married to 
Louesa Aultz, a twin sister of the wife of 
his brother, B. King Shepherd, now of 
Charleston. She was a daughter of Adam 
and Martha Aultz and was five years 
younger than her husband. She died in 
April, 1908. She was the mother of the fol- 



lowing children: Clarke Wesley; L. Ella, 
who is a resident of Raleigh County; A. R., 
who is presiding judge of the Kanawha 
County court, married Bessie Elliott, a na- 
tive of Virginia; J. King, who is deputy 
sheriff of Kanawha County; and Mattie M., 
who is the wife of C. L. Pauley, who is 
manager at Glen White of the E. E. White 
Coal Company stores. 

Clarke W. Shepherd's early education 
was carefully looked after by his father and 
later he became a student in the Ohio Wes- 
leyan University at Delaware. His med- 
ical studies were pursued in the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore 
and the University of Maryland, and he was 
graduated in the class of 1891, from the 
Baltimore University. In January. 1892. 
he located at Spring Hill, and this place and 
its environs has been his field for profes- 
sional work ever since. He is identified 
with medical organizations and belongs also 
to Spring Hill Lodge. No. 140, Odd Fel- 
lows, and to Naragansett Tribe, Improved 
Order of Red Men at South Charleston, 
W. Va., and holds the position of Great 
Keeper of Wampum in the Great Council 
of W. Va. 

Dr. Clarke Wesley Shepherd was married 
in April, 1889. to Miss Lucy T. Tisdale, of 
Lunenberg County. Va., a daughter of R. 
W. and M. C. Tisdale, and they have one 
son, Tisdale Talmadge, who is a student 
(1911) in the junior class in the Charleston 
High School, and in the current year was 
elected class president. One child died in 
infancy. In his political preference. Dr. 
Shepherd is a Republican. 

WILBER S. MAY. general farmer and 
stock raiser, who owns 106 acres of finely im- 
proved land on Coal River, three miles south- 
west of St. Albans, Jefferson District. Kana- 
wha County, W. Va.. was born at Griffith- 
ville. Lincoln County. W. Va., October 17, 
1875. ar, d is a son of J. C. and Edna Jane 
(Spurlock) May. 

J. C. May. who is a son of Jacob C. May. 
is a resident of St. Albans. Kanawha 
County. He married Edna Jane Spurlock. 



CLARKE W. SHEPHERD. M. D. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



917 



who was born in Lincoln County, W. Va., 
a daughter of Alfred Spurlock, a resident 
there. 

Wilber S. May attended what was 
called the Lower Beech Grove school 
in Lincoln County and afterward 
worked in the timber and at farm- 
ing- and continued to reside in Duval 
District after his marriage until he moved 
to St. Albans. There he remained a resi- 
dent for two and one-half years, when he 
bought his present farm, purchasing it of 
Grant P. Hall, who erected the fine build- 
ings, the barn on this place being consid- 
ered the best on Coal River. Mr. May has 
added many improvements. He owns addi- 
tional property including seventy-five acres 
of land in Lincoln County where he has 
eight producing oil wells and he also has 
a house and three lots at St. Albans. He 
is a charter member and a stockholder of 
the First National Bank of St. Albans and 
also of the Oilfield Bank at Griffithville. 
Formerly Mr. May raised and handled stock 
extensively. 

Mr. May was married February 27, 1898 
to Miss Allie Margaret Oxley, who was 
born in Putnam County, a daughter of 
Nathaniel and Malinda Oxley of Lincoln 
County, and they have six children : Freer 
Clarence, Reba Pearl, Ethel Carrie, Harold 
Frazier, Hobart Creed, and Ophir Earl. 
Mr. May is identified with the Republican 
party but takes only a good citizen's inter- 
est in public affairs. 

DANIEL H. GATES * whose business 
standing at Charleston,' W. Va., is very 
high, is well known all through Kanawha 
County and beyond as the able manager 
of the J. M. Gates' Sons Company, manu- 
facturers of paints and oils and retail and 
wholesale dealers, with quarters at Nos. 27- 
29-31 Summers Street. This business was 
established by his father, the late James 
Madison Gates, in 1861, and has been con- 
ducted by the family for the last fifty years. 

James Madison Gates was born in 1834, 
at Gallipolis, O., and died at Charleston, 
W. Va., in 1904. He came to this city in 



1861 as the agent of the Cincinnati, O., 
Enquirer, and as he accumulated a little 
capital started into the grocery business in 
a small way and to his stock added oils and 
paints as there seemed a demand for those 
articles, and gradually increased his stock 
along that line, subsequently going into 
manufacturing and making this his main 
business. To this line he added wall papers 
and the house does an extensive business 
in the paper line as well as in oils and 
paints. The first location of Mr. Gates was 
on Kanawha Street but since 1873 the busi- 
ness has been conducted at the present lo- 
cation, enlargement having frequently be- 
come necessary as the business has expanded. 
Mr. Gates was a man of some prominence 
in politics and at one time was a strong 
supporter of what was known as the Green- 
back party. At all times he was a worthy 
citizen and was held in respect by all who 
knew him. He was a member of the Uni- 
versalist church. He was married at St. 
Albans, W. Va., to Virginia Rand, who sur- 
vives and resides at Charleston. Eleven 
children were born to them, four of whom 
died young and one son, Edward, was acci- 
dentally drowned at the age of thirteen 
years, while bathing in the Kanawha River. 
The survivors are as follows : James, who 
is in the clerical department of the com- 
pany above referred to; Cora M., who is the 
wife of S. C. Savage, of Charleston ; George 
D., who is in business at Charleston, and 
who married Alice Moran; Daniel H.; Will- 
iam S., who is connected also with the above 
company as is the next son, Jesse ; and Vir- 
gie, who is the wife of Alva S. Fisher, of 
Charleston. 

Daniel H. Gates was born at Charleston, 
December 21, 1871, and was educated here 
and after completing his High School 
course, at the age of eighteen years, entered 
the business house of J. M. Gates' Sons 
Company, with which he has ever since been 
identified and of which he has been man- 
ager for some time. In politics he is a 
Democrat and he has served as a member 
of the city council from his ward. 

Mr. Gates was married at Perry, N. Y.„ 



918 HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to Miss Kate B. Gate, who was born there 
and educated in the Perry Academy. They 
have had four children: Frank S., who was 
born July n, 1895; W. Haskell, who was 
born January 15, 1901 ; and twin daughters 
who died at birth. The sons are creditable 
students in the public schools where they 
are being prepared for the business re- 
sponsibilities which may come to them. 
Mr. Gates is an active and prominent Ma- 
son, a Knight Templar and belongs to Beni- 
Kedem Shrine, A. A. O. U. M. S. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gates are members of the Universalist 
church. 

THOMAS WILSON, who is the second 
one to fill the position of sexton of that 
beautiful tract set aside by the people of 
Charleston, W. Va., as their City of the 
Dead, Spring Hill Cemetery, succeeded his 
father in office and is well qualified for the 
duties to which he fell heir. He was born 
an Braxton County, now in West Virginia, 
February 10, 1857, and is a son of Andrew 
A. and Rebecca (Frame) Wilson. 

Andrew A. Wilson was born in Lewis 
County, Va., and remained there until 
twenty years of age, when he moved to 
Braxton County, where he conducted a gen- 
eral store and served in different county 
offices. In 1871 he moved with his family 
to Kanawha County and was made sexton 
of Spring Hill Cemetery when it was estab- 
lished, and he held this position until his 
death in 1876, when aged fifty-two years. 
He married Rebecca Frame, who was born 
in Braxton County and she survived him, 
her death being in her seventy-second year. 
They had seven children, namely: Perry, 
who died at the age of sixteen years; Vir- 
ginia, who is the wife of Burton Frist ; John ; 
Thomas ; Minnie, who is the wife of Ed- 
ward C. Lynn ; Emma, who is the wife of 
W. V. Legg; and Lelia, who died at the age 
of nine years. 

Thomas Wilson accompanied his parents 
to Kanawha County and almost his entire 
life has since been spent caring for and 
beautifying the grounds that now are in- 
cluded in Spring Hill Cemetery. He worked 



under his father on the small tract first 
dedicated to cemetery purposes and after 
the death of his father was appointed to 
the same office. Wonderful improvement 
has been made since he accepted the ap- 
pointment on August 6, 1876, and Charles- 
ton has reason to feel indebted to Mr. Wil- 
son for his unremitting care and interest. 

Mr. Wilson was married in 1887 to Miss 
Minnie Martin, a daughter of E. E. and 
Elizabeth Martin, old settlers of the county, 
and they have two children: Robert Lee 
and Virginia A. The former attended the 
Caton public school and is a graduate of 
the Charleston High School, after which 
he entered the Cincinnati College of Phar- 
macy, where he was graduated and subse- 
quently passed the State Board at the head 
of his class. Mr. Wilson and family have 
a very comfortable home, the residence 
standing at No. 1525 Piedmont Road, 
Charleston. He is. a Knight of Pythias and 
an Odd Fellow, belonging to the Encamp- 
ment, and is identified also with the Na- 
tional Union and the American Mechanics, 
all at Charleston. 

DAVID R. ISAAC* manager of the Cut 
Stone Company, stone contractors at 
Charleston, W. Va., doing business on Lewis 
Street and the C. & O. Railroad, is a prac- 
tical stone cutter and a well known busi- 
ness man of this city. He was born in 
Fayette County, W. Va., February 16, 1873. 
and is a son of John and Ann (Lewis) 
Isaac. 

John Isaac was born in Carmandershire, 
Wales, in May, 1847, and shortly after his 
marriage, in 1869, decided to come to 
America. The party included himself and 
his wife, his brother, David R. and his sister, 
Martha Isaac, all taking passage on a sail- 
ing vessel out from Liverpool and in the 
course of a few weeks being safely landed 
at New York. John Isaac had learned the 
stone cutting trade in Wales and in the 
new country soon found employment with 
the C. & O. Railroad, assisting in the build- 
ing of culverts and doing other stone con- 
struction work. He built the first coke oven 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



919 



on the C. & O. Railroad at Quinnemount, 
in Fayette County and was in business for 
some time with his brother, W. D. Isaac, 
and then engaged in cutting stone accord- 
ing to his trade, during the remainder of 
his life and was known as a capable man 
in his line of business. His death occurred 
April 24, 1908. In politics he was identified 
with the Republican party, while in church 
relation he was a Methodist. He married 
Ann Lewis, who was born in 1849, i n Wales, 
and resides with her son, David R., in the 
latter's home at No. 1526 Jackson Street, 
Charleston. She also is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Four children 
were born to John Isaac and wife, namely: 
Cassie, born at Charleston in 1870, who 
is the wife of John Cundiff, residing at 
Huntington, an engineer on the C. & O. 
Railroad, and has one son and four daugh- 
ters ; Mattie, who is the wife of Luther A. 
Emick, residing in South Charleston where 
he is connected with the Kanawha Chem- 
ical Works, and has four daughters; David 
R. ; and Gwen, who died at the age of 
twelve years. 

David R. Isaac has been in the stone busi- 
ness ever since he left school, learning the 
trade very thoroughly and becoming an 
expert prior to going into business with his 
cousin, George R. Isaac. They established 
the present business in 1906 and have devel- 
oped it into one of large volume, importing 
their stone and doing all kinds of stone 
work. Examples of their fine work may be 
seen in the First Methodist Church, the 
the Bream Memorial Church and the 
great mausoleum in Spring Hill Cemetery. 

David R. Isaac was married at Charles- 
ton to Miss Carrie L. Edwards, who was 
born at Bloomington, Ind., the only sur- 
viving child of her parents' family, they 
dying when she was two years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. Isaac attend the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. Politically he is a Republi- 
can, and fraternally is identified with the 
Elks. 

W. W. STARK, president and general 
manager of the American Column and Lum- 



ber Company, of St. Albans, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., has been identified with the 
lumber industry for many years. He was 
born in Delaware County, O., was educated 
at Columbus, O., and remained in his na- 
tive county until 1872, when he moved to 
Columbus, where he spent the next decade. 
In 1882 he removed to Mansfield, where his 
business connections are important and 
where he has resided ever since. 

In early manhood Mr. Stark married Miss 
Virginia Wilson, a daughter of Gen. Henry 
Wilson, of Columbus, O., and they have 
one daughter and three sons: Mrs. J. E. 
Cosgrove, of Cleveland, O., Medary Wil- 
son, James H. and Edwin M. The young 
men are of brilliant intellectual attainments, 
the second son having devoted himself to 
special lines of study and investigation for 
the past ten years, while the others are 
active in business life. Medary Wilson 
Stark, the eldest son, is a graduate of Yale 
College, in the class of 1908. He is vice 
president of the First National Bank at 
St. Albans, W. Va., and is secretary and 
treasurer of the American Column and 
Lumber Company and resides at St. Albans. 
Edwin M. Stark, the youngest son finished 
his education at Leland Stanford Uni- 
versity, California, in the class of 1908, and 
is sales manager of the American Column 
and Lumber Company. This concern is an 
important one in West Virginia, has an 
abundant working capital and is managed 
according to sound business principles. 
The Messrs. Stark are well known in lum- 
ber circles all over the country. 

QUARRIER FAMILY— William Quar- 
rier, born in 171 1 in Shire of Fife, on the 
estate of his father; married Margaret 
Alexander of Edenburg. His children 
were : Keith, John, Alexander and James. 

Col. Alexander Quarrier was born in 
Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1746. He emigrated 
to America in 1774, resided in Philadelphia, 
where he entered the Revolutionary army 
and served during the war. He then went 
again to Philadelphia and married in 1783. 
He removed to Richmond, Virginia, in 1786. 



920 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



and from thence he removed in 1811 to 
Kanawha, where he died in 1827. He was 
made captain of the Public Guard in Rich- 
mond and was well known and highly re- 
spected by Mr. Jefferson, Chancellor Wythe 
and other like distinguished citizens of Vir- 
ginia. He served in Kanawha as member 
of the County Court and resided at Willow 
Bank. His first wife was Elizabeth Dannen- 
berry, of Philadelphia, and in 1798 he mar- 
ried Sally Burns. His children were: Har- 
riet B., married Jas. G. Laidley; Eliza W., 
married S. Dryden, then J. F. Faure ; Mar- 
garet, married Jas. Lynde, then R. C. 
Woods; Helen Starke, married Dr. John 
Eoff; Alex. W., married Caroline Shrews- 
bury; Betsey, married Aaron Whitteker; 
William B., married Mary A. L. Hudson ; 
Monroe, married Elizabeth Wilson ; James 
Y., married Letitia B. Chilton ; Gustavus B., 
married Elizabeth R. Hudson: Archibald 
A. McR., married Mary H. Fitzhugh ; Fan- 
nie B., married Joel Shrewsbury, Jr.. Vir- 
ginia S., married John F. Snodgrass. and 
then Beverley Smith. 

Alexander W. Ouarrier, son of Col. Alex. 
Ouarrier, was born in Richmond in No- 
vember, 1795, and died in Charleston in 
July, 1863. In 1822 he received the appoint- 
ment of clerk of the County Court of Kana- 
wha County, and of the Circuit Superior 
Court of Law and Chancery in 1830. He 
continued to hold these offices until 1861, 
when he was required to take an oath, un- 
der the provisions of the Wheeling reor- 
ganized State Government, the said offices 
were declared vacant. It has been said 
that he was among the best known men of 
this county and was highly esteemed by 
every one — none more beloved and entirely 
trusted and none whose death was more re- 
gretted. He was the eldest son of a large 
family of brothers and sisters, and in fact 
every one looked up to him for help and ad- 
vice. He was of a buoyant, cheerful spirit, 
of benevolent heart, useful life, cultivated 
mind and refined taste, that made him one 
of the most popular men in the country. He 
helped the needy and cheered and encour- 
aged the poor with true sympathy and an 



elevated hope. In the discharge of his 
duties he was honest, faithful, exact and 
accommodating. He was kind to all and 
spared no trouble for the wishes and wants 
of all. All business transactions with him 
was a real pleasure, and he was full of anec- 
dote and humor. No one who ever met 
him will ever forget him or his hearty 
laugh and benevolent face — the beloved old 
County Clerk. He married Caroline, daugh- 
ter of Joel Shrewsbury, of Kanawha, the 
beloved wife of an excellent husband. Their 
family was as follows : Elizabeth S., married 
David J. W. Clarkson in 1841 ; Helen M., 
married Samuel A. Miller in 1845; William 
A., married Cora A. Greenhow in 1865; Sal- 
lie Lewis, died young; Joel Shrewsbury, 
married Fannie C. Friend in 1855; James 
Monroe, died young; Caroline S., married 
Isaac N. Smith in i860. 

William A. Quarrier was born 1828 in 
Charleston, where he attended the schools 
and Mercer Academy and completed his 
course at the University of Virginia and 
graduated in the Law Course, and began 
at once to practice in the County of Kana- 
wha and adjoining Counties. He was one 
of the best lawyers of his State, and stood 
at the front of the Bar. It has been said 
of him that he was the best lawyer in a bad 
case that ever was at this bar, and his prac- 
tice was large and important, and his serv- 
ices selected on one side in each complicated 
case. He was one of the lieutenants in the 
Kanawha Riflemen, and he was appointed 
to superintend the making and distribution 
of salt, with headquarters at Saltville, and 
his office was one to be relied on for the salt 
in the Confederacy. After the war he was 
married to Miss Cora A. Greenhow in 
August, 1865. He was the attorney for the 
Kanawha & Ohio Railroad Co. — now the 
Kanawha & Michigan Railroad. He was 
twice sent to the Legislature, with special 
reference to the subject of the Capitol, and 
was associated with Judge Ferguson and 
E. W. Wilson. He was active and efficient 
in this service as in his practice. In later 
years he was a candidate for the Senate 
of the United States, but Mr. Kenna was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



921 



selected — Air. Quarrier delayed entering 
the campaign until it was too late. He 
was one of the building committee of the 
Episcopal Church, and he was the first for 
whom the funeral service was used — Sep- 
tember 10, 1888. His death was sudden, 
even instantaneous, and the whole town 
mourned his loss. His family consisted of 
Alexander W., Russell G., Keith D., Car- 
roll W., Emily A. and William A., Jr. 

Alexander was lost in the river in 1893 
and Emily died of fever in 1901. 

Russell G. Quarrier is an attorney-at-law, 
and is one of the best to examine land titles 
and decide upon validity and rights thereto, 
in the country. He married Elizabeth W. 
Summers, daughter of Lewis Summers of 
Glenwood, and they have Lucy S., Eliza- 
beth G. and Alexander W. Quarrier. 

William A., Jr., married Margaret 
Bowles, and they have Wm. A. ; Keith D., 
married Margaret Thompson. 

It will be noticed that there were two 
Scotchmen that left Edinburgh in 1774, and 
came to Philadelphia; both were in the Col- 
onial army; one's son married the daughter 
of the other, and their descendants again 
intermarried — in the case of Russell Quar- 
rier and Miss Summers. 

FRANCIS MARION REVEAL,* who, 
for twenty-three years has been superin- 
tendent of the yards of the Kanawha Brick 
Company, at Charleston, W. Va., was born 
January 26, 1858, on Sugar Creek, Kana- 
wha County, a son of William Park and 
Sophronia (Lacy) Reveal. 

William Park Reveal was born on Elk 
River, Kanawha County, in 1832 and died 
in 1906. He was a son of James Reveal, 
who died on Elk River prior to the Civil 
War, farming being the main business of 
both son and father. In politics, William 
P. Reveal was a Democrat but never sought 
public office. He married Sophronia Lacy, 
who was born in 1835 and survived her hus- 
band but three months. Her parents, Caleb 
and Lydia Lacy lived many years in Elk 
District and died there. Both William Park 
Reveal and wife belonged to the Advent 



Baptist Church at Charleston. They were 
parents of seven sons and four daughters, 
all of whom, except one daughter, grew to 
maturity and seven still survive. 

Francis Marion Reveal was the fourth 
child born in his parents' family and as soon 
as old enough, took upon himself the bur- 
den of self support, going to work as a boy 
in a brick yard. Later he learned the brick 
business, becoming an expert brick moulder. 
In that day brick were made by hand and it 
was no light task to turn out 5,000 bricks 
a day, which was his record. Mr. Reveal 
has continued to be interested in the brick 
business and, as stated above, has occupied 
a responsible position in one of the leading 
brick companies of this city for almost a 
quarter of a century. An active and in- 
fluential Democrat, he has been quite prom- 
inent in political affairs in the city and for 
five years has served as a member of the 
city council. 

Mr. Reveal was married here to Miss Vic- 
toria Brown, who was born in Kanawha 
County, July 9, 1861, a daughter of Amos 
and Mary F. (Odauvel) Brown, both of 
whom were born and spent their lives in 
Kanawha County, the father dying at the 
age of sixty-five years and the mother when 
five years younger. They had three chil- 
dren : Elizabeth, who died aged forty years; 
Roxie, who died in Kanawha County, and 
who was the wife of Marcellus Lacy and is 
survived by three children; and Victoria, 
Mrs. Reveal, the youngest of the family. 
Mr. and Mrs. Reveal have the following 
children: Ernest, who was born April 15, 
1880, who is in business at Chicago, 111., and 
who married at Silver Lake, Ind., Edna 
Wiltrout, and has one daughter, Virginia 
G. ; Carrie, who is the wife of Lovely Thax- 
ton, of Charleston, and has one child, Ma- 
dena; Everett, who is a bricklayer by trade 
and lives at home ; Dorothea, who is the 
wife of Olie Rust, of Charleston; and 
Dewey, Earl, Florence and William Isaac, 
all of whom are at home. Albert, Grover 
C, William J. and Bennett, are deceased. 
Mrs. Reveal is a member of the Baptist 
church. 



922 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



JOHN W. MOORE, treasurer and gen- 
eral manager of the Hughes Creek Coal 
Company, with offices in the Kanawha Val- 
ley Bank Building, Charleston, W. Va., is 
a practical miner with an understanding of 
all the details of successful mining together 
with the larger questions which make mine 
operating remunerative. He was born at 
Summersville, Nicholas County, W. Va., 
November 5, 1867, a son of Melchisedeck 
and Sarah (Bradley) Moore. 

Melchisedeck Moore was one of the older 
members of his parents' family of thirteen 
children and was born in Clay County, W. 
Va., sixty-eight years ago. Both he and 
wife now live retired at Pratt, having 
formerly resided on their farm in Nicholas 
County. They are members of the Baptist 
church. They had the following children 
born to them : Rosella, who is the wife of 
T. J. Kelly, a miner, and lives on Paint 
Creek; John W. ; Robert M., a merchant 
at Pratt, W. Va., who married Rosa Young; 
Mary C, who died at the age of twenty- 
eight years, and was the wife of Walter 
Gibson; Noah, a saw mill man in Clay 
County, who married Lillie Vickers ; 
George W., a railroad engineer, who lives 
at Middleport, O., and married Emma 
Bryant; Christopher C, who is a merchant 
at Chelyan, W. Va., married Anna Burns; 
Meredith, who is a merchant at Logan, W. 
Va., married Pearl Giles; and Moses, who 
is a railroad man at Middleport, O., mar- 
ried Kate Johnson. 

John W. Moore was two months old 
when his parents moved from Nicholas to 
Kanawha County, where he obtained his 
education and his early mine experience. 
He was twenty years of age when he went 
to work in a commissary store at Maiden 
and three years later he became connected 
with the Chesapeake Mining Company at 
Hanley, remaining one year as a clerk in 
the store and four years as bookkeeper. 
For five years afterward he was superin- 
tendent of mines for the Coalburg Col- 
liery Company, at Ronda, W. Va. Going 
then to Smithers he organized the Kana- 
wha Gas Coal Company, of which he was 



manager, and opened and developed mines 
which two years later he sold, after which 
he became associated with John Q. Dickin- 
son and others in the Hughes Creek Coal 
Company, the principal works of which are 
located at Hugheston, twenty-two miles 
east of Charleston on the K. & M. Ry. 
This company was incorporated in 1903, 
with John Q. Dickinson as president, S. P. 
Richmond as secretary, and John W. Moore 
as treasurer and general manager. The 
company owns and operates its own mines 
and their output is superior grades of coal. 
The company has adequate financial back- 
ing, has the finest of transportation facili- 
ties and an unlimited product to draw from 
and business is in a very prosperous state. 

Mr. Moore was married at Maiden, W. 
Va., June 26, 1889, to Miss Nellie May 
Spriegel, a daughter of Jacob and Martha 
(Jacobs) Spriegel, the former of whom is 
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have five 
children: Lio F., born in 1891, who is his 
father's secretary; Herbert Spencer, who 
was born in 1893, a student in the High 
School; Gladys May, who was born in 1895, 
and Sallie Inez, who was born in 1897, both 
attending the public schools; and Ida 
Louise, who was born in 1900. Mr. Moore 
and his family are members of the Baptist 
church. He is prominent in Masonry, be- 
ing a Knight Templar and also a member 
of Beni-Kedem Shrine at Charleston, and 
additionally is a life member of Lodge No. 
202, Elks, of this city. 

GEORGE W. STUMP, Jr., justice of the 
peace at Clendenin, W. Va., and a leading 
citizen of Big Sandy District, Kanawha 
County, was born July 26, 1868, in Pike 
County, Ky., and is a son of George W. and 
Mary A. (Dillon) Stump. George W. 
Stump, Sr., was born in Tazewell County, 
Va., and in 1878 moved with his family to 
Kanawha County, locating on Little Sandy 
Creek, where he owned farming land. In 
1882 he engaged in business as a merchant 
at Little Sandy Creek and continued until 
his death, March 12, 1904, at the age of 
seventy-one years. His parents were Wil- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



923 



Ham and Nancy (Hagar) Stump, natives of 
Virginia, who later moved to Kentucky and 
died there. George W. Stump, Sr., mar- 
ried Mary A. Dillon, who now resides at 
Hunt, Kanawha County, and is in her sev- 
enty-eighth year. They had the following 
children: Charles A., living in Big Sandy; 
Mary, wife of M. Hagar, of Kentucky; 
James H., residing in Texas; Aaron, de- 
ceased; George W. ; Lorenzo D., living at 
Hunt, W. Va. ; Prissy J., a widow, living 
at Clendenin, and two babes that died in 
infancy. 

George W. Stump, Jr., who bears his 
father's name, followed farming and work 
at the carpenter trade after his school pe- 
riod was over. In 1904 he came to Clen- 
denin, where he has lived ever since and 
has been an active and useful citizen. Po- 
litically a Republican he has been a loyal 
party worker and has filled numerous public 
offices with the greatest efficiency. He was 
deputy assessor for three years under As- 
sessor Morris, and for three more under 
Assessor Copenhaver; was constable for 
one term and road supervisor for four years. 
In 1906 he was elected a justice of the peace 
and has served acceptably ever since. 

Mr. Stump was married to Miss Minnie 
M. James, who was born November 6, 1870, 
a daughter of Jesse and Nancy (Jarrett) 
James, the former of whom is a retired 
farmer. Judge and Mrs. Stump have the 
following children: Ella, who is the wife of 
N. Snyder; James Buell, who is a clerk 
lives at home; and Stella May, Delia, Ray 
E., Gladys A., Roma H., Dalbert, and Sybil, 
all of whom reside at home. Judge Stump 
belongs to Lodge No. 126, A. F. & A. M., 
at Clendenin. 

GEORGE H. HERMANSDORFER,* 
who is a farmer in Elk District, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., and also a practitioner of 
veterinary science, is one of the well known 
citizens of this section and he was born on 
the old homstead, October 25, 1882, and is 
a son of George Hermansdorfer. After his 
school period was over, Mr. Hermensdorfer 
assisted his father on the home farm. For 



the past nine years, however, his time has 
been largely taken up by veterinary work, 
his practice extending all over Elk District. 

Mr. Hermansdorfer married Miss Susie 
Leigenthaler, who was born March 4, 1886, 
on Cooper's Creek, Kanawha County, a 
daughter of John and Mary (Ort) Leigen- 
thaler, and a sister of Dr. Leigenthaler, Mr. 
and Mrs. Hermansdorfer have one son, 
Carl Edward, aged four years, and a sec- 
ond son, Theo Franklin, aged three years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hermansdorfer are members 
of the Lutheran church. He is a Democrat 
in politics but has never been willing to 
serve in any public office. 

LEROY SWINBURN, general manager 
and director of the Elk Milling and Produce 
Company, with plant on Bullitt Street and 
the K. & A. Railroad, Charleston, W. Va., 
is the oldest produce dealer in point of 
years, in this city. He was born in Kana- 
wha County, W. Va., in 1870, and is a son 
of Thomas Swinburn. 

Mr. Swinburn had but meager educa- 
tional opportunities, and after a short 
period at school, became a clerk and con- 
tinued to gain mercantile experience. In 
1887 he became connected with E. M. 
Handley & Co., feed and produce dealers, 
serving six years with this firm. In 1893 he 
became connected as an employe with the 
wholesale produce company, now the 
Charleston Milling and Produce Co., and 
thus continued for eleven years. He was 
the pioneer to bring produce to the city 
in car load lots. He was then in a retail 
business at Decato on Cabin Creek for 
four years. He was one of the promoters 
and a charter member of the Elk Milling 
and Produce Co., which was incorporated 
in 1907, in which year the mill was built. 
This brick mill, with three stories and base- 
ment, is 100 x 160 feet in dimensions and 
is thoroughly equipped for the milling 
business, and with the hay warehouse, with 
dimensions of 40 x 100 feet, and stables in 
which to stall twenty head of horses, occu- 
pies one whole city block. Feed and meal 
are manufactured and the company are 



924 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



jobbers in flour, feed, hay, grain and all 
kinds of produce in season, their market 
being the State of West Virginia, and em- 
ployment is afforded a force of forty peo- 
ple. The officials of the company are: 
James Kay, president; George E. Thomas, 
vice president; D. F. Hostetler, secretary 
and treasurer, and Leroy Swinburn, general 
manager. 

Mr. Swinburn was married in Kanawha 
County, to Miss Henrietta Copen, who was 
born and educated in Elk District, a daugh- 
ter of Augustus Copen, a former Confed- 
erate soldier, now deceased. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Swinburn the children born were: 
Clyde, Beatrice, Neva, Lillian and Irine. 
Mrs. Swinburn is a member of the Baptist 
Church. Politically Mr. Swinburn is a 
Democrat. Fraternally he is identified with 
the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias 
and the United Commercial Travelers and 
for the past five years has been a member 
of the executive committee of the last named 
organization, for some years having been 
a commercial traveler himself. The family 
residence is situated at Xo. no Roane 
Street, Charleston. 

HON. R. M. HUDNALL. M. D.,* a 
member of the West Virginia State Legis- 
lature, a prominent physician and since 1892 
a resident of Cedar Grove, Kanawha Coun- 
ty, was born March 5, 1865, near Putney, 
in Maiden District, Kanawha County, W. 
Va.. a son of William P. and Wilmuth (Gil- 
lespie) Hudnall. 

Benjamin Hudnall, the great-grandfather, 
with two of his brothers served in the Rev- 
olutionary War and the brothers were killed 
at the battle of Camda, S. C. Benjamin 
came to this section in Indian days and 
died at Kelly's Creek, at the age of ninety- 
seven years. The man for whom this creek 
was named was killed by an Indian. 

William P. Hudnall." father of Dr. Hud- 
nall, was born in Cabin Creek District, 
Kanawha County, a son of Morgan Hud- 
nall, who was also born here. The former 
became the owner of flat boats and operated 



up and down the river for about fifty years, 
in the employ of the salt manufacturers, 
and is the only representative of the old 
river flatboatmen still surviving here. He 
has reached his eighty-first year and is a 
member of his son's household. His wife 
died in 1902 at the age of seventy-eight 
years. She was a daughter of Robin and 
Margaret (Cole) Gillespie. Eight children 
were born to the parents of Dr. Hudnall, 
he being fifth in order of birth. The others 
are as follows: John C, who lives in Mai- 
den District ; Mary, who is the wife of James 
Rutledge. residing at Riverside; Louis, who 
lives in Elk District; Lucy, who is the wife 
of William Weaver, of Cabin Creek Dis- 
trict: Addie. who is the wife of Ulysses 
Myers, of Elk District: Samuel: and Annie, 
who is the wife of Luther Knabb, residing 
near Putney. 

Robin Morrison Hudnall spent his boy- 
hood on the home farm and learned how to 
grow tobacco, and in the country schools 
advanced far enough in his books to be- 
come an acceptable teacher. He taught 
school for ten years, in Loudon, Maiden and 
Cabin Creek Districts and twice received 
the highest grade certificates in the state, 
his average being 100 per cent. In 1888 
he began the study of medicine under the 
late Dr. John Parks, at Maiden, and grad- 
uated from Transylvania College at Lex- 
ington. Ky.. and in 1892 graduated from 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at 
Baltimore, Md., and in the same year began 
practice at East Bank. Cabin Creek Dis- 
trict. Dr. Hudnall is recognized as one of 
the leading men of this part of Kanawha 
County. He served for five consecutive 
terms as mayor of Cedar Grove, in 1908 
was elected a member of the board of Edu- 
cation, and in 1910 was elected to the Legis- 
lature, all these honors being accorded him 
as a Democrat in a strong Republican dis- 
trict. 

Dr. Hudnall was married in August. 1894. 
to Miss Mary E. Ault. a daughter of the 
late Charles Ault, and they have four chil- 
dren : Minnie, Kathleen, Justin and Helen. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



925 



For twenty-five years Dr. Hudnall has been 
an Odd Fellow, attending- at Cedar Grove 
but uniting with the order at Maiden. 

EDWARD CONKER, contractor, a 
member of the prominent general contract- 
ing firm of Conker Bros., at Charleston, W. 
Va., was born at Hartford, W. Va., Octo- 
ber 28, 1869, and is a son of Jonathan and 
Lydia (Cunningham) Conker, who were 
parents of six children, namely: Adam; 
William Mack, who is manager of a dry 
goods house; Robert, who is a mechanic 
and carpenter; Charles, who, with his next 
younger brother, Edward, makes up the 
contracting firm of Conker Bros. ; and 
Louise, who is the wife of Alexander Tur- 
ley, of the firm of Turley, Hutchinson & 
Co., clothing merchants on Capital Street. 

Edward Conker attended school in boy- 
hood near his fathers' home and after learn- 
ing the carpenter trade worked at the same 
as a journeyman and then went into part- 
nership with his brother Charles in a gen- 
eral carpenter contracting business which 
they have conducted for some twenty years 
in this city, where they have erected nu- 
merous private residences, business houses 
and public buildings. Among these may be 
mentioned the Bream Memorial Presby- 
terian Church in West Charleston, the 
Humphrey-Daugherty bank building, the 
Glenwood bank building and Fire Engine 
House No. 2, with many others in all sec- 
tions. Their work is marked on account of 
solid construction with due regard for archi- 
tectural effects. 

Edward Conker was married at Charles- 
ton, to Miss Linnis Martin, a daughter of 
Fenton and Sallie Martin, the former of 
whom is engineer on the Government boat, 
the James Romsey. on the Kanawha River. 
Mrs. Conker was born at Charleston in 1875 
and was reared and educated here. They 
are members of the Bream Memorial 
Church. Mr. Conker and brothers are all 
independent in their political views. 

R. S. PRINDLE,* proprieter of the Prin- 
dle Furniture Company, No. 209 Capitol 



Street, Charleston, W. Va., was born at 
Lancaster, O., in 1863, and has been a resi- 
dent of Charleston since January 1, 191 1, 
although he has had business interests here 
for a much longer period. He is a son 
of M. P. and Delia (Shellenberger) Prindle. 

M. P. Prindle was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., a son of William and Julia 
A. (Beecher) Prindle, and a grandson of 
Amos Prindle, who was born in England 
and settled in Connecticut when he came to 
America. William Prindle was a tanner 
by trade and continued in that business un- 
til he lost his property by fire, when, in 
1838, he moved to Ohio and bought a farm 
in Fairfield County, on which he passed the 
remainder of his life. His wife was a daugh- 
ter of Anson Beecher and was a second 
cousin of the noted divine, Rev. Henry 
Ward Beecher. M. P. Prindle was five 
years old when the family reached Ohio 
and he grew up on the farm in Fairfield 
County, remaining at home until he was 
eighteen years of age. In the meanwhile, 
as occasion offered, he attended school in 
the old log structure near his home, which 
was dedicated to school purposes. Mr. 
Prindle tben became a commercial traveler 
for a wholesale commission firm of Lan- 
caster and was on the road until he was 
thirty-five years of age, between Chicago 
and New York, after which he bought and 
cultivated a farm in Fairfield County, O., 
until 1895, when he sold and came to 
Charleston. Here he started in the furni- 
ture business in a small way, in a room ad- 
joining his present residence on the corner 
of Laidley and Donnally Streets, and eight- 
een months later went into partnership 
with his sons, R. S. and W. M. Prindle, 
establishing one store at Charleston, one 
at Huntington, W. Va., and one at Ports- 
mouth, O. At present the business is con- 
fined to Charleston, with R. S. as manager, 
W. M. being engaged in the real estate 
business at Huntington. M. P. Prindle was 
married first to Delia Shellenberger. who 
was the mother of five children, namely: 
Elizabeth, wife of Frank Claypool : Mary 
Alice, wife of D. A. Alsbaugh, of Ports- 



926 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



mouth, O. ; Reuben S., of Charleston; 
Beecher, a resident of Pittsburg; and Will- 
iam M., of Huntington, W. Va., married 
Lulu Snell. In 1887 Mr. Prindle was mar- 
ried a second time, to Elizabeth Hill of Fair- 
field County, and they have two children : 
Kate H. and Helen M. Mr. Prindle and 
family are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 

R. S. Prindle completed the common and 
High School course at Lancaster and then 
entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at 
Delaware, where he was graduated in 1886. 
About that time, in partnership with his 
brother, William M., he established a furni- 
ture store at Huntington, of which he be- 
came manager and in which his father was 
also interested. In 1903 they opened an- 
other store, at Portsmouth, O., and at 
Charleston, where the father had been in the 
business for some years previously, all three 
stores being largely a family concern, D. 
A. Alsbaugh, a brother-in-law of Mr. Prin- 
dle being a stockholder and having charge 
of the Portsmouth store. The three stores 
were operated from 1903 until January, 
191 1, when the Portsmouth and Hunting- 
ton stores were sold and R. S. Prindle took 
charge of the Charleston business. He still 
has interests at Huntington, owning real 
estate there and being treasurer of the Citi- 
zens Light and Power Company. Like his 
father he is an ardent Republican and served 
in public offices at Huntington. He was 
married in 1884 to Miss Jennie Carpenter 
of Lancaster, O., who died March 13, 1909, 
leaving one child, Elizabeth Hay. Mr. 
Prindle is identified with the Elks. 

DR. JOHN P. HALE— "A busy and use- 
ful life unfolds as the historian sets forth 
the career of the worthy gentleman whose 
name introduces this sketch. His paternal 
ancestors were English; they settled "at an 
early day" on the Lower James river in 
Virginia. Later the branch of the family 
from which Dr. Hale descended, located in 
Franklin county, one of the Piedmont 
counties of the state. His maternal ances- 
tors, the Ingles and the Draper families, 



were Scotch-Irish. In 1748 they founded 
at Draper's Meadows, now in Montgomery 
county, Va., the first white settlement west 
of the Alleghenies in America. Dr. Hale's 
grandfather and grandmother, William 
Ingles and Mary Draper, were in 1750, the 
first white couple wedded west of the Alle- 
ghenies in America. Afterward they lo- 
cated on New river, a few miles above, and 
established the first ferry crossing ever 
since and still known as "Ingles' Ferry." 
Here five generations of the family lie 
buried and some of their descendants still 
own and occupy the original site. Here on 
the 1st of May, 1824, was born the gentle- 
man whose life constitutes the subject of 
this sketch. In early boyhood young Hale 
attended local schools in Wythe, Pulaski, 
Montgomery, Roanoke, Botetourt and Rock- 
bridge counties, Va. 

"In 1840 he came to Kanawha valley, and 
during 1841 and 1842 attended Mercer 
academy, then under the presidency of 
the late Rev. Dr. Stewart Robinson. In 
1843 ne commenced the study of medicine 
under the late Dr. Spicer Patrick. Upon 
graduating in 1845, at the medical depart- 
ment of the university of Pennsylvania, in 
Philadelphia, Dr. Hale formed a co-part- 
nership with his late preceptor. Dr. Patrick. 
For a time they practiced together, but in 
1847 Dr. Hale gave up the practice and en- 
gaged in the more congenial pursuit of salt 
making at Black Hawk, near Charleston. 
In 1850 he purchased the White Hawk salt 
property, a short distance above. In i860 
he purchased the Snow Hill salt property 
adjoining, and later the McMullen prop- 
erty, also adjoining. These three were 
united as one property, called Snow Hill, 
and it was for a long time the largest pro- 
ducing salt property in America, making 
300 barrels or 1.500 bushels per day. Later, 
in connection with Messrs. H. C. Dickinson, 
W. A. Ouarrier and J. E. Thayer, he pur- 
chased the Donnally, the Noyes and the 
Venable properties on the south side of the 
river, consolidating them into one property, 
which was long known as the "Splint Coal 
Property." Of this company, Dr. Hale was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



927 



the largest stockholder, the president and 
general manager. On this property there 
were at that time two active salt furnaces. 
The product of these, added to that of Snow 
Hill, aggregated about 600 barrels or 3,000 
bushels of salt per day. 

"When the salt interest and manufacture 
in the Kanawha valley collapsed, Dr. Hale 
had long been both the largest individual 
salt manufacturer and the longest continu- 
ous manufacturer in America — nearly forty 
years. During that time he introduced sev- 
eral valuable improvements in the details 
of salt manufacture. Within sight of where 
he made salt so long, his great-grand- 
mother, Mrs. Mary Ingles, while a prisoner 
among the Indians in 1755, helped to boil 
salt water and make the first salt ever made 
by whites west of the Alleghenies. During 
her captivity, she was the first white per- 
son in the Kanawha valley, and the first 
white woman ever in what are now the 
states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. In 
185 1 Dr. Hale visited the first World's Fair 
in London, and while abroad traveled in 
England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, 
Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Hol- 
land. In 1856 he was stockholder, presi- 
dent and general manager of Ruffner, Hale 
& Co., a large salt firm that bought up and 
marketed all the salt made in western Vir- 
ginia and Ohio. In 1863 and after, he was 
president, general manager and stockholder 
of the Kanawha Salt company, organized 
and operated for the same purposes. About 
this time he helped to establish the telegraph 
line to Charleston, long before they had 
railroad connections ; it was a private en- 
terprise. In 1857-58 Dr. Hale was a mem- 
ber of a house of salt dealers and general 
commission merchants in Cincinnati, under 
the name and style of Taylor & Hale. In 
1858 he organized a company to manufac- 
ture cannel coal oil in the Kanawha valley 
and in Ohio. Coal lands were acquired in 
both states, and extensive works erected 
at Newark, Ohio, to manufacture oil, and a 
contract was made to furnish the city with 
gas, but the discovery of oil in wells brought 
all these plans to grief. 



"In 1869 Dr. Hale introduced the first 
brick machinery into the valley, probably 
the first in the state. In 1870 he laid in 
Capital street, Charleston, at his own ex- 
pense, the first brick street pavement ever 
laid in America. Now there are hundreds 
of miles of brick street roadway all over 
the country, and brick is probably destined 
to become the standard paving material of 
the future. In 1863 Dr. Hale was one of 
half a dozen gentlemen who organized the 
'Bank of the West' in Charleston, long the 
leading bank in that part of the state. In 
1870 he helped to organize the Gas com- 
pany of Charleston, built the works and 
was the first president as well as the largest 
stockholder. In 1863 and the following 
years he w r as president and largest stock- 
holder in a steam packet line running be- 
tween Charleston and Cincinnati. In 1864 
he built at Buffalo, N. Y., and introduced 
the first steam packet boat in the Upper 
Kanawha river above Charleston, called 
'Here's Your Mule.' About 1868 he built 
in New York and brought out the first steam 
yacht ever in the Kanawha river, called 
'The Pet,' she was screw propeller and very 
fast. In 1878 he constructed at Charleston, 
the steamers 'Wild Goose' and 'Lame Duck,' 
to run in the trade of the Upper Kanawha, 
one from Charleston to Cannelton, and the 
other from Charleston to Brownstown. 
The 'Wild Goose' used the first Ward boiler 
ever built. In 1870 Dr. Hale built the first 
steam ferry boat, and started the first steam 
ferry at Charleston, and owned all the fer- 
ries in the city. In 1871-72 Dr. Hale was 
mayor of Charleston, during which time 
many important improvements were made. 
In 1871 to 1872 he built the first theatre in 
Charleston, with capacity for seating 800 
people. It was a wooden structure, after- 
wards burned. About the same time he 
established the first public steam laundry 
in the city, subsequently destroyed by fire. 
He was the first to introduce the public de- 
livery of ice in the city. He was president 
and part owner of the company that started 
the first daily paper in Charleston about 
1871, and about the same time was presi- 



928 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



dent of the first board of trade organized 
here. About 1884-8; was president and 
largest stockholder of the American Brick 
Pavement company, afterward changed to 
Hale pavement company, owners of the pa- 
tent of the Charleston Brick pavement. In 
1872, in connection with Mr. R. W. Morgan, 
introduced the first barrel-making ma- 
chinery in the valley, with a capacity for 
manufacturing 1,000 barrels per day. 

"In 1871 he was one of the commissioners 
appointed by the governors of the states 
bordering on the Ohio river and tributaries 
to endeavor to secure the improvement of 
the navigation of these rivers by the gen- 
eral government or otherwise. The im- 
provement of the Kanawha and other West 
Virginia rivers, as well as of other western 
streams, since then and still under con- 
struction by the government, it is believed, 
resulted from the efforts and labors of this 
commission. Before the war Dr. Hale was 
one of the directors of the board of the 
'James River and Kanawha Company,' who 
were then improving the Kanawha river by 
a system of sluices and wing dams. After 
the war he was one of the directors on a 
Kanawha board organized by West Vir- 
ginia to succeed the old James river and 
Kanawha board, and carry forward the 
same work. In 1861 he organized and com- 
manded an artillery company called Hale's 
battery, for southern service ; but, from a 
misunderstanding with the commanding 
officer some months later, resigned. He 
volunteered and acted for a time as assist- 
ant surgeon during the battles around Rich- 
mond. At the request of the Confederate 
cabinet made a trip throughout the south- 
ern states to examine and report on the 
safest and most practical places at which 
to manufacture a supply of salt for the Con- 
federate states. In 1871. in order to aid 
in securing the location of the capitol of the 
state at Charleston, Dr. Hale built a tem- 
porary state house at a cost of about $75,- 
000, advancing most of the means to pay 
for the same. In 1871-72. with the same 
view of influencing the capitol location, he 
erected, at his own cost, the then finest hotel 



in the state called the 'Hale House,' which 
was afterward burned. The building of this 
hotel, the state house, the gas works, the 
steam ferry and some other improvements, 
made at the time while the question was 
about on a balance, had much to do in de- 
termining, probably decided, the location 
of the capitol at Charleston. In 1872, in 
connection with the late John C. Ruby, Dr. 
Hale started in Charleston, a large whole- 
sale grocery, the first in the valley. In 
1874-75 Dr. Hale spent nearly a year 
abroad chiefly in London, but traveled 
through England, Scotland, Wales and Ire- 
land. 

"In 1875, after some years of decline in 
the prices of salt in which he was so largely 
interested, aided by a panic of 1873, and the 
general depression in business and decline 
of value of property which followed, there 
came a crisis in Dr. Hale's business affairs. 
He failed and went into bankruptcy. From 
having been quite prosperous, engaged in 
a number and variety of enterprises, em- 
ploying in the aggregate from 300 to 400 
men, he was left by this reverse of fortune 
financially stranded, without business and 
without means. In an effort to recover or 
build up again, he leased from his assignees 
his late furnace, Snow Hill, and purchased 
a salt property called the 'Big Bend Fur- 
nace,' near Pomeroy, Ohio; but the fates 
were against him and both enterprises failed. 
For many years Dr. Hale was largely en- 
gaged in steamboating, and owned a num- 
ber of steamboats and barges. By an un- 
precedented rise in the river with accom- 
panying ice gorges in the winter of 1879-80, 
he had four steamboats and ten salt and coal 
barges crushed, wrecked, sunk and prac- 
tically lost within about fifteen minutes. 

"In 1876 he was one of the state commis- 
sioners to the centennial at Philadelphia, 
where West Virginia made a very credit- 
able exhibit and success. About 1881-82- 
83, in connection with Mr. H. S. Hallwood, 
he organized the Peabody Coal company, 
and started coal works some eighteen miles 
above Charleston ; then organized the Kana- 
wha Barge Yard company, and erected a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



929 



saw-mill and barge plant at the mouth of 
Coal river. Soon after organized the 'Peer- 
less Coal Company,' and opened mines be- 
low Field's creek. But from lack of means 
to operate them, and other unfavorable con- 
ditions, these enterprises all ended in fail- 
ure and collapse. While 'nothing succeeds 
like success,' misfortunes never come singly, 
but mutally act and re-act as reciprocal 
cause and effect. 

"Dr. Hale was a prolific as well as in- 
teresting contributor to the newspapers and 
magazines. About 1883 he published a 
pamphlet on the unwritten life of Daniel 
Boone, giving his early history before he 
went to Kentucky, and particulars of his 
life after leaving that state, about eleven 
years of which he spent in the Kanawha 
valley, and about which his biographers 
knew nothing. In 1886 he published a vol- 
ume of historical sketches from the earliest 
settlements west of the Alleghenies down 
to date 'Trans-Allegheny Pioneers.' He 
was one of the vice presidents of the West 
Virginia Immigration society organized at 
Wheeling in 1887; was also a member of 
the Charleston Industrial Development as- 
sociation, and prepared some articles on the 
resources of the state which were published 
and largely circulated. In 1888, May 1, he 
prepared an historical address for the 
Charleston centennial celebration. In De- 
cember of the same year, on invitation of 
the managers of the Cincinnati Centennial 
and Inter-state Exposition, he delivered an 
historical address in Music Hall, Cincin- 
nati. In January, 1890, he helped to or- 
ganize the West Virginia Historical and 
Antiquarian society, and elected its presi- 
dent, and was unanimously re-elected in 
January, 1891. In 1890-91. Dr. Hale pre- 
pared a 'History of the Kanawha Valley,' 
a paper on the pre-historic occupation of this 
valley, treating of the mounds and mound 
builders; also a paper on the origin, devel- 
opment and decline of salt making, long 
such an important industry in the valley; 
also a paper on the navigation of the great 
Kanawha river, and its improvement by the 
state and general government, and a gen- 



eral history of the valley including the set- 
tlement of Charleston and its subsequent 
growth. In politics Dr. Hale was a con- 
servative Democrat. 

"In religion he was a freethinker, accept- 
ing whatever seemed to him good and wise, 
but discarding what his judgment could not 
accept, and holding in abeyance for farther 
light what he could understand. Naturally 
he was not a member of any church, and he 
never belonged to any of the secret socie- 
ties. He was temperate in all things. Dr. 
Hale never married. At the conclusion of 
some notes, furnished for the information 
of a biographical writer, Dr. Hale indulged 
in the following melancholy observations 
which are not without a vein of pathos: 
'Such a brief outline of my descent and very 
unimportant and uninteresting career, now 
nearing its close. No one can so thoroughly 
realize its mistakes, imperfections and 
shortcomings as myself. The rose colored 
hopes of my youth were doomed to dis- 
appointment; the loftier and nobler objects 
and aims of my early manhood were un- 
attained, and the cherished aspirations and 
ambitions of my maturer life were un- 
realized; but regrets are unavailing now. 
There's a divinity that shapes our ends and 
I was one of that "innumerable throng" 
cast to play the humble, uneventful and 
commonplace roles in life, and my record 
is made. My neighbors and the public who 
have known me will pass upon its merits 
and demerits and make up their verdict as 
to what manner of man I have been.' 

"His death occurred not long after this — 
in July, 1902. We think that the doctor's 
neighbors and the public generally will be 
inclined to disagree with his disparaging 
estimate of his life's work. Readers of the 
foregoing outline will generally agree that 
the doctor's life has not only been busy but 
useful, and marked by enterprise and a 
commendable desire for the general prog- 
ress and welfare of his community. None 
of the children of men live to realize in full 
the roseate hopes that are emblazoned on 
the horizon of their youthful visions. To 
do one's best is all that can be asked of 



930 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



any of us, and it may be safely affirmed that 
when compared that with the mass of man- 
kind, the lifework of Dr. Hale will rise far 
above the average." 

THEODORE A. DEITZ,* coal operator, 
one of the representative men in the coal 
industry in West Virginia, is treasurer and 
general manager of the Lynchburg Colliery 
Company at Venetta, on the Gauley and 
New River Junction, W. Va., and also is 
general manager and treasurer of the Deitz 
Coal Mining Company of Gauley River. 
Mr. Deitz was born in 1859 in Fayette 
County, within seven miles of Hawk's Nest, 
W. Va., and is a son of William and Jane 
(McGuffin) Deitz. 

William Deitz was born in West Virginia 
and was a son of William Deitz, who was 
of German parentage but was born in 
Greenbrier County, Va. William Deitz, 
Jr., was a farmer all his life. His death 
occurred in 1900, when he was aged eighty 
years. He was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, south. He married Jane 
McGuffin, who survives. She came of 
Scotch-Irish ancestry, her people having 
been early settlers in the Kanawha Valley, 
where they were among the founders of 
the Baptist church. Seven children were 
born to the above marriage, namely: Hes- 
ter, who died at the age of fifteen years; 
Thomas, who is a farmer in Fayette Coun- 
ty, and has been thrice married ; Edgar, 
who is a resident of Fayette County; Theo- 
dore A. ; George, who lives in Fayette 
County and has a large family; and John 
W., a merchant at Austen, who has been 
twice married and has five children. 

Theodore A. Deitz was reared and edu- 
cated in his native section and after reach- 
ing manhood engaged in merchandising in 
Fayette County for seven years before em- 
barking in the coal business. For twenty- 
six years he has been operating and form- 
erly owned and worked a large mine on New 
River, near Hawk's Nest, which he sub- 
sequently sold to capitalists of Fairmount, 
Va., after which he organized the com- 
panies with which he has ever since been 



identified. The Lynchburg Colliery Com- 
pany at Vanetta, was incorporated in 1904, 
the officers being: Randolph Harris, of Vir- 
ginia, president; Judge Christian, of Lynch- 
burg, vice president; the other members of 
the company are N. B. Handy, Judge Diggs 
and Theodore A. Deitz. Mr. Deitz has 
been the general manager since the organ- 
ization of the company. Their mines have 
a capacity of about 200,000 tons of bitu- 
minous coal a year, the output being known 
as No. 2 Gas, and No. 5 Splint. From 150 
to 200 men are employed. The Deitz Coal 
Mining Company of Gauley River runs the 
same grades of coal and the mines are ope- 
rated with about 125 men, the output be- 
ing about 125,000 tons annually. 

Mr. Deitz was married in Fayette County 
to Miss Nannie Rhodes, who was born in 
Fayette but was reared in Kanawha Coun- 
ty. She is a daughter of J. J. and Margaret 
(Rogers) Rhodes, the former of whom was 
a merchant up to the time of his death, in 
1900. The mother of Mrs. Deitz survives. 

Mr. and Mrs. Deitz had two daughters 
born to them, one of whom, Hester, died 
at the age of thirteen years. The other, 
Eva, who was educated in Fayette County, 
at Charleston and in the Holland Female 
Seminary, resides with her parents and is 
prominent in the social life of the city. 
Mr. Deitz and family are members of the 
Presbyterian church. Politically he is a 
Democrat and fraternally he is identified 
with Hayden Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Austen, W. Va. 

WILLIAM F. WEBB, secretary of the 
board of Education of Jefferson District, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., resides on, his 
well improved farm of twenty-five acres, which 
is situated on the Kanawha and James River 
turnpike road. By profession Mr. Webb is 
a steamboat engineer and in his line of 
work has sailed over many waters. He was 
born March 8, 1849, in Ohio, and is a son 
of William H. and Hannah (Turner) Webb. 

William H. Webb was born in New York 
but was reared in Ohio but spent many 
years of his life in West Virginia. He was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



931 



a builder and contractor and built three of 
the dams and locks on Coal River. He 
owned and made use of the first circular 
saw in any mill in West Virginia. For a 
number of years prior to 1868 he made his 
home at Coalsmouth and then moved on 
his farm of ninety acres in Putnam County. 
This he sold in 1887 and moved to St. Al- 
bans, where he lived retired until his death 
in his seventieth year. Although always a 
Democrat he was a supporter of the Union 
cause during the Civil War but was a man 
of good judgment and even temper and 
never came into conflict with those of dif- 
ferent opinions. He married Hannah Tur- 
ner, who was born in Noble County, O., 
and who became the mother of eleven chil- 
dren. Shie died in her seventy-first year. 
She and her husband were members of the 
Episcopal church. 

William F. Webb attended school in boy- 
hood and probably had as good advantages 
as other youths at St. Albans, and then 
served an apprenticeship and became a li- 
censed engineer. He has always considered 
Jefferson District his home even while far 
away, working sometimes on one river and 
sometimes on another. For one period he 
was engineer on a steamboat running be- 
tween St. Louis and Pittsburg. For six- 
teen years after marriage, Mr. Webb lived 
at the mouth of Coal River and then came 
to his present place, settling on it before 
the present improvements had been made. 
He still holds his Government license as a 
steamboat engineer. Mr. Webb has been 
a lifelong Democrat. 

In 1876 Mr. Webb was married to Miss 
Mary A. Morris, who was born in West 
Virginia, a daughter of Capt. Leonard B. 
Morris, one of the early steamboat captains 
on the Kanawha River. Mr. and Mrs. 
Webb have five children : J. V., D. W., Cora 
Lee, B. E. and D. A. The family belongs 
to the Baptist church. In February, 191 1, 
Mr. Webb was appointed secretary of the 
board of education to fill out the term of 
the late I. O. Johnson, and was elected to 
this office in the following July. Mr. Webb 



is one of the sterling men of Jefferson Dis- 
trict. 

PLUS R. LEVI,* president of the Chesa- 
peake Land and Development Company and 
also president of the Toledo Land Com- 
pany, is largely interested with his partners 
in other sections, particularly at St. Al- 
bans, Kanawha County, W. Va., and is one 
of the enterprising young business men of 
Charleston. He was born in 1876, in Kana- 
wha County, where he was educated and 
when nineteen years of age went into the 
drug business. Several years later he be- 
came interested in dealing in real estate and 
along this line has built up a very substan- 
tial connection. 

Making Athens, W. Va., his headquar- 
ters, he engaged in selling land, handling 
real estate in Georgia and Alabama. In 
1908 he came to Charleston and his busi- 
ness activities have since been confined ex- 
clusively to this section. The Chesapeake 
Land and Development Company, as well 
as the Toledo Land Company are West 
Virginia enterprises, run on West Vir- 
ginia capital and mainly directed by Mr. 
Levi. 

The former company is interested in lay- 
ing out and developing the town of Levi, 
on the K. & M. Railroad, six miles east of 
Charleston, and the latter in building up the 
town of Chesapeake, on the C. & O. Rail- 
road, twelve miles east of Charleston. These 
towns are beginning to take form, the com- 
panies giving inducements to reputable set- 
tlers to buy their homes on borrowed cap- 
ital, the only way in which many wage- 
earners can ever acquire residences of their 
own. There is every indication that ere 
long these towns will have a thrifty, thriv- 
ing and happy and prosperous population. 

Mr. Levi was married at Charleston, to 
Miss Isabel Bibby, who was born and edu- 
cated in this city, and is a daughter of John 
H. Bibby, one of the old citizens. Mrs. 
Levi is a member of the First Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Levi is a Mason and is a mem- 
ber of Beni-Kedem Shrine, at Charleston. 



932 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



HON. EDWARD CLARK COLCORD, 
who is a leading citizen of Kanawha County, 
W*. Va., both in business and politics, has 
been a resident of St. Albans since 1889. 
He was born in Franklin County, Vt., Sep- 
tember 4, 1851, and is a son of John and 
Sylvia Prudentia (Bowman) Colcord. 

John Colcord was born in Vermont and 
spent his entire life in that State, following 
an agricultural life. His death occurred 
when he was about eighty years of age. The 
Colcord family is an old one in New Eng- 
land, the first of the name coming from an 
English shire prior to the Revolutionary 
War. John C. Colcord, father of John Col- 
cord, lived into old age in Vermont, the 
family being noted for longevity. John Col- 
cord was prominent in county and state 
politics and during the Civil War period 
served in the Vermont State Legislature 
from Franklin County. He married Sylvia 
Prudentia Bowman, who was born near 
Binghampton, N. Y., a daughter of Eben 

E. Bowman, who was a contractor, con- 
cerned in the construction of the Erie Rail- 
road. Mrs. Colcord still survives and lives 
with a son in the old homestead and despite 
her ninety years, is active and enjoys life. 
Four sons and one daughter were born to 
the above marriage, namely : Edward Clark ; 

F. C, who died in early manhood; Herbert 
B., who is a farmer on the old Vermont 
homestead; John C, who is cashier in a 
bank at Newburg, Ore. ; and Hannah, who 
is the wife of Edward Libby, residing at 
Enosburg Falls, Vt. 

Edward Clark Colcord attended the pub- 
lic schools until seventeen years of age and 
then went to the Northwest with an engineer- 
ing corps and about 1872 he entered the lum- 
ber business with which he has been continu- 
ously connected ever since. He lived at 
Eau Claire, Wis., for a time and then moved 
to Williamsport, Pa., where he remained 
until 1889 when he came to St. Albans. Fie 
now owns mills at this point and timber 
lands in Raleigh County, his operations 
being on an extensive scale. In politics he 
is a Republican and has taken a very active 
part in public affairs since becoming a resi- 



dent of West Virginia. In addition to fill- 
ing numerous municipal offices, in 1900 he 
was elected a member of the House of Dele- 
gates, and in 1902 was elected to the State 
Senate and in 1908 he was again returned 
to the House. He is serving also as a mem- 
ber of the State Board of Equalization. He 
is a man of marked personality and im- 
presses a stranger with the qualities which 
his fellow citizens have long since recog- 
nized in him and of which they have shown 
approval. 

Mr. Colcord was married in 1883 to Miss 
Mary Agnes McManigal, of Williamsport, 
Pa., and seven children have been born to 
them, namely: Edward Clark, Jr., a drafts- 
man by profession and manager of the At- 
kinson Foundry and Machine shop at St. 
Albans, who married Gertrude Rock and 
has one son, Edward Clark Colcord (3) ; 
Francis C, who is a civil engineer, located 
at present in Raleigh County, W. Va. ; 
Sylvia Prudentia ; Eugene L., who is a 
member of an engineering corps in Raleigh 
County; and Mary Agnes, Tristriam Coffin 
and William Allison all at school. Senator 
Colcord belongs to the Lumberman's Asso- 
ciation and is identified fraternally with 
Washington Lodge, No. 58, F. & A. M., 
St. Albans ; Tyrian Chapter, No. 14, Charles- 
ton, and Kanawha Commandery and be- 
longs also to St. Albans Lodge, No. 19, Odd 
Fellows. 

CLAUDE AUSTIN SULLIVAN, secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Hubbard-Grocery 
Company, one of Charleston's important busi- 
ness concerns has been a resident of this city 
since 1889, and has numerous additional in- 
terests here. He was born on his father's farm 
near Leon. Mason County. W. Va., February 
28, 1872, and is a son of Daniel M. and Eliza 
Jane (Scott) Sullivan. 

The Sullivan family is of Irish extraction 
and the great-grand-parents of Claude A. Sul- 
livan, came to Mason County and later to what 
is now Kanawha County, W. Va., when their 
son, William Sullivan, the grandfather, was 
young. The family reached Point Pleasant, 
where William Sullivan lived for a time and 




CLAUDE A. SULLIVAN 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



935 



then bought land thirteen miles up the Kana- 
wha River. The older members of the fam- 
ily seem to have gone farther north and even 
to have crossed the Ohio River and afterward 
were never heard of. Daniel M. Sullivan 
was born in Mason County and during the 
Civil War was a member of the 13th Va. 
Cav., and was sergeant of his Company, 
and participated in the famous Lynchburg 
raid. He was honorably discharged from 
the service and later entered into the gen- 
eral mercantile business at Leon, W. Va., 
where he also owned farming land. In 
1891 he came to Charleston where he em- 
barked in a general mercantile business and 
was recognized as a man of high business 
and personal character and was appointed 
secretary of the State Board of Agriculture 
under Governor Atkinson, and later as in- 
stitute director. His death occurred Jan- 
uary 22, 1904, at the age of fifty-eight years. 
He married Eliza Jane Scott, who was born 
in Greenbrier County and still survives. 
They had five children born to them : 
Orrin V., who is deceased; Claude Austin; 
Carrie Scott and Roy Dennis, both of whom 
are deceased; and Anna M., who is the wife 
of Robert A. Poffenbarger, who is a resi- 
dent of Charleston. 

Claude A. Sullivan spent his boyhood on 
the home farm and attended the public 
schools at Leon, making himself useful in 
his father's store from the age of ten to 
seventeen years. In 1889 he came to this 
city as assistant bookkeeper for the L. A. 
Carr Milling Company, and remained with 
that firm for five years, after which he was 
head bookkeeper for Noyes, Hubbard & 
Company, and continued with the succeeding 
firm, Lewis, Hubbard & Co., being in con- 
tinuous association with this firm in its de- 
velopment and changes, for sixteen years 
and during eleven of these was head book- 
keeper and for five years was credit man. 
On July 1, 1910, he resigned in order to 
take a short vacation, after which, for sev- 
eral months he was with the Newberry 
Shoe Company, but on October 1, 1910, be- 
came credit man for the Hubbard-Bedell & 
Company, which is now the Hubbard Gro- 



cery Co., of which he is secretary and treas- 
urer as mentioned above. He is also a di- 
rector and was one of the organizers of the 
National City Bank and is a stockholder 
in the Charleston Milling and Produce 
Company. 

Mr. Sullivan was married October 6, 1897, 
to Miss Mary Elisabeth Mason, a daughter 
of Thomas J. and Harriet Elisabeth (Ash- 
ley) Mason, and they have two children: 
Claude Mason and Harriet Jane. The fam- 
ily residence is at No. 511 Brooks Street, 
Charleston. They belong to the Baptist 
Temple, of which Mr. Sullivan is clerk. He 
is a Knight Templar Mason, "Shriner" and 
a 32nd degree Mason. Politically he is a 
Democrat. 

LIONEL FULLER,* who, for twenty 
years has been a civil engineer engaged in 
professional work in Charleston, W. Va., 
was born at Southampton, England, and 
comes of an old Sussex family, of consid- 
erable distinction, especially on the mater- 
nal side. It was his maternal great-grand- 
father, who, for three years held Gibraltar 
against the French and Spanish, an event 
in European military history of large mo- 
ment, and for his bravery and stratagem 
was raised to the peerage, being made Lord 
Heathfield, and also was appointed a major 
general of engineers. 

Robert Fitzherbert Fuller, grandfather of 
Lionel Fuller, and son of John Trayton and 
Ann (Elliott) Fuller, was a clergyman of 
the Church of England and his life was 
spent in County Sussex. He married Maria 
Ursula Sheffield, of a notable family of 
Birmingham, Eng. 

Rev. F. Trayton Fuller, father of Lionel 
Fuller of Charleston, was a clergyman of 
the English Church all his mature life. He 
was numbered with the eloquent Anglican 
divines of his day in County Sussex, and 
for many years was rector of the church at 
Chalvington, where his death occurred at 
the age of forty-six years. He married 
Eleanor Susanna Cox, who was a daughter 
of Capt. Cox, of the 2nd Life Guards, who 
served under Wellington at Waterloo. He 



936 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



married a Sheffield, a sister of the paternal 
grandmother of Mr. Fuller. Ten children 
were born to Rev. F. Trayton Fuller and 
wife, six sons and four daughters, and of 
those who came to the United States, two 
sons and one daughter, died unmarried. 

Lionel Fuller attended both public and 
private schools in England before he came 
to America, when twenty years of age, lo- 
cating first at Lemars, la. Two years later 
he came to Gauley Bridge, W. Va., and in 
1890 to Charleston, where he established 
himself as a civil engineer in the office of 
C. K. McDermett. He worked first on the 
C. C. & S., now the Coal & Coke Railroad, 
and later was with the Coal River Railroad 
and subsequently went into independent 
professional work, making an enviable repu- 
tation for himself and becoming widely 
known. He is thoroughly interested in 
everything that concerns the development 
of Charleston and in every way is a good 
citizen. 

Mr. Fuller was married first to Miss Jo- 
sephine De Gruyter, who was a lifelong res- 
ident of Kanawha County, where her death 
occurred at the age of thirty-five years. 
Mil Fuller's second marriage was to Mrs. 
Eugenia C. (Kries) Formey, widow of Wil- 
liam Forney. To Mrs. Fuller's first mar- 
riage three children were born: Rosalie E., 
Frederick William and Digna L., all of 
whom attend school. To the second mar- 
riage four children have been born : Lionel 
Edward and Eugene Cecil, twins, and John 
Trayton Elliott and Eleanor Grace. Mr. 
Fuller and family are members of the Ro- 
man Catholic church. 

A. J. BRYAN, owner of 515 acres of fine 
land which is situated on Coal River, in 
Jefferson District, Kanawha County. W. 
Va., three miles southwest of St. Albans, 
was born on this farm October 10. 1837, 
and is a son of Andrew Bryan and a grand- 
son of Richard Bryan. 

Andrew Bryan was born in 1800. in Ken- 
tucky and was seven years old when he ac- 
companied his parent's to Upper Falls, on 
the Coal River, where the latter secured 



900 acres of land. Andrew Bryan grew to 
manhood in Kanawha County and married 
Dicie S. Wood, who was born in Surry 
County, Va., a daughter of William Wood. 
They had the following children: William 
and Thomas, both of whom are deceased ; 
A. J.; Lewis, who is deceased; Llwellyen; 
Dicie, and Augustus, the last named being 
deceased. After marriage Andrew Bryan 
continued to live on the present farm, on 
which all his children were born and here 
he died at the age of seventy-four years. 
His wife lived to the age of ninety-three 
years. She was a member of the old Bap- 
tist church while he belonged to the branch 
known as the Missionary Baptists. For 
some forty years he was boss kettle tender 
in the salt works. 

A. J. Bryan had the usual school advan- 
tages of the children in his neighborhood 
in his boyhood and afterward was kept oc- 
cupied on the home place, growing the usual 
crops together with tobacco - and raising 
stock. After his marriage he made many 
improvements on the property which had 
come into his possession and built the pres- 
ent comfortable dwelling. He sold the land 
that is the site of Jefferson District No. 5 
school-house. For twelve years he has 
been a member of the board of education of 
Jefferson District and has faithfully per- 
formed the duties of this office. 

In 1869 Mr. Bryan was married to Han- 
nah Elizabeth Wilson, a daughter of 
Charles and Mary Ann Wilson, of Jefferson 
District, and they have six children: G. D.. 
a resident of St. Albans, who married Cath- 
arine Sutherland and has two children — 
Herbert W. and Elizabeth S. : Charles W., 
who married Allie W r ood, and lives in Jef- 
ferson District and has three children — Gil- 
bert, Wood and Margaret ; McFarland. who 
lives at home: John S., who lives in Jeffer- 
son District, and who married Ida Corn- 
stock and has one daughter. Fannie; Wal- 
ter, who lives in Jefferson District, and who 
married Dora Miles and has one child, 
Thelma; and Herbert, who lives at /home. 
Mr. Bryan and sons are Democrats. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



937 



MAJOR ISAAC NOYES SMITH, once 
a leading member of the West Virginia bar, 
and senior member of the firm of Smith & 
Knight, of Charleston, was a representative 
of a family of particular distinction in this 
section of the South, where the names of 
Noyes, Smith and Harrison have long been 
prominent ones. He was born at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., April, 1832, and died October 
6, 1883, while yet in the prime of life. He 
was the only son and second child of Col. 
Benjamin Harrison and Roxalana (Noyes) 
Smith. 

Isaac Noyes Smith was educated at 
Washington & Lee University, at Lexing- 
ton, Va., and was a brilliant member of his 
class. When the Civil war broke out he 
was loyal to the South, his training and as- 
sociation having tended to such a result, 
and with enthusiam he entered the Confed- 
erate army in the capacity of a private sol- 
dier. He enlisted in that notable body of 
young men known as the Kanawha Rifle- 
men, and in a comparatively short time be- 
came major of the regiment, serving with 
rank until his subsequent resignation, and 
later being honorably discharged. Just 
prior to the beginning of the war he had 
served two years as a member of the Vir- 
ginia legislature. 

When his military service was over, he 
returned to his law practice and became a 
prominent figure at the bar, and for years 
there was little important litigation in Kan- 
awha county that did not have the firm of 
Smith & Knight engaged on one side or the 
other. He came of an ancestry marked by 
strong, brave, and able men and his distinc- 
tion at the bar was only less than that of 
his father, who survived him. He was a 
conscientious member of the Presbyterian 
church and for many years was an elder. 

Major Smith was married at Charleston 
in November, i860, to Miss Caroline S. 
Quarrier, the Smiths thus becoming con- 
nected with another distinguished family 
of this section. She was born in 1839, in 
what is now the center of the capital city, 
on the corner of Quarrier and Capitol 
streets, a daughter of Alexander W. and 



Caroline W. (Shrewsbury) Quarrier. To 
this marriage the children born were as fol- 
lows : Benjamin H., who is now deceased; 
Alexander Q., who married Ethel Apple- 
ton, and has three children — Benjamin, El- 
sie and Appleton ; Harrison Brooks, who 
married Katharine Bowne and whose chil- 
dren are Harrison Bowne, Helen D. and 
Alexander Q; Elsie Q., who married F. M. 
Staunton, and has a daughter, Caroline Q. ; 
Christopher T., who is deceased; and Isaac 
N., who married Elizabeth Dana, and has 
five children — Isaac N., Katherine, Dana, 
Elizabeth and Christopher. Mrs. Smith is 
still living amid the old surroundings to 
which she is endeared by old association, 
and is the center of a family, the members 
of which vie with one another in showing 
her affectionate regard. 

K. D. QUARRIER,* superintendent for the 
AVest Virginia Colliery Company, at We- 
vaco, Kanawha County, W. Va., has had a 
large amount of experience in relation to 
mines and mining and is well qualified for 
the position which he fills. He was born at 
Charleston, W. Va., March 10, 1874, and 
is a son of William A. and Cora A. (Green- 
how) Quarrier. 

Mr. Quarrier was educated in the Charles- 
ton schools and at Purdue University, and 
began practical business life as an engineer 
with the Kelly Creek Improvement Com- 
pany, remaining several years, afterward 
being connected for two more years with 
Morgan Gardner. In 1901 he came to the 
present company as superintendent of the 
two mines at South Carbon, going from 
there to North Carbon and since then has 
been superintendent of the four mines of 
the West Virginia Colliery Company at 
Wevaco. 

Mr. Quarrier was married February 22, 
191 1. to Miss Margaret Thompson. He is 
identified with the Masons and belongs to 
the Shrine at Charleston. 

JOHN D. STEELE, president of the 
Steele & Payne Company, at Charleston, 
W. Va., wholesale dealers and commercial 



938 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



jobbers in all kinds of produce, grain and 
hay and as selling agents also handle coal, 
is one of the representative business men of 
Kanawha County. He was born at Cov- 
ington, Va., in 1875, an d is a son of Dewitt 
Clinton and Catherine (Mallow) Steele. 

Dewitt C. Steele was born near Coving- 
ton, Va., a son of Isaac and Mary (O'Cal- 
lahan) Steele, the former of whom accom- 
panied his parents in boyhood from Rock- 
bridge County, Va., to Allegheny County, 
in which section the O'Callahans had also 
been early settlers. Isaac Steele was a 
farmer and a contractor and builder. De- 
witt C. Steele followed an agricultural life 
and died in Allegheny County when aged 
seventy-three years. He married Cather- 
ine Mallow, who lived to be seventy-four 
years old, and they had three sons and three 
daughters, as follows: William I., who is 
a resident of Charlottesville, Va., and has a 
family of six children; Kate, Callie and Dor- 
othy, all of whom live at Covington, Va., 
unmarried; J. C, who is a civil engineer, 
and lives in New Mexico; and John D., 
who is next to the youngest of the family. 

John D. Steele attended school at Cov- 
ington and remained at home until he was 
about sixteen years of age, when he went 
to Charlottesville, where, engaged in various 
pursuits, he provided for his own necessi- 
ties but was able to do little to look after 
the future. He was twenty-five years old 
when he accepted a position as commer- 
cial traveler through the southern states, 
for the American Tobacco Company, and 
gave full satisfaction during the two years 
he remained with that company. A better 
offer for his services being made by the 
Southern Tobacco Company of New Or- 
leans, he accepted that and looked after the 
interests of that concern for three years and 
then came to Charleston with the inten- 
tion of embarking in business for himself. 
He had learned a great deal of business 
needs and demands during this time and 
had made an army of personal friends. He 
soon set about organizing his present com- 
pany and after many discouragements, suc- 
ceeded in placing it on a sound financial 



basis and secured as partners, other young, 
progressive and shrewd business men like 
himself. 

In 1903 the Steele & Brown Company was 
incorporated and capitalized for $25,000, 
for a commission business in hay, grain and 
produce, Mr. Steele being president from its 
incorporation. In March, 1910, a reorgan- 
ization was effected, the stock being in- 
creased to $50,000, Mr. Steele remaining 
president, with H. B. Lewis, cashier of the 
Kanawha Banking and Trust Company, as 
vice president, H. G. Davis as secretary, 
and Oscar F. Payne as treasurer. The com- 
pany purchases from producers and brokers 
from all over the country and their dis- 
tributive trade territory is in southern West 
Virginia, and in Virginia and North Car- 
olina. As a brokerage house they do a 
business of nearly three million dollars an- 
nually, and through their extensive dealing 
and admirable methods of advertising, these 
young men have built up a vast business 
and in so doing have retained the confidence 
of the business world as to their integrity. 
They also are interested to some degree in 
coal and have interests in the Kanawha coal 
fields, operating as the Morris Fork Coal 
Company, which was incorporated in March, 
191 1, with a capital stock of $25,000. Their 
property is reached by the Coal and Coke 
Railway to Turner's Station, Kanawha County, 
where they afford work to 100 men and pro- 
duce from 300 to 350 tons of coal per day. 
The officers of this corporation are: John D. 
Steele, president; Oscar F. Payne, treasurer; 
Thomas Woodward, vice president; and T. 
Boone Brown, secretary and manager of the 
sales department, located at Columbus, O.. dis- 
posing of the entire output of the business, 
amounting to about half a million dollars an- 
nually. 

Mr. Steele was married at Warren Springs, 
Va., to Miss Carrie Payne, who was educated 
at the Lewisburg Female Seminar}-. She is 
a daughter of J. E. and Emma (Smith) Payne, 
the former of whom is a merchant at Warm 
Springs. Va. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. Politically 
Mr. Steele is a Democrat but is too busy a 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



939 



man to accept added duties as an office holder. 
He is one of the active members of the 
Charleston Chamber of Commerce and as a 
citizen is ever ready to work for better condi- 
tions along every line where public need is 
recognized. 

W. T. ALEXANDER,* one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of Charleston, W. Va., where 
he is engaged in the lumber, railroad ties and 
coal business, was born May 26, 1864, in 
Roane County, W. Va., a son of Josiah and 
Sarah (Lewis) Alexander, and a grandson of 
Samuel Alexander, an old Virginia planter 
and boatman. 

Josiah Alexander, who was born in Vir- 
ginia prior to the Civil War, was engaged in 
the lumber business up to the time of that 
struggle. After the war, in which he served, 
he settled down to farming in West Virginia, 
and here died at the age of seventy-two years. 
Mr. Alexander married Sarah Lewis, the 
daughter of Joseph and Mary (Copeland) 
Lewis, and she died in 1892, having been the 
mother of four children, namely: Henry Lee, 
who is an operator of Wheeling; James, who 
is engaged in the lumber and coal business in 
Alabama ; Alice Virginia, who married J. A. 
Neff, of Roane County; and W. T. 

W. T. Alexander received a common school 
education, and he was employed as a youth 
on the home farm and also engaged in team- 
ing lumber. Later, in order that he might 
gain a knowledge of the business, his father 
sent him out to measure and inspect lumber, 
and thus he gained the experience necessary to 
fit him for what he was to make his life work. 
He took up coal properties with lumber at 
Charleston and near Clendenin, and is now 
contracting in the coal fields, buying and ship- 
ping railroad ties, and furnishing railway lum- 
ber and supplies for bridgework. He has built 
up a large business, and is considered one of 
the solid, substantial men of Kanawha County. 

Mr. Alexander is a member of the Metho- 
dist church. In political matters he is a Dem- 
ocrat, but he cares little for public affairs, pre- 
ferring to give his time and attention to his 
large and growing business. « 



OSCAR F. PAYNE, treasurer and traf- 
fic manager of the Steele & Payne Company, 
brokers and commission merchants at Charles- 
ton, a firm of young men doing an annual busi- 
ness that runs into several million dollars, one 
that has been built up through their own in- 
dustry, energy and integrity, is a valuable citi- 
zen and is an important factor in the Charles- 
ton Chamber of Commerce. He was born in 
1873, at Palmyra, Va., a son of Collin Pat- 
ton and Beatrice (Clark) Payne. 

Collin Patton Payne was born at Colum- 
bia, Va., a son of Joseph Payne who was a 
soldier in the Confederate Army during the 
Civil War and at one time was sheriff of Flu- 
vanna County, Va. Mrs. Beatrice (Clark) 
Payne died in 1886, survived by three daugh- 
ters and one son. In 1890 Collin Patton 
Payne married his second wife, Annie Creel, 
of Ohio, and to them was born one child, Paul, 
who is now sixteen years of age. Mr. and 
Mrs. Collin Patton Payne are residents of 
Charleston. 

Oscar F. Payne secured a public school 
education and then went on the K. & M. rail- 
road with which line he continued to be con- 
nected for twenty-three years, beginning at the 
bottom and winning promotion until in 1903 
he was made General Agent of the Freight 
Department and continued until January 1st 
191 1 when he resigned in order to give more 
attention to his individual interests. In 1886 
he came to West Virginia and since 1891 has 
been a resident of Charleston, and since Jan- 
uary 1st, 191 1 he has been treasurer and traf- 
fic manager of the Steele & Payne Company. 
This business was incorporated in 1903, un- 
der the name of Steele & Brown Company, 
and was reorganized in 1910, for a business 
in produce, hay and grain. The present of- 
ficers are: John D. Steele, president; H. B. 
Lewis, cashier of the Kanawha Banking and 
Trust Company, as vice president; H. G. 
Davis as secretary; and Oscar F. Payne as 
treasurer and traffic manager. Practically the 
same individuals are interested in the devel- 
oping of coal at Turner Station, Kanawha 
County, under the name of the Morris Fork 
Coal Company, Mr. Payne likewise being treas- 
urer and traffic manager of this corporation. 



940 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Mr. Payne married Miss Mary R. Ruffner, 
who was born in 1873, at Charleston, and who 
is a daughter of Henry D. and Sallie (Patrick ) 
Ruffner, the latter of whom is deceased, the 
former surviving and residing at Roseland, 
Fla. Mr. and Mrs. Payne have one son, Ruff- 
ner Rogers Payne, who was born March 12, 
1899, and is a student in the public schools. 
Mr. Payne and family are members of the 
Episcopal church, in which he has been a ves- 
tryman for six years. He takes only an in- 
telligent, fair-minded citizen's interest in pol- 
itics, and gives support to the Democratic 
party. 

CHARLES CONNOR,* who, for the past 
two years has been chief assistant to the State 
Mine Inspector of West Virginia, is a prac- 
tical miner and an experienced one, almost his 
entire life having been devoted to this great 
and necessary industry. He was born at Cal- 
derbank, Lanarkshire, Scotland, April 30, 
1850, and is a son of Peter and Jeane 
(Sneedy) Connor. 

The parents of Mr. Connor came to the 
United States in 1881. The father was a 
miner and followed mining during all his ac- 
tive life, his death occurring in 1900, at 
Uniontown, Fayette County, Pa., in his sev- 
enty-second year and his burial was there. 
His widow survived him four years. Of their 
ten children, Charles was the first born. The 
second child died young. Peter M., the third 
son, is a mine superintendent in Somerset 
County, Pa. Mary was the wife of Robert 
Donaldson at the time of her death, at Oliver, 
Pa. Helen is the widow of John Cole, who 
was killed while heroically endeavoring to res- 
cue his. comrades when an explosion occurred 
in a mine at Bos well, Pa., of which he was 
foreman. David M. lives at Swissvale, near 
Pittsburg, Pa. He is a mine foreman for the 
Switch & Signal Company, Pittsburg District. 
John A. is machinist foreman for the Mesta 
Machine Company near Homestead, Pa. 
James is superintendent of the Abrams Coal 
& Coke Company, near Clellandstown, Pa. 
William is a mine foreman near Smithfield, 
Fayette County. Jennie is the wife of William 
Pegg, a mine superintendent at Letonia, O. 



Mining has been the family occupation for 
generations. The paternal grandfather, 
Charles Connor, was general manager for the 
Shotts Iron Company at Shotts, Scotland, for 
thirty years, while the maternal grandfather, 
David Sneedy, was a lifelong miner. In early 
married life the parents of Mr. Connor were 
Presbyterians but later in life the father be- 
came united with that branch known as the 
Cumberland Presbyterians and was an earnest 
and convincing speaker on religious topics. 

Charles Connor attended school until he was 
about nine years of age and then went to work 
in the mines and performed the usual duties 
of a mine boy in the Scotch mines. On July 
17, 1879 he stepped first on American soil 
and to all intents and purposes, then and there, 
became an American. Prior to this, however, 
while still working in the mines in Great 
Britain, he attended afternoon sessions of 
school at Cambridge, England, for two years, 
working on the early shifts in the mines and 
applying himself to his books in the latter part 
of the day, after which he returned to Scot- 
land and entered a scientific school where he 
studied mechanics, geology and mining. He 
then learned machine construction, the ele- 
ments of chemistry, electricity and steam, and 
during the three years in the course took 
higher mathematics as applied to all these sub- 
jects. In his first year he took first class cer- 
tificates on all subjects, and in the second year 
and also in the third, again took first class 
medals. This course covered everything re- 
quired in order to secure the degree of mining 
engineer. While Mr. Connor was making 
such progress in his studies, for eight months 
in the year he worked in the mines every day 
and five nights in the week walked four miles 
to school and back again, never missing a sin- 
gle lesson. Mr. Connor is a man possessed 
of great physical strength and can make a 
stand jump of ten feet and a pole vault of 
ten and a half feet, but his weight has not va- 
ried fifteen pounds since he was fifteen years 
of age, his methods of exercise keeping him 
in fine condition at all times. 

After coming to America, Mr. Connor en- 
gaged in mining at East Palestine. O . and 
later at Fayette City, Fayette County, Pa. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



941 



After his marriage he was made superintend- 
ent of outside operations and subsequently, on 
the recommendations of Mr. Ludt, was ap- 
pointed inspector of the Henry Clay mines at 
Bradford, afterward, for three years being 
mine foreman at Leith's Shaft, at Uniontown. 
This position he resigned in order to accept 
that of superintendent of the Rock Hill Iron 
& Coal Company, at Robertsdale, Huntingdon 
County, Pa., and remained there for seven 
years. On May 15, 1893, having passed the 
necessary examination, he was appointed mine 
inspector of the Bituminous District, with 
headquarters at Uniontown, where he served 
four years. He next became general superin- 
tendent for the Dominion Coal Company of 
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, a position he filled 
for nearly a year. Mr. Connor went with the 
Pittsburg Coal Company as division superin- 
tendent on the Red Stone Branch, including 
all the mines on said branch, and after three 
months was appointed general superintendent 
and inspector for all the Pittsburg Coal Com- 
pany's mines, filling that important position 
for nearly three years. It was at the request 
of Mr. Lynch that Mr. Connor then went to 
Glamorgan, Va., where he opened up the Mt. 
Cook Coal mines and afterward, for a year 
was general manager of the Mt. Cook Coal 
and Coke plant. From there he went to 
New Frostburg, Md., to open up coal 
mines in that vicinity and remained seven 
months, in 1905 coming from there to Charles- 
ton. Here he purchased the Hotel Norton, 
which building was destroyed by fire but was 
subsequently rebuilt by Mr. Connor, who con- 
ducted it until 1909. When the well remem- 
bered Lick Branch explosion occurred, he of- 
fered his services as a mine expert in rescue 
work, and he was offered the superintendency 
of the Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries 
Company when he was examined as an expert 
witness at the inquest following. It was 
through the technical knowledge that he then 
displayed that his present position was ten- 
dered him. one that he has ably filled since 
December, 1909. 

In 1872 Mr. Connor was married to Miss 
Tane Musgrove, who was born on the River 
Tweed, on the border between Scotland and 



England. Seven children have been born to 
them: Peter M., superintendent for the Four 
States Coal and Coke Company at Worthing- 
ton, W. Va., who married Mary Jones, and 
has four children; John M., who died aged 
twenty-four years; Dolly Jennie, who is the 
wife of W. T. Bowling, a commercial sales- 
man, of Norton, Va., and has two children; 
Annie Taylor, who is the wife of Howard 
Pierpont, an expert bookkeeper, and has one 
child; Charles W., a graduate of the Pennsyl- 
vania Engineering State College, superintend- 
ent of the Pocahontas Coal and Coke Com- 
pany, at Coalwood, in McDowell County, who 
married Agnes Turnbull and has one son, 
Charles William; George M., who is head 
bookkeeper for the firm of Warrick, Barrett 
& Shipley; and Mary Alalcomb, who is a 
trained nurse. The last named is a graduate 
of Dr. Eve's Hospital at Nashville, Tenn., and 
for more than a year was superintendent of 
the hospital at Hollidaysburg, Pa. Since he 
was seventeen years old Mr. Connor has been 
united with the Methodist church and is a 
member of the Ouarrier Street Methodist 
Episcopal Church at Charleston. He is very 
prominent in Masonry, belonging to the Blue 
Lodge at Charleston, the Chapter in Wise 
County, Va. ; Syrene Commandery at Norton, 
Va. ; Mystic Shrine, at Pittsburg, and is past 
eminent commander of the K. T. He belongs 
also to the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pyth- 
ias, and in Scotland was grand district tem- 
plar of the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
plars. He has been an active Republican. 

REGINALD C. HEWES, chief clerk in 
the United States Engineer office, at Charles- 
ton, XV. Va., and also identified with the 
United States Weather Bureau as a coopera- 
tive observer, has been a resident of this city 
for over twenty-five years, a busy and useful 
citizen. He was born at Clarksburg, W. Va., 
November 29, 1865, and is a son of David 
and Elizabeth J. (Harrison) Hewes. 

The name of Hewes is familiar to all close 
students of the history of the development of 
the American colonies. One of the ancestors 
of Reginald C. Hewes enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of affixing his name to two memorable 



942 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



patriotic documents, the Mecklenburg Declar- 
ation, a resolution said to have been adopted 
in May, 1775, at a midnight meeting of repre- 
sentatives of the militia of Mecklenburg Coun- 
ty, N. C, declaring that the people were free 
and independent of the British Crown, and 
later to the Declaration of Independence, at 
Philadelphia. Patriotism marked the careers 
of his descendants. Col. David T. Hewes, 
the paternal grandfather of Reginald C. 
Hewes, a resident of Clarksburg, recruited 
the first regiment of native Virginians — the 
Third Virginia Volunteers — for the defense 
of the Union, early in the Civil War. In this 
regiment his son, David Hewes, father of 
Reginald C, served as first lieutenant of Com- 
pany B, and was subsequently honorably dis- 
charged. For the past twenty years he has 
been a resident of Charleston. He married 
into one of the notable families of the United 
States, that of Harrison, his wife being a 
daughter of Hon. William A. Harrison, of 
Harrison County, Va. Judge Harrison served 
on the Circuit Bench for many years and after 
the organization of the State of West Vir- 
ginia, was made the first president of the 
Supreme Court of Appeals. 

Reginald C. Hewes was educated in the 
public schools of Clarksburg and at the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. In 1885 he came to 
Charleston in the capacity of telegraph oper- 
ator in the office of the receiver of the Ohio 
Central Railway, and appreciation was shown 
his ability and fidelity by his rapid promotion 
in the railroad service. He became assistant 
train dispatcher, chief dispatcher and later 
acting train master. After retiring from the 
railroad, Mr. Hewes entered the telegraphic 
service of the Associated Press and during the 
years that followed until 1893, was considered 
one of the most accurate and expert operators 
in the service. He was the first operator in 
West Virginia to accomplish the difficult feat 
of receiving the Morse characters and writ- 
ing them directly on the typewriter, a practice 
now general but much easier of accomplish- 
ment owing to improvements designed ex- 
pressly for this purpose. Since 1893 Mr. 
Hewes has been identified with the office of 



the United States Engineer and since 1899 
has been chief clerk. 

In 1892 Mr. Hewes was married to Miss 
Mary L. Eagan, a daughter of David Eagan, 
a resident of Charleston, where Mrs. Hewes 
was reared and educated. They have had four 
children : Mary Elizabeth, Eloise C, Ernest 
T. and Reginald C, the last named dying in 
infancy. Mr. Hewes is a member of the Pres- 
byterian church. He is a Republican but has 
never taken an active part in politics. 

THE NUTTER FAMILY.* an old and 
important one in West Virginia, has an inter- 
esting history. 

The name of Xutter was associated with 
trappers and hunters in the early days of set- 
tlement in Harrison County, now West Vir- 
ginia, and if family records had been pre- 
served, much might be added to the biography 
of the present generation of descendants, one 
of whom is Mrs. Martha N. (Nutter) Jordan, 
wife of James Vinton Jordan, an extensive 
stockraiser in Elk District, Kanawha County. 

Matthew Xutter. the paternal grandfather 
of Mrs. Jordan, married Mary Starr and they 
settled on Reedy Creek, in Harrison County, 
where Mr. Xutter engaged in farming but 
particularly in stock raising, and was one of 
the first to successfully raise horses and cattle 
for market in his district. After his death his 
widow continued this feature and thus paid off 
a mortgage that was on the property and be- 
came a woman of independent means through 
her own energy. She was a brave and cour- 
ageous person as her work and surroundings 
demanded her to be. for the region was yet 
a wild one and it was necessary for her to 
have every resourceful expedient of pioneer- 
ing at hand. She had many adventures but 
perhaps the one in which she most nearly lost 
her life was once, when out on the hills with 
her cattle she found herself followed by a 
panther. She knew the only means of escape 
was to frighten the beast and to quickly leave 
the neighborhood, so she grasped the tail of 
the bell-wether cow and was thus dragged to 
near home by the frightened animal. 

Thomas Nutter, one of the sons of Mat- 
thew and Mary (Starr) Xutter, was born on 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



943 



Reedy Creek, Harrison County, W. Va., Au- 
gust 13, 1 82 1, and died February 28, 1900. 
When he was eleven years old he started for 
Elk District, Kanawha County, where a 
brother was working in the salt business, 
walked the entire distance and after reaching 
the works near Maiden, found employment 
there and later worked on a steamboat. After 
he married he operated a cooper shop for sev- 
eral years, barrels for salt as for other com- 
modities all being made by hand in those days. 
In 1857 he bought a farm near Mink, in Elk 
District, on which he lived until 1890, when 
he retired and moved to Charleston. He was 
a very active Republican and at one time was 
nominated by his party for county sheriff but 
Home Guards and was colonel of the militia 
declined the honor. He was a member of the 
from 1 861 until 1865. Although entirely self 
educated, Mr. Nutter became a man of im- 
portance, managed large business affairs and 
was a citizen whom his associates looked up 
to and respected. He was a member of the A. 
C. church. 

Mr. Nutter was married first in 1841, to 
Martha McDaniel, who died April 25, 1858. 
The following children were born to them: 
America, who is the wife of G. Arnold, of 
Seattle, Wash. : Mary. Eliza Jane, Josephine 
and Melvina, all of whom are deceased; Will- 
iam E.. who resides at No. 719 Bigley Ave- 
nue. Charleston: James T.. who is a farmer 
in Clay County. W. Va. : and George H., 
who is deceased. Mr. Nutter was married 
second to Anne Copen, who died February 
14. 1875, aged forty-five years. She was a 
daughter of William Copen, who owned a 
farm near Copenhaver in Elk District. To 
the second marriage the following children 
were born: Almeda, who is the wife of L. 
Walker, of Charleston. W. Va. : McClellan, 
who resides in Braxton County: Curtiss, who 
lives at Uniontown. Kas. : Martha N.. who 
is the wife of James Vinton Jordan, of Elk 
District. Kanawha County: Thomas E., now 
a resident of Kanawha County, who served 
as a soldier in the Spanish- American War: 
Delia, who is the wife of George Bowers, a 
sawyer at Charleston : and Olivia, who is now 
deceased. 



Martha N. Nutter of the above family was 
given excellent educational advantages, at- 
tending school until she was eighteen years of 
age. She then put her education to practical 
use by becoming a teacher and a very accept- 
able one, and taught two terms at Poca Fork, 
prior to her marriage, on May 26, 1889, to 
James Vinton Jordan. To Air. and Mrs. 
Jordan three children have been born, namely : 
Bessie, Grant and Emory V. Bessie was born 
June 21, 1 89 1, is a graduate of the Normal 
School and is a teacher in District No. 3, Elk 
District. Both she and her mother are mem- 
bers of the Grange at Mink Station. Grant, 
who was born December 9, 1893, resides at 
home and is a student in the Charleston 
Normal School. Emory V., who was born 
in March, 1899, attends school. Mrs. Jordan 
is a member of the A. C. church. 

CHARLES E. COPELAND, M. D., who 
is a representative member of the medical 
profession at Charleston, W. Va., engaged 
in general practice and making a specialty 
of diseases of children, is also an interested 
and useful citizen of Charleston. West 
Side. He was born May 10, 1867, near Al- 
derson, Monroe County, W. Va., and grew 
to manhood in Wolf Creek District. 

By the time he was seventeen years of 
age he had acquired the necessary educa- 
tion that fitted him for teaching school and 
he still further prepared himself by taking 
a full course in the Shenandoah Normal 
College, at Harrisonburg, Va., where he 
was graduated in 1889. He continued to 
teach school and also began his medical 
studies, later entering the Baltimore Med- 
ical College, where he was graduated with 
his degree in 1893. Subsequently Dr. 
Copeland received five certificates from the 
Baltimore Medical College and the Balti- 
more City Hospital, these certificates hav- 
ing been won for operative surgery, dis- 
eases of children, physical diagnosis and 
diseases of the chest. He began practice 
in Wolf Creek District, where he continued 
for three years and then went to Lindside. 
in Monroe County, and continued there for 
five vears. after which he came to Charles- 



914 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ton. He has built up a substantial prac- 
tice and has won the confidence of the sec- 
tion of the city in which he has established 
himself. Dr. Copeland is a member of the 
Kanawha County, the State and the Amer- 
ican Medical Associations. He is medical 
examiner for a number of insurance orders 
and is fraternally connected with the Ma- 
sons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of 
Pythias and the A. O. U. W. 

Dr. Copeland was married in Monroe 
County, \Y. Va., to Miss Luella Conner, 
who was born in 1879, in Wolf Creek Dis- 
trict, Monroe County, where she was reared 
and educated. Dr. and Mrs. Copeland have 
one daughter, Gladys Conner, who was 
born September 12, 1898, and is now a stu- 
dent in Sherrad Hall, a private educational 
.institution. Mrs. Copeland is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. 
and Mrs. Copeland have a beautiful home, 
their residence being situated at No. 1532 
Quarrier Street. In politics Dr. Copeland 
is a Republican and he has served two 
terms as a member of the city council. 

JOHN D. LEWIS.— He was a descendant 
of John Lewis, the founder of Staunton. Ya., 
who was one of the first, if not the first, to 
enter into the territory that was made Au- 
gusta county, Va. He, the said John Lewis, 
came from Ireland to Philadelphia and went 
into the Shenandoah Valley with Jost Hite in 
1732. Augusta and Frederick were made in 
1738, and were organized — Frederick in 
1743. and Augusta in 1745. 

When Augusta County was first made, on 
December 9, 1745, in Staunton by the follow- 
ing justiciary, viz : John Lewis. John Brown, 
Thomas Lewis (son of John), Robert Cun- 
ningham, Peter Scholl. John Pickens, Hugh 
Thompson, James Kerr and Adam Dickinson, 
gentlemen justices, James Patton was made 
sheriff, John Madison was made clerk. Gabriel 
Jones was the prosecuting attorney, Thomas 
Lewis was made surveyor. John Lewis was 
given the contract to erect the county build- 
ings. We note that Madison, Jones and Tom 
Lewis were brothers-in-law. all three having 
married sisters, the Misses Strothers. of Staf- 



ford, and they all lived at Port Republic, in 
Augusta. It might be said that the Lewises 
had control of the court, but when they only 
gave John Lewis £148 for the buildings', there 
was no chance for graft in that contract. 

John Lewis's wife was said to have been 
Margaret Lynn of Scotland and several of his 
sons were there born and only the youngest 
son, Charles, was born in America. W hether 
Samuel Lewis was a son or a kinsman is an 
unsettled problem. 

Andrew Lewis was the soldier, and Thomas 
had bad eyes, which would not allow him to 
be a soldier, but he was a surveyor and a 
statesman. In 1774 when the little army was 
directed to march from southwest Virginia 
to the Ohio river, at the mouth of the Ka- 
nawha, the command of this army was given 
to General Andrew Lewis, and Governor Dun- 
more was to proceed to Pittsburg and down 
the Ohio and meet General Lewis at Point 
Pleasant, but he failed to meet General Lewis 
and let the Indians attack Lewis, who had to 
fight the battle of Oct. 10, 1774, alone. 

Col. Charles Lewis was given the command 
of the Augusta regiment, which had six com- 
panies therein and John Lewis, son of Thomas 
Lewis, was captain of one of those companies. 
John Frogg was the sutler of the regiment 
and his wife was Agatha Lewis, a grand- 
daughter of Thomas Lewis. It appears that 
the Lewis family was prominent in the army 
as it was in the court, but the sutler took his 
gun and fought with the rest and lost his life 
in the battle. Col. Charles Lewis, the favorite 
of the army, was also killed in the battle and 
buried on the ground. Col. Charles made his 
will before he left home and there was a son 
born to his wife before he was killed, and he 
took the name of his father, "Charles Lewis." 

The wife of Col. Charles Lewis was Sarah 
Murray, and their children were John, An- 
drew, Elizabeth, Margaret and Charles. This 
son. Charles Jr. was educated and commis- 
sioned by Washington as a lieutenant and 
served against the Indians, under General 
Wayne in the West, in 1795. Lieutenant 
Charles returned to Bath county and married 
Jane Dickinson, a daughter of Col. John Dick- 
inson, who was wounded in the battle of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



945 



Point Pleasant, Oct. 10, 1774, and was the 
owner of the 502-acre tract at the mouth of 
Campbell"s creek, on which the Salt Spring 
was located, and which was purchased by 
Joseph Ruffner and on which the first salt was 
made in Kanawha. Lieut. Charles Lewis died 
in 1803, leaving his wife Jane and two sons, 
John Dickinson Lewis and Charles Cameron 
Lewis. The mother with her sons came to 
Mason county and afterwards married Capt. 
James Wilson, an attorney of Kanawha. 

Lewis Summers says in 1808, he met James 
Wilson in Charleston — July 4, 1808 — and 
that Mr. Wilson was in a hurry to go to 
Mason to court ( ?). Evidently the boys were 
brought to Charleston and John D. Lewis 
was sent to school to Mr. Crutchfield and later 
to Lewis Ruffner. 

When John D. Lewis was twenty-two years 
of age he sold his interest in the farm and 
was employed by Dickinson and Shrewsbury 
as a salt maker. Afterwards he became a salt 
maker for himself and continued in the busi- 
ness until 1856, after which he gave his at- 
tention to clearing up farms and selling land 
in Kanawha and in Nicholas counties. His 
home was on the Kanawha, about five miles 
above Charleston, on the 502 acres that were 
patented by his grandfather, Col. John Dick- 
inson in 1785 and sold to Jos. Ruffner in 
1793- 

John D. Lewis was a busy man, the owner 
of much real estate; in politics he was a Whig; 
his religious preference was for the Episcopal 
church, and he. attended the Presbyterian 
when there was no church of his preference 
in the neighborhood. He was -seriously op- 
posed to secession and perhaps the only speech 
he ever made was in opposition to it, in the 
spring of 1861. He was a Scotchman whose 
ancestor lived in Ireland and came therefrom 
to America. 

His first wife was Sally Shrewsbury, 
daughter of Joel Shrewsbury, and she left 
one son, Joel S. Lewis. His next wife was 
Ann Dickinson, daughter of Col. AVilliam 
Dickinson ; she left three children, Sally J., 
Charles C, and Mary. His third wife was 
Betty Darneal, a daughter of Jacob Darneal. 



She left two children, Julia and William. His 
fourth wife was Mrs. Sally Spears; she left 
no children to Mr. Lewis. He died in 1882, 
aged 82*^ years. Mr. Lewis was a very 
positive, decided upright man, one of the old 
style men that directed his own affairs. While 
positive, he was conscientious and kind. 

Miss Sally J. Lewis married Henry Clay 
Dickinson. Miss Mary, her sister, married 
John Quincy Dickinson, the brother of Capt. 
H. Clay Dickinson — brothers married sisters. 

Charles C. Lewis married Miss Elizabeth 
Wilson, who was a Ruffner descendant. 

Julia married James Madison Hite Beal of 
Mason county. 

William married Miss Jennie G. Stanley. 

The eldest son was Joel Shrewsbury Lewis, 
who lived in Raleigh county. He was said 
to have been the picture of General Andrew- 
Lewis. Joel has been deceased for some 
years. 

An incident shows the man. John Dickinson 
Lewis was at home and had been laid up for 
some time in his room and he told Mrs. Lewis 
(No. 4) that he was going to Nicholas on 
some business and to prepare his saddle bags, 
as he had to ride horseback about 75 miles 
and would be gone a week or so. She coaxed 
him not to think of going, but "he had said 
it." She sent for his physician to have him 
tell him the consequences and keep him from 
going. Dr. Ewing came and was instructed 
by Mrs. Lewis. The Doctor came to his bed- 
side and told him it would not do and the con- 
sequences might be fatal, etc. Mr. Lewis 
asked him if that was what he came for, and 
he admitted that it was, and he then said, 
"Doctor, you can go home, for I'm going on 
Monday next," and he went and did well. 

His son, Charles C, belonged to a military 
company, which he had joined in 1858. Y\ "hen 
the war came on the company wanted to offer 
its services to Virginia in 1861. Mr. J. D. 
Lewis was opposed to the War of Seccession 
and he told Charles he must not go, but to 
remain with him. Charles was under no ob- 
ligations to go, and he was in the habit of 
obeying the commands of his father, and he 
did not go — he did right. 



946 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



JOHN SLACK COLE,* proprietor of the 
John Slack Cole Engineering Co., of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., and a lifelong resident, was born 
here January i, 1877, and is a son of John 
Lewis and Anna (Slack) Cole. 

John Lewis Cole was born on Cabin Creek, 
Kanawha County, where his parents had set- 
tled as pioneers and his father was a farmer. 
The youth, however, cared nothing for agri- 
cultural pursuits, ' possessing talents in an en- 
tirely different direction and these he devel- 
oped through individual effort. He became a 
surveyor and a lawyer and later was con- 
sidered an authority on the value of West Vir- 
ginia real estate. He surveyed much of the 
wild land in the state and one of these tracts 
is what is now known as the Griffith oil terri- 
tory, and for a number of years was county 
surveyor, spending the greater part of his 
active life at Charleston. He was elected state 
librarian and was faithful to the charge en- 
trusted to him. Much of the early history of 
Charleston and Kanawha County has been 
preserved in the records so carefully kept by 
the late John Lewis Cole. He was born in 
1827 and died in 1901. In 1874 he married 
Fannie Slack, a daughter of John Slack, Sr., 
who, at different times served as sheriff of 
Kanawha County. Mrs. Cole was born at 
Charleston in 1848 and died in 1888. They 
had but one child, John Slack Cole. In pol- 
itics, John L. Cole was a Democrat. He was 
a charter member of the Masonic lodge at 
Maiden, which was established prior to the 
Civil War. In addition to his other talents he 
was an artist of no mean ability. 

John Slack Cole was reared at Charleston 
and attended the public schools until 1894. He 
studied his father's work in which he found 
much to interest and claim his attention, and 
under his direction learned civil, mining and 
consulting engineering and after his father's 
death continued the business and has associated 
with him a graduate of Princeton University 
and the University of Virginia. He maintains 
his offices in the McCrorey Building and does 
a large amount of business. In politics he is 
a Democrat and when but twenty-one years of 
age was honored by his party with a nomina- 
tion for county surveyor. 



JOHN A. GARDNER, general real estate 
dealer at Charleston, W. Va., occupying offices 
in the Odd Fellow Building, is a native of this 
city, born in 187 1 and securing his education 
up to the age of thirteen years in the Charles- 
ton schools. He is a son of John Monroe and 
Isabel (Pollock) Gardner, and a grandson of 
Nathan Gardner. 

Nathan Gardner came to the Kanawha Val- 
ley from Rockbridge County, Va., early in the 
fifties. He had started for California but his 
wife died when they had only reached Maiden, 
Kanawha County, on their way, and with his 
domestic circle thus broken, Nathan Gardner 
evidently lost his ambition to proceed to the 
far West. He died in Kanawha County in 
1878, at the age of seventy years. Two of his 
children yet survive: Mrs. Lizzie Sentz and 
James, both residents of Charleston. 

John Monroe Gardner was born in 181 5 in 
Rockbridge County, Va., and accompanied his 
parents to the Kanawha Valley. As a flat-boat 
man he early became well known on the river 
and through this merited notoriety became 
connected with the State Board of Improve- 
ment and was subsequently made superin- 
tendent of improvements on the river, in which 
capacity he served for thirty years. During 
this time the U. S. Government took over the 
work of improvement, retaining the services of 
Mr. Gardner until he retired, his death occur- 
ring in 1 89 1. He was better acquainted with 
the Kanawha River and its improving* than 
many of the expert engineers, having spent al- 
most all his life on its waters and having made 
this his main interest. He was held in very 
high esteem by public officials as well as hosts 
of friends, his honesty, fidelity and efficiency 
bringing him respect from all who knew him. 
In ln's church relations he was a Presbyterian 
and in politics he was a Democrat. In early 
manhood he became identified with Kanawha 
Lodge No. 25, Odd Fellows and filled all the 
chairs of the organization. He married Isabel 
Pollock, whose whole life was sperit in Ka- 
nawha County, her death preceding that of 
her husband by a number of years. He sub- 
sequently married Mrs. Anna (Johnson) 
Woodward, but all of his six children were 
born to his first union. Charles E., the eldest, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



947 



was born and reared at Charleston and was 
associated with his father during the latter's 
active years and after his retirement, succeeded 
as river superintendent. He resides at Belle, 
Kanawha County, with wife and family of 
children. He is a prominent Odd Fellow and 
belongs to the Encampment. William H. died 
at the age of twenty-seven years and is sur- 
vived by a widow and one child. Theresa died 
when aged four years. Ella N. resides at 
Charleston and is the widow of E. O. Lang- 
horn. She has two sons, both of whom are 
married. Mary M. is the wife of W. H. Mor- 
rison, who conducts a hotel at Washington, 
D. C. 

John Andrew Gardner, the youngest mem- 
ber of the family, was thirteen years of age 
when he started as a messenger boy for the 
Government River Improvement Board, in 
Charleston. Later he went on a river boat and 
had a practical training in navigation, so that 
by the time he was twenty-one years of age he 
was a licensed pilot. He remained on the river 
as a captain and as a pilot until he was twenty- 
eight years of age, when he engaged in a gen- 
eral mercantile business, and for the past seven 
years has devoted himself especially to hand- 
ling real estate and owns a number of sub- 
stantial properties. He is a member of the 
Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Red 
Men and the Eagles, being more or less prom- 
inent in all these organizations. He is identified 
with the Democratic party. 

G. KUHN CABELL,* manager of the 
stores for the West Virginia Colliery Com- 
pany, on Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, W. 
Va., and a far-seeing business man, was born 
June 17, 1872, at Charleston, W. Va., and is 
a son of Napoleon B. and Lavina (Wood) 
Cabell. 

Napoleon B. Cabell was born in Virginia 
and in early manhood came to Kanawha Coun- 
ty and settled at Maiden, where he became 
identified with the salt industry, and he and 
his father-in-law, Henry Wood, operated a 
salt furnace. After leaving Maiden he became 
interested in real estate and banking at 
Charleston, with James Brown, and afterward 
retired to the Cabell farm on Elk River, five 

51 



miles from the capital city, where he resided 
until the close of his life. His widow then 
retired to Charleston, where her death sub- 
sequently took place. They had seven chil- 
dren: William, Florence, Hewitt, Charles, 
George Kuhn, Rosa and Ann, of whom Flor- 
ence, Hewitt, Charles and George survive. 
Florence is the widow of Albert Pierce. Rosa 
was the wife of Harry Comstock. 

G. Kuhn Cabell was educated in the public 
schools of Charleston, in his earlier years 
worked on a farm, was a clerk in a grocery 
store and later was employed in the Roy Fur- 
niture factory. After this he was with the 
Charleston Transfer Company prior to taking 
charge of the Dickinson Lumber Company 
stores. In 1899 he came to the West Vir- 
ginia Colliery Company as store manager and 
continued with the successors of this company 
on the K. & M. side of the river, the Kanawha 
& Hocking Coal Company. Still later when 
the old company was organized on the Cabin 
Creek side, Mr. Cabell resumed his old rela- 
tions with that organization and in 1903 be- 
came a stockholder in the same, taking up his 
residence at Wevaco, Kanawha County. His 
position is one that requires considerable busi- 
ness shrewdness as he has the purchasing of all 
supplies for the company's five stores. 

Mr. Cabell was married November 14, 1904, 
to Miss Madge Burks, a daughter of W. P. 
and Margaret Burks, and they have two chil- 
dren : Charles and Margaret. They are mem- 
bers of the Episcopal church. Mr. Cabell is 
identified with the Elks at Charleston. 

W. FROST BROWN, president of the 
Brown Milling and Produce Company, of 
Charleston, W. Va., a large enterprise which 
was incorporated in March, 191 1, is a progres- 
sive and representative business man of this 
city. He was born October 26, 1881, at Mt. 
Carmel, Pa., and is a son of William N. and 
Emma (Garrett) Brown. 

William N. Brown was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, October 26, 1844, and died Feb. 10th, 
191 1, at Charleston, where his widow still 
resides. When less than eighteen years of age, 
in 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil 
War, becoming a member of Company E. 



948 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



129th Pa., Vol. Inf. He was promoted to the 
rank of sergeant of his company and at the 
expiration of his service re-enlisted with the 
rank of lieutenant, but before the regiment 
went to the front, his parents succeeded in 
withdrawing him, as he was under military 
age. After the war was over he went to Vir- 
ginia, where he became interested in the coal 
industry, and from there came to the New 
River coal fields and the Gauley River section. 
Some nineteen years before his death he came 
to Charleston and spent eighteen years as spe- 
cial accountant for various coal companies, and 
as expert examiner of coal properties. He 
was very well known at Charleston and in this 
vicinity, for two terms was commander of 
Bloundon Post, G. A. R., and was adjutant- 
general of the G. A. R. of the state. At the 
time of his death he was State Aide de Camp 
to the National Commander in Chief of the 
G. A. R. Politically he was a Republican and 
in fraternal life he was active, belonging to the 
Masons, Odd Fellows and the American 
Mechanics. He was a worthy member of the 
First Methodist Episcopal Church of Charles- 
ton, to which his widow is also attached. They 
had the following children : Elizabeth ; Mar- 
garet, wife of A. J. YYeethee, of Cabin Creek; 
George F., secretary of the Brown Milling 
and Produce Company: T. Boone, with Mor- 
ris Fork Coal Co. of Columbus, O. ; W. Frost; 
and May, residing with her mother and 
brothers. 

W. Frost Brown was educated in the 
Charleston schools and afterward was con- 
nected with the clerical department of the K. 
& M. Railroad, where he finally became chief 
clerk, and filled this office with the general 
agent of the company for this road at Charles- 
ton. From June, 1906. until January, 191 1, 
Mr. Brown was a member of the wholesale 
jobbing firm of the Steele & Brown Co.. since 
when he has been identified with the Brown 
Milling and Produce Company, successor to the 
J. A. Carr Feed & Produce Company. Of 
this new company, Mr. Brown is president : T. 
M. Anderson, of Petersburg, Va.. vice presi- 
dent; G. F. Brown, secretary; and Edward 
Calderwood. treasurer. The capital stock of 
the company is $45,000, and a wholesale busi- 



ness is done, largely within West Virginia, 
four men being kept on the road. 

Mr. Brown married Miss Lula L. Botkin, 
who was born in Charleston and being left an 
orphan in her infancy, was adopted by her 
grandfather, C. J. Botkin. The latter was 
once a very prominent citizen of Kanawha 
County, serving as sheriff and also as mayor 
of Charleston. His death occurred in 1904. 
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are members of the First 
Presbyterian Church. 

PATRICK T. BOARD * a railroad con- 
tractor and builder residing at Charleston. W. 
Va., occupying his handsome residence at No. 
1820 Quarrier Street, has been a lifelong 
resident of Kanawha County and was born 
June 26, 1875 at Well ford, which was for- 
merly known as Junction Palace. His parents 
are John H. and Susanna (Gwinn) Board. 

John H. Board was born also in Kanawha 
County and has devoted himself to agricul- 
tural pursuits. His birth took place in 1850 
and that of his wife three years later. The 
paternal grandfather, Patrick Board, was a 
farmer in Greenbrier. Va., where he died at 
the age of thirty-three years, leaving three 
children: John H. : Joseph, a resident of 
Clendennin ; and Nancy, wife of John H. 
Lowe, residing at Well ford. John H. Board 
was only ten years old when his father died 
and he had his own way to make in the world. 
In early manhood he married Susanna Gwinn, 
one of a family of three sons and five (laugh- 
ters. To Mr. and Mrs. Board seven children 
were bom, namely : Charles, engaged in the 
contracting business at Clendenin, W. Va.. 
who married Edna Schaffer ; Nona, who is the 
wife of Meade Schaffer. and resides at Well- 
ford; Laura, who is the wife of William 
Brown; Opie, contractor residing at Garrison, 
Ky.. who married Nellie Gunther; Ethel, who 
is the wife of Edward Young, residing at 
Wellford : and Carlos, who lives with his 
parents; Patrick T.. being one of the older 
members of the family. 

Patrick T. Board attended the public schools 
of Wellford and when twenty years of age em- 
barked in a mercantile business at Clay Court 
House, where he continued for several years. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



949 



after which he became buyer for the Ridder 
Lumber Company at that place and remained 
with that concern for two years. Mr. Board 
then went into contracting for railroad con- 
struction, his first piece of work being twenty- 
five miles of the Coal & Coke Company Rail- 
road, in 1 90 1, which kept him busy for sev- 
eral years. He has done a great deal of similar 
work and for the greater part of the last ten 
years has clone railroad constructing for the 
C. & O. Railroad, having completed large con- 
tracts on Cabin Creek, Loop Creek, Coal 
River, and for the past fourteen months has 
been engaged in building the double track for 
this railroad between Garrison and Buena 
Vista, and between Rome and Concord, giving 
employment to 100 men and sometimes more. 
To handle such large enterprises successfully 
and profitably, requires many qualities and 
these Mr. Board evidently possesses. In 1895 
he attended the Huntington Business College. 

On January 14, 1900, Mr. Board was mar- 
ried to Miss Cora Carr, a daughter of Dr. 
Claudius and Heloise (Mace) Carr, who reside 
in Kanawha County. Mr. and Mrs. Board 
have four children : Bernard, Elizabeth, Pat- 
rick and Robert. They are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, south, this being 
the faith of Mr. Board's mother, while his 
father is a member of the Baptist church. In 
June, 1905, he completed the erection of the 
beautiful residence on Ouarrier Street. He is 
identified with the Masonic lodge at Clay 
Court House. 

COL. BENJAMIN HARRISON SMITH, 
deceased, was born October 31, 1797. near 
Harrisonburg, Va., and died at Charleston, 
Kanawha County, W. Va., December 10, 
1887. He was a son of Benjamin Harrison 
and Elizabeth (Cravens) Smith, the latter 
being a daughter of Major Robert and Mary 
(Harrison) Cravens, both of his grandmothers 
being Harrisons, his paternal grandfather. Col. 
Daniel Smith, having married Jane Harrison. 
Colonel Smith came of very substantial and 
distinguished Scotch-Irish ancestors, being a 
lineal descendant in the male line of Capt. John 
Smith, of Augusta County, Va., who had been 
an officer in the British army, later served in 



the Colonial army and aided Major Andrew 
Lewis in driving Governor Lord Dunmore 
from Virginia, at the opening of the Revolu- 
tionary War. Four of Col. Daniel Smith's 
sons were officers in the Revolutionary army, 
one of whom, Benjamin Harrison Smith, was 
the father, as noted above, of Col. Benjamin 
Harrison Smith. In 1810, the father of the 
late Colonel Smith, removed from the Valley 
or Virginia with all his slaves preparatory to 
giving them their freedom, which he did, after 
reaching what is now the site of Lancaster, O. 

It was while living in Ohio that Col. Smith 
met with an accident on his father's farm that 
confined him to his bed for some weeks and 
probably was the means of determining his 
future career. According to his own state- 
ment he had been a hearty, careless youth, only 
happy when out of doors and engaged in phys- 
ical exercise and it was a terrible strain when 
he not only had to remain in bed but keep still 
in order that the severed ligaments of his 
knee might knit together. By chance a book 
with the title, "Thinks I To Myself," fell into 
his hands and in its perusal he became inter- 
ested and thus was awakened the sense of the 
value of literature which contributed so largely 
to his future success in his profession, he, him- 
self, asserting that from that time on it was his 
ambition to read everything that he could 
secure. He willingly went to Athens and en- 
tered school there, graduating creditably, and 
later was a law student for nearly three years 
in the office of Hon. Thomas Ewing, Sr. As 
an interesting side light, it may be remembered 
that Hon. Thomas Ewing pursued his educa- 
tion under adverse circumstances, studying 
law and Latin while attending to a salt furnace 
in Kanawha County. 

In February, 1822, Mr. Smith came to Ka- 
nawha County and shortly afterward made it 
his permanent home. His earliest business as- 
sociation was with the late James Craik, who 
was a son of Dr. James Craik, of Alexandria. 
Va. Mr. Craik subsequently became a min- 
ister of the Gospel and had charge of the Epis- 
copal Church at Charleston, in 1844 moving 
to Louisville, Ky., where he had charge of 
Christ Church, and was succeeded by his son. 
Rev. Charles Craik, pastor of Christ Cathedral. 



950 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY* 



Louisville. Colonel Smith, himself, never 
seemed to have any church preference although 
his family was connected with the Presby- 
terian church, and to that church he gave his 
support. 

In 1833, Colonel Smith was elected a del- 
egate to the Virginia State Senate and was 
twice re-elected, being a Whig in his political 
beliefs. In 1849 ne was appointed district at- 
torney, by President Taylor and in 1855 was 
a member of the Virginia Constitutional Con- 
vention. In 1862 he was a member of the 
Wheeling Convention which formed the State 
of West Virginia. He was appointed U. S. 
district attorney by President Lincoln and con- 
tinued in office for four years, when he re- 
signed. In 1868 he was a candidate for gov- 
ernor of West Virginia, on the Democratic 
ticket but was not elected. This bore the ap- 
pearance of a change in his political views, but 
the change was principally in the people and 
the times. He was a consistent Union man, 
during the Civil War from conviction, al- 
though his friends and relatives, including his 
only son, were in the Southern ranks. As dis- 
trict attorney in the Federal courts, he treated 
returned soldiers of both sides with impartial 
justice, for which he sometimes suffered abuse. 

Colonel Smith married Miss Roxalana 
Noyes, whose father, Isaac Noyes, came early 
to this valley and was a merchant and salt 
manufacturer. The mother of Mrs. Smith 
was Cynthia Morris, who belonged to one of 
the earliest families of Kanawha. Three chil- 
dren were born to them: C. Elizabeth, Isaac 
Noyes, and R. Emmeline. The eldest of the 
family, C. Elizabeth Smith, married Fred- 
erick F. Brooks, and their children were : H. 
S., Frederick N., Morris O. and Lillie R. The 
last mentioned married William Burlingham. 
who was born in Erie, Pa., in 1839. Mr. 
Burlingham came to Charleston about 1870, in 
1874 he moved to Baltimore, Md.. and had 
three sons born in Baltimore — Frederick Har- 
rison, unmarried, now living in Paris, France ; 
William, who married Ethel Robertson, of 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and has three children, and 
Prentice Hale, who married Bessie B. Russell, 
of Troy, N. Y., but has no children. 

Isaac Noyes Smith, the only son, married 



Caroline Quarrier, and they had five children : 
Benjamin H., Harrison Brooks, Elsie Q., 
Christopher T. and Isaac N. Benjamin H. 
Smith is now deceased. Harrison Brooks 
Smith married Katharine Bowne and they have 
three children. Elsie Q. Smith married F. M. 
Staunton and has a daughter, Caroline Q. 
Christopher T. Smith is deceased. Isaac N. 
Smith married Elizabeth Dana and has five 
children. R. Emmeline Smith, the youngest 
of the family, married Col. A. B. Jones, and 
they have a daughter, Lana Noyes, who was 
married first to W. B. Dixon, and secondly 
to D. T. Laine. 

Col. Benjamin H. Smith was of a tempera- 
ment that made him friends, and that also 
made him unpopular with some. That is, he 
was outspoken as to his own opinions and firm 
in his convictions. In Kanawha county dif- 
ferent opinions were held on the subject of 
slaven r , and while there were many here who 
opposed it. there were a great many who re- 
garded it as a sacred right, not to be inter- 
fered with in any way. There were many who 
believed in the gradual emancipation of the 
slaves and who were gradually getting rid of 
their own. It was about 1830-32, it will be 
remembered, that a large proportion of the 
best men in Virginia were said to entertain 
these plans, and that even Thomas Jefferson 
advocated this policy. 

As a lawyer Col. Smith was thoroughly 
versed in the principles of his profession, and 
he continued to make the law a life-long study, 
paying much attention to the land laws of 
Virginia. He stood among the foremost men 
at the bar. As a lawyer, statesman, and other- 
wise, he was a strong man. He was full of 
humor, sweet natured and well disposed. His 
immediate family claimed his closest attention; 
their respect and affection surrounded him, and 
their pride in his achievements has prompted 
many memorials. 

CHARLES GUNTHER PEYTON.* 
cashier for the large coal corporations which 
include the West Virginia Colliery Company, 
the Carbon Coal Company and the Republic 
Coal Company, all located on Cabin Creek. 
Kanawha County, W. Va., has been a resi- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



951 



dent of this county for the past fifteen years 
but was born in Albemarle County, Va. His 
parents were Charles S. and Sallie E. (Bran- 
ham) Peyton, who had five children: Pickett 
and Henry, both of whom are deceased ; J. 
Goss, who is a resident of St. Paul, Minn. ; 
Lucy F. ; and Charles Gunther. 

Charles G. Peyton, the youngest of the 
above family, was born October 26, 1874, and 
was four years old when his parents moved to 
West Virginia. He was reared in Greenbrier 
County. His education was secured in the pub- 
lic schools and in a business college at Staun- 
ton, Va., after which he spent two years in 
New Mexico. After he returned to West Vir- 
ginia he entered the Kanawha Valley Bank as 
bookkeeper and remained there for seven years. 
In 1902 he came to the present corporation, 
first as bookkeeper for the Carbon Coal Com- 
pany, his duties and responsibilities increasing 
as the business expanded. Mr. Peyton is fi- 
nancially interested in the Raven Run Oil Com- 
pany and also in western and Mexican mines, 
and is a stockholder in the Providence Life 
and Casualty Insurance Company, of which he 
is the agent at Carbon, W. Va. 

Mr. Peyton was married September 7, 1904, 
to Miss Susan Park Wool folk, and they have 
two children : Charles Gunther and Gordon 
Pickett. Mr. and Mrs. Peyton are members 
of the Christian church. Politically he is a 
Democrat and fraternally a Mason and is 
identified with the Masonic lodge at Mont- 
gomery, W. Va. 

WILLIAM F. SHAWVER,* president of 
the Shawver Company, with business quarters 
at No. 630 Kanawha Street, Charleston, W. 
Va., where they deal in roofing and in all kinds 
of kitchen wares, is one of the representative 
business men of this city, to which he came in 
1893. He was born in Greenbrier County, 
W. Va., in 1863, and is a son of William C. 
and Sarah C. (Crane) Shawver. 

William C. Shawver was born in Greenbrier 
County and followed farming in the section 
known as the Meadows, where he died in 
1901. During the Civil War he was a soldier 
in the Confederate Army but in later years his 
views changed and for a number of years he 



was a Republican. He married Sarah C. 
Crane, also born in Greenbrier County and she 
survived him, her death occurring in August, 
19 10, at the age of seventy-three years. They 
were members of the Missionary Baptist church. 
Five children were born to them, three of 
whom survive. 

William F. Shawver was reared and edu- 
cated in his native county and for seven years 
taught school in Greenbrier and Fayette coun- 
ties. In 1893 he came to Charleston and ever 
since has been actively interested along his 
present lines, roofing, kitchen supplies and 
hardware, and in his present enterprise has 
been identified with C. P. Burdette, who is 
secretary and treasurer of the company, which 
was incorporated in 1903. As roofers this 
firm stands at the head of the trade, putting on 
roofing and cornices on buildings having been 
made one of their specialties and their perfect 
work may be seen on the finest public buildings 
and private structures in the city. 

Mr. Shawver was married in Fayette Coun- 
ty to Miss Anna E. Amick, who was born, 
reared and educated in Fayette County, and 
they have the following children: Lake, who 
is an electrician with the Carbon Coal Com- 
pany, on Cabin Creek; Guy E., who repre- 
sents the company in a commercial way ; Will- 
iam P., who is connected with the Francis 
Hospital at Springfield, Mo. ; and Walter F. 
and John, both at home. In politics Mr. Shaw- 
ver is a Republican. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity and with his family he be- 
longs to the Methodist Episcopal church. 

J. CHARLES MOHLER, secretary and 
treasurer of the Mohler Lumber Company, a 
very important business enterprise of Kanawha 
County, W. Va., located at Lock Seven, is one 
of the enterprising young business men of this 
section. He was born in Augusta County, Va., 
May 27, 1870, a member of one of the old 
settled families of that county. 

J. Charles Mohler was educated in his 
native county and came from there to Ka- 
nawha County in 1888. He had been prac- 
tically reared in the lumber business and has 
had his interest centered in this line more or 
less all his life. He has been identified with 



952 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the Mohler Lumber Company at Lock Seven 
ever since its organization. He has financial 
interests at different places, being a stockholder 
in the Bank of St. Albans and a stockholder 
and director in the Citizens National Bank of 
Charleston. 

Mr. Mohler was married to Miss Lena 
Blackwood, of Kanawha County, a daughter 
of William R. and Henrietta Blackwood, and 
they have two children, Madeline and Dorothy. 
After his marriage until 1903, Mr. Mohler 
lived at Lock Seven, but since then has resided 
with his family at Charleston. He is a mem- 
ber, trustee and steward of the First Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, at Charleston. For 
many years he has been identified with 
Masonry and belongs to all the branches at 
Charleston. In politics he is independent. 

JAMES M. LAING, superintendent of the 
Wyatt Coal Company, operating on Cabin 
Creek, Kanawha County, W. Va., and who has 
additional business interests in West Virginia, 
was born in Scotland, April 19, 1867, and 
was a babe eight weeks old when the family 
came to America. His parents were Alex- 
ander and Elizabeth (McAlpin) Laing. 

Alexander Laing and wife were born also 
in Scotland and his business was coal mining. 
In 1867 he came to the United States with his 
family and located first in Mercer County, Pa., 
and from there, in 1884 the family came to 
West Virginia and for three years lived at 
Blacksburg, in Kanawha County. Removal 
was then made to Mt. Carbon, where Alexan- 
der Laing died in 1887. His widow survives 
and in 1888 moved to Rush Run and her home 
is with her children as suits her convenience. 
They were ten in number, as follows : Jennie, 
who is the wife of R. A. Gilchrist, and resides 
at McAlpin, W. Va. ; John, who resides at 
Charleston, and is president of the McAlpin 
Coal Company; James M., subject of this 
sketch; Elizabeth, who is the wife of David 
Evendoll, of Sharon, W. Va. ; Margaret, who 
is the wife of W. B. Whitlock, of Fire Creek, 
W. Va. ; Mary, who is the wife of W. H. War- 
ren, of Richmond. Va. ; Bessie, who is the 
wife of J. D. Humphries, of Hinton, W. Va. ; 
Alexander, who lives at Sharon, W. Va. ; 



W illiam, who lives at McAlpin, W. Va. ; and 
Anna, who is the wife of vV. T. Green, of 
Charleston. 

James M. Laing was given good educational 
opportunities, attending scliools near his 
father's home and the Normal Schools at Leb- 
anon, O. In early manhood he entered into 
the mining business as bank boss at Red Ash. 
Later he was with the Sun Coal Company as 
mine boss, and later he became superintendent 
of the Cunard mines at Brooklyn. In 1906 
he became connected officially with the Wyatt 
Coal Company, of which he is also a stock- 
holder. Mr. Laing was one of the organizers 
and is a director of the McAlpin Coal Com- 
pany, a family business concern, which was 
named in honor of his mother, and of which 
John Laing is president; W. H. Warren is 
vice president and W . T. Green is secretary and 
treasurer. All the brothers and sisters are 
connected with Mr. Laing in this enterprise, 
the company having ooerated in Raleigh 
County, W. Va., since its organization in 1908. 
Mr. Laing is also vice president of the Mc- 
Gregor Coal Company, operating in Logan 
County, of which his brother, John Laing, is 
president, and his brother-in-law, W. T. Green, 
is secretary and treasurer. Additionally, Mr. 
Laing is a stockholder in the McCaa Coal 
Company, operating in Gilmer County ; a stock- 
holder in the Capital City Bank, at Charleston ; 
a stockholder in the New River Banking & 
Trust Company at Thurman ; a director in 
the F. H. Hammond Notion Company, at 
Charleston; and a stockholder in the East 
Norfolk Land Company, at Norfolk. Va. 
These many interests make him a very busy 
man ; he is well known in commercial circles 
and his business judgment is relied on by his 
associates and others. 

On August 16, 1898, Mr. Laing was mar- 
ried to Miss Anna Tamplin, a daughter of 
William and Elizabeth (Davis) Tamplin. 
Mrs. Laing was born in Ohio and was only 
six weeks old when her parents brought her 
to West Virginia. Her father was formerly 
a civil engineer and later became superintend- 
ent of the Cannelton Coal Company, in which 
business connection he remained for a number 
of years and his family spent a long period 




JAMES M. LAJj\G 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



955 



in the near vicinity of Charleston, where Mrs. 
Laing went to school. Her maternal grand- 
father, David J. Davis, came to West Virginia 
with a Philadelphia company and opened up 
the first coal mines at Winifrede, Kanawha 
County, and William Tamplin came with this 
company as civil engineer. Mr. and Mrs. 
Laing have one son, James T. He and wife 
attend the Presbyterian church. The family 
residence is at No. 1501 Virginia Street, 
Charleston. Politically Mr. Laing is a Re- 
publican, and fraternaly he is a Knight Tem- 
plar Mason and a "Shriner." 

JOHN H. JONES,* deceased, for many 
years was identified with business interests in 
West Virginia and for fifteen years was a 
resident of Charleston, his death occurring at 
Paris, Texas, where he was representing the 
C. L. Gregory Vinegar Company as a com- 
mercial traveler. Mr. Jones was born at 
Fayetteville, Fayette County, W. Va., Decem- 
ber 29, 1855, and died March 12, 1910. His 
parents were Levi and Letha (Petters) Jones, 
natives of West Virginia, where they lived 
and died when aged seventy-five years. The 
families came originally from Wales. Of the 
eight children, the late John H. Jones was an 
intermediate member of the family, four of 
which are living. 

John H. Jones was reared on his father's 
farm and attended the public schools in 
Fayette County and a school at Painesville, O. 
When about twenty years of age he became 
connected with M. T. Davis and Major Gor- 
don in their coal operations, and served 
eighteen years as a superintendent, and then 
embarked in the mercantile business at Bureg, 
W. Va., moving five years later to Huron, S. 
Dak., where he was in the mercantile business 
for three years. He came back to Fayette 
County and later became interested with the 
company with which he remained identified 
during the rest of his life. In 1904 he pur- 
chased his beautiful residence known as Fern 
Bank, which overlooks the Kanawha River. 
In his political views he was a Republican, and 
religiously a Baptist. 

Mr. Jones was married at Glascoe, Mo., 
December 8, 1881, to Miss Lillian Haston, 



who was born, reared and received a college 
education there. She is a daughter of Jesse 
and Julia (Carter) Haston. Ihe former was 
born in Tennessee and the latter in Maryland, 
and they were married at Carrolton, Mo., 
where she was a teacher at that time. They 
moved then on a farm and lived and died 
there, he at the age of seventy-seven years 
and she when aged seventy-five years. He 
had been married twice previously and was the 
father of twenty-one children. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jones had four children born to them, namely : 
E. Haston, Claude A., Ida Dakota and Roy. 
Levi. E. Haston Jones was born at Mont- 
gomery, W. Va., February 11, 1883, com- 
pleted his education at Charleston and is sec- 
retary and treasurer of the Kanawha Mining 
Car Company. He was married in Philadel- 
phia to Eva Marshall, who was born near Lon- 
don, Eng., and was brought to America by her 
parents when twelve years old. They have 
one son, Ward, born April 29, 191 1. Claude 
A. Jones was born October 7, 1885, attended 
the Charleston schools and the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, Md., where he was graduated 
as an ensign, in 1906, being one of seventy 
who graduated nine months prior to the reg- 
ular class graduation. He is now a lieutenant 
on the battleship North Carolina, which is sta- 
tioned at Portsmouth, N. H. Ida Dakota 
Jones was born September 20, 1897, at Huron, 
S. Dak., was educated in the High School and 
a commercial college at Charleston, and is 
employed in the clerical department of the Ka- 
nawha Valley Bank. Roy Levi Jones was born 
September 8, 1891, graduated from the 
Charleston High School, the University of 
West Virginia and in 191 1 became a member 
of the class of 19 14 at Harvard College, in the 
department of chemical research. Mrs. Jones 
and family are members of the Presbyterian 
church. 

J. F. WILCOX, M. D., a retired physician 
residing one mile from Marmet, Loudon Dis- 
trict, Kanawha County, W. Va., was born at 
this place, August 23, 1832, and is a son of 
Luke and Pinkston (Kenner) Wilcox. 

The father of Dr. Wilcox was born in New 
York and came from there to Kanawha Coun- 



956 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ty when a young man. He became interested 
in salt making and acquired two salt furnaces, 
one on the home property and one at Marmet 
Station, and for seven years prior to his death 
operated the last named furnace. He was born 
in 1795 and died in 1854. He married Pinks- 
ton Kenner, who was born in Virginia, a 
daughter of James Kenner, and they had seven 
children, namely: Hezekiah, William, Lu- 
anda, Henry, Amelia, Lewis and J. F., the 
two last named being the only survivors. 

J. F. Wilcox was given the best educational 
advantages then afforded near his home, after 
which he attended a literary institute. Love 
of adventure then led him to the far West as 
a soldier and he participated in 1855 in the 
famous Battle of the Ash Hollow, with the 
Indians. He was a member of Co. K, in the 
6th U. S. Infantry, called the "Fighting 
Sixth," which was commanded by Genl. Han- 
ney in the Indian Campaign. At the end of 
his term of enlistment, he returned to Marmet, 
residing here for a short time and then going 
to Kentucky where he taught school until his 
health failed. He then went to California 
where he remained for one year. Returning 
East again, he embarked in the drug business 
at Versailles, Ky., and at the same time began 
the study of medicine, but before he completed 
his medical education, the Civil War came on 
and he joined the Confederate Army, and was 
appointed Chief Clerk of the Commissary of 
Subsistence under Major W. A. Bradford of 
General Humphrey Marshall's brigade. He 
served under him until the spring of 1864 
when he joined Co. A, 1st Battalion Ky. 
Mounted Rifles, of Col. Giltner's brigade 
which was engaged under Gen. John H. Mor- 
gan on his last raid into Kentucky. At the bat- 
tle of Cynthiana, Ky., June 12, 1864, he was 
taken prisoner and after being confined for six 
weeks in a Covington hospital, was trans- 
ported to Camp Douglas. Chicago, where he 
was kept until the close of the war. His ser- 
vice covered a period of three years. Upon his 
return south, he again resumed his drug busi- 
ness and it was several years before he could 
complete his medical studies, but, in February. 
1883, he was graduated at the University of 
Louisville, Ky. He then came back to his old 



home and until within the past year has been 
actively engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession. In his political views he is a Demo- 
crat. Dr. Wilcox has never married. 

JOHN GRESHAM,* building contractor at 
Charleston, W. Va., where, with former part- 
ners and individually he has done a large 
amount of important and creditable building, 
was born in Orange county, N. C, in the spring 
of 1 84 1. He is a son of Robert Gresham, who 
died in 1843, the death of his wife having oc- 
curred in the previous year. They left two 
sons, John and William Thomas, the latter of 
whom died at Charleston in 1906. He is sur- 
vived by a widow and two daughters. 

John Gresham was reared in the home of 
family friends in Orange and Wake counties, 
and obtained his education in local schools. 
He was twenty years old when he enlisted for 
service in the Confederate army, first in the 2nd 
N. C. Vol. Inf., in which he served for two 
years and then in the 6th N. C. Inf. At 
the battle of Antietam he was captured by the 
Federal forces and remained a prisoner until 
the close of the war. His brother was also a 
prisoner of war and both were released after 
the surrender of General Lee, and together re- 
turned to the south and both learned the carpen- 
ter trade. In 1865 they came to Charleston 
and in later years they went into the building 
and contracting together, an association broken 
by the death of William Thomas as mentioned 
above. In 1897 Mr. Gresham went into busi- 
ness under the firm name of Gresham, Boyde 
& Co., which organization was dissolved in 
1901, when the firm became Gresham & Boyde. 
general contractors. On May 5th, Mr. Boyde 
was accidentally killed by a falling beam and 
since then Mr. Gresham has been alone. To 
enumerate all the buildings and structures 
erected by Mr. Gresham and partners since they 
have been in business would be tiresome but at- 
tention may be called to the Odd Fellow's Hall 
and the Kanawha Hotel as samples of their 
work. Mr. Gresham has been an enterprising 
business man and a worthy citizen. In his po- 
litical views he is an independent democrat. 

Mr. Gresham was married at Charleston to 
Miss Acquilla McCommas who was born in 




JOHN D. BAINES 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



957 



Lucas county, Va., and died at Charleston in 
1904, aged seventy-one years. Two daugh- 
ters survive her. Philena, who is the wife of 
J. Ht Fox, residing at Charleston, and has eight 
children; and Grace, who is the wife of Will- 
iam H. Holmes, of Charleston. Mr. Gresham 
is a member bf the Methodist Episcopal church, 
south, and for some years has been one of the 
church stewards. 

JOHN DUNBAR BAINES, whose death 
on January 11. 1910, deprived Charleston of 
one of its best known and most respected citi- 
zens, was born in Charleston June 1, 1844. He 
came of an old and respected family whose 
known ancestry extended back many genera- 
tions in England, and which was entitled to, 
and used by virtue of its gentility a coat of arms 
bearing the Latin motto, "Arma, Furor Min- 
istrat." They were members of the Anglican 
church ; some of them served as officers in the 
English army, and others achieved reputation 
in musical circles as singers or composers. 

On the maternal side we find that the Hon. 
Mathew Dunbar, jurist, was born in Monroe 
county, Va., near Peter's Mountain, April 3rd, 
1 79 1. He was the son of Mathew Dunbar, of 
Dunbar, Frith of Forth, Scotland, who emigra- 
ted to America before attaining his majority, 
and Isabella Herbert. He was educated by the 
Rev. John McElhenny, D. D., of Presbyterian 
clerical renown, came to Kanawha county in 
181 5, studied law under James Wilson, was ad- 
mitted to the bar, 1818, where he soon at- 
tained prominence in his profession by his de- 
cided legal ability, served in the legislature 
1 822- 1 828- 1 829, was commonwealth attorney 
for Kanawha Judicial Circuit from 1848 till 
he was forced to resign, on account of ill health, 
and died in 1859. He married Maria Eu- 
genia, daughter of William Spence Hutt, and 
his wife, Constance Etienne Villard, a refugee 
from Paris during the French Revolution. He 
was one of the pioneers of democracy in this 
section, being one of four holding that political 
faith in Charleston at an early date. Squire 
Henry Fry was another, the main body of the 
population being Whig. The family of Dunbar 
is an ancient and honorable one of Celtic ori- 
gin, descended from Gospatric, Earl of North- 



umberland, and related to Malcom, King of 
Scotland. Gospatric's father, Maldred, was 
a brother of the "Gracious King Duncan," his 
mother being a granddaughter of Ethelred, 
King of England. (Burke.) 

William Spence Hutt, another old-time res- 
ident of Kanawha county, was born in West- 
moreland county, Va., in 17 — , and was sixth 
in descent from Councillor Thos. Gerrard, 
who, by way of digression, let us state, was one 
of the original "Founders of Maryland," and 
proprietor of one of the first colonial grants, of 
11,400 acres of land in St. Mary's County, 
Md., known as St. Clement's Manor. Dr. Ger- 
rard was a man of power and note in the 
province, and those who are familiar with the 
early history of Maryland will remember his 
participation in the Rebellion of Josias Fen- 
dall, an abortive attempt to usurp the govern- 
ment of Lord Baltimore, and his consequent 
banishment, with many of his colleagues. Dr. 
Gerrard, sighting danger afar, had previously 
obtained a grant of land in Westmoreland 
county, Va., as a place of refuge for himself 
and his family. It may be added, that St. 
Clement's Manor is notable in the preservation 
of its entire records of "Court Leet" and 
"Court Barron," which records may be found 
in the Historical Society of Maryland at An- 
napolis. Dr. Gerrard's daughter married Dan- 
iel Hutt, Gent., and merchant of London, 
1669. William Spence Hutt held the offices 
of Constable and Sheriff of Kanawha county, 
1 836- 1 838. He was a man of most positive 
character and convictions, and there are nu- 
merous humorous anecdotes related concern- 
ing his efforts at compelling others to see 
things from his own view-point. His grand- 
daughter, Eugenia Llewellyn, daughter of 
Mathew Dunbar, married Ebenezer Baines, of 
London, England. Mr. Baines was born about 
181 5, and emigrated to the West India Islands 
when still a youth, having been sent on a com- 
mission by the British Government. About 
1830 he settled in Charleston, where he was 
associated with the early Donnallys in the salt- 
making industry. He died in 1893, leaving 
one son, the late lamented John Dunbar Baines. 
Ebenezer Baines was a man of quiet domestic 
tastes, and was never naturalized, but contin- 



958 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ued to consider himself a British subject to 
the end of his life. He was descended from 
Thomas Hobbes, the celebrated non-conformist 
divine and author, 1588-1679, and was related 
to Edward Baines, editor of the "Leeds Mer- 
cury," 1 718, of Leeds, England. The fam- 
ily is of Gaelic origin. 

Ebenezer and Eugenia L. (Dunbar) Baines 
had three children — Henry Dunbar, A. Maria, 
and John Dunbar Baines, our ' direct subject. 
Henry Dunbar Baines was born in Charleston, 
W. Va. He served in the Confederate army, 
being a member of a battery regiment, and 
in one engagement was severely wounded, 
from the effects of which his death took place 
some years later in England. While in the 
military service he was attached for a time to 
the Ordnance Department of the Confederate 
Government and invented a gun which was 
much used in the army. He died unmarried. 
A. Maria Baines is still a resident of Charles- 
ton. For a number of years she was a suc- 
cessful teacher. 

John Dunbar Baines, whose nativity has 
been already given, acquired his education in 
Charleston under private tutors, including the 
well known David L. Ruffner. For a time 
he taught school, later becoming proprietor 
of a book store. Subsequently he studied law, 
was admitted to the bar and served for some 
time as county judge and commissioner. He 
was also interested in various business enter- 
prises, being vice president of the Kanawha 
National Bank, and secretary and treasurer of 
the Southern States Life Insurance Company. 
He was instrumental in getting a bridge con- 
structed across the Kanawha river and in the 
installation of the first telephone service in 
this section ; also inducing the Kelley Ax Com- 
pany to locate in Charleston; and in many 
other ways he showed an aggressive public 
spirit in advancing the material interests of the 
city. As a recognition by his fellow citizens 
of his efforts in their behalf he was elected 
mayor of Charleston in 1880 and gave the city 
a good business administration. 

Mr. Baines stood high in the Masonic order, 
advancing through all the various degrees of 
the York Rite and nearly all in the Scottish 
Rite. He held membership in Kanawha Lodge 



No. 20, F. & A. M.; Tyrian Chapter, No. 13, 
R. A. M. ; Kanawha Commanuery, ao. 4, K. 
T. ; Beni-Kedem Temple, M. S. ; Ouei Squier 
Long Lodge of Perfection, and the Higher A. 
A. Scottish Rite bodies of W heeling, w. Ya., 
passing all the chairs to Senior Grand W arden 
of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge and 
Excellent Grand Master of the Thua veil in 
the Most Excellent Grand Royal Arch Chap- 
ter of \\ est Virginia, all of which he ntld with 
honor and benefit to the order, it nas been 
said of him: 

"Tender as a woman; manliness and meek- 
ness 

In him were so allied, 
That they who judged him by his strength 
or weakness, 
Saw but a single side." 

He had charge of the Government relief 
boat during the great flood in the "eighties," 
and had charge also of disbursing the sup- 
plies. Naturally a Democrat and Free Trader, 
a man active in the councils of his party, he 
later became much interested in the success of 
the Prohibition movement, and was an elector 
of that party in 1884 when Gov. St. John, of 
Kansas, ran for President on that ticket. In 
religion he was what is sometimes termed a 
"blue blood" Presbyterian. 

The following tribute to Mr. Baines' per- 
sonal worth was contributed to this article by 
"A Friend :" 

"The writer of this article for forty years 
knew intimately the late John Dunbar Baines, 
and esteems it an honor to have been consid- 
ered as one.of his friends. As a citizen, he was 
upright, public spirited and courageous in ad- 
vocating civic righteousness. Endo'" ed by na- 
ture with a strong intellect, cultured by years 
of study and with a well trained mind, he was 
a wise counsellor, and his advice was often 
sought and implicitly relied upon. 

"To his friends he was true ar»d s^adfa^t. 
binding them to himself with bonds t^at only 
death could sever. He was an entertaining 
conversationalist, and bis cnmnanv **"?s often 
sought bv his friends an^ P'*aiiai r >t3n'"eR. ' As a 
Mason, he was well versed in Masonic law and 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



959 



was easily the leader in all of the various Ma- 
sonic bodies of which he was a member. 

"He was an elder in the First Presbyterian 
Church of Charleston, West Virginia, and by 
his godly walk and conversation he was an 
exemplar to all who were without. Well versed 
in the Scriptures, he could, without any spe- 
cial preparation, elucidate the most difficult 
verse from the Bible. 

"In all the various relations of life, as son, 
brother, husband, father, citizen or friend, he 
was a model man — a Christian gentleman." 

Mr. Baines was married in Charleston to 
Harriet Laidley. who was born in Charleston 
sixty-three years ago and who has always been 
a resident of this city, being still active in body 
and mind. She is the daughter of Hon. James 
Madison Laidley, born in Wood county, W. 
Va., who was a prominent lawyer and poli- 
tician, a member of the legislature in 1848, be- 
ing elected on the Whig ticket. During the 
war he served in the army as quartermaster. 
Mrs. Baines' mother was in maidenhood Anna 
Marie Beuhring, a native of Cabell countv, W. 
Va. 

Mr. and Mrs. John Dunbar Baines were the 
parents of one child, Alys, who was born in 
Charleston, is well educated and is a lady of 
culture and refinement, being an extensive 
reader. She is a member of the society known 
as the Daughters of the Confederacy and she 
and her mother belong to the First Presby- 
terian church. 

WILLIAM B. GATEWOOD,* deceased, 
for man)- years a well known resident of 
Cabin Creek District. . Kanawha County, W. 
Va., was born near the farm of ninety acres, 
which is owned and managed by his widow, 
January 17, 1835, and was a son of Ransom 
and Tane B. Gatewood. pioneers of this section 
of the county and the first settlers in this im- 
mediate neighborhood. 

The late William B. Gatewood was a life- 
long resident of Cabin Creek District. He 
was a farmer all his life, inheriting land from 
his father and also from an aunt, but dis- 
posed of both properties. Mr. Gatewood was 
a musician and was so expert a performer on 
the violin that he was welcome in every musical 



gathering and won prizes at Charleston for 
being the best violinist in Kanawha County. 
His death occurred August 2, 1906. 

Mr. Gatewood married Aliss Amelia Slack, 
who was born on her present farm, January 
30, 1847, and is a daughter of Joseph and 
Julia (Huddleston) Slack. They came from 
Bedford County, Va., to Cabin Creek Dis- 
trict when all this section was covered with 
woods, and here Joseph Slack became a large 
landowner, his two daughters, Martha A. and 
Amelia being his heiresses. The former is de- 
ceased. She was the wife of Alexander Gra- 
dey, also deceased, and two children survived 
— Thomas and Judith. The younger daughter, 
Amelia F. Slack, was married February 28, 
1868, to William B. Gatew^ood. Two children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gatewood : Cora, 
who resides with her mother; and Harry, who 
married Minnie Johnston, and has two chil- 
dren, William S. and Alice Amelia. Mrs. 
Gatew^ood resides on the farm but retains only 
a small part of it, enjoying the new residence 
and the fine orchard, but rents out the larger 
part of the land. The C. & O. Railroad crosses 
the farm. 

THE LAIDLEY FAMILY.— The earliest 
Laidlaw known is the Laidlaw who joined Sir 
William Douglass's expedition in 1360 to con- 
vey the heart of King Robert the Bruce to the 
Holy Land. This Laidlaw was knighted for 
braven- and was granted a crest and armorial 
bearings, w ith the motto "Fides Probata Cor- 
onat." The family of Laidley. or Laidlaw. 
has been settled in the south of Scotland for 
many generations ; in fact they are said to 
have originated in Roxburgh and tc this day 
they are very numerous there, though found 
in many other places. Their name was va- 
riouslv spelled "Laid 1 ay." "Laidley." "Lead- 
ley." but generally " T aidlaw." They were a 
border clan under the Douglasses, who were 
the Guardians 0+ the Marshes bet v em Scot- 
land and England and Lords of T ittle Dale. 
In very early days a Laidlaw was Chancellor of 
Sco^ 1 ?"^ a'id in the time of John Knox, 1505, 
the T.arMi'vs prp n->e , " ,f 'o'''ed. Loc'^rt. in his 
T ife of Q ir Walfe- c <^tt. has much to say of 
"this remarkable family." He tells of one 



960 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



rich old Laidlaw owning much land on the 
Peale, who was very peculiar, so styled "Laird 
Nippy of the Peale," he was a relative of Will- 
iam Laidlaw, the intimate friend of Sir Wal- 
ter Scott. William not only assisted Scott 
but was himself a good writer in both prose 
and poetry. After Scott's death, he completed 
the unfinished Waverly novels and one cannot 
discern any difference in style. Washington 
Irving says, "My pleasant rambles about Ab- 
bots ford were in company of Scott and William 
Laidlaw, a cultivated and interesting gentle- 
man of varied information, the friend and 
companion of Scott." He lived "among the 
Braes of Yarrow^" on his father's estate and 
was always accustomed to books, as his father 
had a fine collection which not only he enjoyed 
but all scholars in the vicinity — James Hogg 
for instance, the Ettrick Shepherd poet, Fer- 
guson, another poet, and Mungo Park, the 
African explorer. 

The emigrant was Thomas Laidlaw of Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, who arrived in New York in 
September, 1774. He was a son of James 
Laidlaw (a minister of the Church of Eng- 
land) and Jane Stewart of the House of 
Stewart. They were married in 1746; James 
was born in 1720, Jane in 1726. They had ten 
children, Thomas, the fourth child, was born 
January 1, 1756, and was the only one known 
to have come to America, though he had a 
brother who went to the West Indies, and an- 
other to Africa, with Mungo Park, as factor 
of the Company. 

Thomas came to the Colonies just in time 
to take part in the Revolution. He was very 
loyal to the Colonial cause, even changing his 
name from Laidlaw to Laidley that he might 
not be taken for a subject of George III. 

He joined the Army and served under Wash- 
ington at Trenton, Brandywine. and other 
places, and commanded a boat on the Dela- 
ware. When the British occupied Philadel- 
phia, the Colonial troops fell back to Lancas- 
ter, Thomas with them, and while there he 
married Sarah Osborn, a daughter of Charles 
and Sarah Osborn. a very talented and cul- 
tivated woman, born Oct. 12, 1760 in Phil- 
adelphia. Thomas returned to Philadelphia 
where he remained until 1785. In 1783 he 



went with Albert Gallitan to Virginia, and pur- 
chased lands in Monongalia County, a few 
years after he removed there, making' Morgan- 
town his home, until the last years of his life 
when he and his wife went to Cabell County to 
live with their son, John Osborn Laidley at 
"Lamartine." Here they died and were buried 
in the family graveyard on the farm. 

Thomas died March 17, 1838, Sara March 
24, 1844. He was a man of wealth and in- 
fluence. For a time he was engaged in mer- 
chandise and all the furs and skins he took in 
enchange for goods he invested in patents for 
lands until he accumulated over 25,000 acres, 
which lands have now become the best coal 
property in the northern part of the state. Mr. 
Laidley was one of the delegates to the House 
from Monogalia County in 1788, he was a 
Federalist and voted with the minority on the 
famous Jefferson Resolution of 1796. 

The children of Thomas and Sara Laidley 
were : 

James Grant, 1 781 -1 821. 

Sarah F. B., 1787- 1848. 

Eliza Stewart, 1789, married Boaz Fleming 
of Fairmont; died 1828. 

John Osborn. 1791, of Cabell County, died 
1863. 

Thomas H., 1793, phvsician in Green County, 
Pa.; died 1881. 

Jane B., 1796, died in Fairmont, in 1879. 

Leander S.. 1798, resided in Marion Countv; 
died 1868. 

Edmond, 1800; died in 181 5. 

Corrine, 1803; died 1805. 

Only two of these are ancestors of the Ka- 
nawha Laidleys — James Grant and John Os- 
born. 

James Grant Laidley, Attorney, was born 
in Philadelphia in 1781, read law in Peters- 
burg; married in Richmond in 1806, Miss Har- 
riet B. Quarrier; died in Parkersburg, 1821. 
He interested himself in Blennerhasset in 
1803, and secured for him his naturalization 
papers, and introduced "the Irish Barrister" 
to the Courts. Laidley was summoned as a 
juror in the Aaron Burr trial, but was not ac- 
cepted on account of some remark made, that 
indicated he had made up his mind. He was 
the treasurer of Wood County, Virginia, in 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



961 



1803 and the escheator of lands in 1804; pros- 
ecuting attorney in 1805. He was a delegate 
to Legislature in 1810, 1807, 1806. He was 
commissioned captain in 1809 of a volunteer 
rifle company, served in the War of 1812 and 
was breveted Major. After the war he re- 
sumed his practice of the law and was the 
friend and associate of Philip Doddridge and 
Lewis Cass. He died in 1821 and was buried 
in the Cook Cemetery in Parkersburg. 

He left a widow and two sons, Alexander 
T. Laidley, and James Madison Laidley. She 
came to Charleston, and there resided until 
1875 when she died, aged 88 years. 

Alexander T. Laidley, born in 1807, was 
taken by his uncle John Osborn Laidley, of 
Cabell County, and given a place in the clerk's 
office with John Samuels. He came to Kana- 
wha in 1824 and was placed in the clerk's of- 
fice there by his uncle, Alex. W. Quarrier. He 
was afterwards deputy clerk in Ohio County, 
and later clerk of said county. He was com- 
missioner of chancery in Kanawha, and had 
the reputation of being the best clerk in Vir- 
ginia. He married Miss Blaine in 1835, a 
cousin of Hon. J. G. Blaine. They had one 
child, Richard Quarrier Laidley. He was mar- 
ried the second time, to Duke R. McFarland 
in 1846. Major Alexander was noted for his 
devotion to the Episcopal Church and to the 
Masonic Order. He died in 1895, aged 87, 
at Charleston. 

Richard Q. Laidley born 1836, first pre- 
pared himself for the bar, and afterwards for 
a physician. He married in 1862 his cousin 
Lydia A. Whittiker, just before the Kanawha 
riflemen went to Dixie on retreat. He was a 
lieutenant in the Kanawha Riflemen and at the 
death of Capt. Patton, was made captain. 
After the war he opened a fine drug store in 
Charleston. He died in 1873 leaving a widow 
and two children : Dorcas, who married Joel 
Ruffner, and Percy, who married Miss Mary 
Winkler. 

James Madison Laidley, son of James 
Grant Laidley, was born 1809, in Parkersburg. 
After his father's death he made his home with 
his uncle, John Osborn Laidley, of Cabell 
County, until he was admitted to the bar to 



practice. In 1840 he married Annie Maria 
Beuhring, oldest daughter of F. G. L. Beuh- 
ring of "Maple Grove,'' Cabell County, he then 
came to Charleston to practice law and re- 
mained there the rest of his life. He was ever 
a busy man; a statesman, an attorney a salt 
maker, a banker and a writer. He was in the 
legislature in 1848-9, a Whig candidate for 
Congress in 1858, but it was in a Democratic 
district and consequently his opponent, A. G. 
Jenkins, was elected. He was a good lawyer, 
a fluent talker and a good writer and advocated 
the greenback money theory. He was social 
and liberal, affable and polished in manner. 
Once when going down the Ohio River, the 
boat had to lay some time while taking on 
freight, there was a crowd of men on the bank 
waiting, he being a candidate concluded it was 
a good time to make a speech. They all lis- 
tened and laughed, admitting he was on the 
right side of the question but the wrong side 
of the river. His children were : 

Capt. Frederick A. Laidley, a salt-maker and 
steamboat man, residing in Covington, Ky. ; 
Frances Amelia ; Harriet Corrine, now Mrs. J. 
D. Baines; Emma Louisa, now Mrs. Henry 
Whittaker; Mary Rowena; J. J. Laidley; 
George S. Laidley; Annie, who was Mrs. 
James Johnson (now deceased) of Cabell 
County; Juliet Shrewsbury (Mrs. John Es- 
kew) ; and Madison M. Laidley, a resident of 
Madison, Indiana. Most of these reside in 
Charleston. 

George Summers Laidley, widely known as 
"Professor George" needs no introduction to 
Charlestonians ; his influence as an educator 
and his success in the public schools of this 
city is recognized throughout the state and 
ever beyond her borders, is he known. 

John Osborn Laidley, the fourth child of 
Thomas Laidley and Sarah Osborn was born 
at Morgantown in 1791. He read law with 
his oldest brother, James Grant Laidley, in 
Parkersburg, Wood County; was licensed in 
181 1 and was admitted to the bar in 1813. 
He went to Cabell Court House to practice, but 
the War of 1812 had commenced and he and 
his friend, John Samuels left for the East, to 
join the army. Striking the headwaters of the 
James River they got a boat and went down 



962 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



to Norfolk, where they volunteered in Capt. 
Kennedy's company of the Virginia Artillery 
and remained at or near Norfolk until the end 
of the war. In December, 1814, they returned 
to the home of their adoption, Cabell County 
Court House, called Barboursville. 

John Osborn Laidley was appointed prose- 
cuting attorney of the County, and continued 
in office all his life, although after the Consti- 
tutional Convention of 1832, it was an elec- 
tive one. 

As a prosecuting attorney, such men as Judge 
Summers and Col. Smith said "he was the best 
Prosecuting Attorney in the State of Virginia 
and no guilty man ever escaped." He was a 
Jeffersonian Democrat, and a member of the 
Virginia Convention in 1829 and '30. when 
the questions of Suffrage and Taxation became 
so warm that the foundation for a division of 
the State was then laid. This convention is 
said "to have embraced more distinguished 
men than any other held in the United States." 
He was in several sessions of the legislature 
and afterwards was always a warm Demo- 
crat but not a Secessionist. He lived in Bar- 
boursville until 1829, when he moved to the 
Ohio River having purchased a tract of land, 
extending from the river to the hills, a short 
distance below the Guyandotte River. This was 
part of the "Savage Grant," now included in 
the bounds of the City of Huntington, and 
here he built the first brick residence in that 
part of the county, facing the river, along 
which the turnpike ran. He called his home 
"Lamartine" and it is still in the possession of 
the family. In 1843 Bishop Meade visited 
Kanawha Valley and "Still House" Mission, 
(above "Walnut Grove") near Stalen's Run. 
and here he confirmed a class, of which Mr. 
Laidlev was a member. He rode all the way 
from Cabell Court House for this service and 
rite. Mr. Laidley may justly be styled the 
founder of "Marshall College" or "Academy," 
as it was first called — being one of the fore- 
most in getting appropriations, and contribut- 
ing his time, energy and money for the good 
of the institution, that his children and his 
neighbors' might have educational advantages. 

Mr. Laidley practiced in Logan County, and 
assisted with its organization in 1824, also in 



Wayne, which was organized in 1842, Mr. 
Laidley being appointed commonwealth attor- 
ney. 

He was taken sick in April, 1863, from ex- 
posure while returning from Court, and died 
of pneumonia. He was tall and straight with 
a stern dignified manner, had a keen dark eye 
and a dark complexion and was often called 
"Black Hawk." He was the soul of honor 
and integrity and always commanded the con- 
fidence of everyone, his word was never ques- 
tioned on any subject. He was simple in man- 
ner, of studious habits, exemplary character, 
honored in the entire community. The records 
of the state preserve his memory and point with 
pride to so eminent a citizen. 

In 1 81 6 John Osborn Laidley was married 
to Mary Scales Hite a daughter of Jacob Hite 
and Sarah Scales and a granddaughter of Maj. 
Nathaniel Scales of North Carolina, who came 
to Cabell in 1802: the Scales are English. 
Jacob Hite was a great grandson of Jost Hite. 
the first settler of the Valley of Virginia. 
Baron Jost Heydt or Hite of Strausburg, 
Germany, and his wife Annia Maria DuBois 
of Holland, arrived in New York in 17 10, 
they lived in Kingston. New York, and at dif- 
ferent places in Pennsylvania: in 1831 Jost Hite 
bought of the Van Meters their grant of 
40.000 acres in the Valley of Va. and also ob- 
tained an order of the Council for 100.000 
acres more, all on condition that 100 families 
should be settled on said land. "West of the 
Mountains." In 1832 he took up the march 
through the Wilderness with his family and 
"settled the land." the cavalcade arrived safely, 
crossing the Potomac and going up the Yalley 
to the Opequon. where he located, building 
homes, shops, mills, sen-ants' quarters, etc. 
Some of these stone buildings are standing to- 
day. The Hite family is a prominent one all 
through the Virginias and at one time they 
were large land owners in the Valley of Va. 
but are now scattered. The long litigation be- 
tween Hite and Lord Fairfax resulted in a 
decree for Hite. though it was not entirely 
settled until after Hite's death 

Children of John Osborn Laidley and Man- 
Scales Hite were born as follows : 

Amacetta, March 1818; Louise Mary. April 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



963 



1820; Theodore T. S., April 1822; Albert, 
June 1824; Thomas Mortimer, April 1826; 
iVlexander Ulysses, May 1828; Sarah Ellen, 
April 1830; John Hite, Aug. 1832; Eliza Ma- 
tilda, Oct. 1834; James Henry, Jan. 1837; 
William Sydney, June 1839, George Summers, 
July 1841 ; Helen Medora, Oct. 1843; Lean- 
der, Aug. 1846. 

Amacetta Laidley was born at Cabell 
Court House and was educated in Pittsburg. 
When very young she was married to Judge 
George W. Summers of Kanawha. She came 
immediately to Charleston and there spent the 
rest of her life. No Kanawhaian was more 
honored and beloved. She was a woman of 
rare qualities, combining great strength of 
character, with gentleness and sweetness. Her 
charming personality won all hearts, whether 
at home, or in society, at the Springs, or the 
National Capital. She died Oct. 1867, one 
year before the Judge's death, and was buried 
at "Walnut Grove," Kanawha Co., in the 
family graveyard of the Summers'. All their 
children died in infancy, except Lewis and 
George. Lewis went to Lexington, Va., to 
school, and to Marietta College where he grad- 
uated in 1866. He married Lucy A. Wood- 
bridge in 1867, they reside at "Glenwood" the 
homestead. Their children are : George W. 
Summers, a journalist; Elizabeth W., wife of 
Russell G. Quarrier; Amacetta Laidley, de- 
ceased; and Lewis, who lives at "Walnut 
Grove" the home of his Summers ancestors. 

George W. Summers, Jr. enlisted in the Con- 
federate Armv when about 16 years old. 
After a year's service, he died from exposure 
in camp. His body was brought home, 
"through the lines" and buried at "Walnut 
Grove." 

Theodore T. S. Laidley, late Senior Col- 
onel of the Ordnance Department U. S. Army, 
was a native of W. Va., and born April 14, 
1822. At barely sixteen years of age, on July 
1, 1838, he entered the Military Academy, and 
graduated July 1, 1842, number six of a class 
of fifty-six, embracing many distinguished 
names. 

A career so long, and distinguished as that 
of Col. Laidley,. must be brief to come within 



the limits assigned to this notice. When he 
graduated he was commissioned Second Lieu- 
tenant of the Ordnance Department and 
served at Arsenals. During the Mexican War, 
he was three times breveted, for gallant and 
meritorious conduct — at Vera Cruz, Cerro 
Gordo and Pueblo. 

Gen. Grant's carrying a mountain howitzer 
up into the belfry of a church at San Cosme, 
has become famous historically, yet Laidley 
performed a similar and much more difficult 
feat at Cerro Gordo. 

"Col. Laidley occupied almost every im- 
portant position in the Ordnance Department, 
commanding its most important arsenals and 
the National Armory. He was assigned va- 
rious and important posts for which his qual- 
ifications preeminently fitted him. He in- 
vented many valuable appliances that are used 
in the War Department to-day. After more 
than forty years of active service he was re- 
tired at his own request. As a writer he 
wielded a trenchant pen; his style was clear, 
concise and logical. His books and official re- 
ports are models. 

He was a soldier, every inch of him, reso- 
lute, ready, unflinching. His devotion to his 
church is well known to all who knew him. 
He was more like General ("Chinese") Gordon 
than any other American officer; the same self- 
negation, the same love of man; the inflexible 
standing for God, when other men were set- 
ting up their idols ; the same readiness to be 
spent and to look beyond for a tired man's re- 
ward. Col. Laidley died in the modesty of his 
singularly great but retiring nature, at Palatka, 
Florida, April 4, 1886, aged 64." — (Extracts 
from the Journal of The Association of the 
Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy, 
written by Captain John G. Butler.) 

Col. Laidley was buried at West Point Mil- 
itary cemetery. He was married to Jane Webb 
Averill of N. Y. 1848, who lives at Elizabeth, 
New Jersey, with their daughter Mrs. H. H. 
Oberly. 

Albert Laidley born at Barboursville was 
a lawyer, a merchant and a farmer, received 
his education at Athens, Ohio. He was cul- 
tured and travelled. Was elected to the legis- 



964 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



lature in 1861 and went to the Session at 
Richmond. The location of Huntington was 
greatly due to his activity and influence, he 
purchased for the "Central Land" company all 
the land where Huntington now is from the 
property holders. He married Vesta Brown 
in October, 1845. She belonged to one of the 
oldest families in Cabell, being the daughter 
of Dr. Benj. Brown and Matilda Scales. Al- 
bert L. died October, 1876, at Huntington and 
was buried there, the place of his nativity. His 
widow spent the last years of her life in 
Charleston. 

W illiam Sydney Laidley, born at "Lamar- 
tine," the Laidley homestead in Cabell County, 
married Virginia Brown, September, 1869 at 
Elm Grove, Charleston. She was a daughter 
of Judge James H. Brown and Louisa Mayer 
Beuhring, second daughter of F. G. L. Beuh- 
ring of Cabell County, Virginia; graduated at 
Dr. Charles C. Beatty's School, "Female Sem- 
inary" of Steubenville, Ohio, as did her mother 
years before. Their children are : Man- 
Louise Laidley, who married H. B. Clarkson ; 
Amacetta Virginia, who married H. W. Good- 
win ; Theodora Beuhring, who died in 1900; 
Lucy Brown, who married Jo Lane Stem; 
Madelon Dannenburg, Dorothy Osborn, Will- 
iam Sydney, Jr., Janet Scales, and Douglas 
Scales who died in 1890. 

Mr. Laidley came to Charleston in 1863 and 
has been a practising attorney at the Kanawha 
Bar ever since. 

WILLIAM JONES, who is district agent 
for the Fidelity and Casualty Insurance Com- 
pany of New York, resident agent at Charles- 
ton, W. Va., for the Ocean, Accident and 
Guarantee Corporation, Ltd., and vice-presi- 
dent and secretary of the Provident Life and 
Casualty Company, is one of the best known 
casualty insurance men in this section. He 
was born in Jefferson County, Ala., in 1863, 
and is a son of Thomas and Lucy (Williams) 
Jones. 

Thomas Jones and wife were born and mar- 
ried in Wales and came to America prior to 
the Civil War, locating in Alabama. From 
Jefferson County he enlisted in the Confed- 
erate Army, for service in the Civil War. At 



the battle of Chickamauga he was so seriously 
wounded that he never really recovered and 
this injury was eventually the cause of his 
death, which occurred in 1872. His widow 
survived him but one year. Two children, 
William and Jennie, were thus made orphans. 
The latter became the wife of Charles All- 
good and died in California at the age of 
twenty-four years. 

William Jones obtained his schooling in his 
native state and at the age of twenty-two years, 
equipped with the profession of coal mining 
engineer, went to Kentucky and was in the coal 
mining business there. He then became in- 
terested in casualty insurance and in 1905 
came to Charleston from Kentucky, giving up 
his profession of mining engineer in order to 
devote all his time to insurance. He has built 
up a large business and was one of the or- 
ganizers of the Provident Life & Casualty 
Company, which does more business in the line 
of policies carried than any other insurance 
company in West Virginia. Mr. Jones is vice 
president and secretary of this company. 

Mr. Jones was married to Miss Gertrude 
Meyers, who was born and reared at Meyers- 
dale, Pa., a place settled by her grandfather, 
Peter Meyers. Her parents were Dr. W. H. 
and Maggie (Large) Meyers, the father being 
a prominent physician in Somerset County, 
Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are members of the 
Episcopal church. He is identified with the 
Elks and the J. O. American Mechanics. In 
politics he is a Democrat. 

JOSEPH E. CHILTON.* a member of the 
well known law firm of Chilton, MacCorkle 
& Chilton, of Charleston. W. Va., was born in 
Kanawha County, W. Va.. December 6, 1855, 
and is a worthy representative of one of the 
distinguished families of this section. 

Joseph E. Chilton was mainly educated at 
Charleston after the close of the Civil War, 
and then became a student in the law office of 
Hon. John E. Kenna. now deceased, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1878. He engaged in 
the practice of his profession in Lincoln County, 
W. Va.. until 1888, from 1880 serving in the 
office of prosecuting attornev for Lincoln and 
Roane Counties. From 1888 until 1897 he 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



965 



was engaged as one of the attorneys for the 
C. and O. Railroad Company. In the latter 
year the present firm was organized and he be- 
came the junior member and in connection with 
it and as an individual practitioner has proved 
his professional ability in many important 
cases. 

Mr. Chilton is a Democrat in politics and 
takes a very active interest in public affairs. 
He has been a delegate to numerous state con- 
ventions and was a delegate to the National 
Democratic Convention that nominated Hon. 
W. J. Bryan for the Presidency, at Kansas 
City, Mo. For some years he served as chair- 
man of the Kanawha County Democratic Com- 
mittee. Mr. Chilton is identified with Masonic 
bodies. He is unmarried. 

HON. WILLIAM EDWIN CHILTON, 
United States Senator from West Virginia, 
and a member of the well known law firm 
of Chilton, MacCorkle, & Chilton, of Charles- 
ton, for many years has been prominent as 
a lawyer and politician in Kanawha County, 
W. Va. He was born on the home farm 
near St. Albans in this county, March 17, 
1858. and is a son of William E. and Mary 
E. (Wilson) Chilton. His father died in 
1883 but his mother is living and resides 
at No. 1 108 Virginia Street, Charleston. 
One son. Samuel B. Chilton, a brother of 
Senator Chilton, died at St. Albans in 1893. 

William E. Chilton was reared on the 
farm in Big Sandy District until he was 
ten years old and attended the free schools 
and later Shelton College, at St. Albans. 
Afterward he taught school for several 
years in Lincoln and Kanawha Counties 
and while so engaged began the study of 
law. making remarkable headway without 
assistance, and being admitted to the bar at 
the age of twenty-one years. He became 
a law partner of the late Senator John E. 
Kenna and when the latter died he formed 
a partnership with former Governor W. A. 
MacCorkle. with whom he has remained 
associated ever since. 

From early manhood Senator Chilton 
has been intelligently interested in public 
O"estions and for years has been a notable 



factor in Democratic politics in West Vir- 
ginia. He served Kanawha County in the 
office of prosecuting attorney from May 10, 
1883, to January 1, 1885, and in 1886 was 
the candidate of his part of the state for the 
West Virginia senate. He failed of elec- 
tion by but eighty-four votes under condi- 
tions easily explained. He was Secretary 
of State of West Virginia from 1893 to 
1897. In 191 1 he was elected to the United 
States Senate, a high office for which he 
is well qualified, possessing as he does that 
sturdy manhood which makes him invinc- 
ible in advocating the right, that unblem- 
ished private character, and that conception 
of public service which Americans have 
come to require in those who represent 
them. Senator Chilton was nominated 
January 19, 191 1, in the Democratic sena- 
torial caucus as the choice of a majority of 
the Democratic members of the West Vir- 
ginia legislature, to succeed Senator Nathan 
B. Scott, and received the nomination for 
the long term of six years on the sixth bal- 
lot. On February 1, 191 1, before the joint 
assembly of the West Virginia legislature. 
Mr. Chilton was elected United States Sen- 
ator, receiving thirteen votes more than 
were necessary for a choice, and his com- 
mission w-as issued by Governor Glasscock. 

In 1892 Senator Chilton w-as married to 
Miss Mary Louise Tarr, and they have 
had four children, all now living, namely : Wil- 
liam Edwin, Jr., Joseph Eustace, Eleanor 
Carroll, and Elizabeth Leigh. They reside 
at No. 1222 Virginia Street. Many influ- 
ences have been brought to bear at differ- 
ent times to tempt Senator Chi'ton to other 
sections but he has continued to make his 
home in his native county. In the larger 
field into wdiich his admiring fe^ow citizens 
have sent him, he still carries home pride 
and love in his heart. Kanawha County 
will watch with especial appreciation the 
career of this favorite son in the national 
arena. 

STAUNTON— Tbe Staunton Family of 
Charleston, West Virginia, originated in Eng- 
land. The first settlers of this name came to 



966 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Connecticut in the first half of the seventeenth 
century, and the Stauntons and Stantons are 
probably branches of the same parent stock. 

Later some of the Stauntons settled in 
Hampshire County, Massachusetts, for at 
Worthington on September 13, 1782, was born 
John Warren Staunton, son of Elisha and 
Anna (Rust) Staunton. John Warren Staun- 
ton, a school teacher by occupation, married on 
December 14, 1814, Sally Brew ster the daugh- 
ter of Jonathan Brewster, a lineal descendant 
of Elder William Brew-ster, the Mayflower pil- 
grim. Jonathan Brewster was a prominent man 
in his native state and served as a member of 
the General Court. He married Lois Marsh. 

John Warren Staunton and his wife re- 
moved from Massachusetts to Xunda, New 
York, where on September 29th, 18 19, their 
third child, Joseph Marshall Staunton, was 
born. Soon after this event they moved again 
to Ellicottville, New York, and there this son 
grew to manhood. He studied medicine at 
Geneva, Xew York, and settled in Ellicottville 
where he practised his profession until 1859. 
In that year he came to Kanawha County, 
Virginia, to engage in the manufacture of il- 
luminating oil from cannel coal. This indus- 
try was soon destroyed by the discovery of 
petroleum, and Dr. Staunton engaged in va- 
rious occupations, resumed the practice of his 
profession, and in 1875 settled in Charleston 
as a physician and continued in practice there 
until within a few months of his death, Jan- 
uary 2 1 st. 1904. 

Dr. Staunton was a skillful physician, widely 
known and much loved. Xo doctor stood 
higher in the confidence of his patients, and 
as a man his probity and candor won the re- 
spect and esteem of all. He was a lifelong mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian Church, which he 
joined at the age of fourteen and for many 
years was an elder in that church. Originally 
a AYhig in politics, he joined the Republican 
party upon its formation and never failed in 
adherence to its principles and policies. 

Dr. Staunton married October 10. 1847. at 
Ellicottville. New York. Mary Elizabeth, 
daughter of Church and Hannah Sever (Gam- 
bell) AYilber. born in Vermont March 16th, 



1830, and at this date ( 191 1 ; living in Charles- 
ton. 

Dr. and Mrs. Staunton had ten children, 
two of whom died in infancy. The remaining 
eight are Sidney Augustus, now a Rear-Ad- 
miral in the Navy, married in 1886 to Emily 
Duncan Biddle who died in 1892, has no chil- 
dren; Mary Lucinda, married in 1872 to Dr. 
Sidney S. Staunton, her cousin, has four chil- 
dren; John Galusha, Julia Prescott, Mary Mar- 
shall and Warren Brewster; Susan Augusta; 
John Warren, a lawyer who died in 1881 at the 
age of twenty-three ; Edward Wilber died 
June, 1904, at the age of forty, prominent in 
Republican politics and County Clerk of Ka- 
nawha County at the time of his death, he mar- 
ried in 1892 Florence Buffington and left five 
children, Juliet Lyell, Florence Buffington, Ed- 
ward W'ilber, Katherine Brewster and Fred- 
erick Marshall. . Frederick Marshall, banker 
and prominent man of affairs married in 1892 
Elsie Ouarrier Smith, has one daughter Caro- 
line Quarrier: Archibald Galusha, a physician 
now living in Denver, Colorado, married in 
1898 Rachael Hornbrook Bullard and has one 
daughter Frances Hornbrook: and Katharine 
Sever. 

WILLIAM HEXRY CANTERBURY* 
master mechanic of the Campbell's Creek Rail- 
road, and chief electrician at the coal works at 
Dana Station. Kanawha County, W. Va.. was 
born in Loudon District. Kanawha County. 
July 1, 1855, and is a son of Lewis J. and 
Elizabeth (Woodward) Canterburv. 

Lewis J. Canterbury was twelve years old 
when he accompanied his parents to Loudon 
District. Kanawha County, from Giles County. 
Ya. His father. James Canterbury, settled on 
the old Donley estate and became one of the 
managers for the Donleys at the salt works. 
His son became also interested in the salt in- 
dustry and bored many salt wells including the 
first one in the Pomeroy region, on the Ohio 
Railroad. His death occurred in February. 
1910, when over eighty years of age. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Woodward, who still survives. 
They became the parents of eight children : 
Andrew D. : William Henry: Sallie, who is 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



967 



deceased; Bettie, who is the wife of Simpson 
Honnigan ; John D. ; Florence, who is the wife 
of Caleb Farley ; Anna, who is the wife of Al- 
bert Stanley; and Lewis. 

William H. Canterbury attended the public 
schools until about twelve years of age when 
he began to make himself useful around the 
salt works and soon was employed at running 
an engine and having a natural talent for me- 
chanics, learned the principles of engineering 
with but little real study of the subject. He 
entered the employ of his present company in 
April, 1888, first as a locomotive engineer and 
after the road was built to Putney, became 
master mechanic. Since 1892, when the elec- 
tric plant was installed, he has had charge of 
the electrical department. Added to his nat- 
ural capacity along this line, Mr. Canterbury 
has had practical experience almost since child- 
hood and he is considered one of the most ef- 
ficient men in the employ of the corporation 
alluded to above. 

Mr. Canterbury was married to Miss Willie 
A. Duling a woman of beautiful character and 
a member of one of the old families of Maiden. 
Mrs. Canterbury died in 1903. three children 
surviving her: Fannie, Lorena and Sallie, the 
last named being the wife of Daniel Snyder. 

JACOB FRANK CORK, a prominent mem- 
ber of the Kanawha County bar who makes a 
specialty of land law and chancery practice, 
and who has been otherwise prominent as 
author and business man, was born at Clarks- 
burg, W. Va., April 25, 1857. He is a son of 
Capt. John James Cork, and a descendant in 
the 5th generation of George Cork, a native of 
Maryland, who appeared upon the scene of 
life's activities about the time of the Revolu- 
tionary war and who was a soldier in Lieut. 
Harrison's company in the War of 1812-15, 
enlisting from Harrison county, Va. He mar- 
ried in Frederick county, Va., Susan Fresh - 
our. He was a man of property, having large 
estates in Maryland. Virginia and Pennsyl- 
vania. He died in the state of Virginia. 

George Cork, Jr., son of the foregoing, was 
born in Morgan county, Va., in 1795. He was 
a farmer by occupation and in later life re- 



moved to Ohio, dying at Bainbridge, Ross 
county, that state, in 1834. He was married 
and had a somewhat numerous family, name- 
ly, John, George (3d), Peter, Susan, Andrew, 
Polly, Jacob (grandfather of the direct sub- 
ject of this sketch), Daniel, Joseph and Harri- 
son. 

Jacob, or Squire Cork, by which name he 
was usually known, was born at Wilsonburg, 
Va. (now W. Va.), in Harrison county, April 
27, 1809. He was a man of an energetic and 
industrious disposition and was engaged largely 
in farming and stockraising, and to some ex- 
tent in manufacturing. In the sixties of the 
last century he moved to Walker's Creek in 
Wood county, W. Va., 17 miles east of Park- 
ersburg, where he farmed a large tract of 600 
acres and also raised large numbers of sheep 
and cattle, being one of the foremost agri- 
culturists and stockraisers in that section. It 
was about this time that the Northwestern 
turnpike road connecting Parkersburg with 
Staunton and other points were constructed, a 
work which tended to advance the prosperity of 
this section. His daughter Prudence mar- 
ried Hamilton Gose Johnson, son of Hon. Jo- 
seph Johnson, then governor of Virginia, and 
Mr. Cork and his son-in-law became interested 
in taking contracts for construction of the pike 
in this section and bridges over the large 
streams, Mr. Cork developing ability as a 
bridge builder. He was commissioned by the 
governor as one of the justices of the old 
county court of Wood county, and as such was 
one of the court that in 1856 or thereabouts 
presided over the Court during the construction 
of the court house, then regarded as a very 
magnificent building, and he was in various 
ways a man highly regarded and looked up to 
by his fellow citizens. He was of a command- 
ing presence, being fully six feet tall and of 
erect carriage, with raven black hair and pierc- 
ing eyes, but somewhat reticent of speech. 
Among his intimate friends and companions 
were numbered judges, generals, lawyers and 
statesmen — many of them prominent in public 
affairs, who left their mark on the history of 
the state. At the period of the Civil war be 
voted for secession and his general sympathies 



968 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



were with the Confederacy, though he was not 
by any means a partisan. Naturally he was an 
adherent of the Democratic party. 

When about 1863 oil was discovered along 
the Little Kanawha and Hughes rivers and the 
N. W. Branch of the B. & O. Railroad and 
Northwestern Turnpike, Mr. Cork became in- 
terested in the new industry and his lands in- 
creased greatly in value. He subsequently sold 
his real business interests in this section and 
he and his wife took up their abode in his na- 
tive county, his son, John James, and his 
daughter, Mrs. Johnson, remaining in Clarks- 
burg. His fine blue grass farms in Harrison 
county were at his death divided among some 
of his grandchildren. 

He was married in Harrison county, now 
W. Va., January 29, 1829, to Harriet Hard- 
man, who was born November 24, 1810, a 
daughter of Henry and Prudence (Scott) 
Hardman. Her father, born January 5, 1780, 
married Prudence Scott, March 22, 1808. 
She was born January 9, 1785, and died about 
1879. The place of her nativity was on the 
North branch of the Potomac river and she was 
related to the Kentucky Scotts and to the noted 
statesman Henry Clay. The father of Henry 
Hardman was also father of George Hard- 
man, of Georgetown, Md. Henry Hard- 
man served in the war as major of the 6th 
Maryland regiment. 

Jacob Cork died December 29, 1877, and his 
wife, surviving him some years, passed away 
July 10, 1885. He was commonly known as 
'Squire Cork. Their children were three in 
number, namely : Prudence A., John James and 
Susan V. Prudence A. Cork, born June 18, 
1830, died August 10, 1892. As before men- 
tioned, she married Hamilton G. Johnson, son 
of ex-governor Johnson, and at her death left 
four children. Capt. John James Cork (father 
of our direct subject), born November 9, 1831 ; 
died at Limestone, W. Va., December 2, 1864. 
Susan V., born April 26, 1833, became the 
wife of Maj. Arthur H. Chevalier, a captain 
brevetted maior, now residing at Parkersburg, 
W. Va., and they are the parents of three chil- 
dren. 

Capt. John James Cork served for a short 
time in the Union army, being commissioned 



captain a short time before he died. He was 
married in Clarksburg, \Y. Va., to Rebecca 
Lupton Campbell, w ho was born in Frederick 
county, Va. After the death of Capt. Cork, 
she married Martin W. Kidd, of Auburn, 
Shelby county, Ala. Mr. Kidd, who was born 
October 5, 1819, and was reared among the 
Creek Indians, whose language he spoke and 
whose character and habits he thoroughly un- 
derstood. He came to West Virginia in 
1861 and was clerk of the Circuit Court for 
twelve years. He was a man of lovable na- 
ture, an interesting character and in every way 
a perfect gentleman. He died at the age of 
seventy-nine years. His widow, who is still 
living, is a woman of bright mental endow- 
ments, taking an interest in life and keeping 
well informed upon the leading events of the 
day. She is of Scotch ancestry and numbers 
among her first cousins three generals, namely : 
Gen. J. W. Denver, U. S. A., whose home is 
in Ohio; who was appointed governor of Kan- 
sas by President Lincoln and for whom the 
city of Denver was named; and Gen. William 
L. Jackson, ex-lieut. Governor of Virginia, 
who was a general in the Confederate army 
and later U. S. judge at Louisville, Ky. ; and 
Gen. Benjamin Brice, who was paymaster gen- 
eral of the U. S. army, and cousin of Hon. 
Benjamin Wilson, congressman for Harrison 
county, W. Va., and assistant Attorney-Gen- 
eral of the United States. 

Rebecca Lupton Campbell was descended 
from members of the famous Scottish clan of 
that name, whose acknowledged head was the 
Duke of Argyle. Her father was John 
Chambers Campbell, born 181 1, who married 
Ann Brice Wilson, and died May 9, 1895. He 
was engaged in business in Clarksburg, W. 
Va., for years and was later clerk of court in 
Calhoun county, afterwards prosecuting at- 
torney. He was a man of fine presence and a 
Scotch Presbyterian in religion. He died in 
1895, aged 84 years. One of his sisters mar- 
ried Col. Denver, father of Gov. William Den- 
ver. Another. Polly, became the wife of 
William Woods, of Illinois. His brother 
James served with distinction as an officer in 
the War of 181 2 and died at Baltimore on 
his return from that war. The mother of 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



969 



these three children was in maidenhood a Miss 
Buchanan, a relation of President Buchanan. 
Other members of the family, which numbered 
in all ten children, were prominent in profes- 
sional life. 

An earlier ancestor of these Campbells was 
William Campbell, a Scotch Irish Presbyterian, 
born in County Deny, Ireland, who died in 
Winchester, Va., aged 85 years. He and 
the members of his family were personal 
friends of Robert Emmet and on the collapse 
of the revolution attempted by the latter, were 
forced to flee to America. "The family had 
originally settled in Ireland in Cromwell's 
time. After emigrating to America they be- 
came very numerous in the vicinity of Win- 
chester, Va., and in all the surrounding sec- 
tion, many becoming prominent in law, 
medicine or politics. 

Mrs. Ann Brice Wilson Campbell, maternal 
grandmother of our subject, was the daughter 
of Benjamin Wilson Jr., of Clarksburg, born 
January 18, 1778, who married Patsey Davi- 
son. He was a lawyer by profession and was 
son of Benjamin Wilson Sr., born 1747, who 
died December 2. 1827, and who was twice 
married: first to Ann Ruddle, Sept. 4, 1770, 
who had 14 children; and secondly to Phoebe 
Davison, who had fifteen children. The father 
of Benjamin Wilson Sr. was William Wilson, 
who was born in County Ulster, Ireland in 
•1722 and who emigrated to Virginia in 1737, 
settling in the Shenandoah Valley about 1746. 
He died May 2, 1801. He married Elizabeth 
Blackburn, who died May 2, 1806. They had 
eleven children. The father of William Wil- 
son was David Wilson, ■ born in Scotland in 
1685, who emigrated to Ireland after the re- 
bellion of 171 5. He was a son of David, 
born in Scotland in 1650. James Wilson, a 
member of this same family, was one of the 
signers of the American Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and was a member of the Virginia 
Constitutional Convention. 

Jacob Frank Cork was the only child of 
his parents. When he was only seven years 
old his father died. His mother, a woman of 
great energy and intelligence, took pains to 
instruct him in the elementary branches of 
knowledge and to teach him the true principles 



of morality and religion. After free schools 
were inaugurated he was allowed to attend 
them for a part of his time. Subsequently he 
entered the Glenville Normal school, where he 
was graduated in June, 1874. With the edu- 
cation thus acquired he began to teach school, 
devoting his winters to this occupation and his 
summers to work on the farm, in this way 
earning enough to pay his expenses through the 
Fairmount Normal school, which he attended 
in 1 878- 1 879. In the fall of 1879 he entered 
the University of West Virginia, and after 
making up a year's work, part of which time 
he was out of the class, he took his degree of 
B. A. in 1883. In June of the following year 
he took his LL. B. degree and later his A. M. 
After examination by Judge (later Governor) 
A. B. Fleming, and afterwards by Judges 
Henry Brannan and James M. Jackson, was 
admitted to the bar and began practice at 
Spencer, W. Va., On the occasion of the State 
Democratic Convention at Wheeling he took 
an active part and, being offered the appoint- 
ment of chief clerk of the department of Free 
Schools in Governor Wilson's administration 
(B. S. Morgan, State Superintendent) he 
accepted, and continued in this position for 
eight years, or until the close of Governor 
Fleming's administration. He then resumed 
the practice of law at Charleston and since 
then has devoted his entire time to his pro- 
fession, making a specialty of chancery and 
land law practice. He is also joint author of 
a work on the history of education in West 
Virginia and has contributed . interesting 
articles to various magazines and periodicals, 
and also to different historical societies in the 
South. He is a charter member of the 
Historical Society of the State and also one of 
its officers. In the line of his profession he has 
made exhaustive researches into the subject of 
land titles and has in process of compilation 
an exhaustive text book on this subject, upon 
which he is a recognized authority. 

Mr. Cork was married in 1880 to Harriet 
Chevalier, a native of Wood county, W. Va. 
and a graduate of Lindenwood College, St. 
Charles, Mo. He and his wife are the parents 
of five children, namely: John R., who was 
educated in the Charleston High School, and 



970 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



the Virginia Polytechnic School; Helen, who 
is now attending Hollins College, Va. ; 
Donald Lupton (twin brother of Helen), who 
is attending school at Hampden Sidney; Ed- 
ward now attending the city high school; and 
Virginia, a Hollins girl. Mr. and Mrs. Cork 
are members of the First Presbyterian church 
of Charleston. 

REV. THOMAS KEENEY, who has been 
a minister in the Missionary Baptist church in 
Cabin Creek District, Kanawha county, W. 
Va., for the past fifteen years, has long taken 
an active part in business affairs in this sec- 
tion and also has prominently participated in 
public movements. He was bom on his 
father's farm in Cabin Creek District, March 
18, 1848, and is a son of Michael R. and 
Elizabeth Ann (Gatewood) Keeney. 

Michael R. Keeney was born in Cabin 
Creek District at what was known as Keeney's 
Knob, and was a son of Moses, who came to 
this section from Greenbrier county, where he 
owned the site of Sulphur Springs. He had 
ten children. Michael R. Keeney became a 
farmer and lumberman and operated a mill on 
Cabin Creek and lived there until his death, at 
the age of seventy-one years. He married 
Elizabeth Ann Gatewood, a daughter of Ran- 
som G. Gatewood and she lived to be eighty- 
six years of age and was the mother of four- 
teen children, namely : Margaret, who was the 
wife of John Jarrett, both being now deceased : 
Frances, who was the wife of George Weaver, 
both being deceased; Melvina, who is also 
deceased ; Mary, who was the wife of D. S. 
Montegue. both deceased; Lucinda. who is the 
wife of J. F. Davis; Bettie, who is the wife of 
A. S. Montegue; Robert G. ; David R., who 
is deceased; and William, Woodford, Thomas 
Y.. John G. Charles F.. and Daniel. 

Thomas Y. Keeney remained on the home 
farm until he was seventeen years of age. 
when he engaged in boating on the river in 
the salt trade and has been more or less con- 
nected with river life ever since, and for the 
past thirty years has been engaged in contract- 
ing. He is widely known. In public matters 
he has been interested since youth and for 



many years has been a pronounced advocate 
of temperance and so prominent is he in the 
ranks of the Prohibition party that in 19 10 he 
was its candidate for the House of Delegates. 

Mr. Keeney was married May 6, 1869, to 
Miss Eliza White, a daughter of Woodward 
White, an old resident of Kanawha county, 
and they have had the following children and 
grandchildren born to them: Susan S., who is 
the wife of Charles Reynolds, and has four 
children— Bessie, Robert, Catherine and 
Thomas E. ; Laura, who is the wife of Fred 
Young and has two children — Carroll and 
Clotel; Traver, who married Clara Young, 
and has six children — Anna, Iona, Fred, Julia, 
Elizabeth and Cameron ; Ida, who died at the 
age of six years; Bertha, who is the wife of 
Ernest Hunter, and has two children — 
Thomas H. and Naomi ; Hannah A., who is 
the wife of William Bond, and has four chil- 
dren — William, Ralph, Thomas E., and Lena; 
Ralph, who died at the age of twenty-two 
years; Emery, who married Kinnie Bonham; 
Streeter, who died when aged fourteen years; 
and Aletha A. Mr. Keeney and family have 
resided at W'itcher for the past fourteen years. 
The present church edifice was put up in 1907 
and Mr. Keeney ministers to a large and 
interested congregation. He is identified with 
the Masons at Maiden and the Red Men at 
Handley. W. Va. 

T. O. M. DAVIS, deceased, who was a well 
known and highly valued citizen of Charles- 
ton, W. Va., for a number of years, was born 
at Syracuse, Meigs county. 6.. August 26, 
1838. and was a son of William T. and Tane 
( Howell) Davis. 

The parents of Mr. Davis were born in 
Wales and from that country in the early 
fifties they came to America on a sailing vessel, 
which, after many weeks on the Atlantic 
Ocean landed them safely and they made their 
way to Ohio. They spent the rest of their 
lives in Meigs County and left numerous 
descendants and the folowing children survive 
of their large family: William; Mrs. Anna 
Hopkins, wife of David Hopkins, and Mrs 
David Lawrence, (all living in Ohio): Mrs. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



971 



Thomas, a widow, who lives at Canyon City, 
Colo., and Mrs. Mary Matthews, residing in 
Charleston. 

Of the above family the late T. O. M. 
Davis was one of the younger members. He 
remained in his native state until he was eight- 
een years of age and obtained his schooling 
there, and then came to Kanawaha county, 
becoming a merchant's clerk in a store at 
Cannelton. He subsequently was made pur- 
chasing agent for the Winnifrede Mine Com- 
pany and remained in the employ of that cor- 
poration for eight years, as manager of the 
company's store and concerned with its rail- 
road as well as mines. After this he became 
secretary and treasurer of the company that 
was engaged in promoting the growth of a 
town to which the ambitious name of Kana- 
wha City was given. While the place was 
beautifully located and well arranged a lack 
of wisdom had been shown in providing no 
suburban outlet, hence, Charleston, which was 
started at a later date, soon outdistanced the 
older settlement and those who had invested 
extensively at Kanawha City failed to realize 
on their investments. Many of them, like Mr. 
Davis, withdrew their interests and embarked 
in other enterprises. Mr. David opened up a 
grocery business at Charleston and later be- 
came identified with an insurance company. 
He was a man of sterling character, was a 
thirty-second degree Mason and was a lead- 
ing Republican and at one time was the candi- 
date of his party for county treasurer. His 
death occurred October 25. 1900. at Charles- 
ton, and his burial was conducted by the 
Masonic fraternity with its impressive ritual. 

In 1880 Mr. Davis was married to Miss 
Margaret E. Dickinson who was born in 
Kanawha county. October 5. 1857 and was 
reared and educated at Cannelton. W. Va. 
She is a daughter of A. Judson and Jane 
(Stockton) Dickinson, natives of Nelson and 
Kanawha counties, respectively. John Stock- 
ton, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Davis, 
was a son of Aaron Stockton, who came to 
Kanawha County as an early settler from New 
Jersev and was one of the pioneer salt makers. 
His death occurred at Kanawha Falls, which 
propertv was his. as well as many other tracts 



of valuable land. A great-grandmother of 
Mrs. Davis was Elizabeth Tompkins, of 
another pioneer family. John Stockton mar- 
ried Elizabeth Rader, of Greenbrier county. 
The father of Mrs Davis, A. Judson Dickin- 
son, was a member of the 8th Va. Vol. Cav. 
during the Civil War, and died in the prime 
of life, in a hospital at Lynchburg, Va. His 
widow subsequently married William Morris 
a member of a family that has been very 
conspicuous in the development of the 
Kanawha Valley. Mr. Morris resides in 
Fayette County, W. Va., but Mrs. Morris 
died thirty-eight years since, leaving one child 
Llewellyn Lewis Morris. She married Will- 
iam H. Phelix. 

Mrs. Davis is one of a family of six chil- 
dren born to her parents. Araminta C, the 
eldest, is the wife of T. S. Payne, of Mont- 
gomery, O., and they have three sons and 
two daughters ; Edgar Stockton, the eldest 
son. is a farmer near Gauley, W. Va., and has 
one son, John T. ; Mrs. Davis is the third in 
order of birth; John T., who is unmarried, 
lives at Boomer, W. Va. ; A. Judson lives 
with his family at Mt. Carbon and has six 
children; and Jessie B., who married John 
Thurman, resides in Kentucky. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Davis were born three 
children, namely: Helen B.. who is the wife 
of William Gordon Matthews, a prominent 
attorney at Charleston; Thomas Colburn, who 
is connected with the Kanawha National Bank 
in a clerical capacity, and resides with his 
mother; and George Hewitt, who is a civil 
engineer by profession, and also lives at home. 
Mrs. Davis is a member of the Baptist church 
in which she was reared, while her sons are 
Presbyterians, as was their father. 

W. B. SHOBER.* president and manager 
of the Ohio Valley Furniture Company, at 
Charleston. W. Va.,: came to this city in 1900 
and for the past eleven years has been one of 
the active and representative business men of 
this place. He was born at Gallipolis, O.. May 
29, 1862, and is a son of William and Eliza- 
beth Shober. 

W. B. Shober was educated in his native 
place. His father conducts a jewelry business 



972 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



but the young man became more interested 
along the line of furniture manufacturing and 
for a number of years prior to coming to 
Charleston, was with the Fuller & Hutsenpeler 
Company. 

Mr. Shober was married September 20, 
1886, to Miss May Ford, of Gallipolis, O., 
and they have two children: Hilda May and 
Eulalie. The family residence is at No. 1209 
Virginia Street, Charleston. Mr. Shober is 
identified with both the Masons and the Elks, 
at Gallipolis. He entertains high ideals of 
citizenship but is not active in any political 
faction or party. 

F. M. STAUNTON, president of the 
Kanawha Banking and Trust Company of 
Charleston, W. Va., has been a prominent 
business man of this section for a number of 
years and is identified with numerous success- 
ful enterprises. Born May 17, 1866, in 
Kanawha county, W. Va., he was educated in 
the public schools and at Cornell University, 
and before he had reached his age of legal 
responsibility, had become interested in busi- 
ness affairs. He was one of the organizers of 
The Kanawha Banking and Trust Company, 
and became its president in January 1907. Mr. 
Staunton is also president of the Diamond Ice 
and Coal Company ; president of the Kelley's 
Creek Colliery Company, and an officer and 
director in the Southern State Mutual Life 
Insurance Company. 

On November 29, 1892, Mr. Staunton was 
married to Miss Elsie Ouarrier Smith, who 
was born, reared and educated at Charleston, 
a daughter of Isaac Smith. Mr. and Mrs. 
Staunton have one daughter, Caroline O., who 
is now a student at Dobb's Ferry, New York. 
The family belongs to the Kanawha Presby- 
terian church. Mr. Staunton is also promi- 
nent politically, in 1907 being elected a dele- 
gate to the state legislature on the Republican 
ticket, and having served on the city council 
and as city treasurer. He is an active mem- 
ber of the Chamber of Commerce and has 
been a director of it since its organization. 

HARRY L. SALMONS, lockmaster at 
Lock No. 5, on the Kanawha River, near 



Marmet, \Y. Va., was born August 4, 1869, in 
Putnam county, W. Va., and is the son of 
Robert D. and Bettie (Marshall) Salmons. 

Robert D. Salmons was born, reared and 
married in Virginia and afterward moved to 
Putnam county for a season and then returned 
to Virginia, but subsequently came back to Put- 
nam County, from there he came to Kana- 
wha county, locating on a farm in Maiden 
District. There Robert D. Salmons died in 
1882, aged eighty-one years. In his early 
days he was a school teacher and later a mer- 
chant. His widow survives as do eight of 
their family of ten children. The family re- 
cord is as follows : Robert A., who is a leading 
citizen of Putnam county, is a member of the 
State Senate. William T. and James both re- 
side in Putnam county. John, the third mem- 
ber of the family, is deceased. Adelia, who is 
now deceased, was the wife of John Booker 
Shrewsberry. Mattie is the widow of Robert 
Beirne. Roberta is the wife of J. B. Reynolds. 
Ida is the wife of M. F. Spruce. Harry Lee 
is the ninth in order of birth. Nettie, the 
youngest member of the family, is the wife of 
William Wick. 

Harry Lee Salmons remained at home and 
followed farming until his marriage. In 1900 
he came to Lock No. 5 as a lock hand under 
Lockmaster Benjamin Smithers, and in 1903 
was made assistant lockmaster and in the 
following year was given entire charge. A 
large amount of traffic passes through this 
lock and the position is one of responsibility 

Mr. Salmons was married in May, 1900, to 
Miss Bettie Gardner, a daughter of C. E. and 
Catherine (Reynolds) Gardner, and they have 
four children : William, Leon, Man' and 
Helen. Mr. and Mrs Salmons are members 
of the Methodist Southern church. He is 
identified with both the Odd Fellows and the 
Knights of Pythias at Marmet. 

A. E. HUMPHREYS, a prominent capital- 
ist and representative business man of Kana- 
wha County. W. Va.. whose mining interests 
extend over many of the richest mineral dis- 
tricts of the United States, was born in Kana- 
wha County, January 11. i860, and is a son 
of Ira A. and Eleanor (Dawson) Humphreys. 




A. E. HUMPHREYS 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



975 



Ira A. Humphreys was born in Albemarle 
County, Va., and his wife in Kanawha County, 
although the Dawsons were originally of Bed- 
ford County, Va. Four sons and four daugh- 
ters were born to them, those now living be- 
ing: A. C, who is a resident of Sissonville, 
Kanawha County; A. E., whose office is in 
the Charleston National Bank Building at 
Charleston and his branch office at No. 211 
Colorado Building, Denver, Colo. ; S. J., who 
is interested in mining in Manila; and Mollie, 
who is the wife of John Good. The four re- 
maining children died in infancy. 

A. E. Humphreys was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Kanawha County and Marshall 
College, at Huntington. For ten years after- 
ward his business interests were mercantile, 
milling and lumbering, since which time they 
have been mining and probably he is one of 
the best known mine operators in the country. 
He has coal, iron, and gold and silver prop- 
erties, in West Virginia, Colorado and Min- 
nesota, his investments in these States being 
very large. 

Mr. Humphreys was married November 3, 
1887, to Miss Alice Boyd, a daughter of Capt. 
C. W. and Margaret (McMeekin) Boyd, of 
Brown County, O., and they have two children : 
Ira B., a successful inventor, who married 
Lucile Pattison; and A. E. Humphreys. Jr. 
With his family he attends the Christian 
church. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, 
belonging to the Commandery and Consistory 
at Duluth, Minn., and to Osman Temple, Mys- 
tic Shrine, St. Paul, Minn. He is additionally 
identified with a number of social organiza- 
tions, including the Denver Country Club, the 
Denver Athletic Club, the Denver Club, the 
Oakshore Club of Rockport, Tex., and the 
Edgewood Country Club, of Charleston, W. 
Va. Politically he is a Democrat. 

GEN. CHARLES DOUGLAS ELLIOTT, 
adjutant general of the State of West Virginia 
is a man well qualified for his present position. 
He is of Scottish and Irish ancestry, coming 
from the Douglas clan of Scotland and the Gil- 
lespie family of Ireland. Several of his pro- 
genitors participated with credit in the 
Revolutionary War, and his father was a 



lieutenant in the Federal Army during the 
great Civil War, while General Elliott him- 
self served as a major in the Spanish Ameri- 
can War. 

Charles Douglas Elliott was born January 
1, 1862. For some years he engaged in the 
lumber business on the Elk River and after- 
ward became the owner of the Parkersburg 
News and subsequently was appointed by 
President McKinley as a member of the U. 
S. Secret service, and still later as marshal 
for the Northern District of West Virginia, 
and was twice reappointed by former President 
Roosevelt. On January 1, 1909 he was ap- 
pointed adjutant general of the State of West 
Virginia. 

General Elliott married Miss Mary E. 
Thompson and they have two daughters, Vi- 
ola N. and Catherine T. 

JAMES WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, 
who is the leading spirit in both public affairs 
and business interests at Montgomery, W. Va., 
a place named in honor of his distinguished 
father, is vice president of the Montgomery 
National Bank, of which he was one of the 
organizers and is identified with numerous 
other enterprises which will be noted later. 
He was born April 9, 1846, on the present 
site of Montgomery, when this was farm land 
and has spent his entire life here. His parents 
were James and Amanda (Brennon) Mont- 
gomery. 

James Montgomery was born at Kanawha 
Falls, W. Va., a son of Henry Montgomery, 
who was born in Ireland and was one of the 
earliest settlers at the Falls, where he operated 
a ferry during his active years. James Mont- 
gomery, probably his eldest son, grew to man- 
hood on the home farm and then opened a 
store at Kanawha Falls, which he conducted 
until the outbreak of the Civil War, and after 
its close resumed merchandising at Mont- 
gomery. He was a man of unusual strength 
of character, one who inspired confidence in 
his fellow citizens and they gave testimony to 
the same by electing him to honorable offices. 
Before the war he served as sheriff of Fayette 
county and then was elected to the Virginia 
legislature, from Fayette and Raleigh counties 



976 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



when he was forced to travel by stage coach to 
Richmond to attend his public duties. He re- 
tained the confidence and esteem of his fellow- 
citizens through the conflict from 1861 until 
1865, and was again sent to the legislature 
from Fayette county, attending at Charleston. 
He was a man of great business foresight and 
was one of the first to realize the richness of 
the great coal fields of this section and in fact 
made the first lease to the Coal Valley Coal 
Company. His death occurred at the age of 
sixty-eight years. He was twice married, 
first to Amanda Brennon, who died in 185 1, 
aged thirty-two years, and secondly to Brigdet 
Hughes, who died in 1883. To the first 
marriage the following children were born : 
Lawrence, who gave up his life as a soldier in 
the Civil War; Henry, who was also a soldier 
and was a prisoner at Fort Delaw are when the 
war closed and is now deceased; Cynthia M., 
deceased, who was the wife of George A. 
Custer; James William ; John C. who is a 
resident of Montgomery; and Samuel E.. who 
is deceased. Eight children were born to die 
second marriage, namely: Anna F., who is the 
wife of William F. Champ, of Montgomery : 
Seth H.. who has his home at Montgomery: 
Harlow and Thomas L., both of whom are 
deceased: Bettie. who is the wife of John 
Davin, of Montgomery : Augustus B. and 
Fred, both of whom live at Montgomery : and 
Walter, who died in infancy. 

When James William Montgomery was a 
boy. educational opportunities for those living 
in the country, were different from those 
afforded almost every place under the present 
school system of the land. He was obliged to 
walk a distance of two miles in order to reach 
the little log building, with its slab benches. 
The pupils wrote in their copy books with 
goose quill pens and pokeberry ink. He was 
more ambitious than many of his companions, 
however, and learned many a lesson at night by 
the light of a pine torch or a light wood fire, 
after working from twelve to fourteen hours 
on the farm. His stepmother was kind and 
assisted him in becoming a fine penman, set- 
ting him copies and giving him encourage- 
ment. He remained at home until he was 
twenty-one years of age and afterward worked 



for his father until he was twenty-five, wages 
in those days being fifty cents a day,- and often 
the day was fifteen hours long. 

Mr. Montgomery started out for himself 
with a job of cutting saw logs, afterward raft- 
ing them down the river and selling them. He 
thus earned the capital which he invested first 
in starting a store and as he was able to turn 
it over, built a sawmill, and later built houses 
and easily found tenants for them. His suc- 
cess in his first business ventures gave him en- 
couragement and he kept on adding to his 
possessions and building more houses, although 
he had to pay high interest on some of the 
money he was obliged to borrow in order to 
carry out his undertakings. Long ago, how- 
ever, things changed and instead of being a 
borrower he is a lender and has investments in 
financial institutions and in other concerns. 
He ow ns 200 houses at Montgomery ; owns and 
operates the Home Steam Laundry, which 
gives work to twelve employes; is the owner 
of the public utility, the Montgomery Light. 
Water & Improvement plant; is a stockholder 
in the bridge over the river at this point ; 
owns a sawmill, two hotels, the Opera House, 
a livery, and formerly a foundry, and is also 
proprietor of an undertaking establishment. 
Perhaps if a wondering stranger should ask 
Mr. Montgomery the secret of his remarkable 
business success, he would answer that it was 
the result of close attention to business and the 
saving of what he earned, and there are many 
who might, in these prodigal days, take this 
answer to heart. 

On May 14. 1874. Mr. Montgomery was 
married to Miss Bettie M. Farley, whose par- 
ents settled at Maiden. Kanawha county, prior 
to the Civil War. Five children were born to 
them, as follows : William Lee. who died April 
3. 191 1, married Maude Mulligan and they 
had one child. William Lee : Florence, who 
died at the age of ten years ; Charles M. who 
resides at Montgomery, married Carrie Work- 
man, and they have three children, Eunice, 
James and George; Helen, who is the wife of 
Charles Vickers, of Montgomery, and they 
have had three children, Milton C. deceased, 
and Arnold and Carl B. ; and Alice, who is the 
wife of Lawrence Carson. They live at Mont- 




JULIAN M. JOHNSON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



979 



gomery and have one son, Howard. Mr. Mont- 
gomery has always been strong in his adher- 
ence to the Democratic party although he has 
never been willing to accept public office. He 
and family are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, south, and in 1908 he built 
the present commodious church edifice and fur- 
nished it throughout, at Montgomery, Rev. M. 
E. Stafford being minister of this church at 
the present time. 

JULIAN M. JOHNSON, who is inter- 
ested in real estate in the different sections 
or counties of West Virginia, belongs to 
one of the oldest families of the county. 
He was born and raised on the bottom 
above Paint Creek, where the town of Clif- 
ton was laid out in 1852, and on the land 
entered and owned by John Jones. He is 
a son of John B. Johnson and a grandson 
of William Johnson and a great-grandson 
of William Johnson, Sr., who was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War from Bath 
County, Va. After the close of the war he 
moved to what is now Monroe County, W. 
Va., and lived there a number of years. 
Then he and his sons, William, John, Nel- 
son and James, moved to Gauley River in 
what is now Nicholas County, W. Va., 
near and below the mouth of Little Elk 
about 1798. There William, Jr., married 
Nancy Sims, a daughter of James Sims, 
who had also moved on Gauley from Vir- 
ginia with the Johnsons. William John- 
son, Sr., died on Gauley December 22, 1805. 
His wife lived until December 23, 1837. 
They were all Methodists and the first 
church ever built on Gauley was a log one 
and was built by these Johnsons about 1820. 
Two of them, William and John, were 
Methodist preachers. 

John B. Johnson, the father of Julian 
M., was born December 23, 1823, at the 
mouth of Rich Creek on Gauley. He af- 
terwards moved into the neighborhood of 
Paint Creek. At that time he was a car- 
penter and followed the trade for some 
years. When the town of Clifton was laid 
out in 1852 he purchased at the sale one 



lot, No. 35, and built the first house ever 
built in the village, in 1858. He w r ent into 
the mercantile business in 1858 and fol- 
lowed it for more than forty years. He 
married Mary Ann Settle from Culpeper 
County, Va., whom he survived for five 
years. He was a justice of the peace in 
Kanawha County some years before the 
breaking out of the War. Their children 
were Julian M., born August 16, 1847; 
Elizabeth C, born June 12, 1851 ; Mary 
Susan; born June 16, 1853. The two daugh- 
ters died, Mary Susan on October 11, 1858, 
and Elizabeth Clifton, October 20, 1858. 
John B. Johnson died at his home in Clif- 
ton, Kanawha County, July 30, 1902. in 
the seventy-ninth year of his age. Julian 
M. Johnson was married to Ellen Farley of 
Maiden, Kanawha County, January 15, 
1867. Their oldest child, John Farley, 
died November 14, 1873 ! Lizzie Clifton 
died January 15, 1872; May S. died July, 
1897; Joseph E. died November 17, 1909. 

HOUSTON G. YOUNG, chief clerk in the 
office of Secretary of State Reed, Charleston, 
W. Va., was born in Harrison county, W. Va., 
October 10, 1882. His grandfather, William 
Young, was born at Cow Pasture River, in 
Highland county Va., and later, after marriage 
moved to Harrison county, now West Vir- 
ginia, and settled on a farm in Elk District. At 
that time his son, David S. Young, was a 
youth. He has continued to live in Elk Dis- 
trict and is engaged in farming and stock rais- 
ing. He married Sarah Ann Pickens, who 
died February 4, 1910, at the age of fifty- 
seven years. They became the parents of four 
children: Laco L., Addie V., Houston G, and 
Edna M. 

Houston G. Young was educated in the pub- 
lic schools and at the West Virginia Wesleyan 
College, where he was graduated in 1902, sub- 
sequently, in 1906, graduating from the West 
Virginia University at Morgantown, with his 
degree of LL. B., was admitted to the bar and 
engaged in the practice of law for 9 months. 
At the end of that time he accepted an appoint- 
ment as chief clerk in the office of Hon. 



980 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Charles W. Swisher, Secretary of State, and 
later was appointed to the same position with 
Secretary Reed. 

Mr. Young married Miss Francis Virginia 
Chesney, a native of Marion county and they 
have one son, Chesney, born August 25, 1908. 

JOHN COTTON,* formerly a well known 
and highly respected citizen of Charleston, who 
died at his home here August 8, 1900, was a 
son of John T. Cotton, M. D., another dis- 
tinguished Charleston citizen, and a descendant 
of Dr. John Cotton, an eminent Boston physi- 
cian, who was born at Plymouth, Mass., Sep- 
tember 9, 1792. Dr. John Cotton graduated at 
Harvard University and there took the degrees 
of A. M. and M. D. Later he decided to mi- 
grate to the then new state of Ohio. The fam- 
ily accordingly sailed September 17, 181 5 from 
Providence for New York, which city they 
left on the 21st by boat for Elizabethtown, N. 
J. From there they went by stage to Prince- 
ton and thence to Trenton, where, for the 
second time, they had occasion to use a steam- 
boat for conveyance to Philadelphia, the trip 
from New York to Elizabethtown having been 
thus made. Steamboats were at that time a 
curiosity to most people and the Cotton family 
were much interested in examining them, 
which they had so good an opportunity to do. 
Dr. Cotton had the following remarks to make 
in regard to them: "The steamboat is a curious 
and truly wonderful invention, of a nature 
much too complicated for me to describe or 
even understand. They vary in length from 
60 to 200 feet ; ours was about 90 feet, having 
two spacious cabins and a bar at one end where 
liquors were sold. We proceeded at least six 
miles an hour against tide by the power of 
steam." 

September 30th the party left Philadelphia 
and reached Lancaster, Pa. They breakfasted 
at Harrisburg, crossing the Susquehanna in a 
ferry boat and safely reached Chambersburg. 
The Juniata River was crossed on a chain 
bridge, on the next day they crossed the Alle- 
gheny Mountains and on the seventh day from 
Philadelphia left Greensburg and reached 
Pittsburg. Here they noticed the prevailing 
coal dust and were surprised to find that the in- 



habitants used nothing but coal for fuel. Leav- 
ing Pittsburg October 9th they proceeded 
down the Ohio river in a covered skiff, reach- 
ing Steubenville, then an almost new town, on 
the nth. The next day they continued their 
skiff journey, breakfasted at Wheeling on the 
13th and finally ended their travels at Marietta. 

Marietta was then a city of thirty years' 
growth, and here Dr. John T. Cotton, the 
father of our direct subject, attended the com- 
mon schools, subsequently graduating from 
Marietta College in the first class ever gradu- 
ated from that institution. He afterwards 
taught school for a year in New Orleans. Be- 
cause of the extreme heat, however, he re- 
turned to Marietta, where he began the study 
of medicine under his father's direction. Sub- 
sequently graduated from the Cincinnati State 
Medical College, he began practice at Ravens- 
wood, Ohio, where he remained three years. 
During this time he married Sarah Fitzhugh, 
who was a daughter of Henry Fitzhugh, one 
of the founders of Ravenswood, the Fitzhughs 
inheriting property at Marietta, Ohio, from 
George Washington. 

After their marriage on April 5, 1845 Dr. 
and -Mrs. John T. Cotton moved to Charles- 
ton, Virginia (now West Virginia) and there 
established themselves both in social and pro- 
fessional life. Dr. Cotton watched the city 
grow from a hamlet into a commercial center 
and during these years he grew also in im- 
portance until his name was known all over 
the Kanawha valley. Few men of the state 
were more esteemed. In May, 1902 he was 
elected president of the State Medical Society 
of West Virginia. He was a large land holder 
in Charleston and the vicinity. Originally a 
Whig in politics, he assisted in organizing the 
Democratic party. The children of Dr. John 
T. Cotton and wife were: Henrietta, wife of 
ex-Governor W r ilson; Nannie C, who married 
Frank Woodman: Sallie (Mrs. Donnelly); 
and John and Harry, both deceased, the former 
of whom is the direct subject of this sketch. 
In religious belief Dr. Cotton belonged to the 
Protestant Episcopal church. 

John Cotton, whose decease we have already 
recorded, was born in Charleston, W. Va., 
September 2, 185 1. He was educated in the 




WILLIAM E. MOHLEE 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



983 



public schools and in the University of West 
Virginia. He studied law, was admitted to the 
bar and was for some years in partnership in 
a law business with ex-Governor Wilson. 
Later he gave up his profession and went into 
the drug business, for this purpose taking a 
post-graduate course in chemistry and phar- 
macy at the University of West Virginia at 
Morgantown. He was successful in this new- 
sphere of activity and had built up a good 
business when he was called away by death 
when forty-nine years old. He was a Demo- 
crat in politics and was a prominent Free Ma- 
son, belonging to Beni-Kedem Temple, M. S., 
and to the Knights of Pythias and other secret 
orders. 

Mr. Cotton was married in Charleston to 
Miss Nannie Margaret Bibby, who was born 
in this city and was here educated. Her par- 
ents were Edward and Lucy C. (Rand) Bibby 
the former of whom, born in Charleston about 
seventy-five years ago, is still bright and active 
for his years, as is also his wife, Mrs. Cotton's 
mother. He is a son of Joseph Bibby, who was 
born in England in 1808 and who died in 
Charleston at the age of eighty-one years. 
Joseph Bibby married in England, Margaret 
Swarbrick, who was born in England in 1813 
and who also died in Charleston, W. Va., at the 
age of eighty-one years. They came to this 
country soon after their marriage in 183 1, 
settling in Charleston, where he became a suc- 
cessful business man. They were members of 
the Episcopal church. 

The parents of Mrs Lucy C. Bibby were 
Christopher and Nancy (Pines) Rand, the 
former of whom was born in 1800 and died in 
1865 in the Kanawha valley. He, Christopher, 
was a native of Vermont and son of William 
Rand, who was born in Massachusetts and 
died in 1852 at the age of seventy-five years. 
William Rand married Lucy Jackson, also a 
native of Massachusetts, who died in 1848 at 
the age of about fifty years. They came to 
what is now West Virginia before 1820 and 
were steady, moral, church-going people who 
were respected by all their neighbors. 

Mr. and Mrs. John Cotton were the parents 
of children as follows: S. Katharine, born 
January 12, 1891, who graduated from the 



Charleston high school in the class of 191 1; 
Virginia, attending the public schools, who was 
born November 10, 1896; Mary Ashton, born 
February 2, 1898. Mrs. Cotton is a member 
of the Episcopal church, and of which her hus- 
band was a vestryman. Mrs. Cotton is a prom- 
inent member of Charleston society. 

WILLIAM E. MOHLER, president of the 
Mohler Lumber Company, at Lock Seven, 
Union district, Kanawha county, W. Va., and 
vice president of the bank of St. Albans, of 
which he was one of the organizers and is a 
charter member and a director, has also other 
important interests in Kanawha county. He 
was born in Augusta county, Va., July 14, 
1852, and is a son of D. F. and Ellen E. (Sil- 
ling) Mohler. 

D. F. Mohler was born in Augusta county, 
Va. about 1832, and died at the age of sixty- 
seven years, being buried at Parnassus, in 
Augusta county. During the larger part of 
his active life he was interested in lumbering. 
When the Civil war broke out he secured a 
contract to construct wagons for the Confed- 
erate government and operated a factory dur- 
ing the first two years of the war. During the 
rest of the war period he assisted in the man- 
ufacturing of iron. He owned the second saw 
mill operated in Augusta county. He married 
Ellen E. Silling, who was born also in Augusta 
county, a daughter of William Silling, and 
nine children were born to them, William E. 
being the eldest. Mrs. D. F. Mohler died in 
her sixty-fifth year. She was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church south. 

William E. Mohler attended school in Au- 
gusta and Rockingham counties, Va., and un- 
der his father had the training as a lumber- 
man that enabled him. when of age, to embark 
in the lumber business for himself, in Alder- 
son, Monroe county, W. Va. From there he 
came to St. Albans. March 28, 188?. and here 
beean extensive operations in lumber, mak- 
ing- arrangements for a suoolv of timber from 
Boone. Loean and other counties. In October, 
1888. Mr. Mnhler. with his father and brothers, 
built thp mill at T crV Seven, known as the 
MohW 1 nmb p r Cnmnanv's mill and i<= operat- 
ing it under the incorporated name of Mohler 



984 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Lumber Company, in Union district. To -Mr. 
Mohler, more than to any one man, Lock 
Seven is indebted for the industrial prosperity 
which it enjoys. In fact, to name all the en- 
terprises with which he is connected in a busi- 
ness or public spirited way, would include the 
majority of the activities which make up the 
towns of Lock Seven and St. Albans. 

He owns much property at St. Albans, hav- 
ing twelve residences, one of the finest of which 
he occupies as his home, and which was con- 
structed with an eye to architectural beauty 
and supplied with every modern comfort. Mr. 
Mohler is a stockholder in the Boone County 
Bank at Madison, and a director of the Ka- 
nawha National Bank, of Charleston. He is 
president and manager of the St. Albans 
Water and Electric Light Company ; he to- 
gether with his brother, T. H. Mohler, who is 
treasurer, own and operate this enterprise. 
Mr. Mohler is also president and director of 
the McGregor Manufacturing Company; a di- 
rector of the South Side Foundry and Machine 
Company, of Charleston ; president and di- 
rector of St. Albans Building Company, di- 
rector of Herald Publishing Company of St. 
Albans, and a stockholder in the Pinguico 
Mines Co. of Mexico, and the Mexican Mill- 
ing and Transportation Co., at Guanajuato. 
Mexico. These varied interests are held with 
a first grasp, a master mind controlling these 
various concerns with an ease that shows strong 
nerves and great keenness of business percep- 
tion. 

In looking after his personal affairs with so 
much success, Mr. Mohler, however, has not 
been indifferent to public affairs when a dis- 
play of public spirit was needed. As a city 
councilman his efforts have always been - to 
bring about the true welfare of his fellow citi- 
zens. In politics he is a Republican. 

Mr. Mohler was married to Jennie A. 
Reeves, of Augusta County, Va., who died 
at St. Albans, April, 8, 1905. Three children 
survive her, namely: Reba R., who is the wife 
of W. Don. Hereford and resides at Oklahoma 
City, Okl. ; Daniel N., who is attending col- 
lege at Washington and Lee University, Lex- 
ington, Virginia; and Ruth E., who resides at 
home. 



Mr. Mohler afterwards married, May 14, 
1908, Mary E. Alexander, daughter of W. A. 
and Leonora C. Alexander, of Frazier's Bot- 
tom, Putnam county. Mr. Mohler is a mem- 
ber of, and an elder in the Presbyterian church, 
south, and has been one of its liberal support- 
ers, contributing thousands of dollars to the 
upbuilding and sustaining of the local organi- 
zations. 

THOMAS E. COURTNEY.* who was 
born in Liberty township, Mercer county Pa., 
March 11, 1865, since 1873 has been engaged 
in the lumber business and since 1884 has been 
identified with his brother. Dewitt G. Court- 
ney, at Charleston. W. Va. 

Mr. Courtney has taken an active interest 
in all that concerns the best interests of 
Charleston ever since he has been a resident, 
is a large investor in property and is a re- 
sponsible citizen in every way. He is an active 
member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs 
to Mercer Lodge, No. 375, at Mercer, Pa.: to 
the Chapter, Consistory and Commandery at 
Charleston, and also to the Mystic Shrine 
( Beni Kedem Temple) in this city. He is 
identified also with the Elks at Charleston. 

Mr. Courtney was married April 28, 1897, 
to Miss Lena G. O'Shell. who was born in 
1873, in Jackson county. W. Va.. a daughter 
of John and Rebecca ( Horton) O'Shell. 
natives of Summerfield. O. They still survive, 
the father being a substantial farmer. The 
Hortons and O'Shells have always been Re- 
publicans and Grandfather Horton was a 
strong anti-slavery man. Mr. and Mrs. 
O'Shell had one son and four daughters. Mr. 
and Mrs Courtnev have five children, namely : 
John Frankiin. who was born March, 29, 
1898; Dewitt G. who was born September 14. 
1900; Dorothy Jane, who was born in 190 1 ; 
Mary Horton. who w as born in October, 1904; 
and Florence A., who was born May 30. 1907. 

ROBERT E. LEE BARNETT. who is in 
the contracting business at Charleston. W. Va., 
is the senior member of the well known build- 
ing and contracting firm of Bamett & Given, 
leaders here in the contracting line. Mr. 
Barnett was born in Doddridge county. W. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



985 



Va., January 22, 1865, and is a son of Rev. 
Allison and Mary C. (Hickman) Barnett. 

Rev. Allison Barnett was born in what is 
now West Virginia and his wife in Virginia 
and their home was in Doddrige county, where 
the former died in 1885, at the age of sixty- 
five years. He was a local preacher in the 
Baptist church and farming was his occupa- 
tion. His widow still resides in the old home 
in the community where the family has been 
known and respected for so many years. 

They were the parents of children as fol- 
lows : Iowa, wife of John Smith ; Susan 
Missouri, wife of T. H. Hansford; Marshall; 
Allison Jr. ; Robert E. L., subject of this 
sketch; Bruce; L. H. ; Belle; R. H. ; Charles 
E. ; and Elden. 

Robert E. Lee Barnett attended school dur- 
ing boyhood in his native section. He then 
taught two terms of school in Doddridge 
county, W. Va'. Afterward he learned the 
carpenter's trade and became a carpenter and 
builder on his own account, in Harrison and 
other counties until 1904, when he came to 
Charleston and here entered into a general 
carpenter business which he carried on until 
the formation of the present firm, some four 
years since. The firm has been entrusted with 
the erection of some of the finest buildings in 
the city and their reliability and general 
efficiency are universally acknowledged. Mr. 
Barnett also owns some valuable building lots 
in East Norfolk, Va. He is very active in the 
affairs of the Knights of Pythias and the O. 
U. A. M. and at present is serving as secretary 
of the latter order and is now state deputy for 
his council. In politics he is a Democrat. 

Mr. Barnett was married at Charleston, 
April 17, 1907 to Miss Emma Clair, who was 
born February 17. 1883, at Pittsburg, Pa., and 
was brought to this city by her parents, 
William and Margaret (Rider) Clair, natives 
of Hamburg, Germany. In his native land, 
William Clair learned the art of glass blowing. 
In 1880 he and family came to the United 
States locating: first at Pittsburg and moving 
then to Charleston and two years later settled 
on a farm in Elk district, and there his death 
occurred in 1901 at the age of seventy-two 
years. His widow survived until 1910, dying 



at the age of seventy-one years. They had 
ten children and eight of these survive. Of 
this family the record as given is as follows: 
Emma (Mrs Barnett); Annie, the wife of 
William Morris, a farmer of Elk district; 
Nellie, who is unmarried ; Rose and Marceline. 
Mr. and Mrs Barnett have no family of their 
own. They have a very attractive home in 
Charleston. Mr. Barnett attends the Baptist 
church while Mrs. Barnett attends the Roman 
Catholic church. 

ANDREW COFFEY,* plumber and gas 
fitter, dealing in all kinds of plumbing supplies, 
gas and heating apparatus, at No. 808 Quarrier 
Street, Charleston, W. Va., is president and 
manager of the Coffey Plumbing Company, 
which he established here in May, 1906. He 
was born at Natural Bridge, Rockbridge 
county, Va., June 9, 1874, and is a son of 
Arthur and Isabel (Coutts) Coffey. 

Arthur Coffey was born in Ireland and his 
wife in Scotland and both came to the United 
States when young. They were married at 
Lynchburg, Va., where he worked at his trade 
of granite cutter, and from there came to 
Charleston in 1882. Here he became a well 
known man in his business, being expert in 
granite and marble work and doing fine let- 
tering in stone. His father and grandfather 
had also been workers in the same line in 
Leinster, Ireland. He died at Charleston in 
March, 1895. His widow survives as does her 
father, who in 1912, if he survives, will com- 
plete his century of life. He remains in his 
home in Scotland and retains all his faculties. 
Mrs. Coffey is a member of the Catholic 
church, uniting with the same at marriage, her 
husband having been reared in that faith. Of 
their children the following survive : Andrew ; 
Charles P., also a practical plumber, who 
married Grace Taylor and has one son, 
Charles; James A., a plumber with the Coffey 
Plumbing Company, who married Stella 
Nugent and has three daughters; William P., 
who is with the Coffey Plumbing Company, 
married Josephine Smith and has five children; 
Christina I., who lives at home, and is in the 
book and stationery business; Anna, who re- 
sides with her mother; and Jennie, who is the 



986 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



wife of John Hacker, who is with the Lovett 
Printing Company as a linotyper. 

Andrew Coffey was educated in the paro- 
chial schools and was sixteen years of age 
when he started to learn the plumbing business 
completing his apprenticeship in a New York 
trade school in 1895, s i nce which time he has 
been in the business at Charleston and for five 
years was with the West Virginia Heating and 
Plumbing Company. His present business was 
incorporated in May, 1906, the officers being 
Andrew Coffey, president and manager, and 
J. B. Beller, secretary and treasurer. The 
company does all kinds of work in its line and 
maintains a high standard of efficiency. 

Mr. Coffey was married at Charleston to 
Miss Katie McGonagle, a native of Perry 
county, O., a daughter of Richard and Mary 
(Spencer) McGonagle, natives of Ireland but 
old residents of Perry county, where the 
mother still lives. Mr. and Mrs. Coffey have 
five children — Isabel. Richard P., Mary F., 
Katherine A. and Andrew Lewis. The family 
belong to the Catholic church and Mr. Coffey 
is a member of the order of Knights of Colum- 
bus. He is also identified with the Elks. In 
politics he is an independent voter. 

HON. STEPHEN B. ELKINS, whose 
long and distinguished career as lawyer, finan- 
cier and statesman, gave him a position of un- 
usual prominence in the United States, was 
undoubtedly one of the greatest men in all the 
essentials of true greatness, in West Virginia, 
where thirty-three years of a rich life were 
spent. Senator Elkins was born in Perry 
County, O., September 26, 1841, and his earlier 
years were passed on his father's farm near 
New Lexington. 

In his early boyhood the parents of Sena- 
tor Elkins removed to the State of Missouri, 
and with but superficial previous training he 
entered the University of Missouri, and was 
graduated from that institution when but 
eighteen years of age. In passing, it may be 
mentioned that his instructor in mathematics 
was a brother of Senator Elihu H. Root, of 
New York. Stephen B. Elkins was a brilliant 
student and he graduated with a standard so 
high in all his studies that no one in the past 



forty-five years has reached it. He passed in 
both ancient and modern languages — Greek, 
Latin and Hebrew, and in French, German and 
Spanish and later practiced law in the last 
named tongue. In the meanwhile, owing to 
financial reverses, he was practically thrown 
entirely upon his own resources, but he suc- 
ceeded in making his preparations for the bar, 
to which he was admitted in 1863. At this 
time New Mexico offered an apparently favor- 
able field to young professional men and thither 
went Stephen Benton Elkins with his friend, 
Richard C. McCormick, now governor of 
Arizona, who afterwards married a daughter 
of the late Senator A. G. Thurman and sub- 
sequently became a member of Congress from 
New York. The young men found themselves 
facing unexpected difficulties however, as all 
business was transacted in the Spanish lan- 
guage. This was of but small inconvenience 
to Senator Elkins and he soon was able to 
handle legal business in that tongue as well as 
in his own. Very soon he became interested 
in politics and in the first year of his residence 
was appointed attorney-general of the Terri- 
tory and a member of the legislature. Subse- 
quently President Johnson appointed him 
United States district attorney, an office he 
held for four years under the administration 
of President Grant, resigning in 1872. 

During the Civil War Mr. Elkins became 
a member of a body of Union soldiery, and 
was captain of a company that assisted in 
maintaining order on the Missouri border. It 
was then that many of the qualities and char- 
acteristics which later made him a notable man 
in whatever he undertook, became apparent. 
Physically . of striking appearance, he was 
equally strong mentally, and was endowed with 
a personality which attracted strong men to 
his standard and won him political prominence 
before he had reached the prime of life. In 
1873 he was elected as the Territorial dele- 
gate to Congress from New Mexico, in which 
office he served the people so effectivelv that 
in 1875 while traveling in Europe, he was re- 
elected, notwithstanding his decided refusal to 
accept the office. His untiring efforts to se- 
cure the admission of New Mexico to state- 
hood at this time, belong to the public annals of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



987 



that day, # and his speeches gave indications 
even then of the ability which later made him 
one of the most convincing lawyers of his 
time, one effort in particular, which set forth 
the great natural resources of the then almost 
unknown section, giving him a national repu- 
tation. 

In 1869, by that time having a generous in- 
come from his law practice, Mr. Elkins or- 
ganized the First National Bank of Santa Fe, 
and retained the presidency of it for thirteen 
years. As he became convinced of the great 
mineral resources of the Territory, he invested 
in land and became interested in mining, sub- 
sequently becoming one of the main owners of 
the great Bonanza silver mines of New Mexico 
and Colorado. 

In 1873 Senator Elkins removed from New 
Mexico to W est Virginia. From the beginning 
of his public career he was an active, earnest 
and progressive Republican and on such ques- 
tions as protection to American industries, 
sound money, annexation of the Hawaiian Is- 
lands, the freedom of Cuba, the reorganization 
of the army and navy, and all others of vital 
import to the United States, his voice was 
raised and his best efforts given. He thus 
easily was recognized as a leader, and in the 
Presidential campaign of 1884 was a member 
of the Republican National Committee. On 
December 17, 1891, President Benjamin F. 
Harrison called Senator Elkins to his Cabinet 
as secretary of war, thereby adding materially 
to its strength, and giving to the country the 
services of a man who had at heart the best 
interests of the country he so unselfishly served 
throughout that administration. 

In 1895 Stephen B. Elkins was elected to 
the United States Senate to succeed Hon. 
Johnson M. Camden, and very soon after tak- 
ing his seat he attracted public attention and 
became a power in national affairs. Perhaps 
his most useful service in the Senate, was in 
the constructive legislation he effected in the 
widely discussed Elkins' amendment to the 
Sherman Act, and the Elkins' amendments to 
the Hepburn railroad bill, the vital part of the 
latter being found in these amendments. Sen- 
ator Elkins was made chairman of the com- 
merce committee charged with the handling of 



what was known as the Elkins' rate bill, his 
personal knowledge of railroad construction 
and operation, making him particularly well 
fitted for this position. Tariff revision claimed 
his close attention in the special tariff session 
for West Virginia, in 19 10, his fight for pro- 
tection of West Virginia products but more 
closely bound the people to him. Many of 
the best features of the Tariff Bill as they ex- 
ist, largely owe their value to his careful and 
convincing arguments and tireless labor. 

Before passing from the subject of the pub- 
lic efforts of Senator Elkins, mention must be 
made also of several notable speeches, remark- 
able efforts which have had wide-spread in- 
fluence and add additional luster to his name. 
His speech delivered on April 5, 1897, fa- 
voring legislation for the reestablishment of 
the American merchant marine, which attacted 
national attention, was equalled by that deliv- 
ered in March, 1898, on the aggressions of the 
Canadian Pacific Railway, which reviewed al- 
most all the questions that have been consid- 
ered by the Canadian Commission appointed 
by the United States. Among other achieve- 
ments was the passage of the Elkins' Anti- 
Trust law, soon after he entered the Senate. 
It was Senator Elkins who first suggested the 
use of the corps of engineers of the army, in 
the building of the Panama Canal. It has been 
said that he was one of the first movers for an 
investigation into the causes of the high cost 
of living, a vital national problem, and that his 
appointment on the committee during the sec- 
ond session of the 61st Congress, would have 
been productive of more direct and better re- 
sults than have yet been attained. During the 
last special session of Congress, he labored 
daily, although even then in bad health, and 
when the 62nd Congress convened, he was not 
able to be in attendance. 

Senator Elkins has been honored as no other 
citizen of West Virginia, having been three 
times elected to the United States Senate. He 
evidently undermined his constitution in the 
discharge of the exacting duties demanded by 
the importance of the measures which he 
championed, but it was not until complete pros- 
tration came upon him that he resigned him- 
self to the necessity of taking a much needed 



988 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



rest, too long, alas, postponed. Even then he 
was the last to give up hope of his own recov- 
ery. Early in life, as before indicated, he had 
laid the foundation of what developed into a 
large fortune. He was long associated in the 
opening up of timber, coal and railroad prop- 
erties, with his father-in-law. Senator Davis. 
However, it is as a man that those who knew 
him best, will longest cherish his memory as 
they benefit by his example, his beneficence and 
the honorable name he made for himself and 
left unstained. 

Senator Elkins married Miss Hallie Davis, 
a daughter of Hon. Henry G. Davis, of West 
Virginia, formerly Democratic candidate for 
the vice presidency. Mrs. Elkins survives, 
with their seven children — Katherine, Davis, 
Richard, Stephen B., Blaine, and Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Weidersein, of Philadelphia, and Mrs. 
Sara Oliphant, of Trenton, N. J. The family 
home at Hallihurst. Elkins, Randolph County, 
W. Va., is probably one of the most attractive 
private residences in Tygart's Valley. 

The death of Senator Elkins occurred Jan- 
uary 5, 191 1, at his home in Washington City, 
D. C, and at his bedside were his wife, daugh- 
ter and four sons. 

P. W. BURDETT, manager of a planing 
mill at Charleston, W. Va., to which city he 
came in 1900, has been interested in lumber 
during the larger part of his business career 
and is one of the representative men in this 
line of industry, at Charleston. He was born 
in Monroe County. W. Va.. March 15. 1868. 
and is a son of Washington and Susan (Long- 
anacker) Burdett. 

The parents of Mr. Burdett were both na- 
tives of Monroe County and they died on their 
farm there, the father in 1907. aged sixty- 
eight years, and the mother when aged thirty- 
four years. They were parents of two sons 
and two daughters, namely : Lonnie Edgar, one 
of the organizers of the Kanawha Planing 
Mill Co., who died in July, 1905; Emma, who 
is the wife of James Alderson, of Summers 
County, W. Va. ; Mollie, who is the wife of 
Lacey Lenmore, who moved from Monroe 
County to the West; and P. W., of Charleston. 

P. W. Burdett obtained his education in the 



schools of Monroe County and worked on the 
home farm until he was sixteen years of age. 
He then went to Summers County and began 
work in a saw-mill and for twenty-two years 
following continued in saw-mill work. In 
1900 he came to Charleston and for several 
years was associated with his brother in the 
mill business. 

In 1 901 he with his brother, L. E. Burdett, 
J. U. Graham and W. H. Wells organized the 
Kanawha Planing Mill Co., J. L". Graham sell- 
ing out his interests shortly to L. E. Burdett. 
L. E. Burdett died in 1903, leaving his inter- 
ests to his heirs. W. H. Wells later disposed 
of his interests in the concern and Mr. P. W. 
Burdett was appointed manager of the con- 
cern, president, and a member of the board of 
directors. 

Mr. Burdett was married to Miss Jennie 
Sturgeon, a daughter of James A. Sturgeon, 
of Gauley. W. Va.. and they have two sons, 
Arthur and James. In politics Mr. Burdett 
has been a continuous member of the Repub- 
lican party since he cast his first vote. He is 
an active and interested citizen, and is a mem- 
ber of the Lumbermen's Club. 

LOUIS SCHWARTZ, who. for many 
years was one of Charleston's busy, repre- 
sentative and influential business men. still 
continues active as a real estate broker, but 
has relieved himself of many of his former 
responsibilities, preserving, however, his 
public spirited interest in everything prom- 
ising to be of benefit to the city which has 
been his home for so many years. He was 
born at Allegheny City, Pa.. July 5, 1852, 
and is a son of Christian and Dorathea 
(Snyder) Schwartz, and a grandson of 
Christof Schwartz. 

Christof Schwartz was born at Friesbach. 
a suburb of Stuttgart, the capital of Wur- 
temberg. Germany. He was taught glass 
manufacturing and evidently became pos- 
sessed of considerable capital, and certainly 
was a man of recognized good judgment. 
It is thought possible that he was one of 
the original members of a religious and 
philosophical sect that was founded by the 
brothers Rapp and at one time had numer- 




MRS. BARBAEA S. SCHWARTZ 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



991 



ous members in Wurtemberg. It found 
little favor with the Government, however, 
and measures were taken to expel the Rap- 
pists, and in 1803 the majority of them emi- 
grated to the United States. Here they 
became known as Harmonists, their chief 
published tenets being that there should be 
no wars ; that all property should be held in 
common, and that marriage is but a civil con- 
tract. Many of the members of the society 
were men of property and as they were 
forced to leave or disband, they needed to 
select a responsible man to remain and 
attend to the settlement of their disturbed 
affairs in the old country. For this posi- 
tion they chose Christof Schwartz. This 
sect founded the town of Harmony, Pa., 
and there Christof Schwartz rejoined his 
old friends, about 1818 and he and wife con- 
tinued to live there until the close of their 
lives. They had been married in Germany, 
according to the laws of the land, but of 
their large family of children the only one 
to marry was their son Christian. 

Christian Schwartz was born in South 
Side, Pittsburg, Pa., and for some years, 
in early manhood, he was a silk weaver. 
In 1847 he the Harmony colony and never 
rejoined it. In 1849 he made the trip to 
California across the plains, and spent two 
years in the mining districts, and then re- 
turned by the way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
ama, with the expectation of taking his 
family back to the coast. His wife, whom 
he married after his return to Pennsylvania, 
however was loath to go to what was then 
an uncivilized region, and in deference to 
her wishes, he bought a farm not far from 
Harmony. They continued to live on that 
place until 1868, when they came to Kan- 
awha County, W. Va. Here Air. Schwartz 
bought 500 acres of land on the Elk River, 
locally known as Dogwood Flats. This 
land he put under improvement and on it 
he and wife spent many happy and peace- 
ful years, he dying about 1899, when he 
was aged seventy-four years. His widow 
survived him until 1906, when she was in 
her eighty-fourth year. She was a faithful 
member of the Lutheran church. Chris- 



tian Schwartz was a stanch Democrat in 
his political views, and it was in order to 
insure his freedom of thought and its ex- 
pression on public matters, that induced 
him to come to this section of the country. 

Eight children were born to Christian 
and Dorathea Schwartz, five sons and three 
daughters. Of the sons — Jacob, Joseph 
and William all died young. The surviv- 
ors of the family are as follows : Louis ; 
Lottisa, who is the wife of John Imhoof, a 
merchant and farmer of Clarion County, 
Pa. ; Dorathea, who is the wife of Edward 
Hedrick, a steel moulder; now living at 
Homestead, Pa. ; Mary, who is the wife of 
Henry Bender, living at Beaver Falls, Pa. ; 
and Philip, who owns and occupies a part 
of the old homestead on the Elk River. 

Louis Schwartz was fifteen years old 
when the family came to Kanawha County, 
W. Va. Before that he had attended 
school and had assisted his father in culti- 
vating the Pennsylvania farm. When he 
was eighteen years old he went into the 
lumber business and operated locally for 
three years, showing an aptitude for busi- 
ness, and then came to Charleston, where 
he worked in a bakery for some years. He 
then went into the restaurant business and 
for twenty-two years operated restaurants 
in Charleston that commanded the patron- 
age of the best people and brought him an 
ample fortune. When Mr. Schwartz re- 
tired from the restaurant business, he 
looked about for profitable investments 
and, with others, purchased 200 acres of 
land which is now one of Charleston's 
choicest suburbs, and he still owns one- 
fourth of this acreage. He has always 
shown himself an enterprising and pro- 
gressive citizen, has taken pride in his city 
and has proved his loyalty to it in many 
ways. Politically he is a Democrat but is 
in no sense a politician. For twenty-five 
years he has been identified with the order 
of Odd Fellows, and belongs also to the 
Knights of Pythias, and at one time was 
active in fifteen different social and frater- 
nal organizations. 

Louis Schwartz was married at Charles- 



992 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ton, W. Va., to Miss Barbara Schmidt, who 
was born June 3, 1856, at Mt. Olivet, near 
Pittsburg, Pa., and is a daughter of Nich- 
olas and Elizabeth (Hugo) Schmidt. They 
were born in one of the Rhine provinces, 
in Germany, and came to the United States 
when young, and were married at New Al- 
bany, Ind. Some time later, Nicholas 
Schmidt engaged in a grocery business at 
Baltimore, Md., and from there removed to 
Pittsburg, Pa., where he was a dry goods 
merchant on Carson Street, near 12th 
Street, for twenty-five years. Failing 
health caused his retirement in 1875, ar) d by 
the advice of his physician he came to the 
West Virginia mountains, locating in Union 
District, Kanawha County. During the 
rest of his life he continued in business in 
a moderate way and lived to the age of 
sixty-three years, while his widow reached 
the age of eighty-five, passing away at 
Charleston in 1879. They were members 
of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, 
of South Side. Pittsburg, Pa. Two sons 
and six daughters were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Schmidt, all surviving except two — 
John, who died in infancy, and Maria, who 
was the wife of John - Bardo. Mrs. 
Schwartz and her brother, Jacob Schmidt, 
are the only members of the family residing 
in Charleston. 

Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz have two daugh- 
ters : Dorathea Elizabeth and Alma Louise. 
The former is the wife of William A. Ma- 
han, who is a retired candy manufacturer 
now residing at Charleston, and they have 
two sons and one daughter — Louis W., 
Emma E. and William A. The second 
daughter is the wife of Conrad Weirsteiner, 
and they reside at Colorado Springs, Colo., 
where he conducts a large apiary and is 
considered an authority on bees and bee 
culture. They have had six children — 
Dorathea M., Mildred B. (now deceased), 
Josephine E., Conrad J., Richard A. and 
Barbara L. Mrs. Schwartz and daughters 
are members of the Roman Catholic church 
and they have many pleasant social 
connections. 



PETER A. SIMPSON, funeral director, 
undertaker and embalmer, at Charleston, W. 
Va., was born January 22, 1871, near this 
city, a son of Charles E. and Rosanna (Fau- 
ber) Simpson. 

He is a grandson of Peter Simpson, who 
was born at Christianburg, Va., July 15, 182 1. 
The latter was apprenticed to a tanner, but 
disliking the business, left home at the age of 
sixteen years and walked to Kanawha county, 
now in West Virginia, stopping at Maiden, 
where he found employment at the salt fur- 
naces and on the salt boats on the Kanawha 
and Mississippi rivers. About the time the 
Civil war broke out he purchased a farm on 
Davis Creek, where he died October 1, 1897. 
He was a man of sturdy patriotism and much 
interested in public affairs, and when the bat- 
tleship Maine was sunk in the harbor of Ha- 
vana, he expressed the wish to live until the 
President had formally declared war against 
Spain. His wish, however, was not granted, 
as he previously succumed to the ills of old 
age. He was a prominent Republican and was 
very active in the Methodist Episcopal church 
for fifty years. He married Millie Thomas, 
who was born in 1822 and died in 1907. aged 
eighty-four years. Her parents were pioneers 
in the Kanawha Valley and her brother, Ed- 
ward Thomas, was a well known river man. 

Charles E. Simpson, father of the subject 
of this sketch, was the eldest of his parents' 
family of seven children. He was born at 
Maiden, this county, August 5, 1847. ar, d is 
now a resident of South Charleston. Like his 
father, he has been an active Republican and 
also has been a liberal supporter of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church. He was first married to 
Rosanna Fauber, who was born on Davis creek. 
Kanawha county. W. Va.. February 11. 1848, 
and who died May 24, 1890. Charles E. Simp- 
son married secondly Jennie Smith, who was 
born in Scotland and was brought to America 
in childhood. 

The children of Mr. Simpson's first mar- 
riage with Rosanna Fauber were as follows : 
Willie, who is the wife of William Summer- 
field, a carpenter living at Charleston, and has 
had seven sons; Minnie, who married Charles 




PETEE A. SIMPSON 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



993 



White, a carpenter and blacksmith, at Charles- 
ton, and has five children; Peter A., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Mae, who is the wife of 
Harry Magill, residing at Grafton, and has 
one son; Mollie, who is the wife of Huston 
Branham, of Bell creek, Kanawha County; 
Charles M., an electrical engineer, who mar- 
ried Anna Beane and has five children; Millie 
A., who is the widow of Jerome Wildman 
and has one son; James E., who is a railroad 
man, lives in Oklahoma and has two children ; 
and Iva M., Ira O., and several others who 
died in infancy. Four children were born to 
the second marriage — Earl, Cecil, George and 
Frank, all of whom reside with their parents. 

Peter A. Simpson attended the public 
schools in his boyhood, but he attributes the 
greater part of his knowledge and a large part 
of his success in life to his mother, whose 
memory he reveres. Following her precepts, 
he passed through the critical period of early 
manhood without acquiring any evil habits and 
he considers his temperance and self restraint 
as having been potent factors in furthering 
his fortunes. In 1890 he learned the machin- 
ist's trade, which he followed for six years. 
He then went into the livery business, in which 
he continued until establishing his present 
business in 1900. He still retains the vehicles 
and horses that he had then in use and has 
added to the number of both. He now has 
thirty-six horses, four hearses, and a fine am- 
bulance, and carries a larger general equip- 
ment than any other house in his line in this 
city. He obtained his undertaker's diploma 
from the Cincinnati Embalming School, from 
which he was graduated in the class of 1903. 

Peter A. Simpson was married at Charles- 
ton to Mrs. Mary J. (Hazelwood) Nutter, 
who was born near Roanke, Va., November 
13, 1857, and there resided until reaching the 
age of fifteen years, when she came to Charles- 
ton. She was first married to George H. 
Nutter, who died August 21, 1892, leaving 
three children, namely: Grace H., who is the 
wife of Oliver H. Jennings, resides at South- 
port, Conn., and has one son, Oliver N. ; Harry 
H., who is a resident of Ohio and married 
Eugenia McDonald; and Hazel, who grad- 
uated in the class of 1908, from the Charles- 



ton High School. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson 
have one daughter — Talma Adortha, who was 
born December 18, 1896. They are members 
of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at 
Charleston, and Mr. Simpson was one of the 
five members who located the new church and 
financed its erection. He is not a politician 
but votes as a Republican. For a number of 
years he has been a prominent Mason, having 
attained the 32d degree and belonging to the 
Mystic Shrine. At present he is captain-gen- 
eral of his commandery and in line for the of- 
fice of eminent commander. He is also very 
active as an Odd Fellow, being past noble, 
grand and past chief patriarch and for five 
years was chairman of the board of trustees. 

JOHN LEWIS DICKINSON,* cashier of 
the Kanawha Valley Bank, at Charleston, W. 
Va., is a worthy representative of one of the 
old and prominent families of Kanawha 
County. He was born at Kanawha Salines, 
now Maiden, January 26, 1870, and is a son 
of John Q. Dickinson, who for so many years 
was identified with the great salt manufactur- 
ing industry. 

John L. Dickinson attended the public 
schools and then became a student in the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, in the class of 1890. 
Later he was entrusted with the operating of 
his father's salt furnaces at Maiden, where he 
remained for some time. He then came to 
Charleston and served through the clerical 
positions preliminary to becoming cashier, in 
1896. He is also a member of the board of 
directors of this solid old financial institution, 
one that stands foremost in capitalization in 
the state. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a Dem- 
ocrat and he has long made the city's best in- 
terests his own. He has been treasurer of the 
Charleston Chamber of Commerce since its 
organization and has been one of its most ac- 
tive promoters. 

Mr. Dickinson was married in the city of 
Charleston to Miss Maude Hubbard, a daugh- 
ter of John and Anna Statia Hubbard, the 
former of whom is deceased. Mrs. Dickin- 
son was born at Maiden and was educated at 
Charleston and at Miss Mason's Seminary, 
near Philadelphia, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Dick- 



994 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



inson have had five children born to them: 
Mary Lewis, Anna Statia H., Nell Carmichael, 
Dorcas Laidley and Rebecca Grey. Mr. Dick- 
inson and family are members of the First 
Presbyterian Church at Charleston, in which 
he is a deacon. He is prominent in Masonry, 
and is past eminent commander of the Com- 
mandery and belongs also to Beni-Kedem 
Temple, Mystic Shrine. 

BONNER H. HILL, mine inspector, was 
born July 25, 1873, at Chelyan, Kanawha 
County, W. Va., and is a son of Henry and 
Sallie Jane (Johnson) Hill. Henry Hill, the 
father, was born in England, but came to 
America when young and spent a large part 
of his life here. He was a railroad contractor 
and assisted in the construction of the C. & 
O. Railroad between Fields Creek and Chelyan. 
He married Sallie Jane Johnson, who was 
born and reared in Kanawha County and they 
had two children — Bonner Henry and Annie 
Wilmot, the latter the wife of C. E. Foster. 
After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Hill 
married W. H. Saxton, who was a school- 
teacher as well as Mrs. Hill — followed the 
same profession for some twenty-five years, 
coming from Ohio. Three children were born 
to the second marriage: Pansy H., Ruth F. 
and Amelia G. 

Bonner H. Hill spent his boyhood on the 
old Johnson farm, belonging to his mother, 
near Chelyan, and in the neighboring coal 
mining villages. By working in the mines 
during the summer and going to the public 
schools in winter, he obtained a common school 
education and later took a course in the Cap- 
itol City Business College. He began mining 
coal in Peerless mine near Chelyan, when he 
was 13 years of age and filled all the positions 
in and around the mines from trapper boy to 
mine foreman, superintendent, and later state 
mine inspector. Mr. Hill was first appointed 
mine inspector in July, 1905 for a term of 
four years, his second appointment being dated 
September 17, 1909. The first appointment 
was made by Governor Dawson and the sub- 
sequent one by Hon. John Laing, Chief of 
the Department of Mines. Mr. Hill covers a 
wide territory, his field of inspection including 



a part of Raleigh County, all of Boone County 
and all of Kanawha County south of Kana- 
wha River from Cabin Creek Junction (in- 
cluding the mines on Cabin Creek) west. 

In 1904 Mr. Hill and W. M. Wagner bought 
a general store in Chelyan from J. M. Cal- 
vert, which they conducted for one year and 
he then sold his interest to William Dickin- 
son. Two years later he helped to organize 
the Cabin Creek Mercantile Company and 
shortly afterwards was appointed postmaster 
at Chelyan, an office he still acceptably fills. 
He is active and influential in politics and has 
represented Cabin Creek district on the Re- 
publican County Committee for eight years 
and is now treasurer of that committee. 

Mr. Hill is identified with the Salina Ma- 
sonic lodge at Maiden. W. Va. and the Flo- 
rentine Knights of Pythias lodge at Chelyan, 
and represented the latter in the Grand Lodge 
in 1905 and 1906. He was married Septem- 
ber 18, 1901 to Miss Wilmot T. Cole, daughter 
of the late Philip and Nettie (Marie) Cole, 
and thev have two children. Philip H. and 
Wilmot "A. 

GRANT COPENHAVER. county assessor 
of Kanawha county, W. Va., comes of an old 
agricultural family of Virginia, of Danish an- 
cestry. He was born in Elk district, this 
county. June 6. 1868. and is a son of Jacob 
Thomas and Virginia (Newcomber) Copen- 
haver. 

The original home of the Copenhaver fam- 
ily was Denmark, where the family name is 
spelled and pronounced Copenhagen, like that 
of the capital city. From there, prior to the 
Revolutionary war. came the greatgrandfather 
of Grant Copenhaver. His son, Jacob, grand- 
father of our subject, was probably an infant 
at that time. Jacob died in Nicholas county. 
Va., at the age of eighty-eight years. He 
married a Danish maiden by the name of Dotz- 
man, who lived to the remarkable age of ninety- 
seven, showing clearly that she sprang from 
good and sound stock. The children of Jacob 
Copenhaver and wife were as follows : John, 
who was born in Nicholas county, now in 
West Virginia, died there; Joseph, who was 
born in Virginia, married and left a family; 




STUART F. REED 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



997 



Jacob Thomas, father of the subject of this 
sketch; David, who went in early manhood to 
Iowa, where he later died; Samuel, who was 
born in Virginia, subsequently settled on a 
farm near Sioux City, la., and died there leav- 
ing children; James, who became a farmer in 
Kanawha county and married Keziah Slack, 
both being now deceased ; William, born in 
Nicholas county, who lived for a time in Ka- 
nawha county, returning later to Nicholas 
county, where he followed farming and mill- 
ing and married Nancy Malcomb, who sur- 
vives him; and two daughters, one of whom 
died when young and the other after marriage. 

Jacob Thomas Copenhaver was born in 
Nicholas county, now in West Virginia, and 
died in Kanawha county, March 21, 1906, be- 
ing buried in the old family cemetery on the 
farm where he located in 185 1. This farm, 
containing 250 acres, he purchased in 1853, 
and besides operating it, he followed the pro- 
fession of surveyor. At one time he surveyed 
60,000 acres for a Mr. Lewis, subsequently 
selling the tract for the owner. In his polit- 
ical views he was a Republican and for some 
years was active in party affairs. He was mar- 
ried in Monroe county, W. Va., to Virginia 
Newcomber, a native of that county. She still 
survives, being now eighty-two years of age. 
She is a member of the Baptist church. Of 
their children, one died at birth and one at 
the age of two years, the survivors being Mil- 
dred J., William F.. J. Henry, Ellen M., 
Grant, and Virginia Florence. Mildred J. is 
the widow of William Burditt, who was a vet- 
eran of the Civil war. She resides at Mine, 
Kanawha county. William F. resides at Co- 
penhaver, Elk district, where he follows farm- 
ing. He married Florence Gibson for his sec- 
ond wife, his first union being with Grace Car- 
son. J. Henry Copenhaver, who is a farmer 
living near Blue Creek, Kanawha County, 
served four years as county assessor and four 
years as sheriff. He has been twice married, 
first to Lizzie Givens, who is survived by three 
children, and secondly to Chloe Jarrett, by 
whom he has one daughter. Ellen M. is the 
wife of Dr. J. L. Stump, who is engaged in 
medical practice at Charleston. Dr. and Mrs. 
Stump have two sons: Wilber C, cashier of 



the Elk Banking Company, who is married 
and has two children ; and Erra D., a physician 
at Charleston, who is a graduate of the Cin- 
cinnati, O., Medical College. Virginia Flor- 
ence is the wife of James Madison Fleshman, 
of Roanoke county, W. Va., who is a farmer 
in Big Sandy district. Mr. and Mrs. Flesh- 
man have two children, Clowney T. and Les- 
sie C. 

Grant Copenhaver obtained his education in 
the public schools and has since devoted a large 
part of his time to agriculture. He has always 
been an active and public spirited citizen and 
since the year 1900 has been personally inter- 
ested in politics. He was then appointed dep- 
uty sheriff of Kanawha county and served in 
that office very acceptably for seven years, 
after which he was appointed assessor by the 
Board of Public Works. In 1908 he was 
elected county assessor for a term of four years 
and the duties of this office occupy much of 
his time. He is a staunch Republican and has 
frequently been a delegate to important con- 
ventions of his party. He was a member of 
the state convention that nominated Gov. Will- 
iam M. Dawson. 

Mr. Copenhaver was married in Kanawha 
county to Miss Adaline Canterbury, a native of 
Elk district, the year of her nativity being 
1873. Her parents were Thompson and Bet- 
sey (McMillan) Canterbury, both of whom are 
now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Copenhaver 
have had eight children, namely : Altha, How- 
ard, Ellen M., Bessie C, John Thomas, Rus- 
sell Gaines, Ethel, and an infant that died at 
birth. Howard died when aged five months. 
Mr. Copenhaver belongs to the Odd Fellows at 
Clendenin and to the Knights of Pythias at 
Blue Creek. 

STUART F. REED, the present Secretary 
of State of West Virginia, is a native son, hav- 
ing been born and reared to young manhood 
in Barbour County. The Reed home and farm 
is located in the Elk Valley about nine miles 
from the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. As a 
youth Mr. Reed worked hard on the farm, 
attended the common school and cultivated a 
taste for reading and study. At the age of 
sixteen he received a number one grade cer- 



998 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



tificate and began teaching in the country 
schools. He attended the Fairmont Normal 
School a part of two sessions — in all about ten 
months — and received the full course diploma. 
Receiving an appointment as a cadet he en- 
tered the West Virginia University and for 
three years pursued an elective course which 
included science, classics, history and law. The 
University conferred upon him the degree of 
LL. B. 

Being an ardent admirer of West Virginia's 
renowned statesman and soldier, Gen. Nathan 
Goff, Mr. Reed while at college left his books 
and took part in the strenuous Goff-Fleming 
gubernatorial contest. In 1891 he became as- 
sociated with Gen. Goff and others in the pur- 
chase of the Clarksburg Telegram of which 
paper he became managing editor. He had ac- 
quired a taste for journalism while at the 
University, having been connected with the 
founding and early editorial management of 
the Athenaeum which is still the official paper 
of the University. He carried to his editorial 
desk an interest and enthusiasm that soon won 
recognition. He was elected President of the 
West Virginia Editorial Association three con- 
secutive terms and when, at his request, the 
honor was passed on to another, the editors 
of the State in token of their appreciation pre- 
sented him a solid gold watch and chain and 
Knight Templar charm set with diamonds and 
rubies. 

Mr. Reed was nominated without opposition 
by the Republicans of his district for State 
Senate and was elected by a large majority. 
He entered upon his duties as the Clarksburg 
member of the twenty-third West Virginia 
Senate in 1895 and was the youngest member 
of that body. It is an interesting anomaly 
that his immediate predecessor, the distin- 
guished jurist, Judge Edwin Maxwell, also 1 
from Clarksburg, had been the oldest member 
of the Senate. Mr. Reed took an active part 
in the work of the Legislature. He was made 
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Edu- 
cation, and was a member of the Judiciary and 
other important committees. He was selected 
by his party caucus to make the nominating 
speech on the occasion of the first election 
of the late Stephen B. Elkins to the United 



Stales Senate. In an editorial in the Charles- 
ton Mail, his speech on that occasion was re- 
ferred to as the "clustering of the gems of 
rhetoric by a master hand." "No speech," 
says the Mail "has ever been heard in the hall 
of the House of Delegates of more genuine 
merit than that of Senator Reed naming the 
choice of the Reoublicans." 

Mr. Reed took part in the debates of the 
National Congress of editors that met at Chi- 
cago during the World's Fair; was alternate 
delegate to the National Republican conven- 
tion at Minneapolis in 1892; and elected Vice 
President of the National League of Repub- 
lican Clubs at Detroit in 1898. 

He was selected chairman and spokesman 
for the immense delegation of West Virgin- 
ians, numbering about three thousand, who 
made a pilgrimage to Canton, Ohio, in 1896 
to pay their respects to their standard bearer, 
Major William McKinley. Mr. Reed was the 
guest of Mr. and Mrs. McKinley during the 
day; from a stand near the front door of the 
home he addressed an audience of over fifteen 
thousand people, after which Major McKinley 
spoke briefly expressing his gratitude for the 
interest and enthusiasm manifested by his 
West Virginia friends. 

He was one of the founders of the National 
Republican Editorial Association, one of its 
first Vice Presidents, and was named as one 
of the committee to draft the constitution of 
this organization. The committee did its work 
in Washington in 1903. The other members 
of this committee associated with Mr. Reed 
were the late Postmaster General Charles 
Emory Smith, and Hon. Charles S. Frances, 
now Ambassador to Austria. 

In January 1908 he was the guest of honor 
of the University Club of Western Pennsyl- 
vania, at Pittsburg, upon which occasion he 
delivered an address on West Virginia's 
Greatness which was highly complimented by 
the press and people of the State. The de- 
mand for copies of this address as so great 
that a second edition was published in pam- 
phlet form and widely distributed. 

Receiving the nomination for Secretary of 
State in 1908, he made a vigorous campaign 
and was elected over his democratic opponent, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



999 



Adam Littlepage, by a majority exceeding 
twenty thousand. 

Mr. Reed was chosen as Grand Orator of 
the West Virginia Grand Lodge of Free Ma- 
sons, under whose auspices he delivered the 
address on Labor Day, September 4, 191 1, at 
Hamlin, West Virginia, in the presence of one 
of the largest audiences ever assembled in the 
county. Of this address the Lincoln Monitor, 
a newspaper of opposite political faith to Mr. 
Reed, said: "The reputation of this faultless 
speaker is not confined to West Virginia and 
with great expectations, which were not dis- 
appointed, the great crowd gave the speaker 
rapt attention. The hearts of young men and 
women were filled with higher impulses as 
they listened. He had complete control over 
the great crowd — their ambitions were thrilled, 
their intellects satisfied with the banquet he 
spread before them." 

A characteristic of Mr. Reed is to seek to 
know and emphasize the good traits of his 
fellowmen. When the author of this book 
submitted the first draft of this biographical 
sketch in which the writer felt he had paid no 
more than a fitting and proper tribute to the 
man and his varied achievements, Mr. Reed 
promptly and emphatically demanded that the 
"eulogistic paragraphs" be omitted. Said he 
"Please do not try to make me out better or 
wiser than other people. I say this in all 
sincerity for the days are few indeed when I 
do not meet many who possess either talents or 
virtues far superior to any that might be at- 
tributed to me." 

He has given much of his time and energy 
to public affairs as evidenced by his having 
been honored with such positions as Regent of 
the State University, President of the Board 
of Trustees of Broaddus Classical and Scien- 
tific Institute, Postmaster of the City of 
Clarksburg, Eminent Commander of Knights 
Templars, and President of the first State Y. 
M. C. A. convention. 

His lectures and public addresses seem to 
meet popular approval and he has many calls 
to that line of work. 

He has a carefully selected library and is 
still a student. Called to deliver the annual 
address at Salem College at the 191 1 Com- 



mencement, the faculty of that institution hon- 
ored him with the degree, Ph. D. He has 
just been elected vice president of the West 
Virginia Semi-Centennial Commission, which 
will direct the celebration of the State's fiftieth 
anniversary at Wheeling in 1913. 

Mr. Reed married Miss Bonnie Belle Smith, 
of Clarksburg, W. Va., June 16, 1898. Mrs. 
Reed traces her lineage both maternal and pa- 
ternal to Revolutionary soldiers. She studied 
at Lebanon, Ohio, and is a graduate of Broad- 
dus Classical and Scientific Institute. She is 
a charter member of the Clarksburg Chapter 
of Daughters of the Revolution, and was the 
first Worthy Matron of Eastern Star insti- 
tuted at Charleston, W. Va. 

Stuart Reed's great-great-grandfather, Wil- 
liam Reed, lived in Loudon County, Virginia, 
and served in the Revolution in Col. Alex- 
ander Spottswood's 2nd Va. Regiment, Com- 
pany No. 2, as made up March 1, 1777, of 
which Morgan Alexander was Captain. His 
son Peter Reed married a Miss Turner and was 
a soldier in the Pennsylvania Whiskey Insur- 
rection. Peter Reed's son Peter Reed, 2nd, 
was born March 10, 1904 and was married to 
Ruth Lewellyn of Pennsylvania, November 23, 
1826. His son Milton D. Reed, (who is the 
father of the subject of this sketch) was born 
March 7, 1836 and on Aug. 12, 1843 married 
Margaret Jane Stuart, whose father John 
Stuart was a Virginian, born and reared near 
Monticello; her grandfather was a neighbor 
and friend of Thomas Jefferson. The children 
of Milton D. and Margaret J. Reed are Stuart 
Felix; Osea L. and Rose Belle; the father, 
mother and three children are living. Osea 
married Edward M. Jackson and resides at 
Buckhannon, W. Va., and Belle married 
Charles C. Wentz, who is located at Corpus 
Christi, Texas. 

The father, Maj. Milton D. Reed was, as 
the saying goes, a self-educated and self-made 
man. Lacking educational opportunities he 
picked up a few books and mastered the funda- 
mental branches by hard study. In this he 
was ahead of most young men of the neigh- 
borhood and he was asked, in winter seasons, 
to teach the old time "subscription" school. 
Some of his pupils became well known in pub- 



1000 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



lie life. Among those he taught was H. E. 
Engle, who composed the music of the well 
known popular song "The West Virginia 
Hills." 

He was made Major of the 169th Vir- 
ginia militia, which position he held at the 
beginning of the Civil War. He opposed "se- 
cession" and asserted his loyalty to the Union. 
A physical disability prevented his continued 
participation in military affairs but many of 
those drilled by him became regulars in the 
Northern army. Mr. Reed is the owner and 
proprietor of Ebenezer stock farm located 15 
miles south of Clarksburg. In 19 10 he retired 
from active business and removed to Buck- 
hannon, W. Va. He never cared for public 
office and would accept only positions relating 
to local education. He was one of the earliest 
champions of the "free school system" and 
over a quarter of a century ago. the best 
buildings and most progressive country schools 
in the state were those of Elk district where 
his influence was exerted. 

ARTHUR P. HENNEMAN, architect with 
the Morgan Lumber and Manufacturing Com- 
pany, at Charleston. W. Va.. has been a res- 
ident of this city since 1885. and has thor- 
oughly identified himself with its interests. 
Mr. Henneman was born at Marietta, O., May 
30, 1866, and is a son of Jacob Henneman. 

He attended the public schools of Marietta, 
in which city he lived until he was sixteen 
years of age. When seventeen he started to 
learn the trade of cabinetmaker and served 
four years and a half at Portsmouth, O. He 
came to Charleston in 1885 to assist in the 
construction of the State House, after which 
he worked as a carpenter with his father and 
his uncle until 1891. He then began contract- 
ing on his own account and thus continued 
until 19 10. when he accepted his present posi- 
tion, in which he has proven himself a very 
competent man. He has the practical and tech- 
nical knowledge with the artistic taste which 
are requisites of a good architect. Mr. Henne- 
man married Miss Emma Kautz, a daughter 
of A. J. Kautz. of Pomeroy. O.. and they 
have one child. Louise Elizabeth. 



JOSEPH MAYER, M. D.,* a prominent 
physician and surgeon of Charleston, W. Va., 
was reared and educated here but was born 
in Mason City, July 25, 1865, a son of Dr. 
Daniel and Addie (Walker; Mayer. 

Daniel Mayer was born January 6, 1837, at 
Nierstine, Germany, a son of Joseph and Ber- 
tha Mayer. He came to America in 1852, be- 
came a citizen of this country in 1861 and 
died May 20.. 19 10, at Cincinnati, O. In 
1859 ne wa s graduated from the Ohio Med- 
ical College of Cincinnati. At the outbreak of 
the Civil War he put aside his personal ambi- 
tions and came to Mason County, Va., where 
he raised a company of which he was made 
captain. He later resigned that position in 
order to accept that of first lieutenant and as- 
sistant surgeon in the First W. Va. Inf., in 
which connection he continued until October 
5, 1864, when he was honorably discharged. 
It was during his service as a soldier that he 
became acquainted with another Ohio soldier 
— a famous one — William McKinley, whose 
friendship he never lost during the latters 
lifetime. Many years later it was President 
McKinley who appointed Dr. Mayer, in 1897, 
U. S. Consul to Buenos Ayres, Argentine Re- 
public, S. A., and to no one was the tragic 
death of President McKinley a greater grief 
than to his old comrade in arms who had faced 
death with him on a number of battle fields. 
In 1903 Dr. Mayer was made consul general 
in the Argentine Republic by President Roose- 
velt. He returned to the United States in 
1905. About 1870 he had taken up his resi- 
dence in Charleston. W. Va.. and was en- 
gaged in the practice of his profession here 
for a number of years. He was prominent 
in Republican politics, served ably in the 
West Virginia House of Delegates, and his 
name was favorably mentioned as a candidate 
for chief executive. He served on the staff 
of Governor Atkinson with the rank of sur- 
geon-general. For ten years he was secretary 
of the Medical Society of West Virginia and 
held an eminent place in his profession. It 
has been said that he was the founder of Odd 
Fellowship in Argentina and he was grand 
chief patriarch in West Virginia. He was 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1001 



identified also with other fraternal bodies and 
was a 33rd degree Mason, taking his final de- 
gree in England. He was a man of number- 
less charities and was through his life of 
varied experiences, a faithful member of the 
Hebrew church. 

Dr. Daniel Mayer was married in October, 
1864. to Miss Addie Walker, who was born 
in 1847, at Brownstown, W. Va., a daughter 
of Albert and Mary Walker, he having met her 
during some of the trying experiences which 
fell to him as a medical officer during the Civil 
War. They were permitted to enjoy many 
years of companionship and ten children were 
born to them. Her death was one of the crush- 
ing trials of his life, occurring as it did, on 
April 15, 1905, while on the German Sea, on 
the way to the United States. Her burial was 
at sea. Seen sons and three daughters made 
up the family, the eldest being Dr. Joseph 
Mayer, now of Charleston. The eldest daugh- 
ter, Bertha, is the wife of Charles Winkles, 
a merchant at Charleston. Mary Virginia is 
the wife of Lewis Litt. a banker, in Xew York 
City and they have one son, Henry. Albert 
A, the fourth member of the famly, is a farmer 
in Monroe County. He married Sail).- Spang- 
ler. Edgar N. is a resident of Iowa. He mar- 
ried Xettie Bailey and they have one daughter. 
Ruth S. is the wife of James Fahy, book- 
keeper for John Wanamaker & Co., Xew 
York City. Ernest, an insurance broker at 
Charleston, is married and has one daughter. 
Daniel is agent for the Adams Express Com- 
pany, at Lowell. W. Ya. He married a Miss 
Kessler. Ralph is a railroad man ; he married 
Minnie Laird and they have two children. 
Bernard H. lives in Florida, is married and 
has one daughter. 

Dr. Joseph Mayer is a graduate of the Bal- 
timore University of the class of 1889. For 
twenty years he practiced his profession at 
Winfield, W. Va., before coming to Charles- 
ton. He is an active Republican and for some 
time served as chairman of the Putnam County 
Republican Committee and is serving at pres- 
ent as U. S. pension examiner. He and al- 
most all of his brothers, are members of the 
order of Odd Fellows and he is identified with 
other fraternities. 



Dr. Mayer was married at Winfield, W. 
Va., January 1, 1890, to Miss Zoa Middleton, 
who was born and educated there and also at- 
tended school in Cincinnati. She is a daugh- 
ter of Dr. J. L. and Denise P. (Bowyer) Mid- 
dleton, the former of whom was born in Vir- 
ginia and the latter in West Virginia. For 
many years Dr. Middleton practiced medicine 
at Winfield. where his death occurred Febru- 
ary 2, 1899. Mrs. Mayer has one brother, 
Frank, who is a banker at Winfield. He mar- 
ried Dennie Ball and they have three children. 
Dr. and Mrs. Mayer have one daughter, Mar- 
guerite, who was born July 20, 1891, who has 
been carefully reared and has enjoyed both 
educational and social advantages. 

SAMUEL LEWIS WEB, attorney at law 
who commands a very substantial practice at 
St. Albans, W. Va., was born August 16, 
1854, and until the age of eighteen years lived 
in Calhoun and Gilmer Counties, now in 
West Virginia. His parents were John and 
Elizabeth (Hays) Webb. 

John Webb was born in Ritchie County, 
Va., a son of Benjamin Webb, also a native of 
that county. The latter was a millwright and 
established Webb's mill on the Hughes River, 
one mile below what is at present known as 
the village of Smithville. It was the first mill 
in that county and combined in its construc- 
tion machinery that was utilized equally as a 
carding-mill. saw-mill or grist-mill. John 
Webb was also a millwright and an engineer. 
He married Elizabeth Hays, a daughter of 
Samuel Lewis Hays. 

Samuel L. Hays was born in Harrison 
County, Va.. and moved from there to Gilmer 
County, settling one mile above Glenville, on 
the Kanawha River, where he purchased 1,000 
acres, on which he built the first brick resi- 
dence in the county, which still stands and is 
occupied by a grandson, Samuel A. Hays. 
This house is a landmark and the place is 
known to all travelers in this section as The 
Brick House Farm. Samuel Lewis Hays was 
very prominent in the political life of his day, 
and in 1841 was elected a member of the U. 
S. Congress, defeating Judge Sommers, of Ka- 
nawha County. He married Roanna Arnold. 



1002 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



a member of one of the old and leading fam- 
ilies of Harrison and Lewis Counties. Mr. 
Hays was later appointed land agent by Pres- 
ident Buchanan in Minnesota, and died in 
1868 at Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minn., 
100 miles north of St. Paul. 

Six sons were born to the maternal grand- 
parents of Samuel L. Webb, as follows : Pere- 
grine, John Elliott, Othello, Xorval, Samuel 
L., and Calhoun. Peregrine died on the old 
farm above mentioned. John Elliott, who was 
an attorney both before and after the Civil 
War, served in the Confederate Army. He 
subsequently practiced law in Kentucky and 
resided in Gilmer County. Dying suddenly, he 
was survived by his widow who lives two 
miles from Glenville. Othello Hays, went to 
California in 1849 and was engaged there in 
business for a short time ; he died in the same 
year. Xorval died at Glenville, aged twenty- 
six years. Samuel L., who served twice as 
sheriff of Gilmer County, removed later to 
Seattle. Wash. Calhoun, who is an attorney 
and editor of a newspaper, at Grantsville, the 
county seat of Calhoun county, was also a pros- 
ecuting attorney in Minnesota. Of the daugh- 
ters, the mother of Mr. Webb was the first 
born in the family. She had two sisters, Dru- 
silla and Mary, the former of whom was the 
wife of Levi Johnson, an attorney at Glen- 
ville, W. Va., where she died; and the latter 
the wife of Shelton Fur. a merchant in Gil- 
mer County, where his wife died, he dying in 
California in 1849. 

The father of Air. Webb had four sisters — 
Elizabeth, who married Samuel Hyman : Sarah, 
who married John Rogers : Anna, who became 
the wife of Dennis Dye, and Louisa, who be- 
came Mrs. John Hostetler. The greater num- 
ber of their descendants live in Ritchie county. 

To John and Elizabeth (Hays) Webb, a 
large family was born, and the record may be 
given as follows. Roanna Steele, who is now 
deceased, was the wife of Henry B. Steele 
and their home was in Minnesota. Luverna 
Webb, who is the wife of De Lloyd Sessions, 
resides on her husband's orange plantation at 
Bartow, Fla. Roanna, and H. B. Steele left 
one daughter, Cora, who is the wife of James 
Weaver, of Austin, Tex. Martha Dunlap, 



who is the widow of John A. Dunlap, resides 
in Kanawha County, at Mound and near St. 
Albans, and is the mother of five sons and 
four daughters: Hattie (deceased) who was 
the wife of John Whillington; Edward, unmar- 
ried who lives near Mound with his mother; 
Albert, who is a farmer in Kanawha County; 
W illard, who resides at Richwood, Nicholas 
Co., W. Va., with his family; Hampton and 
Kenna, both of whom reside in this county. 
Victoria is the wife of a Mr. Thurston. Laura 
V. Thomas, who died January 27, 191 1, was 
the wife of John R. Thomas and is survived 
by her husband and two sons and two daugh- 
ters — Frederick, Herbert, Gertrude and 
Emma. Benjamin Hays, who is a practicing 
attorney at Charleston, is a member of the 
firm of Webb, Hays & Webb, composed of S. 
L. Webb, G. W. Hays, Benjamin H. Webb, 
and Samuel Lew is Webb, who is the next to 
the youngest of this family. 

Of the above mentioned business firm, G. W. 
Hays, is the youngest ex-Confederate soldier 
in West Virginia, having entered the Confed- 
erate service at the age of fourteen vears, 
joining Preston's Battalion, which was organ- 
ized at Christianburg, Virginia. Mr. Hays 
was in the battle of Droop Mountain. Pocahon- 
tas County, West Virginia. 

Benjamin H. Webb, of the above firm, 
served during the Civil War in the Confed- 
erate army being a youth not quite 15 years of 
age when enlisted in 1864 in the 19th Va. 
Regt. commanded by William L. Jackson, 
known as "Mudwall" Jackson, Col. Jackson 
being a noted commander. Mr. Webb was a 
member of Co. A. and assisted his Regiment 
to win many victories. He was badly wounded 
on June 17, 1864, at the battle of Lynchburg. 
Va. He married Allie V. Barber, of Virginia, 
and eight children have been born to them, 
namely: Delia, now deceased, who was the 
wife of John Thompson and was survived by 
three children — Edgar W r ebb, Catharine 
Louise and Barber Hansford : Naomi, who 
married Mark Jarrett. a railroad agent, and 
resides at CofTeyville, Kan. ; Kate, who is the 
wife of Allen Peyton, of Charleston: Mary, 
who is the wife of Cabell Pierce, a coal opera- 
tor of Cabin Creek, Kanawha county; Harry, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1003 



who is chief clerk to the superintendent of the 
C. & O. Railroad at Huntington: and Louise, 
who resides at home; two died in infancy, 
Warren and Tressa. 

Samuel Lewis Webb received his early 
education in the schools of Glenville, W. Va., 
and was subsequently a student in the first 
State Normal school. In 1875 he began 
educational work in Kanawha county and con- 
tinued with more or less regularity to teach 
school for about twelve years. He was in- 
terested also in other lines and in the mean- 
while began to read law with Judge John A. 
Worth, at St Albans, who gave him valuable 
instruction in his law studies, continuing his 
studies later with Judge W. S. Laidley. Prior 
to make application for a license to practice 
law he was principal of the St. Albans' schools 
for one term. He was admitted to the bar in 
1884 and maintains offices both at St. Albans 
and in the Kanawha National Bank Building 
on the corner of Capitol and Virginia Streets, 
Charleston. W. Va. He was elected a justice 
of the peace, serving for four years in Jeffer- 
son district, in Kanawha county and after an 
interval of four years was re-elected and 
served four years longer. He was also elected 
by the people to the office of Count}* Super- 
intendent of Free Schools. In politics he is 
of Democratic antecedent but an uncompro- 
mising member of "The Socialist Party." 

Mr. Webb was married in 1897 to Miss 
Margaret T. Schlife, of Cleveland, O. Their 
only son, Arnold Hays, died at the age of 
three and one-half years. Mrs. W T ebb con- 
ducts an independent business, owning and 
ably managing a dry goods, notion and milli- 
nery store on Main Street, St Albans. They 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Mr. Webb is a member and at one 
time was the voungest member of Washington 
Lodge No. 58, A. F. & A. M., at St Albans; 
and is a charter member of Spring Hill Lodge, 
No. 140, Odd Fellows. 

COL. JOHN O. DICKINSON* capi- 
talist, banker and long one of Charleston's 
representative men. belongs to one of the 
interesting old families of the Virginias. 
This family traces descent from Joseph 



Dickinson, who may have been born in 
Bedford County, Va., April 11, 1742, his 
death being definitely fixed as having oc- 
curred September 16, 1818, in Virginia, on 
his plantation on Goose Creek, in Bedford 
County. There are records to prove that 
he was a man of sterling qualities and that 
he was worthy to be the ancestor of his 
present descendants. He married Eliza- 
beth Woolbridge, who was born January 11, 
1744, was married March 6, 1769, and died 
November 7, 1818. For many years they 
were leading members of the Goose Creek 
Baptist church. 

The following were children born to Jo- 
seph and Elizabeth Dickinson. The eldest, 
Edna, was born September 15, 1770, and 
married Joseph Stratton. They came to 
what is now West Virginia and they died 
and were buried near the mouth of Hughes 
Creek. William Dickinson was born Jan- 
uary 7, 1772, and is the direct ancestor of 
Col. John Q. Dickinson. Nancy the third 
child, was born October 20, 1773, married 
Jeffrey Robertson and they lived in Bed- 
ford County. Sally was born September 
15, 1776, and married Joseph Shrewsbury 
and they came to Kanawha County. Pleas- 
ant, the youngest son of whom there is 
record, was born April 15, 1785 and lived, 
married and died in Franklin County, Va. 

William Dickinson of the above men- 
tioned family became associated with Joel 
Shrewsbury first as a tobacco merchant in 
Bedford County and after their marriage 
they came with their wives to the Kanawha 
Valley, the growing of tobacco being some- 
what interrupted by the disturbance inci- 
dent to the War of 1812. About this date 
they located in what was called the "Sa- 
lines," now Maiden, in Kanawha County, 
on the Kanawha River, after a few years 
spent at a point now known as Dickinson. 
Here the salt wells were dug and the fur- 
naces started of the Dickinson & Shrews- 
bury Company and during many years af- 
terward they largely controlled the salt 
industry and developed the business into a 
leading one of the state. They continued 
in business until about the outbreak of the 



1004 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Civil War, when they dissolved partnership 
and the death of William Dickinson fol- 
lowed in the succeeding November. 

William Dickinson (2d) was born in Bed- 
ford County, Va., January 1, 1798 and was 
reared and married there, coming- to Kan- 
awha County in 1861, after which he be- 
came selling agent of the output of his 
father's salt mills, having his headquarters 
at Nashville. Tenn., where he remained 
until he decided to give up active business 
responsibilities to a large extent. He re- 
turned then to Maiden and thereafter until 
his death on November 8, 1881, his time 
was occupied in looking after one salt fur- 
nace and the family's large landed posses- 
sions. He resided at that time on the Dick- 
inson farm, lying fifteen miles up the Kan- 
awha River and which is locally known as 
the Dickinson-Shrewbury homestead. He 
was a Whig and later a Democrat, casting 
his vote for Bell and Everett when that 
ticket was in the field for National consid- 
eration. Like his father he had high qual- 
ities of business ability. 

He was married in early manhood to 
Margaret C. Gray, a daughter of John Gray, 
of Bedford County. Mrs. Dickinson sur- 
vived until 1859. She was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
was a woman of most engaging personality. 
She was the mother of two daughters and 
two sons: Mary, Jane, Henry C. and 
John O. Mary, who died in Kanawha 
County, was survived for some years by her 
husband, John A. E. AYinkler. Jane was 
the wife of John A. Cobb and at death left 
three daughters. 

John O. Dickinson, the only member of 
his parents' family surviving, was born in 
Bedford County, Va.. November 20. 1831. 
He grew to manhood on his father's plan- 
tation and early had duties assigned him in 
looking after the extensive farm operations 
and in directing the work of the slaves. 
When the Civil War broke out he was 
ready to shoulder his musket with the first 
detail of soldiers called out but was re- 
strained until a favorable opportunity came 
for him to leave home. In the spring of 



1862. when his brother. Capt. Henry C. 
Dickinson, was in camp in Albemarle 
County, he decided to join him and taking 
a horse from his stable was soon on the 
way, subsequently enlisting in Co. A, 2nd 
Virginia Cavalry, with his brother as his 
captain. Col. Radford being in command of 
the regiment. He proved himself a good 
and reliable soldier and took part in many 
serious battles before he was captured near 
Green Court House, Va.. after which he 
was confined in the Federal prison at Fort 
Delaware until the close of the war. 

Mr. Dickinson then came to the Kan- 
awha Valley and his success in business 
life is a source of pride to his fellow citi- 
zens. Although the adverse fortunes of 
war fell upon him and his. he was of the 
manly fiber that enabled him to put aside 
much of the past and to plan hopefully for 
the future. He is the only one of the many 
salt makers of this valley who has contin- 
ued in the industry and makes it profitable. 
He is one of the largest land owners in this 
section and his properties are rich in min- 
erals and gas. He is extensively interested 
in the production of coal and is president 
or otherwise officially connected with nu- 
merous coal companies of the state. Mr. 
Dickinson was one of the original stock- 
holders of the Kanawha Valley Bank, the 
largest banking institution of the state, 
which was founded and incorporated in 
1867. At that time his father was presi- 
dent and both he and his brother, Henry 
C. Dickinson, were directors. The capital 
stock of this bank is now S400.O00. with a 
liberal surplus. For many years past Mr. 
Dickinson has been president of this bank 
and in this, as in his other business enter- 
prises, he has displayed the indispensable 
characteristics which contribute to finan- 
cial success. His whole business career 
has been, more or less, a series of success- 
ful undertakings and his time and attention 
have been so continuously engaged that 
public office, along the path of politics, has 
attracted him not at all. He is a Democrat 
from rearing and conviction but his activity 
goes no farther than to performing the full 




CHARLES M. ALDERSOX 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1005 



duties of citizenship. He has been identi- 
fied with the Masonic fraternity since early 
manhood. 

Mr. Dickinson was married during the 
Civil W ar. to Miss Margaret D. Lewis, 
who was born in 1843, in Kanawha County, 
in which she has always lived. She is a 
daughter of John D. and a sister of Charles 
C. Lewis. Six children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Dickinson, of whom a partial 
record is as follows : William and Mosby, 
both of whom died in manhood, both hav- 
ing been graduates of a military institute 
and brilliant students; John L.. who was 
graduated with the class of 1890, from the 
Virginia Military Institute, and is also a 
graduate of Eastman's Commercial Col- 
lege, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and is cashier 
of his father's bank (married Maude Hub- 
bard, and they have five children) ; Charles 
C, who has charge of his father's salt fur- 
naces at Maiden, is a graduate of the above 
military school in the class of 1895, mar- 
ried Nellie Alderson. Mr. and Mrs. Dick- 
inson are members of the Presbyterian 
church at Maiden. 

CHARLES CAMERON DICKINSON* 
superintendent and manager for the J. 0. 
Dickinson & Co's. salt works at Maiden, 
Kanawha county, W. Va., has numerous other 
important business interests and is numbered 
with the substantial men of the county. He was 
born January 23, 1876, on his fathers farm at 
what is now known as Quincy, in Cabin Creek 
district, Kanawha county and is a son of 
John Q. and Mary D. (Lewis) Dickinson. 
The name of Dickinson has been identified for 
many years with the great salt manufacturing 
industry as well as with the best citizenship of 
West Virginia. 

John 0. Dickinson was born in Bedford 
county, Va., November 20, 1831, and is a son 
of William and Margaret C. (Gray) Dickin- 
son. After the close of the Civil War, in 
which he honorably participated, he came to 
the Kanawha valley and became actively con- 
cerned in salt manufacturing, practically con- 
trolling the industry here at the present time. 



He is interested extensively in the production 
of coal and gas and is concerned in many im- 
portant business enterprises of the locality im- 
cluding Maiden, Charleston and other points. 
Mr. Dickinson married Miss Margaret D. 
Lewis, a daughter of John D. Lewis. Six 
children were born to this marriage, Charles 
C. being the youngest son. He has one sur- 
viving brother, John L. Dickinson, who is 
cashier of the Kanawha Valley Bank at 
Charleston. He married a daughter of John 
F. Hubbard, of Charleston, and they have 
five daughters. 

Charles C. Dickinson was instructed by a 
private tutor up to the age of fourteen years. 
He passed the succeeding two years as a student 
in a military academy in Greenbrier count}-, 
and in the fall of 1892 entered the Virginia 
Military Institute, from which he was gradu- 
ated in June, 1896. In the fall of this year he 
entered business, and for two years was em- 
ployed as bookkeeper and in other capacities 
at the salt furnaces at Maiden, and in 1898 
took charge of the plant and has been a resi- 
dent of Maiden ever since. He is interested in 
the coal and lumber business of this section 
to a large extent, is secretary and treasurer 
of the Dry Branch Coal Company, and is on 
the directing board of the Kanawha Valley 
Bank at Charleston. 

On October 23, 1901, Mr. Dickinson was 
married to Miss Nellie C. Alderson, then a 
resident of Lewisburg, W. Va. She was born 
in Texas, where her father died in her child- 
hood. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have two sons 
John O. and Charles C. They are members 
of the Kanawha Salines Presbyterian church 
at Maiden and take part in the pleasant social 
life of the place. Mr. Dickinson is an in- 
terested citizen in all that concerns the best 
interests of Maiden but has never been active 
politically. 

CHARLES M. ALDERSON. a well 
known corporation lawyer, a member of the 
prominent law firm of Simms. Enslow & 
Alderson, at Charleston. W. Va., has addi- 
tional business interests, and is one the repre- 
sentative men of this city. He was born in 
Greenbrier county, YV. Va.. in 1867, and is a 



1006 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



son of Sampson I. and Martha J. (Hedrick) 
Alderson. 

Sampson I. Alderson was born in Summers 
county, W. Va., sixty-eight years ago and still 
survives, being a resident of Greenbrier 
county, where he is engaged in farming. At 
the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered 
in the Confederate service, belonging to Capt. 
Buster's company for about one year and sub- 
sequently receiving an honorable discharge on 
account of failing health. He is a Democrat in 
his political views, but not an active politician. 
He married Martha J. Hedrick, who died in 
February, 1909, aged sixty- four years. She 
was a devoted member of the Baptist church, 
to which Mr. Alderson also belongs and to 
which he has been a liberal contributor. 

Charles M. Alderson was educated at Con- 
cord, W. Va., at the University of Tennessee, 
at Nashville, where he was graduated in the 
class of 1 89 1, and at the University of West 
Virginia, where he was graduated in 1893, be- 
ing admitted to the bar in the same year. In 
the meanwhile he had been engaged to some 
extent in educational work, and from 1891 to 
1892 was principal of an academy at Savan- 
nah, Tenn. Soon after coining to Charleston 
he entered the law office of Joseph E. Chilton, 
and later became a member of the present firm 
which was organized in 1897. This firm is 
made up of able men who are especially promi- 
nent as corporation lawyers. Mr. Alderson is 
a partner also with Samuel Stephenson in the 
building of the Alderson-Stephenson office 
building, at Charleston, a structure not 
equalled in this city in size, location and equip- 
ment. Its dimensions are 40 x 93 feet, twelve 
stories in height, and with a roof garden above 
the sidewalk and with two stories below. Its 
situation on Kanawha street, at the intersec- 
tion of Capital street, makes it a conspicuous 
landmark for many miles up and down the 
river. This is the tallest office building in West 
Virginia. Its conception and construction evi- 
dence keen business acumen, together with a 
progressive spirit that reflects credit on the 
promoters. 

Mr. Alderson was married in 1903 to Miss 
Mary Comstock, who was born, reared and 
educated in Charleston, and who is a daughter 



of Dr. L. L. and Mary (Ruffner) Comstock. 
Mr. and Mrs. Alderson have three children — 
Mary E., Martha, and Charles M. Jr. ; their 
ages ranging from seven to two years. Mr. 
and Mrs Alderson are members of the First 
Presbyterian church. The former is prom- 
inent in Masonry, being a member of Beni- 
Kedem Temple, M. S., and is identified also 
with other fraternial organizations and with 
social societies. He has attained a high rank 
in his profession and is a well known and 
popular citizen. 

HON. JAMES B. C. DREW, who is en- 
gaged in the practice of law at St. Albans, 
Kanawha county, W. Va., has long been num- 
bered with the prominent men of the state, 
honorably serving in high official offices and 
ably conducting large business enterprises. 
He was born July 26, 1843, at Newmarket 
N. H. His education was pursued in the 
local schools and was completed at Munich, 
Germany. He was still young when he en- 
tered the office of Lindsay & Drew as a law 
student in Wisconsin, where he was admitted 
to the bar. 

In 1862 he enlisted for service in the Civil 
War, entering a Wisconsin regiment, and for 
soldierly qualities was promoted and when 
honorably discharged and mustered out it was 
with the rank of first lieutenant. He im- 
mediately returned to Wisconsin and engaged 
there in the practice of law until 1868, in 
which year he removed to Florida. In that 
state he became exceedingly prominent and 
was made attorney-general of Florida, and in 
1875 was appointed U. S. District attorney, in 
which responsible office he served through 
1875, l8 7 6 and 1877. Since 1892 Judge 
Drew has been a resident of West Virginia 
and here his interests have been both profes- 
sional and commercial. He is president of the 
Emmons Track Coal Company and a director 
and secretary of the Coal River and Western 
Railway Company. He first became identified 
with railroad properties in this section 
about 1897, when, as legal counsel of the es- 
tate of the late Col. O'Hern. he made the 
arrangements which satisfactorily cancelled 
the indebtedness of the estate in certain prop- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1007 



erties, and he was a member of the syndicate 
that organized the St. Albans & Boone Rail- 
road Company. This syndicate purchased a 
terminal at St. Albans of some 500 acres in 
the Coal River Basin. Subsequently, through 
the combination of interests, changes of 
officials and the settling of many legal diffi- 
culties, the construction of the Coal River 
Railroad was begun in August, 1902. Still 
further changes took place through conflicting 
interests, when the combination finally was 
absorbed by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 
Company as its principal freight and passen- 
ger feeder west of Richmond. 

In 1899 J u; ige Drew and his associates pur- 
chased a tract of land on Brier Creek of some 
6,000 acres, underlaid with the celebrated 
Black Band coal, opened mines on the same 
and constructed a line of railroad connecting 
with the main line of the Coal River Railroad. 
On April 25. 191 1, occurred the twenty-first 
anniversary of the incorporation of this rail- 
way. This transportation line is one of great 
importance, tapping as it does the vast coal 
regions of the Kanawha valley and undoubt- 
edly a large measure of its prosperity, es- 
pecially in its earlier years, when influence and 
capital were selfishly arrayed against it. was 
due to the confidence felt in Judge Drew by 
his associates. His unerring judgment and 
great legal knowledge untangled all difficul- 
ties and placed the road on a sure foundation. 
Judge Drew is one of the leading citizens of 
St. Albans, identified with its principal inter- 
ests, a liberal promoter of its laudable enter- 
prises and a generous contributor to its 
schools, churches and charities. 

CAPT. GEORGE DANNER,* deceased, 
for many years was a respected and esteemed 
citizen of Charleston, W. Va., to which city he 
came after the close of his three years of ser- 
vice as a soldier and officer in the Civil War. 
He was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 
12, 1826, and his parents were George and 
Magdalena CClayman) Danner. The father 
died in his son's infancy but the mother sur- 
vived until over seventy years of age. 

George Danner was reared by his grand- 
father, attended the German schools and later 



served the usual period in the German army 
demanded by the law in that country. In 
1856, when thirty years of age, he crossed the 
Atlantic Ocean to America in a sailing vessel, 
and landed at New Orleans and from there 
went to Alabama, where he spent one year. 
From there he went to Cincinnati, O., and 
this city later became his home. On August 
15, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the 13th 
W. Va. Vol. Inf., for service in the Civil War 
and continued in the army until the close of 
the war, June 20, 1865, being the date of his 
honorable discharge. He participated in many 
of the hard-fought battles of the war, includ- 
ing Winchester, Lynchburg and Gettysburg, 
and with such signal courage and military 
efficiency that he was rapidly promoted, ris- 
ing to the rank of captain and had been recom- 
mended as major when the war closed. While 
never seriously injured he had man}- narrow 
escapes, pencils in his pocket being broken 
and holes shot through his hat. After the war 
he spent his life at Charleston owning proper- 
ty on which he carried on farming, gardening 
and fruit culture. There, amid peaceful sur- 
roundings Captain Danner died in January, 
1897. His parents were Roman Catholics but 
at the time of death he was a Protestant. In 
politics he was a Republican. For a number 
of years he had been a member of Blundon 
Post, G. A. R. 

Captain Danner was married at Charleston, 
July 26, 1868, to Miss Nancy Hemmings, who 
was born in Kanawha county, May 8, 1846, a 
daughter of Daniel and Eliza (Tucker) Hem- 
mings. The father of Mrs. Danner died of 
cholera during the epidemic of 1848, but the 
mother lived to be seventy-four years old. 
They were members of the Baptist church. To 
Captain and Mrs. Danner nine children were 
born, two of whom died in infancy. Those 
living are : Catherine, who is the wife of 
Harry W. Lightburn, county clerk of Lewis 
county W. Va., and they have four children — 
Grace, George, Ruth and Catherine ; Elizabeth, 
who resides with her mother at Charleston ; 
W. E. and Gustave A., both of whom are 
orange growers in Florida: M. Anna V., who 
lives at home, is secretary and bookkeeper for 
f. A. Carr. in the feed business: Emma B., 



1008 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



who is the wife of Edward Huddleson, a 
business man of St. Albans; and Georgia D., 
who is the wife of J. I. Pratt, who is assistant 
adjutant-general of West Virginia, residing 
at Charleston, and they have one son, Kenneth 
D. Mrs. Danner and family are members of 
the Baptist church. 

WILLIAM HENRY THOMAS,* deceased, 
for a number of years was a well known busi- 
ness man of Charleston, W. Va. He was born 
May 20, 1854, in Kanawha county, W. Va., 
and was a son of J. D. and Mary (Brown) 
Thomas, who were long residents of Charles- 
ton, to which city they had come from North 
Carolina. Mr. Thomas was reared at Charles- 
ton and spent the greater part of his life here, 
attending the city schools in boyhood and later 
taking a course in Marshall College. His 
death was the result of an accident, occurring 
September 29, 1903, while attempting to cross 
the K. & M. Railroad tracks in Charleston, the 
train striking his horse and bugy. 

Mr. Thomas married Miss Estella Virginia 
Stewart, a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth 
Kenney (Booz) Stewart, old Southern fami- 
lies of prominence. The folowing children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas: Leon 
Charles, who resides at home ; Lillian, who 
died when two years old ; William Chilton, 
who is a resident of New York City; Eugenia 
Alderson ; and lone Stewart. These young 
ladies after leaving the public schools of 
Charleston, spent four years at St Vincent's 
Academy, at Cincinnati, O. 

Charles Stewart, the father of Mrs. 
Thomas, was born in Highland county. Va.. 
about 1840. and died in 1865, from the re- 
sult of a wound received at the battle of 
Spottsylvania Court House, during the Civil 
War, he being a brave soldier and a member 
of the 31st Va. Vols., Confederate Army. He 
was a son of Charles and Theresa (Douglass) 
Stewart, the former of whom was born in 
Highland county, Va., and the latter in Bath 
county, in the same state. Grand father 
Charles Stewart was engaged in the live stock 
business. He survived until after the Civil 
War. Six children were born to Charles and 
Theresa Stewart, as follows: Jilson, who died 



near Athens, O. ; Harriette, deceased, who was 
the wife of John Clark, formerly of Augusta 
county, Va. ; Virginia, who was the wife of A. 
C. Stephenson, both of whom died in High- 
land county, Va. ; Mary, the widow of Hon. 
C. J. Stewart who resided at West Union, he 
formerly serving in the legislature both at 
Wheeling and Charleston; Edward, a resident 
of Highland county, who married Lucy 
Dinkle, of Augusta county; and Charles, the 
youngest of the family. 

The ancestry of Mrs. Thomas is thus 
traced on the maternal side. Her grand- 
parents were Henry and Matilda (Hite) 
Booz, and to them the following children were 
born: Rastus, who married a Miss O'Marra, 
of Washington. D. C, and died there as did 
also his wife and they being interred in Mt. 
Vernon Cemetery; Gabriella, who is survived by 
her husband, Joseph Fulcher, a native of Am- 
herst county. Va., who now lives at Pensacola, 
Fla. ; Thomas, who resides at Cedartown, Ga., 
and married a Miss Whitehead; Mary Ma- 
linda, Mrs. McKeach, who resides in Texas; 
Lafayette, who died unmarried; Elizabeth 
Kenney. who become the mother of Mrs. 
Thomas and died in 1884, at the age of 
thirty-eight years: John Frederick, who owns 
large bodies of land in Arkansas and Texas, 
and divides his time between the two states 
never having married ; and William, who prob- 
ably died when a youthful soldier in the Con- 
federate Army during the Civil War. 

To the parents of Mrs. Thomas three sons 
and one daughter were born, namely : Thomas, 
who died when aged two years: Charles 
Letcher, who died in 1895, was largely inter- 
ested in mining lands in Colorado, married a 
Miss Morton, of Pueblo, Colo., and they had 
one son, Charles Letcher: Hamilton Bryson, 
who is a resident of Fayette county. W. Va., 
married Sadie Allen and they have three 
children — Charles, Edward and Mary: and 
Estella Virginia, widow of William Henry 
Thomas. 

Mrs. Thomas embarked in business at 
Charleston in 1893 and has been actively en- 
gaged ever since. She moved into her present 
desirable quarters on Capitol street, Charles- 
ton, in January, 191 1, where she is conduct- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1009 



ing one of the largest and most up to date 
millinery stores in West Virginia. She not 
only possesses business capacity of a high order 
but also the artistic sense that is an absolute 
necessity in this line in order to reach success. 
Her displays are watched for by the ladies of 
taste and exclusiveness residing at Charleston, 
they largely depending on Mrs. Thomas as to 
matters of fashion and appropriateness. She 
personally visits all the large cities of the 
country in search of all that is newest and 
most attractive and her many patrons have 
found that she provides them with millinery at 
prices that could not be duplicated in any other 
city and in style the latest importations from 
other fashion centers. She is an admirable 
woman in every relation of life and enjoys the 
esteem and personal friendship of the best 
people of Charleston. With her daughters 
she belongs to the Presbyterian church. 

The mother of Mrs. Thomas, after being 
a widow for thirteen years contracted a second 
marriage, with William Henry Loving, who 
survives and is a resident of Nelson county, 
Va. 

J. F. BROWX. — Among the oldest of na- 
tive born Kanawhians, now active in the pro- 
fessional and business life of the county, is 
Hon. J. F. Brown, senior member of the long 
established law firm of Brown, Jackson and 
Knight and vice president of the Kanawha 
Valley Bank — the leading financial institution 
of the southern part of the State. 

Mr. Brown was born in Kanawha, March 7, 
1852, son of the late Judge James H. Brown, 
and Louisa M. (Beuhring) Brown. His fa- 
ther, son of the late Dr. Benjamin Brown, 
was born in Cabell county in 1818, shortly after 
its formation from part of Kanawha, but early 
moved to Charleston, there achieving preemi- 
nence at the bar and later becoming an active 
factor in the formation of the new State of 
West Virginia, filling many positions of honor 
and trust and ultimately becoming a member 
of the Supreme Court of Appeals. His son, 
James F., born in Charleston, still resides at 
the "old home." 

Graduating in 1873 from the State univer- 
sity he was, in 1875. admitted to the bar and 



ever since has been in active practice, his pro- 
fessional engagements extending not only 
widely over his own state but into other states 
and to the Supreme Court of the United States. 
His knowledge of the law, sound judgment and 
direct presentation of his cases soon com- 
manded the confidence of the clientele and 
made his services in demand. From the first 
he took deep interest in what affected the com- 
mon weal and notwithstanding his many en- 
gagements, as member of the City Council, he 
for years gave of his best efforts to the ad- 
vancement of the city's welfare. His term of 
service covered the transition period from, vil- 
lage to city, during which was inaugurated 
among other forward movements, the present 
paving system, the sewerage of the town, the 
construction of a City Hall, institution of water 
works, introduction of street cars, and erection 
of the Keystone Bridge across Elk river, and 
the Charleston and South Side Bridge over the 
Kanawha, in all of which he had part, and, a 
believer in home industries, he also joined in 
helping to the establishment of many of the 
successful enterprises that go to make up the 
city. In 1890 he was appointed to the Board 
of Regents of the State University, and contin- 
ued in that position under four successive gov- 
ernors, notwithstanding the change meanwhile 
in the political control, and had the satisfaction 
of seeing the University expanded, new build- 
ings commenced, fuller equipment provided, 
and the attendance of less than two hundred at 
the time of his appointment advanced to more 
than twelve hundred at the end of his service. 

He early subordinated ambition for political 
preferment, conceiving such detrimental to best 
results ; and devoted himself wholly to his pro- 
fession and the interests he represented, ex- 
cept when vital questions or close friends were 
involved. His only personal campaign was in 
1882, when during his absence he was nomi- 
nated by his party (the Democrats) as one of 
three members to be elected to the legislature. 
For the same position his father was nom- 
inated by the opposing party. After an ear- 
nest but dignified campaign the result showed 
both elected ; and both served in the same pub- 
lic body. Both being strong men and broad 
gauged, though differing politically, they alike 



1010 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



commanded the confidence not only of the 
body but of their constituency without regard 
to political faith. 

Air. Brown has seen Kanawha county grow 
from a community of fifteen thousand inhab- 
itants to more than eighty-one thousand, and 
Charleston advance from a rural village of one 
thousand and fifty to be the capital city of a 
new State — with shaded avenues, stately 
churches, late business blocks and handsome 
homes, and with a population of more than 
twenty-five thousand people. His recollections 
of the village and the village life, of the then 
"old citizens" now long gone, and of the suc- 
cessive steps of development, and of the actors 
and influences that stimulated them, is full and 
exact; and approaching the reminiscent age he 
enjoys telling of them, especially those of ante- 
bellum days. 

Mr. Brown, though now past middle life, is 
still a force to be reckoned with, whether you 
find him in the court room, or Chamber of 
Commerce, and a guiding influence in many 
successful enterprises. 

His is one of the oldest of the Old Virginia 
families, his ancestors having settled in West- 
moreland county prior to 1660, his grandfa- 
ther, Dr. Brown, moving in about 1800, west to 
the rich valley on the Ohio river, below the 
Guyandotte. where Huntington now stands, 
then part of the great county of Kanawha. 

CHARLES WARD, founder of The 
Charles Ward Engineering Works, at Charles- 
ton, W. Ya., enjoys a wide distinction as an 
inventor and. without doubt, is one of the best 
qualified steam machinery engineers in the 
United States, having made important improve- 
ments in Water-Tube Boilers, Triple Expan- 
sion Marine Engines, and Shallow Draft River 
Steamers. He is identified with a number of 
technical and other organizations, among them 
being the American Society of Naval Engi- 
neers, Society of Naval Architects and Marine 
Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers, and the American Society for the 
Advancement of Science. 

Mr. Ward was born in 1841, at Southam. 
near Leamington. England. After attending 
a private English school. Mr. Ward entered the 



employ of the Leamington Gas Company, and 
remained with that concern until he was twen- 
ty-two years of age, becoming acquainted with 
every detail of the gas manufacturing business, 
and, at the same time, as opportunity occurred, 
developed through study and experiment his 
natural ability of mechanical invention. He 
was in the employ of the Liverpool Gas Com- 
pany, and then, through the friendly recom- 
mendation of his employers, was made manager 
of a large metal works at Liverpool. In 1866 
he was married and four years later came to the 
United States, locating at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
where his wife's parents had settled, they also 
being English people. In 1871, during the 
construction of the Charleston Gas Works, Mr. 
W ard was engaged as gas engineer and after- 
wards Superintendent of this plant. He con- 
tinued as such until 1880 when changes were 
made that induced him to resign his position 
and devote his energies to an existing establish- 
ment of his own. From the first he prospered, 
but it was in 1878 that he had an opportunity 
to demonstrate the value of a certain type of 
steam boiler, of his own invention, on which 
he had long been working. The W ard boiler 
was first tried in a steam packet boat on the 
Kanawha River and easily proved its superior- 
ity over any others, but on this test Mr. Ward 
recognized the fact that it could still be further 
improved. He then bought the "Katydid," a 
light draft, speedy. Ohio passenger steamer, 
from which he removed the boilers, substitut- 
ing the improved Ward boiler, and the latter 
proved so satisfactory that success was assured. 
Since then the Ward boilers, with their im- 
provements to keep abreast of other machinery 
changes, are in general use on seas and the 
waters and rivers of the United States. Mr. 
Ward's invention having triumphantly stood a 
severe United States Government competitive 
test, was adopted on numerous Government 
and other vessels. 

The Charles Ward Engixeerixg Works 
are incorporated. Charles Ward being treas- 
urer: Charles E. Ward, president and general 
manager: Harold M. Ward, vice president: 
and William Keely. secretary. The works are 
situated at Charleston. W. Ya.. on the Chesa- 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1011 



peake & Ohio Railway and the Kanawha River, 
where the building of Mr. Ward's improve- 
ments in Water-Tube Boilers, Multi-Expan- 
sion Condensing Marine Engines, and Shallow 
Draft River Steamers is carried on. 

In 1866. at Liverpool, England, Mr. Ward 
was married to Miss Margaret G. Mackrille, 
a native of Halifax, and they have two sons — 
Charles E.. and Harold M., and one daughter 
— Mrs. Clifford Ramsden. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ward are members of the Presbyterian church. 
The family residence is at Xo. 1224 Quarrier 
Street. Mr. Ward is a Mason and Knights 
Templar, and is identified with other fraternal 
organizations ; he belongs also to the Xew 
York Yacht Club. 

MICHAEL HERSCHER, a representative 
and substantial citizen of Charleston, W. Va., 
of which city he has been a resident since 1888, 
is associated as buyer and inspector with the 
Mathews Lumber Manufacturing Company, 
having offices in the Kanawha Banking and 
Trust Building. He was born on the river 
Rhine, in Germany. August 3. 1850, and is a 
son of William and Louisa ( Ort ) Herscher. 

The Herscher family came to- America in 
1853, landing at Xew Orleans after a voyage 
of forty-five days, this voyage having been one 
of storm and hence delayed landing. From 
Xew Orleans to Allegheny. Pa., they came up 
the Mississippi river on a packet boat, where 
they joined relatives. About one year later the 
father was prostrated by a sunstroke, which 
caused his death, the son Michael being then a 
child of four years. The mother subsequently 
married John Deimer and they moved to Meigs 
county, O., and there she died in 1901. at the 
age of eighty-four years. Two children were 
born to her first marriage : Michael and Bar- 
bara, the latter of whom was the wife of George 
Rasp and is now deceased. One child was born 
to the second marriage. Catherine, who is the 
wife of Lewis Boelkev, who lives at Cincinnati, 
O. 

Michael Herscher was reared at Pomeroy, O.. 
and attended school until he was ten years old, 
when he went to work in the bakery of a Mr. 
Adkinson. He made himself useful and was 
paid sixty cents a week for his services. While 



living at Pomeroy he won something of a repu- 
tation as a long distance swimmer and per- 
formed many swimming feats in the Ohio 
river. In 1862 he became an assistant in the 
dental office of Dr. D. C. Whaley with whom 
he remained for eighteen months and during 
this time acquired considerable knowledge of 
the science of dentistry in its practical applica- 
tion. Mr. Herscher afterward learned the car- 
penter's trade and worked under Christopher 
Mittinger for one year and in this way he en- 
tered into the lumber business, with which he 
has been more or less identified ever since. He 
entered a planing mill at Pomeroy and worked 
there under Henry Priode from 1865 until 
1878, afterward spending two years at Port- 
land, Ore., in the same business. In the fall of 
1879 he resumed his old place in the mill at 
Pomeroy, of which he later took charge and 
was general manager for John S. Davis until 
1888, when he came to Charleston. Here he 
was in partnership with Henry Dilcher in a 
mill and was general manager until 1898, when 
he started into business for himself and spent 
some time in buying and selling sawed lumber. 
His various experiences had made him ac- 
quainted with the lumber business from almost 
every angle and for twelve years afterward 
he was a valued employee of D. G. Courtney. 
In April. 1908 he became connected with his 
present firm, where, as buyer and inspector he 
carefully looks after this end of the business. 

Mr. Herscher was married May 4. 1880. to 
Miss Elizabeth Margaret Shilling, a daughter 
of George and Anna Margaret Shilling. The 
parents of Mrs. Herscher were born in Ger- 
many and died at Pomeroy, O. They had eight 
children. Mrs. Herscher being the fourth in 
order of birth. The others were : Michael, who 
is deceased ; George A. ; Barbara, who is the 
wife of George Willman : Elizabeth, who is the 
wife of John Habig: Kate: John; and Mary, 
who is the wife of F. W. Steinbauer. Mrs. 
Herscher was born at Pomeroy. O.. and at- 
tended school and was married there. Mr. 
and Mrs. Herscher have eight children, namely : 
John William, who married Lilian Paulsen, and 
has one child. Man- Louise: Charles H.. who is 
a resident of Chicago, married Elizabeth 
Dickey, and has two children — William and 



1012 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



Rudolph Dickey; and Anna Margaret, Philip 
A., Fred William, George S., Edward L. and 
Elizabeth. The family home at No. 522 Hall 
street, is a handsome 12-room brick residence 
which Mr. Herscher built in 1909 and he also 
owns other property. The family belongs to 
the Presbyterian church. Politically he is a 
Democrat and fraternally is identified with the 
Odd Fellows and is a member of the Encamp- 
ment at Pomeroy, O. 

GEORGE E. BREECE,* president and 
general manager of the W T est Virginia Timber 
Company; president of the National Veneer 
Company ; president of the United Savings and 
Annuity Company, who is identified also with 
other important business enterprises, is one of 
the representative men of Charleston, of which 
city he has been a resident for the past nine 
years. He was born in Hardin county, O., De- 
cember 13, 1 86 1. and is a son of George and 
Aseneth (Tingle) Breece. 

George Breece was born in Hardin county, 
where his father, a native of Wales, had settled 
very early, being one of the organizers of 
Roundhead Township. George Breece was a 
lumberman and in 1862 he built a saw-mill 
near Roundhead, which he operated until near 
the close of his life, his death occurring in 1883. 
when he was aged fifty-three years. He mar- 
ried Aseneth Tingle, a daughter of one of the 
early ministers of the Methodist Episcopal 
church in Central. Ohio. who. for years covered 
the circuit between Lebanon and Sandusky City. 
To the parents of George E. Breece eight chil- 
dren were born, as follows : Ann. who is the 
wife of E. R. Snell. a merchant near Summit 
Hill, in Ross county, O. : Mary, now deceased, 
who was married in Auglaize County to a Mr. 
Bradner: J. W. and W. W., twins, the former 
of whom lives at Kenova, W. Va., and the 
latter at Garrison, Ky. ; George Elmer, of 
Charleston ; Frank, who was accidentally killed 
in a mill explosion, when aged twenty-two 
years; John T., who is connected with the Reese 
Lumber Company of Portsmouth, O. ; and 
Charles O.. who is a lumberman at Waverly. 
Ohio. 

Until he was seventeen years of age, George 
E. Breece attended school more or less regu- 
larly and then started out to make his own way 



in the world. He received training as a me- 
chanic while with J. H. Irwin & Co., of Pot- 
tersburg, Union County, O., where he became 
a superintendent, after which he became pur- 
chasing agent for Cranie & McMahan, trav- 
eling through Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. 
In 1892 he embarked in the milling business 
at Bainbridge, Ross County, O., where he con- 
tinued for two years, when the explosion al- 
ready referred to not only wrecked his mill 
but cost the life of his brother Frank. Sub- 
sequently lie resumed business at Waverly, 
where he remained until August, 1902. 

He then came to Charleston and purchased 
the mill of C. C. Lewis, where the West Vir- 
ginia Timber Company's plant is now located 
on the Gauley River. He is interested also in 
the Boone Timber Company ; the Belle Meade 
Timber Company, of Webster Springs; the 
Barton Lumber Company, or Bartonville, Ga. ; 
the Bascon Lumber Company of Bascon, La. 
and the Advance Lumber Company of Cleve- 
land, O. The output of these various plants 
includes all grades of lumber known to the 
sections in which they are operated, Mr. Breece 
having under operation 135,000 acres of tim- 
ber, giving a daily output of 3,000.000 feet. 
The main office is maintained in the Charles- 
ton National Bank Building at Charleston. 
Mr. Breece is one of the largest lumber pro- 
ducers in West Virginia and either organized 
or purchased -outright all the different con- 
cerns in which he is interested. He has numer- 
ous other interests than those mentioned, be- 
ing, for example, at the head of the Hall Lum- 
ber and Tie Company, and, with his brother. 
John T., is part owner and operator of the 
Three States Manufacturing Company at 
Kenova, W. Va., where the veneer plant is 
also located and where employment is given to 
a large force. 

Mr. Breece married Miss Nettie Robinson, 
who was born in Union County, Ohio, a 
daughter of James Robinson, and they have 
five children : Olin. who is manager of the 
sales department of the various concerns owned 
by his father; Pearl, who is an office assistant 
with her father; and Aseneth. Joy and Chris- 
topher. Mr. Breece and family are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. The fam- 
ily residence is situated at No. 94 Bradford 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1013 



Street. Charleston. Mr. Breece is a man of 
great business capacity. His fortune and large 
business interests have been built up through 
his own efforts, but he attributes a part of his 
success to his established habits of temperance 
in all things. He is in the prime of life and 
has a frank and cordial manner that invites 
friendship. He is credited with having done 
much to aid others in becoming established in 
business and he is regarded as one of Charles- 
ton's most useful and valued citizens. 

THE ALDERSOX FAMILY. — John Al- 
derson, Sr., known as the "Prodigal Son" was 
the founder of the Alderson family in Amer- 
ica. He was the youngest son of Rev. John 
Alderson, of Yorkshire, England, where he 
was born in 1699. and he died in Fincastle, 
Ya., in 1780, aged 81 years. While in Eng- 
land he was about to contract an alliance with 
a young lady whom his father thought be- 
neath his social standing and so he presented 
him with a horse and two hundred pounds and 
advice to travel, "trusting that his gambols in 
pastures new would dispel the memory of his 
injudicious frisking in the field of Auld Lang 
Syne." and being possessed of a social and con- 
vivial disposition, he soon found himself in 
Liverpool without horse or money. 

Having made the acquaintance of the cap- 
tain of a vessel about to sail for the American 
Colonies, he was invited aboard the ship and 
was treated courteously and when he found 
himself and before he was aware of it. found 
himself under way and was sailing on his way 
to America. It was in 17 19. on the coast of 
New Jersey, that the young Mr. Alderson took 
up his residence, with Mr. Curtis, a respectable 
farmer near Bethlehem Church. X. J. 

The parents in England had mourned their 
son as lost for ten years, when they received 
a letter from him. telling them of his having 
joined the Baptist Church and had studied for 
the ministry and had married Jane Curtis, the 
daughter of his benefactor. His father was 
greatly rejoiced and while he did not prepare 
the fatted calf, he sent to his son three large 
volumes of a theological work, which has been 
preserved by the family and are now in the 
Bureau of Archives and History in Charleston. 

He afterwards was in Germantown. Pa.. 



and in 1755 he removed with his family to 
Rockingham County, Va., and in the follow- 
ing year purchased a farm and built a Baptist 
Church on Linnville Creek, about nine miles 
from Harrisonburg, adjoining that of old Mr. 
Linkhorn, the father of President Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Rev. John Alderson had seven sons and one 
daughter. His son John was born in Xew Jer- 
sey in 1738 and died in Palestine, now Aider- 
son, AY Ya., in 1 821. He married in his 
twenty-first year, Mrs. Mary Carroll, a rela- 
tive of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. He 
and Morris married sisters — they were broth- 
ers-in-law. William Morris was among the 
first settlers of Kanawha. 

Mr. Alderson is said to have preached the 
first sermon in Kanawha Valley. Between 
1760 and 1775 he made two exploring and mis- 
sionary trips into the Greenbrier and Kana- 
wha valleys and on one occasion went as far 
as the Ohio river and is said to have discovered 
the Burning Spring. He made, in 1774- 1775, 
the first road to Ianetts Fort on Wolf Creek, 
now in Monroe County, and after this settled 
on the Greenbrier River where now is Aider- 
son, where he planted the first orchard and 
built the first church west of the Alleghenies 
in 1 78 1. Rev. John Alderson, Jr., had three 
sons and three daughters ; the sons were George 
Alderson, Sr., Joseph and John. 

George Alderson was among the first to set- 
tle in Kanawha. He became the friend and 
associate of Daniel Boone, was one of the 
County Court of Kanawha, was one of the 
first sheriffs of this county, owned the lot on 
which the courthouse was erected and was one 
of the leading citizens of his day. It is also 
claimed that he was one of the first members 
of the General Assembly, representing Kana- 
wha County, but this has been questioned and 
we cannot determine the said question. He 
was a large land owner in Kanawha County 
and sold the lot to the county on which the 
courthouse was erected. In naming the streets 
"Alderson"' was given to one of the early ones 
for him. He was the father of Rev. James 
O. Alderson, who was the pastor of the Green- 
brier Baptist Church in 1831-32 and who was 
the father of James Alderson now residing at 
Alderson, W. Va. George Alderson was 



1014 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



buried at the mouth of George's Creek which 
was named after him. 

Joseph Alderson was the father of Col. 
George Alderson of Fayette County, and Rev. 
Lewis A. Alderson. John was the father of 
Squire Geo. Alderson, of Alderson, W. Va. 
These three sank a salt well and made salt 
over a hundred years ago opposite Browns- 
town, near the Malone stage stand. They 
flooded the first salt down the Kanawha and 
Ohio, W. Va., to market and sold it at $0.25 
per bushel in Cincinnati. Rev. Lewis A. Al- 
derson was the youngest son of Squire Joseph 
Alderson and grandson of Rev. John Aider- 
son, Jr. He was born in 18 12 at North Aider- 
son, in Greenbrier County in the large stone 
house built in 1789, and now owned by Mr. 
Joseph S. Thurman. He graduated at the 
University of Ohio at Athens, Ohio, in 1832, 
and the day after he married Miss Lucy B. 
Miles, of Athens. He brought her home but 
she lived but three months. In 1838, while 
pastor of Grace Street Baptist Church in Rich- 
mond, Va., he married Miss Eliza Floyd Cole- 
man, daughter of Capt. John Coleman, of Am- 
herst County, Va. They had eight children, one 
a daughter. The eldest son was Joseph Cole- 
man Alderson, of Charleston, W. Va. He and 
Mrs. Church J. White, of Atcheson, Kansas, 
and Lewis A., of Sheridan, Wyoming, are all 
that are now living. Rev. Lewis A. Alderson 
went to Atcheson and built the first Baptist 
Church in 1858, mostly with his own means. 
He and Dr. L. H. Kalloch. founded Ottawa 
University, one of the largest educational in- 
stitutions, west of the Mississippi River. He 
died and was buried at Atcheson in 1881. 

There has been a line of representatives in 
the Virginia and West Virginia legislatures, 
representing the same count}- and people by 
eight Aldersons and one of them now a mem- 
ber of that body. Rev. John Alderson, of 
Yorkshire, England, was the father of Rev. 
John Alderson, Sr., the "Prodigal Son, - ' who 
was the father of Rev. John Alderson, Jr.. who 
first preached to the people of Greenbrier 
County and the Kanawha Valley. 

MAJ. J. COLEMAN ALDERSON is the 
eldest son of Rev. Lewis A. and Eliza Floyd 



Alderson, and a grandson of Squire Joseph 
Alderson. His mother was a daughter of 
Capt. John Coleman, of Locust Grove, Am- 
herst county, Va., the ancestral home of the 
Colemans. 

After the death of his grandfather Aider- 
son, in 1845, h' s father fell heir to the large 
plantation on the north side of Greenbrier 
river, in Greenbrier county, in which part 
of the town of North Alderson is now sit- 
uated. He was taught here by private 
teachers until at the age of 17 he attended 
the old Lewisburg Academy, and in 1859- 
60 and 61 he was a student at Allegheny 
college, Blue Sulphur Springs, W. Va. He 
was in the graduating class when, on April 
17, the day Virginia seceded, being a patri- 
otic and loyal Virginian, believing in the 
doctrine of States' Rights, he volunteered 
in the Confederate army, joining the Green- 
brier Cavalry, of which John Letcher, the 
governor of Virginia said, "was the finest 
body of men and horses he had ever seen." 
He was promoted from private to second, 
and then to first lieutenant of cavalry. He 
twice refused the commission of captain, 
preferring to remain with the gallant men 
who had volunteered with him. 

In that terrible campaign in east Tennes- 
see, during the winter of 1863-4, under Gen- 
William E. Jones, when Longstreet had 
General Burnside surrounded in Knoxville, 
Lieut. Alderson often commanded the five 
companies composing the 36th batallion of 
Virginia cavalry. General Jones's Brigade 
supplied Longstreet's Corps almost entirely 
with provisions captured from the enemy, 
while his own command subsisted mostly 
on parched corn. Though his command 
was half clothed and many barefooted, it 
marched nearly every night and fought al- 
most daily, during those three months of 
the coldest winter ever known in the state, 
the temperature being often below zero. 
General Longstreet said that "Jones's Bri- 
gade had performed more active and effi- 
cient service that winter than all the armies 
of the Confederacy." 

The Major's Company A. 36th batallion 
Virginia Cavalry, was the escort of honor at 
the burial of General "Stonewall" Jackson. 




MAJ. J. COLEMAN ALDERSOX 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1015 



On the morning of July 3d, 1863, he was de- 
tailed on General Roades' staff and deliv- 
ered one of the first orders on the Confed- 
erate side which opened that terrible battle 
of Gettysburg. He selected Oak Hill for 
Col. Carter's Artillery, which saved Gen- 
eral Heath's division from complete anni- 
hilation, on July 1, 1863. He assisted in 
rolling General Ewell's horse off of him, 
when a shell splintered his wooden leg and 
killed his horse. Early the next morning, 
while General Albert Galatin Junkins was show- 
ing the Major from a map, where to place his 
command, a shell exploded by them, se- 
verely wounding the General and killing his 
horse. He participated in over 100 battles 
and skirmishes during the war, some des- 
perate in which many of his company were 
killed and wounded. He was in four en- 
gagements which were fought hand to hand 
with sabres, and was twice wounded — once 
on July 6, 1863, near Hagerstown, Md., 
when General "Jeb" Stuart repulsed Greggs' 
Corps of Federal Cavalry, and on July 12, 

1864, on Piney river, Amherst county, Va., 
near his birthplace, when he captured Gen- 
eral William Fay's advance guard, and was 
afterwards captured himself while trying to 
hold a position he had been ordered to 
hold. He was sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, 
and remained nine months in that noted 
bastile before he was exchanged. Six 
months of the time he subsisted on one- 
third rations of corn meal and salt fish and 
under retaliation. There was much sick- 
ness and many deaths in the camp. When 
exchanged in the latter part of February, 

1865, though reduced to a mere skeleton, 
he mounted his horse to regain his com- 
mand as soon as able to ride. When within 
a few miles of Appomatox Court House, 
on the morning of April 10th, he was in- 
formed of General Lee's surrender. 

He had but eight days' leave of absence 
from his command during his four years of 
service, except what a shell gave him at 
the battle of Hagerstown, July 6, 1863, and 
July 12, 1864, when wounded, captured and 
sent to prison. 

Soon after the close of hostilities he went 
to Atchison, Kansas, and in 1865-66 and '67 



had charge of the middle division of the 
Butterfield Overland Freight and Express 
Company, which ran from Atchison, Kan., 
to Denver, Colo., up the Kaw and Smokey 
Hill rivers and across the plains. His di- 
vision extended from Fort Ewlsworth, 
Kansas, 260 miles west to Fort Wallace, 
Colo., through the very heart of the Indian 
and Buffalo country. The hostile Indians 
broke up the company, which was capital- 
ized at $3,000,000, by murdering their em- 
ployees, capturing and burning their prop- 
erty and stealing their stock. A divine 
providence spared the Major's life, as it had 
done during that terrible war. 

In the fall of 1867 he returned to Atchison 
where his father gave him a farm five miles 
west of that city, which he cultivated for 
two years. He was there in the spring of 
1858 when he planted out 12 acres in trees 
on this farm, which was the first grove 
planted in Kansas territory, and which has 
been known ever since as "Alderson's 
Grove." 

In 1869 he returned to West Virginia and 
located in Wheeling, where he engaged in 
the general insurance business for 27 years. 
He had the leading insurance agency in the 
state, composed of companies of the high- 
est standing and resources. Possessed of 
great energy he was not long in building up 
a large and profitable business. Ex-Gov- 
ernor G. W. Atkinson, now one of the 
judges of the U. S. Court of Claims, Wash- 
ington, D. C, was associated with him for 
some time. 

In 1888 he began buying coal and timber 
lands along the Norfolk and Western Rail- 
road ; also in Boone, Wyoming, and Raleigh 
counties, for himself and associates. He 
sold some, but retained much, which has be- 
come very valuable. In 1907 he wrote a 
brochure on the coals, gas and timber of 
West Virginia, which was widely circu- 
lated and attracted a great deal of attention 
and was the means of bringing much capi- 
tal into the state. He is a man of broad 
and liberal views upon all living questions 
— is conscientious, honest, enterprising, 
liberal and generous to a fault. No man of 



1016 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



means is more charitable and kinder to 
those that need sympathy and assistance. 

Though popular he has never been a can- 
didate for office, yet always ready to give 
his time and means to the advancement of 
his worthy democratic friends. He has 
been mentioned in connection with many 
important official positions, but private bus- 
iness is more in accord with his own tastes 
and wishes, and he has accordingly de- 
clined everything like political advance- 
ment. He was a director of the West Vir- 
ginia Penitentiary under Governors 
Mathews and Jackson, and resigned under 
Governor Wilson, and was a West Vir- 
ginia commissioner to the Ohio Valley Cen- 
tennial at Cincinnati in 1888 and at the Con- 
tinental Celebration of the inauguration of 
George Washington as the first president 
of the United States, at New York, April 
17, 1889. He also represented West Vir- 
ginia in 1893, under Governor McCorkle's 
administration at a meeting of the Southern 
Governors, called for the purpose of secur- 
ing and properly locating suitable foreign 
immigration in these states. 

In 1880 he founded Mountain Lake Park 
and in 1894 Loch Lynn Heights — two noted 
summer resorts on the B. & O. Railroad in 
Garrett county, Md. He was also one of 
the founders of the prosperous town of 
Williamson on the N. & AW Railroad and 
Bellepoint at the junction of Greenbrier 
and New Rivers, on the C. & O. Railroad. 

On February 25, 1874, Maj. Alderson 
married Miss Mary Price, eldest daughter 
of Ex-Governor Samuel Price of Lewis- 
burg, W. Va. She died at Mt. Lake Park, 
Md., August 15, 1895. On December 29, 
1904, he married Miss Mary Kirker, of 
Wellsburg, W. Va. They reside at 12 12 
Kanawha Street, Charleston. While they 
hever had children of their own, he has 
spent much time and means in educating 
those of others. 

REV. CHRISTOPHER B. GRAHAM. D. 
D.,* pastor of the Sixth Street M. E. Church 
of Charleston, W. Va., of which city he has 
been a resident for seventeen vears. was born 
in Kanawha County, W. Va., May 19. 1850. 



He is a son of William Graham, Jr., and grand- 
son of William Graham, Sr., the latter of 
whom was born in the north of Ireland, of 
Scotch- ancestry, and was there married. There 
also his four eldest sons were born — William, 
Jr., George, Samuel and John — who accom- 
panied their parents to' America, the trip be- 
ing made in a sailing vessel and taking many 
weeks. Landing probably in New York City, 
they went subsequently to Pittsburg, Pa., 
where W r illiam Graham, Sr. resided for some 
years, following the occupation of a merchant. 
He and his wife were Presbyterians in religion. 

He had been twice married in Ireland, and 
by his first wife had Robert. Thomas. Will- 
iam Jr., George, Samuel, John and Isabella. 
Robert, who never married, died at Ripley, W. 
Va.. at an advanced age. Thomas became a 
large land owner and farmer near Parkers- 
burg, W. Va. He married Belle Millrose. and 
both died leaving sons Richard. Alfred, Will- 
iam, Robert and James and a daughter, Caro- 
line, all of whom are married and have fam- 
ilies. Isabella Graham became the wife of 
George Best and they resided near Washing- 
ton, D. C. Both died when well along in 
years. Their son, John A. Best, became a 
prominent and wealthy business man of Pitts- 
burg, subsequently of Washington, Pa., and 
still later of Chicago, 111., where he now re- 
sides. 

William Graham, Jr.. father of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in the year 1805 and 
was a boy of twelve years when he accom- 
panied his parents to W. Virginia, which was 
then a part of the Old Dominion. He early 
became connected with the salt making indus- 
try, was later a merchant, and was the first 
man to operate a stave and barrel manufactory 
in Elk district, being also the first to make use 
of steam power in this industry. He also 
owned and opened the famed Graham Mine. 
This mine, opened in 1850, has continued in 
operation ever since. It contains four veins 
and has been very productive. Coming into 
possession of our subject, he operated it suc- 
cessfully for some time subsequently transfer- 
ring the management of it to his son. William 
W. Graham, by whom it is now conducted. 

William Graham. Jr. was a prominent mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church of Charleston, 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1017 



serving therein as elder for several years. Al- 
though a Whig, and later a Republican in pol- 
itics, he held slaves. He did not, however, 
deal in them or treat them as chattels, and 
those he owned he cared for until their respect- 
ive deaths. He was a man of sterling char- 
acter and of an inflexible business honesty that 
was recognized by all his fellow citizens. 

He was married in Charleston to Mrs. Mary' 
A. Cowley, nee Peacock, who was born in 
Durham, England, about 1825, and who died 
at Graham Mines, this county, December 26, 
1879. She was a daughter of Sir Christopher 
Peacock, whose family belonged to the English 
gentry, being related to other prominent fam- 
ilies of Durham and of Yorkshire, England. 
Her mother was in maidenhood Elizabeth 
Herd, also a native of England and of good 
ancestry. Of the Peacock family, Thomas, a 
brother of Christopher, was an officer in the 
English army, who resided for some years in 
Australia and who finally died at Graham 
Mines, W. Va. Matthew, another brother, 
died in Durham, Eng. One of his daughters, 
Mary, married a Mr. Joseph Addison, who 
came to America and was drowned in the Ka- 
nawha river, being lost overboard from a 
steamboat. His widow subsequently married 
Rev. Hezekiah Scott, D. D., a member of the 
West Virginia Conference and now resides in 
Huntington, West Virginia. Of the three sis- 
ters, one, Elizabeth, became the wife of John 
Archibald, and settling in Kanawha County, 
W. Va., about the time of the war, lived and 
died at Raymond City, leaving issue. An- 
other, Mary, went to Nova Scotia, but subse- 
quently removed to West Virginia, where she 
died. The third, Sarah, lived and died in 
Durham, England. Mrs. Mary Ann Graham's 
first husband, Nicholas Cowley, died early, 
leaving a son Nicholas, who was killed by a 
horse at the age of ten years. 

The children of William Jr. and Mary Ann 
Graham were as follows: Christopher B.. the 
first-born, is the direct subject of this sketch. 
Mary E., the second born, was a teacher for 
a number of years and now resides at St. Al- 
bans. She is unmarried. Elizabeth Herd, 
married Dr. Hugh A. Nash of Virginia, a 
physician and author, and .died near Roanoke, 
that state, in which vicinity her husband and 



surviving family now reside. -Isabella Best, 
the fourth child, first married a Mr. Young of 
Clendenin, and he and his only child died 
there. His widow afterwards became the wife 
of Samuel Shrewsburg and they died recently 
at St. Albans. Thomas P., the fifth child, was 
a merchant for some years in Dodgeville, 
Wis., where he married Jennie Hotchkiss. He 
now resides in Parkersburg, W. Va., and 
travels for the Brown-Kendall Co., of which 
he is a member. He has a son, William, and 
a daughter, Josie B. Jennie Ann, the sixth 
child, married Rev. Arthur L. Hughes and 
they reside in Washington, D. C, where he 
is employed in the War Department of the 
Government. Their children are Lotus and 
M. Christopher. 

Christopher B. Graham, with whom this 
sketch is more directly concerned, was given a 
public school and academic education, pursu- 
ing his studies both in this state and in Ken- 
tucky. In October, 1879, he joined the M. E. 
Conference at Morgantown, W. Va., Bishop 
Matthew Simpson presiding. He was ordained 
deacon by Bishop Randolph S. Foster at the 
second conference held at Moundsville, W. 
Va., in 1 881, and was ordained elder by Bishop 
William L. Harris in 1883. In 1904 Scioto 
College conferred upon him the degree of LL. 
D. Since his ordination he has served six 
pastorates, being now in his seventh ; and two 
full years as presiding elder, first of the 
Charleston district and afterwards at Wheel- 
ing, W. Va., never missing a roll call. His 
service in Wheeling covered altogether a pe- 
riod of seventeen years. He helped to found 
the West Virginia college at Buckhannon, and 
has since been a member of its board of trus- 
tees. He has represented the State Normal 
School as a member of the board of regents, 
and is a member of the board of trustees of 
the Industrial School for Girls, besides serv- 
ing on the State board of the Humane Society. 
He was president of the first Anti-Saloon 
League of the State, organized at Wheeling 
in 1902, resigning at the time he left that city. 
He was a member of the General Conference 
in 1896 and also in 1904, at which time it 
was held at Los Angeles, Calif. He was chair- 
man of the West Virginia Delegation and 
never missed a session, or roll call at any meet- 



1018 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



ing. Dr. Graham is a staunch Prohibitionist 
in principle though he votes the Republican 
ticket. For some time he edited the Charles- 
ton Advocate. Aside from his ministerial and 
editorial work, while a resident of Wheeling 
he was interested also in certain business en- 
terprises, which proved very profitable to him 
and from which he derived a handsome compe- 
tence. He has a beautiful residence on Oak- 
wood Heights, overlooking the Kanawha river 
and valley. Dr. Graham joined the Masonic 
order in 1875 and is now well advanced 
therein. He is a member of Kanawha Lodge. 
No. 4, A. F. & A. M.. of Charleston: the 
Chapter of R. A. M., and Commandery, K. T.. 
also of this city, and belongs also to the Scot- 
tish Rite branch of the order, pertaining to 
the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States 
and the Valley of Wheeling, of Wheeling. W. 
Virginia. 

THE TANNERS' AND DYERS' EN- 
TRACT COMPANY, located on South Side. 
Charleston. W. Va.. is a flourishing concern 
whose plant, located on the Chesapeake & 
Ohio Railroad and River street, covers four- 
teen acres. The first works had a capacity of 
150 barrels weekly, while the present capacity 
of the concern is 150 barrels daily, which alone 
shows a gratifying increase of business due to 
able management. The buildings of the con- 
cern have twice been destroyed by fire and 
twice rebuilt. Employment is given to 100 
men and the full capacity of the plant is about 
40.000 barrels annually of concentrated and 
refined extract of chestnut oak bark and wood 
for tanners' use. This concern makes the 
best of these fluids in the world and the com- 
pany ships its products to Germany. Russia. 
Australia and other foreign countries. 

The officers of the Tanners' and Dyers' Ex- 
tract company are H. N. Gith. of Hanover, 
Pa., president; Morris B. Stine. vTce presi- 
dent ; Guy H. Newcomer, secretary ; William P. 
Stine, general manager, and Edwin J. Stine. 
assistant manager. 

William P. Stine has been identified with 
this line of manufacturing industry during his 
entire business life. He was born in Pennsyl- 
vania and is a son of Jacob Stine, and a nephew 
of J. S. Young, in whose plant, at Hanover. 



Pa., he learned this business. His father was 
a large packer of hay and straw, at Hanover, 
Pa., a Republican politically, and the family 
were members of the German Lutheran church. 

Mr. William P. Stine came to South 
Charleston and assumed his present duties in 
1 89 1. He married Mary A. Baer, a daugh- 
ter of Daniel and Susan (Bechtolj Baer, na- 
tives of Pennsylvania, her father being a 
farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Stine have been the 
parents of six children — Edwin, Morris, Kentz. 
Marion, Harold and Clara, the sons being 
all in the employ of the company. Mr. Stine 
is a Republican and with his family attends 
the Kanawha Presbvterian church. He is one 
of the men who are helping to put Charleston 
— viewed from a business standpoint — in the 
front rank of the cities of its size in the United 
States. He is identified fraternally with the 
Masons and Elks at Charleston. 

THE MOORE FAMILY.— Thomas Moore 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1802. He was 
married in 1830 to Sarah Richards. He 
taught school, edited a paper. In 1844 he 
moved to Ohio. He enlisted in the Iowa 
"Greybeard" Regiment, serving out his term 
and afterwards came to Kanawha and there 
died in 1876 ami was buried in Spring Hill 
Cemetery. 

Samuel Spencer Moore, son of Thomas and 
Sarah (Richards) Moore, was born in 1837 
near Bellefonte, Pa. He became a printer and 
worked at the trade in Cincinnati, Cleveland 
and New York. In 1863 he came to Charles- 
ton, W. Va., where he and his brother, E. 
T. Moore, founded the "West Virginia Jour- 
nal" and in 1869 they sold the same to Geo. 
W. Atkinson and A. F. Gibbons, after which 
he established in Charleston a large book 
store, which at this time is conducted by his 
four sons. He married in November, 1870 
Miss Rachel C. Bryant, a most excellent daugh- 
ter of Mr. Bryant, who had been here nearly 
all his life — people that were noted for their 
good nature and kind hearts. She left four 
sons and died in July. 1887. Mr. Moore had 
an eye for bargains in real estate and always 
purchased propertv that some one else wanted. 
His sons were William C. B. Moore, who was 
married to Jesse Fellers in 19 10. Herbert S. 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1019 



married Alice Hanson in 1904. G. Ernest is 
yet single. Thomas W. Moore married Eliz- 
abeth Kraemer in 1909. In 1890 Mr. Aloore 
married Lethia J. Putnam. Mr. Moore was 
a man that had but little to say generally or 
publicly but socially was an interesting con- 
versationalist and was a man that had read 
deeply and learned much. He died suddenly 
Xov. 19, 1908. Xo one ever heard of his do- 
ing an injustice to another and by his friends 
he was sorely missed ; he was a kind hearted, 
good man. 

Edward T. Moore, another son of Thomas 
Moore, was born in 1839 in Pennsylvania, 
came to Kanawha with his brother. S. S. 
Moore, and like his brother was an expert 
printer. He was at Kenyon College, Ohio, and 
was in the 12th Ohio Infantry for three years 
in the service and in 1864, he and his brother 
established the West Virginia Journal in 
Charleston. W. Va. In 1866 he was elected 
superintendent of schools for Kanawha County 
and had seventy-six schoolhouses built during 
his term of office. In 1874 he was admitted 
to the bar, and in 1877 he removed to Gallip- 
olis and in 1902 retired from business. His 
wife was Martha Blake, of Snow Creek, Ohio. 

The sons of Samuel S. Moore are men that 
are naturally interested in books, in schools, 
and in churches and in all matters pertaining 
to the betterment of the town and community. 
Neither they nor their father ever made them- 
selves or their political views or sentiments ob- 
jectionable to others that might entertain dif- 
ferent views on a subject. 

OLD KANAWHA BAPTIST CHURCH. 
— The Old Kanawha Baptist Church was or- 
ganized by Elder James Johnstone, the first 
gospel pioneer in the valley, in 1793. The 
Church has enjoyed a continued existence. 
The records of the church from 1793-1796 
were badly mutilated by the Federal Soldiers 
in 1 86 1. Of this period however remain the 
"decorum" or "rule of discipline" adopted by 
the church July 2nd. 1796. In the early his- 
tory of the church following 1797, in the ab- 
sence of a Minister, this order and formula 
for worship and business was followed: After 
prayer, praise, and exhortation, proceeded to 
business." "The first order of business being 
to open the door for experiences." 



The influence and interest in the church was 
very extensive, as is shown by the fact that 
it embraced all that territory extending on both 
sides of the Great Kanawha River from 
Gauley Bridge to two miles above Charleston 
and extending far into the interior. During 
these early years the places of meetings were 
man};, selected with reference to accessibility 
and convenience of the membership. From 
1 798- 1 834 meetings were held at John Mor- 
ris's, Peter's Creek meeting house, John 
Hansford's, Catharine Morris's, John Jones's, 
Nelson's, Priddy's, Benjamin's, Morris's, Levi 
Morris's, Samuel Shrewsbury's, Felix G. Hans- 
ford's and Captain John Harvey's. During 
this period in 1803 the Greenbrier Association 
met with the Old Kanawha Church. Its ses- 
sions were held in the old Morris meeting- 
house on the North side Kanawha River which 
stood on the Tomkins Farm near Cedar Grove. 
It remained a part of this association until 
1816. The first notice of its being a part of 
the Teays Valley Association being that year, 
when the Teays Valley Association met with 
the church at the house of John Hansford, 
Sr., now Crown Hill Aug. 21st, 1816. From 
1797 there was no regular pastor but the fol- 
lowing ministers preached for the church. El- 
der James Johnstone, until 1803, John Mor- 
ris, James Ellison, and McCoy. Then the 

following pastorates: Rev. John Lee. 18 15- 
1824 ; Elder W. A. Wood, 1824- 1830; W. C. 
Ligon, 1832-1839. 

The benevolent and Missionary enterprizes 
began early in its history by a resolution of- 
fered by Felix G. Hansford, Sr.. June 4th, 
1836, which was unanimously adopted by the 
church, and reads as follows : "Whereas we 
greatly desire to contribute towards the pro- 
motion of the general interest of religion and 
especially within the bounds of the association 
with which we stand connected ; and whereas 
we believe that nothing short of systematic and 
persevering effort in the ordinary means of 
grace will, in our opinion, accomplish an ob- 
ject so desirable: therefore. 

"Resolved, that we recommend to members 
of this church to meet on the evenings of the 
first Monday in each month for the purpose of 
praying that God's blessing may attend the ef- 
forts which we are now making, and what 



1020 



HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY 



may in the future be made to disseminate the 
light of the gospel over the world; and 

"Resolved, that at each such meetings we will 
contribute according as the Lord may prosper 
us, toward raising a fund for benevolent pur- 
poses to be placed at the disposal of the 
churches ; and 

"Resolved, That the friends of benevolence 
generally be invited to cooperate with the 
churches in promoting the above object."' 

From 1834-1857 almost uninterruptedly the 
meetings of the church were held in the old 
Hansford meeting-house, on Meeting House 
Branch, now Crown Hill Coal property. This 
was a private property built by John Hans- 
ford, Sr., and his sons for Baptist worship. 
This building was used as a camping place 
by the Federal Soldiers until burnt by them in 
1861. About 1859 Felix G. Hansford, Sr., 
of his own private means provided and fitted 
up a comfortable building which was used by 
the church until the opening of the war in the 
town of Clifton. For this period the follow- 
ing ministers preached for the church : 

Elders James Mitchell, Wythal, Wood. Mitch- 
el and Bradley. From 1843-1849 M. M. Rock 
and to 1859 R. Swinburn and to opening of 
war Rev. M. Bibb, Jr., and up to 1867 the 
following preached for the church : Thomas 
Harmon, Hezekiah Chilton, Lewis Anderson, 
Dodge, Mathew Ellison, James Ely Ellison, 
and Felix Ellison. Rev. T. C. Robertson was 
called to the pastorate in 1867, serving only 
one month and by his death the church was 
without a pastor until 1874 when Rev. Bay- 
lus Cade was called. During this pastorate 
on Oct. 13th, 1874, the church was reorganized 
by Bro. B. Cade and A. M. Simms. During 
this period and later the church met somewhat 
irregularly holding its regular services in the 
union church at Hansford, below Paint Creek, 
and made its church home there, although the 
congregation met at times in the union church 
at Clifton. Brother Cade was succeeded by 
Rev. S. M. Ferrell in a pastorate of six months 
in 1876. After this and up to 1878 the fol- 
lowing ministers and students as supplies 
preached : Rev. P. B. Reynolds, W. P. Walker, 
A. Reppetoe, R. Swinburn, A. M. Simms, C. 
T. Roberts, Thomas Allen, Samuel Gibson 



and J. B. Foster. In 1879 Rev. Weeks was 
called and after him up until about 1889 the 
following ministers served : Revs. Cline, Adams 
Fitzgerald, Hoover and Berger. 

The Old Kanawha Baptist Church has been 
a part of the Kanawha Valley Baptist Associa- 
tion since its organization, electing delegates 
to meet w ith that body July 12th, 1884. 

During the ninety-nine years of continued 
service the church was without a building 
strictly its own. The reason for this is ob- 
vious. Its meetings were held over a large 
territory and the place of meeting, whether in 
private homes, or union churches it had helped 
to build, or churches of other denominations ; 
many had been built by private individuals and 
had always been selected for the convenience 
of the worshippers. Methods change with 
time, and the membership began to feel that 
the larger interests of the church could better 
be conserved by its having a home of its own. 
This long felt need soon became a real issue 
in the life of the church. Hence in May, 
1889, the church took under serious consider- 
ation the necessity and possibility of its own 
denominational edifice. Under the leadership 
of Rev. T. F. Holt and his little band" of en- 
thusiastic Christians, after due deliberation, 
there was soon subscribed and paid in $c,77-/5 
and then followed the appointment of commit- 
tees on location and building. In May, 1890. 
the lot having been secured by the gift of Mrs. 
Julian E. Dickinson near the river, a contract 
was let for the erection of the new building. 
On July 31st, 1890 this house just before its 
completion was burned to the ground by an 
incendiary. At this time there was an empty 
treasury, the contractor having been paid over 
eight hundred dollars. The loss caused sor- 
row and disappointment deep and great. The 
church was not utterly discouraged, however, 
but with increased faith in its ability. God ap- 
proving, a new- lot was purchased, and arrange- 
ments made to rebuild. On June nth, 1893 
this new and first church home of the Old Ka- 
nawha Baptist Church with its one hundred 
years of history, dedicated its new building 
free of debt. Bro. T. F. Holt closed his work 
after an eventful and successful pastorate of 
three years. Then followed the pastorates of 



AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 



1021 



Rev. W. J. Cocke 1894- 1896; Rev. G. S. 
Dougherty, 1896-1897; Rev. F. W. Asquith, 
1897-1898; Rev. C. T. Curtner, 1 900-1901 ; 
Rev. L. H. Suddith, 1901-1902; Rev. B. F. 
Howell, 1902-1903. Rev. Geo. W. Huddles- 
ton was called to the pastorate Mar. 27th, 
1904. During this pastorate the church re- 
solved to build a parsonage and committees 
were appointed early in the pastorate to arrange 
matters. The work of these committees was 
very faithfully performed and the pastor was 
soon at home in the new and commodious par- 



sonage. Brother Huddleston closed his rela- 
tion as pastor on the second Sunday in Sep- 
tember, 1908. The present pastor, Rev. C. B. 
Ayars, was called September 19th, 1909. The 
membership of the church is 69. 

The church has property valued at $6,000.00. 
The officers are as follows: Deacons: C. H. / 
Frazer, Dr. J. A. Wood. Trustees : Dr. J. K.£ 
Wood, C. H. Frazer and B. A. Bangham. 
Clerk, C. B. Coleman. Caleb B. Ayars, Pas- 
tor, Pratt, W. Va. 



